The Return Of A Basketball Player

Just a cold night again, which I am so nervous and just depressed. I can never forget that night, the night that I had a horrible experience. It was just a winter night when I was in the champion match of basketball. "99-100" just one more shot," I thought. I would shoot this ball. "Wait! I couldn't jump. It hurt! My leg, it really hurt. There was only 30 seconds left, and I had to shoot the ball. But then why does my right leg so hurt, terribly hurt...." The time was then over and my team absolutely lost.

My name is Johnny Wilson Purchio. I am 15 years old, and this year I will go to high school.

"I am thinking about which clubs will I join, do you have any ideas, Jane?" I asked Jane, my childhood friend. "I think you can join the basketball club," she said. "You know I don't want to play it anymore," I continued, "That's done for me, everything about basketball was just my most beautiful memory." "But you still love basketball, I know," she said. I stop talking, I'm not talking, Jane's not talking, either. We just stand and look into the eyes of each other. In a minute, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hi!" Oh my gosh, that's Anthony, my childhood friend too! Anthony is one-year older than me and Jane. When we were small, we were always together. I'm very surprised, I think Jane too. "Long time no see you, guys," he smiled, he gave me a piece of paper and said: "Do you want to join in my basketball club? If you join in my basketball club we can probably get the championship easily, I beg." "No," I answered. "Hey Johnny..." Jane shouted out. "Sorry, I can't join in the basketball club, I don't play basketball anymore, that's enough for me, so sorry," I said with the miserable face. "Are you joking me, Johnny? What did you say?" "I said that I couldn't participate in the basketball club because I don't play basketball anymore." I just started to get upset, I don't know why I have this kind of bad feeling when someone asked me about basketball. "But you.... Do you remember, when we were small you always said that you loved basketball very much and someday you would become a superstar basketball player. You will always love and play basketball." "Shut up Anthony! You've never known how I feel, don't be like my family, you are not them, don't say like you know everything about me Anthony. I don't love..." I stop talking, feel like something stuck at my throat, which makes me unable to say a word. "Let's go Jane, we will be late if we keep standing here." I hold Jane's hand and walk away, while Anthony is still there. "What are you thinking Johnny?" Jane got mad. "How can you behave Anthony like that, it is a long time we can't see him and now you get mad and say many stupid things with him. I can't believe it. What's wrong with you, hah?" Jane left me there with an angry look. I know how crazy I was when talking to Anthony such that way, but I really don't know why, I seem not able to control my temper myself. "This is a terrible day, really terrible for me, " I thought.

I will start a normal life, being a normal student. I will study, find a part-time job, and join in some kinds of activites... maybe a music club, that will be fun, no more basketball. I think Jane will not agree with that but I hope she could understand my decision about that someday. I know Jane always cares about me with little things, just like my mom. Jane, Anthony, and I were in the same neighborhood, but Anthony's family moved to another area a couple of years ago. Jane and I always trust each other, and Jane looks after me. Even when I am in high school now, I can live alone, independently, but my mom used to talk to Jane, "Please look after Johnny for me, I think he can not live alone like he said." What is she thinking? I'm not a little kid anymore. I won't let Jane look after me, I will do my own things, this is my life, and I'm grown up enough to know about myself. I know what I can do, I decide for myself already, from now, I will be a normal student, very normal, no basketball, I think Anthony will forgive me sooner or later.

