Forget Me

Chapter Thirty

Korn was exhausted. There weren't enough hours in the day to help him figure out what he was going to do. At first, he'd resisted the urge to take the special consideration given to the basketball team. But after falling asleep before he could get around to a required assignment, he'd been forced to ask for an extension; only to miss that deadline as well.

He hadn't seen Mew in days. His classwork was suffering. The team was doing well but it was at the expense of everything else. His life felt distinctly unmanageable. It was strange that it was at that moment that he finally figured out what he wanted to do.

He'd been approached by a scout and they wanted to sign him for a second-tier varsity sports team but the thought of spending his entire college life on the bench waiting to play felt like an offer he could refuse.

"They wanted to know if I'd be interested but..."

"You want to do something else other than sports?" His father asked before he could finish.

Korn had never been more certain. But he didn't think his parents would be as impressed with his decision. Considering he was passing up a scholarship for a career he was only just beginning to appreciate. Thinking about what Mew had said, and his love for tinkering, the idea solidified right then and he knew he had to follow that glimmer of excitement that was building inside him.

"I want to study engineering."

His parents looked at each other and then at him like they had been waiting for this precise conversation for some time. Smiling at him as she reached for his hand, his mother shook her head in wonder. It sent a shiver of dread through Korn but he stood his ground.

"When Kavitra wanted to go to college, we figured you would want to as well," his mother informed him.

"It was always our plan to pay for you to go to university. But we wanted you to decide for yourself," his father added, "Although I may have wished you were more inclined towards sports so I could save a little money."

His parents laughed at the joke but Korn was still too shocked to respond. How had they already figured this out? Long before he even knew his own mind. Was there anything else they already knew and just hadn't told him about? He didn't even want to imagine the possibility. If he'd been worried about Yut, then it was only in preparation for this. Korn would have to be twice as careful around his parents from now on.

"So it seems you have your work cut out for you," his mother said, turning serious.

"I will. But after the game," Korn said hoping to deflect their attention from the work he had not been able to do.

"We'll be there to cheer you on in your final game for sure," his father assured him.

"Thanks," Korn said.

He was glad of the support they were giving him. But it scared him too. Mew's mum had been right. Perhaps they knew him better than he knew himself. He doubted it. Or more precisely, he hoped he was wrong.

~

They won their final game.

They placed third in the district and were invited to the final game and the gift-giving ceremony with the cheers and catcalls from the audience ringing in the background. It was more than they could have hoped for at the beginning of the season and none of them was oblivious to how great an accomplishment it was. They were a second-tier sports program that made it to the semis. It was a miracle.

Sadly, it was still the end of the road for them. That had been decided when they lost their semi-final bid but there was still some disappointment that they had not made it all the way. To upset the ranking by making it even further would have cemented not only their futures but that of the school. It was a little anticlimactic and they didn't feel inclined to celebrate. They were all exhausted and most wanted to rest.