Hidden Behind the Veil (Complete)

Chapter 5

Max's eyes locked with the guy standing in front of him. Well built with broad shoulders and a height almost equal to his own. They had the same physical features except that the guy in front of him had a dark skin tone, contrary to the milk white of Max. His black shirt had red stripes and a basketball printed in the center. The number "5" was printed on its back. Max looked at him in a frightening way. Both of them held each other's gaze, staring each others soul out. Max's eyes looked ablaze and his ambitions were souring high. The referee threw the ball up for the jump-ball as both players jumped high in the air.

Max brought his long arms to effect and scooped the ball back to Alex, who now stood with the ball grasped with both hands, taking a look at all the angles he could use to approach the basket. It was game on now!

As soon as Alex got hold of the ball, he was all business. He didn't care who could keep up with him and who couldn't. He dribbled the ball from the right wing, which was in front of Edward who now stood up on his seat with his hands raised high up towards the heavens. The people behind him were furious as he blocked their view.

"YEAH BABY! STRAIGHT TO THE BASKET."

Half way through, a slender guy from the opposing team tried to intercept Alex. Alex stopped momentarily and dribbled the ball between his legs. The eerie thing for the guy in front was that Alex wasn't looking at the ball while dribbling through. The slender guy looked startled as he processed his next move. His eyes shot from the ball to Alex's face and back the the ball. Alex had such immense training of the art, that he'd know where his hands need to be and where the legs. Alex stared at the guy in front of him, looking in his eyes and challenging him to make a move.

The guy in front extended his right arm to steal the ball away and that was the moment Alex had been waiting for. He closed his legs and dribbled the ball from his left hand behind his heels and collected it from the right. The other guy was put out of balance as Alex continued to make his way through to the basket. Max was running parallel to Alex. He looked towards him and their eyes met. As they approached the basket, both gave a nod to each other.

Alex reached the three-pointer line and bluffed to take a shot. Unaware of their plan, one guy from the other team tried to block Alex's shot by extending his long arms in the air while others gathered below the basket to collect the rebound in case the shot missed.

Alex scooped the ball from behind him as it bounced once on the floor and then straight into Max's hands.

There was an uproar in the crowd as they sensed their first basket. The classic Alex and Max show was on! The crowd was so loud that one couldn't hear his own voice. Everybody stood on their feat to get a better view. Meanwhile Violet sat on her seat and craned her neck, trying to act rather mannerly, but not wanting to miss the action as well. The adrenaline rush that she was experiencing was a first-time. The crowd, the sound, the excitement, the buzz, the game...and Alex. He certainly did look hot when he dribbled the ball. He was wearing a black head band today, probably to avoid his hair from falling over his eyes. Violet felt her insides twist as heat rose up in her chest. It was a delicious feeling, a feeling never felt before. A feeling that was rather foreign to her, though she won't mind experiencing it more often now that she has. She wanted to go down into the court and pull that band off of Alex's head and tell him he looked better without it.

Max was clear, not a single opposing team's player in his way. He took the shot and the ball landed straight in the basket with the sweet sound of basketball colliding with the basket's net. It was a flawless shot.

Both, Alex and Edward smiled at each other on their successful plan. The scorers had been bothered to change the score to 2 Home - 0 Away. Alex jogged towards Max and they both high-fived. On the side-line Mr. Shafiq stood with his stomach protruding into the play-area.