Chapter 21
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Ken dribbled the ball up to the top, the offense assembling. It was a great gym, everything shining like it was brand new, seats around the entire court stacked up several rows, every seat filled with fans. It was so different, it almost felt like they were playing a different sport. It took several minutes during warmups for the team to get a feel for the court.
TK glanced behind him as he moved into the post. The twins. Both tall and imposing, standing on either side of the basket. TK might have been three inches taller than them, but they combined to form a high quality paint defense. The power forward, Josh, was defending him, while the center, Andrew, was standing near Luke.
TK stepped out down the left baseline, away from the basket, as Davis caught the ball on the left wing. Davis threw the ball over to TK, who turned around to face the basket as his man came out to defend him. TK waited, pumping the ball up twice and watching his man's hand lash out like a cobra to block his view each time, then simply threw a bounce pass past his man into the lane.
Ken had bolted for the basket, to the open spot that TK and his man had left, and caught the pass two steps in front of his man. The other twin thought about leaping to contest it, but held back at the last second to let Ken take the layup for fear of picking up an early foul. Easy early bucket.
Hakuo brought their own offense up, immediately feeding Josh in the post. TK played up close on him as he started to dribble, backing towards the basket. TK fought to hold him on his spot as Josh spun and went up with a hook shot seven feet from the basket. The high arcing shot bounced off the backboard, and slid through the hoop.
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"This place is beautiful," Yolei remarked, looking around the gym. "It's so much better than any other gym."
"Look at those backboards," Kari said. Ken brought the ball up. TK again went down into the low post, then went out towards the corner to draw his defender out and free up space near the basket. Marcus set a screen on Ken's right side and Ken used it to shake free of his defender, turning a corner on the left wing and sprinting towards the basket while dribbling.
As Ken went to the basket, Luke's man ran over to rotate in front of him, so Ken wrapped it around him and threw it to Luke. The length of Andrew allowed him to leap back towards Luke as soon as the pass went to him, so Luke threw it right back to Ken. It was a poor pass, Ken reaching down to catch it near his ankles, and by the time Ken managed to rise up for the shot Andrew had gotten back to his side. Andrew blocked the layup attempt over to a guard, who took it back up the other way.
"These guys are good," Kari said. "We need to get Quincy in there as soon as possible, we're not gonna get any offense going against those two without another shooter."
Hakuo ran the ball up, passing it around the perimeter aimlessly for a few seconds. Finally, they threw an entry pass to Josh, but Marcus ran across the court to pick the pass off, taking off down the court with it.
All ten players ran towards the other basket, Marcus still controlling the ball. After getting around the three point line on the right wing, he tried throwing a bounce pass to Ken at the free throw line, but Andrew managed to pick it off for a steal of his own and throw it up the court to a guard.
Hakuo ran down for a fast break, Luke the only man back against two Hakuo guards. They dribbled in, passing the ball back and forth between each other, until finally the one on the right went up for a layup. Luke planted his feet right in front of him after he jumped, making sure he was outside the half-circle underneath the rim, and absorbed the contact as he shot.
The ball flew into the basket, but it didn't matter. Whistle, offensive foul.
"Oh, that was close," Kari said quietly as the crowd cheered the disciplined defensive play.
"What was?" Yolei asked.
"See the half circle underneath the basket?" Kari pointed at the arc of paint. "A defender can't be standing in that circle and draw an offensive foul. If you're standing in that circle, it's always going to be a foul on you no matter what. He was almost in there."
Luke inbounded the ball to Ken, who took it up. TK walked up to the top to set a screen on Ken's defender, followed by Josh. TK set the screen on Ken's left, watching Ken dribble to his left to use it. TK waited a half-second, then spun and ran towards the basket.
"Here it comes," Kari said quickly.
Josh did a good job of staying between Ken and TK as both went to the basket, not letting Ken get a free lane while at the same time not giving TK the easy catch and score. Near the low block, Ken finally simply threw the ball up in front of the rim, arcing it well over Josh's head. TK rose up, grabbed it in both hands, and dunked it.
The crowd roared approval. Many of them were neutral basketball fans who just wanted to see good play, and that certainly qualified. TK pumped his fist a few times on the way down the court.
"There it went," Kari added. "Maybe this summer I'll teach him how to showboat."
"I can't imagine that somehow," Yolei said. "It'd look too weird."
Hakuo ran a pick and roll with Andrew and their point guard, but both Ken and Luke committed fully to the point guard when he came off the pick, closing the pincers in on a double team that prevented him from getting the pass off. He spun around, trying to find some way to get rid of the ball, until finally the referee whistled him for travelling when he picked his left foot up.
