The Immigrant Who Played Basketball

Chapter Twenty Three-"You need to work harder than ever!"

Monday is the next day. I drag myself out of bed, eat breakfast - a blueberry muffin -, brush my teeth and dress up. I choose to wear a white hoodie and camouflage trousers with a pair of black trainers. Gathering my books and bag, I leave the house.

"Ciao," Mamma says.

"Ciao," I repeat.

I catch the school bus and I find Logan and Lara seated, two people I didn't expect to be here as they're always dropped off.

"Hey, Luna. We were hoping to catch you," Lara greets, patting the empty space beside her.

I listen to her signal and take the seat.

"Hi, Luna," Logan acknowledged me even though he was staring intently at his phone.

"Hi," I parrot back.

"Have you checked your school emails recently?" Logan asks.

Oops! I've never checked them since I've started at this school.

"I checked about a week ago," I lie," Why?"

"Here," Logan adds as he passes his phone to me.

There's an email on his screen:

Yesterday:

RE: Urgent!

Hey, basketballers! I just want to ask if everyone can come to basketball practice tomorrow after school. It's pretty urgent so I would appreciate it if you could spread the word to your teammates if they haven't read this e-mail already and attend the practice. If for some reason you cannot attend, can you contact me in advance or tell me at some point during the day at school(before the school day ends). Therefore, I will be able to tell you the news that I plan to tell the team tomorrow.

Coach Taylor🏀🏀🏀

What a relief that Logan warned me!

"Do you think the news is bad?" I question.

"I don't think Coach would have used emojis if he was in a bad mood," Logan responds and we both burst into laughter.

"Ok, Logan, you've hogged Luna for what you needed. Now, I'll hog her," Lara mutters.

"Don't help her with her History homework. She doesn't deserve it because she wasn't paying attention in class," Logan whispers in my ear, loud enough for Lara to hear.

"Don't listen to him, Luna. It's just that I'm not the cleverest so I don't understand what I have to do."

"I think a more truthful way to put it is that you're the dumbest," Logan alters Lara's statement.

"At least, I passed in all subjects," Lara defends herself.

"You're acting as if I've failed every subject instead of just one, Miss-Big-Headed-Girl," Logan argues back.

"I'd rather have a big head because unlike someone else I know, I have space for a brain."

"Yeah you have space for one but don't have one!"

"That's rich coming from you!"

"Oh, look!" We're at school! Let's go!" I say, distracting them from their quarrel.(I don't think I've ever been that excited to see school).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, I let Lara copy my History homework but obviously in different words so that the teacher doesn't realise that it's not hers. Lara smirks victoriously at her cousin but when she walks ahead of us, Logan whispers in my ear," Honestly, I'm glad she's copied your homework. It shows that I'm smarter than her because at least I can do my homework by myself."

I try my best in all my lessons although all I'm thinking about is what is this urgent news that Coach Taylor wants to tell us.

"I'm going to go to the library. There's this workshop with a journalist and I think it would be great experience for me. Miss Jones says I could probably ask him contacts of people who can give me chances of writing for a minor paper. Fingers crossed that it could help me get recognised!" Lara gabbles, excitement shining in her eyes.

"That's great, Lara! I'll have my fingers and toes crossed for you!" I joke.

"Ok but be careful. I don't want you slipping up while playing basketball because you were crossing your fingers and toes for me," Lara adds on a serious note.

"Yes, Miss," I recite robotically.

"Shush! I don't want you to go calling me like that. It makes me sound old," Lara hushes me, cringing.

"Don't go saying that to any of the teachers," I warn her," Lara, do you mind staying behind? I'm going to give you a detention because you called me old.

We both giggle like little girls at my imitation of a teacher after just being called old.

"Don't go saying that to any of the teachers," Lara repeats what I warned her before," If the workshop finishes at the same time as your training, I'll go home with you, ok? See you later, you bad girl."

This is when Logan arrives at my side.

"Bad girl?" he asks, confused, after Lara walks down a different corridor from us.

"It's nothing!" I assure him as I depart into the girls' locker room, him into the boys'.

I change into my sporty clothes and join my teammates in the gym.

Coach Taylor shortly joins us.

"Afternoon, basketballers. I'm relieved that all of you have managed to come today. Saves me the trouble of tracking certain individuals!" Coach Taylor welcomes us," You're all probably wondering what is so urgent that I sent e-mails to you all yesterday to ask you to come to training?"

Here, there's murmurs of agreement and similar responses.

Coach Taylor clears his throat.

"Well I can't tell you if you're all talking all at once, can I?" Coach Taylor questions rhetorically.

At this, a silence hangs over the gym, disturbed by the squeak of trainers against the linoleum floor.

"Much better! Well, yesterday I received an e-mail from the organisers of this year's American High School Basketball Teams Tournament..."

"Not this again!" Logan mutters underneath his breath.

"What do you mean?" I whisper.

"Last year, we tried out to be in the High School Basketball Teams Tournament but we didn't qualify. It upset Coach so much that he stopped the school's team. It's not so long before you started here that he decided to bring back the team. Seniors like you and I can't take the risk of not being in a team. It's the only way of getting a full scholarship into college," Logan answers back, unfortunately not quiet enough for Coach not to hear.

"Logan and Luna! Is your conversation more important than my announcement?"

I don't say anything but Logan does.

"I was just saying to Luna that don't you think trying out for the American High School Basketball Teams Tournament is a risk, considering what happened last year?"

"I don't think it's a risk because we've learnt something new that we didn't know last time: you need to work harder than ever!"