Key to a Caged Heart

I Will Be There

Three days passed since the championship game. With the season over, the basketball player's afternoons were free to spend as they wished. Instead of basketball practice, most of the team on any given day could be found...playing basketball.

Pick-up games formed in the school's gymnasium after school. Eren, Jean, Reiner, and Connie were almost always there. Nac and Mylius frequently joined, and non-players were more than welcome. Bertholdt, Marco, Armin, Annie, and Sasha added a welcome surprise element to the games, since the basketball team never knew what to expect from them. Playing against your teammates quickly became boring when familiarity told you what move they would make before they made it.

They were in the middle of a scrimmage when Coach Zacharius interrupted.

"Jaeger! Kirschtein! In my office, now." The boys' spines stiffened. They glanced at each other nervously before jogging to catch up to their coach.

The man's office was cleaner now that the basketball season was over. All the drills and game results were stored in binders on his bookshelf instead of scattered across the two guest chairs. The whiteboard still smelled of lemon from being wiped clean of plays. Everything found a new place, including Coach Zacharius. Instead of sitting in his swivel chair as he normally would, he stood beside his desk. An unfamiliar woman sat in his chair, dressed in a grey suit and black button down shirt.

"Boys, take a seat." Coach Zacharius waved his hand at the guest chairs.

Jean glanced at Eren and Eren read the confusion and slight fear on his face, wondering if they were in trouble. Eren wondered the same, but had a much better poker face from experience dealing with the law. Jean lowered himself slowly into the chair, whereas Eren plopped himself down, acting unconcerned.

"You boys can relax. You're not in trouble," the woman in the suit chuckled. "Quite the opposite. Ah, let me introduce myself." The woman reached into her suit jacket pocket, withdrawing two business cards which she passed across the desk. Eren and Jean lifted the cards, reading along as the woman introduced herself.

"My name is Ilse Langnar. I'm the coach of Stohess University's basketball team."

Eren and Jean simultaneously sucked in a breath, glancing up from the cards to the woman across from them.

"I came to your championship game a few nights ago, and though your team lost," Jean cast his eyes down, "I am unable to forget what I saw. You," Coach Langnar pointed at Jean, "were under immense pressure in those final seconds, yet your shot still went in. Very few players are able to keep a clear head under such pressure."

Coach Langnar redirected her finger to point at Eren. "And you, you could have taken the shot at the end, claiming glory for yourself instead of giving the final shot to your teammate, but you understood he had a better chance at successfully taking the shot and gave up glory for the good of the team. You are both surprisingly mature players for being in high school. Some of my own players are not as mature as you."

Eren pinched Jean on the leg to temper his friend's growing ego. Jean's smirk evaporated as he scowled at Eren, who grinned back.

"Boys," Coach Zacharius admonished, smiling despite himself.

"I do not know what your intentions are after high school in regards to basketball, but I have come today with an offer." Coach Langnar steepled her fingers and Eren and Jean straightened their posture automatically in response.

"I would like to offer you both partial scholarships to Stohess University on the condition that you play for our team."

Eren's jaw dropped and Jean nearly fell out of his chair. "You want us to play basketball for Stohess?" Jean squeaked.