"I just realized something, those twins are sophomores," Kari mused. "If they can get some decent guards next season, that's a great team."
"That guy, over there," Yolei said suddenly, pointing across the gym at the second row, near the far corner. "I've seen him somewhere before."
"Huh?" Kari peered over. "Who?"
"Him, he looks like...I think I saw him in a soda commercial," Yolei said.
"Oh," Kari said dryly. "Riveting."
"No, I'm serious." Yolei bit the tip of her thumb. "Maybe...shampoo?"
"Yeah, get back to me when you make a breakthrough on that."
Davis used a screen to get open on the right wing, then rose up for a three that rolled in and out, over to Josh.
"Wait, no...no, that's not him." Yolei slumped over slightly. "How disappointing."
"Remind me to never take you to an NBA game," Kari said sarcastically.
"Huh?" Yolei looked at Kari dimly.
"You'll spend the whole game looking at the courtside seats. Hey, look, Bruce Willis is sitting next to Cameron Diaz!" Kari rolled her eyes.
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Josh caught the ball on the low post, then froze, standing facing the baseline, not moving, the ball in both of his hands. TK stood there for a second, confused, thinking about trying to swipe the ball away. Suddenly, in a quick-twitch movement, Josh jumped past TK to the basket, when he laid in an easy, uncontested shot.
TK grimaced. How could he fall for that?
Luke inbounded to Ken, who took it up the court. Everyone got into position, and Ken got the ball over to Davis on the right wing. Davis dribbled around, his man sticking his right arm out, hand right in Davis's face.
In a flash, Davis rose up to shoot, swinging his arms up and making sure they collided hard with his defender's wrist, causing him to drop the ball on the way up. The referee whistled, a three shot foul.
"That was beautiful," Ken said to Davis as his defender ran over to protest the call. "That's a new one from you."
"Well, if he's gonna stick his hand in my face like that..." Davis said, heading to the free throw line. "Too easy."
Davis hit all three free throws in prompt succession, and Hakua took the ball up. Quickly, they got the ball on the low post to Josh again, but this time Marcus immediately applied a double team that made a move towards the basket impossible.
Josh shook around for a couple seconds, trying to find a route to the basket, but finally just tossed up an awkward hook shot that bounced off the back of the rim and was rebounded by Luke.
Ken caught the pass from Luke and led the offense up, calling for a screen as soon as he got to the top. TK set it, let Ken use it, then leaked out to the right side, forcing a switch, Josh now defending Ken and the point guard defending TK.
Ken dribbled around, forcing Josh to back up several feet for fear of Ken simply driving to the basket around the much slower Josh. Ken lunged forward, getting Josh to take another step back, then simply stopped and shot from the free throw line, so wide open it may as well have been a free throw.
The ball swished through, drawing a timeout from Hakua.
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"Alright, it's time to fly!" Stewart called out, motioning towards Quincy. "Let's go!"
Quincy entered the game, subbing in for Marcus, stepping onto the court. TK shot Ken a glance for a half-second, but nothing came of it.
"Alright, let's shoot them out of the building!" Davis yelled as the referee blew his whistle. Hakua inbounded it and took it up.
The point guard tried to dump it in to Andrew, but Luke was able to front him and keep an entry pass. The point instead swung it into the corner to the small forward, and Andrew came out a few feet so he could get the pass.
He spun and faced Luke, who stood ready for his move. Andrew started to dribble with his left hand and drove towards the basket, Luke shuffling to keep up with him. Right in front of the basket, Andrew rose up with his left hand to scoop it into the basket, but Luke stayed right with him and managed to block the shot, sandwiching the ball between both of their hands.
The ball fell to the court as Andrew stumbled to the floor, Luke grabbing it and passing it to Ken as he ran back for it. Ken raced up the court, stopping when a fast break didn't materialize at the top.
TK walked down the court, setting a screen on Ken's man without even bothering to go down into the post. Josh froze in the paint as Ken used TK's screen, finally running out towards TK in a panic, surprised by the early pick.
Ken looped around the pick and squared up for a shot from fifteen feet out, getting Josh up into the air as he ran out and rose up to block it, then passed it to TK running free down the lane. Andrew rotated over in front of TK, and TK made like he was going to feed the ball to Luke for the layup. Quincy's man from the right corner ran in to attempt to foul Luke on the catch, so TK simply threw it over to Quincy.
Quincy caught, rose up, and fired a shot that sailed a foot and a half past the basket, right into the hands of the Hakua small forward. TK stood there for a second, looked at Quincy running up the court, then shook his head a couple times and ran back down. He felt his stomach tightening.
