Airball

Chapter 3 - Video Games And Life Advice Do Not Mix

November 16, 2019.

Somehow, I managed to survive the week. It consisted of mostly avoiding my past teammates and overall just being an antisocial potato, which I was not experienced at. I was forced to keep my head hung in the halls and my mouth shut in class. Being a pretty extroverted person, it had been tough. But it was better than telling people that I wasn't planning on playing basketball. I had thought about just telling my friends what I was thinking but then I started imagining the look of disappointment they would give me, and I kept my mouth shut.

It was Saturday morning, so Liv would be the only one in the house awake. Other than me. I usually try to get up early Saturday morning and practice at the street court, but the thought of playing now that I knew I wasn't trying out for the team seemed pointless. So instead I powered on my TV and started watching All American on Netflix. Not surprisingly, seeing another kid excelling at sports and fulfilling his dream did not make me feel much better.

I decided to just lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, the first time I've ever felt that feeling. I never used to bottle up my feelings like I have been or even avoid people in general. I would always just take what was coming to me and let it all out on the court. In middle school, I was practically the definition of a care-free child. I would laugh my way through class and enjoy my reputation as the class clown, and then work my butt off in practice after. My grades had been great, only outdone by my performance in basketball games. I realized that I had been practically living on a cloud for the majority of my 7th and 8th grade years. All that had changed over the summer, when I had broken my arm and was forced to stay home with my dad for company.

My dad and my mom had divorced when I was young, and I never had really understood what was happening. My understanding was basically that Mom was leaving and it would be just me, Dad, and my baby sister. I don't really remember much of what happened after. I remembered my dad seeming lost and me staying up at night wondering why my mom had left. Dad had been great, though, and he had taken care of me and Liv, who had just been born. We don't talk about it a lot, but when we do Liv tells me that she doesn't remember anything about Mom. I always fill her in on what I remember about Mom, which mostly includes the little things, like what she smelled like, what she used to call me. Things like that.

It was far from great, but it was alright. At least we still had Dad. Until we didn't. My dad had kept his head up for a long time for my and Liv's sake, but eventually he just sort of broke. He'd had a good job and saved up a lot of money, but then he started drinking and got fired. Since then he's been unemployed, and spends most his time watching TV or playing poker with his buddies.

Thankfully, my bad memories were eventually interrupted by the vibration of my phone. I was surprised, when I checked it, to see that it wasn't actually from someone I was trying to avoid. It was from my friend Ethan Adams, from where I used to live in North Carolina. I read the text:

Down for RL or 2K?

I smiled and turned on my Xbox. There was no way I was going to be playing any basketball games anytime in the foreseeable future, but a couple games of Rocket League didn't sound too bad. I shot him a quick reply and invited him to an Xbox Live Party.

"Yo, Blake, what's going on!" Ethan said as soon as he joined the party.

"Hey, Ethan," I replied, launching Rocket League on the Xbox.

"So what's it gonna be today?" he asked. "2K or Rocket League?"

"Rocket League," I told him.

"Alright!"

Ethan is different from most people. When he wakes up in the morning, he's more hyper than I am in the middle of a game, but at night, he's completely knocked out. It's weird, but if you know him well enough, you get used to it.