Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"I can't believe we're here...on the court...on the day before New Year's Eve," Jet grumbled as he made his way inside.

The boys were now back on the court after a day of rest, and Jet's cold still hadn't recovered.

"Goodness," he said, blowing some of his snot onto a napkin. "Could this could get any worse? My snot is green now," he said, observing his mucus with a grimace.

"You should drink some hot tea," Kai said. "My grandma's getting better after I brewed her some black tea with honey this morning."

"Aww," Jet exclaimed, holding onto his biceps. "Do you want to brew some tea for me, too?"

"Nope," Kai said, tightening his shoelaces before standing to warm up.

Jet clicked his tongue.

"Where's Lina and Zeren?" he suddenly asked, looking around the court.

Kai stopped stretching when he realized that the two were missing.

Perhaps, were they missing...together?

However, he let out a sigh of relief when Lina made her way inside with an envelope in her hand.

"Hi, guys," she chimed.
Stay connected via empire

"You're late," Yuze grumbled.

"Nah," she said, shaking her head. "I'm right on time! I just received this invitation from Yiming."

Yuze frowned. "Yiming? Why would he go to you?"

"Well, you already know that we're neighbors," she responded. "I was on my way out when he gave me this," she said, excitedly holding up the envelope.

The boys gathered around her.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"An invitation to a party," she smiled, bringing out the content and showing it to the boys.

Kun's eyes widened as soon as he saw the words 'Acquaintance Ball.'

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed. "We actually got invited to this thing?"

"A ball?" Kai asked. "In the middle of winter?"

"Well, it's not technically a ball," Jet responded. "It's just what they call a party for the ball players since, you know...we play with balls."

"Only you, brother," Jinping said, causing Jet to click his tongue.

"Anyway!" Kun said. "This is actually quite surprising. This is for the good schools in the city. Only Yuze gets invited to these things."

"Really?" Kai asked, turning to their captain.

"Hmm," Yuze hummed. "But I never intended to join because I don't want to go alone."

"Well, what's with this ball?" Kai asked.

"It's sort of like a friendship party for all the 'good' sports teams in the city to gather around before the start of the new season. This isn't just for basketball players, by the way," Lina said.

"It's for football, volleyball, and even tennis players. Basically, all the sports that involve balls. But," she continued. "It's mostly dominated by basketball, football, and volleyball teams."

"Oh, that's nice that we're invited," Kai muttered.

"Nice? It's not just nice! It's a miracle. I've been wanting to be invited to the ball for all my three years of playing. Now, the chance is finally here," Kun excitedly said, his fists clenched right before his chest.

Jet wrapped one arm around Kun's shoulder.

"You got that right," he said. "Now, I can wear the suit that I've prepared since I was in my first year."

Yuze frowned before shaking his head. "I'm not even going to ask about why you bought a suit in the first place."

"I don't think we should still go, though," Yuze remarked, causing the other players to turn to him with wide eyes.

"What? Why not?" Kun exclaimed, his eyes showing distress. "It's for the cool sports people! Shouldn't you be excited that we're finally part of that?"

Yuze shook his head. "It's not just for the students," he reasoned out.

"Coaches and other recruiters will also be there. They call it a ball, but in reality, it's an opportunity for the coaches to convince other players to join their respective teams."

"And so?" Jet asked. "It's not like any of us has received a love call, right, guys?"

Kai froze and stayed silent.

"Besides," Kun continued. "Who cares? Nobody's going to leave the team anyway."

Then, he looked around the team with narrowed eyes.

"Nobody's leaving, right?"

Jinping raised his hands in surrender. "I know I'm not."

"See?" Kun said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! This is my last year—my last opportunity to be invited."

Lina scratched the back of her neck.

"Kun's right," she said, trying to convince Yuze. "It's our first time getting a chance like this. Moreover, who said that we can't recruit other players ourselves? I also have some convincing power!"

"That's right!" Kun chimed. "Lina could probably trick a few decent players into joining us with her beauty. Although, if Fei was there, then she might have a lesser chance."

Lina clicked her tongue and slapped the back of Kun's head.

"Come on, Yuze," Jinping said. "I also want to go to the party!"

Yuze pursed his lips and looked at his team. Then, his eyes landed on the person he was afraid to lose the most.

"Do you want to go?" Yuze asked, his gaze focused on Kai.

Kai shrugged. "I'll go if you guys go. Although, I would be pretty late since I'm spending dinner time with my Grandma."

"See?" Jet said. "Even Kai wants to go."

Yuze sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, glancing at their desperate expressions.

"Alright, we'll go," Yuze said, making the team cheer.

"I need to tell my mom to bring out my suit," Jinping muttered, already preparing to call his mom.

Just then, Zeren arrived, his hair messy and his temples filled with sweat.

Yuze frowned as soon as he saw him.

"Where have you gone?" Yuze asked.

Zeren drank some water and evened out his breathing.

"I ran into someone," he vaguely said. "I couldn't escape, so I was late."

Yuze hummed. "Well, it's a good thing we haven't started yet. We've discussed the Acquaintance Ball for tomorrow."

"Oh, the ball for all the ball players?" Zeren asked.

"Yup," Jinping responded. "Are you going?"

"Heck yeah, I am," Zeren exclaimed.

Yuze shook his head at the boy's excitement.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get down to business. We won't have any training tomorrow, so let's make the most of today."

Kai nodded and proceeded to stretch once more.

However, as he stretched his leg, some things fell from his pocket, capturing the attention of his teammates.

Yuze was the quickest one to pick them up.

"Xing Academy, Daxue High, Feng Arts High, and Justin Liang," he read out loud before looking right back at Kai.

Kai pursed his lips and stayed rooted in his spot.

"Well, it looks like someone has already received a love call."

"In fact, multiple love calls."