Again, Hakua went to Josh on the low post, TK defending. Quincy came down and immediately applied a double team, forcing Josh to pass it to the left-open small forward. He stood out on the right wing, like he was going to shoot a three, but he never launched, just standing there as Quincy came back out to defend him.
He tried throwing the pass back in to Josh, but TK read it like a book and jumped it to pick it off. He poked it forward and ran down the court, dribbling, finding Ken as he crossed half-court.
Ken drove towards the lane haphazardly, drawing two defenders, then threw it behind his back to Quincy on the right wing, wide open. As a defender raced over to try to get to Quincy, he calmly rose up, launched the three, and watched it swish through.
TK felt his stomach relax, and he jogged over towards Quincy on the way back down.
"Don't scare me like that," TK said. "You do that again I'll clock you."
"Glare from shiny backboard was in my eyes," Quincy protested.
"Yeah yeah," TK muttered, running down into the low post.
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Josh spun around towards the paint, then went back to the baseline and looped in an easy layup past the jumping Vincent.
"We gotta get back out there, he's killing them," TK said quietly. "That's the third time in the last two minutes Vincent got scored on."
Ken nodded. Stewart called a timeout, the referee signalling both teams to go back to their bench.
"Alright, guys, good first half so far!" Stewart said. "Let's go small for these last two minutes! Remember, when we're on defense, the moment one of the twins touches the ball, you double! If their guards beat us, good for them, but do not let the twins beat us! The moment they touch the ball, you double!"
TK led the team onto the court, watching the opposing huddle. A minute later, it broke, and both twins came back into the game. TK immediately looked over at Stewart, then at Ken, but both shook their head.
TK went over to Ken and pulled him aside. "We can't do this."
"Sure we can," Ken said, smiling.
"Quincy is going to get murdered by Josh, just like Vincent was," TK said through gritted teeth.
"Neither of those twins have gone to the bench for a single second so far today," Ken said patiently. "We need to force them to the bench."
Ken walked off, TK standing there dimly, but quickly walking over to inbound the ball to Ken.
Ken took it up, TK wincing at the sight of Quincy standing next to Josh. But, as Quincy remained standing on the right wing, TK couldn't help but notice a look of confusion and discomfort on Josh's face as he ran past him to set up in the post.
Immediately, Ken drove to the right, passing by Quincy as he looped to the basket. Josh gave chase, running stride-for-stride with Ken as he ran to the basket.
At the last second, Josh planning a block, Ken threw it into the right corner, where Quincy was standing right open. Taking huge strides, Josh ran out towards him, hand up as Quincy squared up for a shot. Josh leaped high in the air, hand held up and out, as Quincy put the ball back down and dribbled towards the basket, right past the leaping Josh.
Josh reached out with his other hand, trying to block Quincy's path, a foolish and reflexive attempt. Josh ended up smacking Quincy in the face, knocking him to the floor, the ball rolling loose into the lane as the referee signaled a flagrant foul.
TK ran over to Quincy, who remained laying there on the court, hands covering his face.
"Crap, did your head hit the court?" TK asked immediately, peeking underneath Quincy's head to look for blood.
"No," Quincy said through his hands. "I'm fine. Hold on."
As the players milled around, Quincy finally reached his arms up. TK grabbed one of them and lifted Quincy to his feet. Quincy shook his head a few times.
"I'm fine." Quincy walked towards the free throw line. TK glanced over and saw Josh take a seat on the bench, replaced by a forward much more Quincy's physical match.
"You be quiet, you got lucky," TK said, pointing at Ken as Quincy got ready for his free throws.
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Ken replied tartily. "Is he alright?"
"We're about to find out, I guess," TK said, bending over and putting his hands on his knees.
Quincy hit both free throws, and Rakunan kept possession with the flagrant. TK inbounded from the side to Ken, who started dribbling around at the top as TK trotted down into the low post. He had to admit, the paint felt a lot more open with only one twin in the game.
Ken dumped the ball down to TK, and he immediately started backing Andrew down. He jerked right, then swung left and rose up for a short hookshot that bounced off the backboard and through the rim.
Hakua took it up, TK immediately signalling Quincy. Quincy ran into the paint and stepped in front of Andrew, while TK took up position behind him. The point guard froze up at the top, holding the ball above his head, looking for a pass in to Andrew that wasn't there.
The backup power forward went out to the other side of the basket, and the point guard finally, reluctantly, threw him the ball. Quincy immediately went out and guarded him, forcing the power forward to turn with his back to the basket.