After one week, I start making friends with some and learn the way to all my classes. There are a lot of things in high school, I feel so tired, more homework, more things to do in the class, and the lessons are very difficult to understand. I live in the apartment near my school so I don't need to worry about travel from my house to my school. I still can not meet Jane after one week, I have tried to call her, text her some messages and even send email to Jane but she didn't ever reply to me. I think she is very angry with me now, and Anthony too, I can not see him even he and I study in the same school. "So boring," I thought. I have found a part-time job to do, I work in Subway, a food store. That's not a difficult job to do. I wake up at 5:30, I walk to school at 6:45, I go home at 2:45, I finish all my homework, after that I go to work at 4 o'clock, I come back home at 8:00 pm, I have dinner, take a shower and sleep at 10 o'clock. Saturday and Sunday, I wake up at 8 o'clock, I go to work at 11 o'clock, I come back home at 5:00 pm, I play some game, I study math and I go to sleep at 9 o'clock. I follow my schedule every week. One day, I realized it's so boring, I've never known this feeling, it's very basic, very simple, too simple for me. I guess this is what I wanted, but now I don't know why. I remember many days I play basketball, it was so interesting. I think about that a lot, and I don't know my tear start to drop out of my eyes. I'm crying, I... I don't know why I am crying... I can't stop cry, how can basketball... how can basketball be so important in my life. I remember when I get out and play against with the other team in basketball, at that time, I feel so free, I saw at that time, nothing can stop me. I think I should get out of my house, go somewhere to relax. It's cold outside, I wear black jeans, a black shirt, and a black jacket, everything is black, the outside too, it's so dark, everything is so dark. I go to the food store near my house to find something to eat. I go into the food store and I see Anthony there. He is eating a hamburger, he is eating alone. I buy a hot dog and sit in front of him. He saw me, in a moment, he said: "Hi," I feel not too comfortable, that's not because I sit in front of Anthony but I feel so ashamed of what I treated him before. "Jane has said with me about why you don't want to play basketball," Anthony continued, "I'm sorry, I... I don't know that thing happened to you so..." "Ahh!!!! How terrible you are, Johnny?" I thought. "You are the only one who gets mad with him but now you let him say sorry with you." I have said with Jane that don't tell everyone about my accident, only Jane, my family and I can know about my accident, I don't want other people to know this, especially Anthony. But, I must tell the truth now, the thing that Jane and my family don't know. "Ok, I will be straight with you now, I hope you can understand more and forgive me Anthony," I said. "That night, I got an accident with my leg so I couldn't make the final shot for my team and let the other team win. After that match, I had to go to the hospital and I knew this thing, the reason of my accident that because I am too good and my body doesn't grow enough for me to play 100% of my power. I have known that but I kept playing with my 100% of my power until that night. I said to doctor that don't tell this thing to my family. You are the only one who knows this Anthony." Anthony looks very surprise when he heard that. "It looks like a mystery Johnny, so stupid. You want to be an interesting main character right, stupid Johnny. Why don't you tell us right away?" I don't have the best answer to say with him. He said, "I know that, I know you always love basketball, you couldn't say that you don't love basketball anymore at the first day at school Johnny, I don't need to know what accident you get I just need to know you are a stupid guy always love basketball and when something happen with you, you've never told any people because you afraid that everyone will worry right Johnny?" "I said that don't be like you know everything about me Anthony." I laughing: "But I think now you are right, Anthony. I still love basketball, I love basketball more than anything in the world but now... I don't want to..." I can not talk, I feel something stops me. "It's all I need to know, I will be your leg Johnny," He said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I mean I will support for you, I will help you, and I will bring you back to basketball." At that time, I saw a light, a light will help me find my way, and Anthony is that light. I left the restaurant, I think I will take a walk. "So peaceful." I thought. On my way, I saw a basketball yard. I look under my feet, there is a ball. "This people are so lazy, they didn't put the ball back to the yard, someone will take that." I said. I picked the ball and I made a shot through the fence, a shot that's not follow the rule how to shoot in basketball, the shoot that my coach always got mad with me but I think the way I shoot it is easier than just keep follow the rule. I don't hope it could go into the basket, I just want to make it go back to the yard. "Soat" I heard that sound, I turned back and I was very surprise, the ball was go into the basket, it is very perfectly. I look at my hand. "I think you will get bad after a whole months but you don't," I tutted. "There would be a very strong relationship between me and basketball, I think I can not hold it anymore, time to show up!" I said. I run back to my house, I send an email to Anthony and Jane: "I will come back to basketball!"