He started to dribble, trying to push Quincy back towards the basket. After a couple of slow movements toward the basket, Quincy simply jumped backwards as he made another push backwards, momentum making him fall down backwards and lose control of the ball.
Quincy ran forward to grab the ball after his man fell down, taking off down the court. Around half-court, he lobbed a pass down into the paint, where Ken had ran ahead of the pack. Ken caught it and neatly laid it up before a trailing defender could come into the picture. One minute left, Rakunan up thirty-eight to thirty.
"One trick ponies," Ken whispered to TK on the way up. TK nodded.
Rakunan again doubled Andrew immediately, preventing any kind of entry pass. The point guard held the ball over his head for several seconds, then simply rose up and fired a shot from five feet behind the three point line with Ken's hand in his face.
The ball didn't even come that close to hitting the rim, and Quincy simply reached up to grab it as it fell down. The crowd held an awkward silence as Quincy stood there, then passed it off to Ken when Ken looped back for the pass.
Ken took it up, looking up at the clock. Forty-five seconds left as he crossed half-court. Without hesitation, he threw the ball to Davis on the left wing, then ran up and set a pick on Davis's defender.
Davis's defender was so surprised by the move, he didn't even attempt to fight through the pick when Davis took one dribble to his right, then rose up for an open three that swished through. The crowd applauded the surprise play that also generated an extra possession before the end of the half.
Hakua, clearly rattled, took the ball up slowly, again confronted by a fast double-team on Andrew that made any sort of inside pass impossible. The guards and small forward passed the ball around the perimeter, using up the shot clock, trying to find something they could do.
Finally, Andrew ran up and set a screen on Ken, Quincy following at TK staying at the low post. As soon as the point used the pick, both Ken and Quincy closed in on him, trapping him in a tight double team as Andrew rolled to the basket. Finally, the point guard attempted to basically roll the ball between Ken and Quincy, trying to get it to Andrew, but Derrick easily snatched the ball well before it got to him.
Derrick pushed the ball to Ken, who had taken off, only the shooting guard back on defense, the final seconds ticking off the clock. Ken drove into the lane, the shooting guard doing a good job of sticking with him. Ken jumped up like he was going to try a fadeaway jumper on the baseline, but instead threw a quick pass into the lane. TK had sprinted all the way up the court, and managed to snatch the pass and dunk it home with a second left in the half.
The crowd's applause went through the quick Hakua inbound and full-court shot that fell well short. TK raised his hands into the air. It had been a dream first half.
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"Alright! Three minutes left in the third quarter, we look great!" Stewart called over the loud cheers of the crowd. "Great defense in those first five minutes! We're up by eighteen, if we can push the lead to twenty-five, I'll call off the dogs! You guys got that? We push the lead to twenty-five, we can go to our use the clock offense! Next three minutes, real simple! Two man game with Jason and TK! Jason has the ball, TK sets screens, read the situation and react!"
Derrick, Jason, Marcus, TK and Luke hit the court. TK immediately went over to Derrick.
"Alright, these guards. This whole Hakua backcourt, they're not very good," TK said. "But they are a little on the big side. They might post you up. If they do, don't panic, Marcus will double. Just don't foul. That's the only way they can get back in this game."
The whistle blew, and Hakua inbounded down on the other end and took the ball down to the Rakunan basket.
Josh went out along the left baseline as soon as he got into the post, and caught the pass from the point guard. He turned to face TK, who stood a couple feet back, anticipating a move.
Josh went right, dribbling towards the basket, TK shuffling to keep with him, forcing him further out and away from the basket, holding his hands to his sides. Josh kept pushing into the lane, sweeping past the left block and towards the middle. Finally, he rose up and tried a jumper while leaning away from the basket, but TK had successfully guided him right over to Luke, who neatly blocked the shot away over to Derrick. Derrick got the ball to Jason, and Rakunan dribbled up.
Jason stopped as soon as he got to the top, and TK immediately went right for the pick on Jason's right side. Jason used it, and when Josh didn't move to stop Jason from driving, he bolted right into the lane, speeding towards the basket.
Andrew came over to step in front of Jason, so Jason slipped over towards the left side of the basket, forcing Andrew further away from Luke, then bounced a quick pass to Luke, who rose up and managed to get the quick layup into the basket before Andrew could recover.
"Let's wrap this one up!" TK called out back down the court. "It's all about the formula!"
Hakua brought it up, again immediately looking for a postup with either Josh or Andrew. As the point guard prepared to throw an entry pass in to Josh, Marcus dropped back in front of him, sandwiching Josh between two defenders. The point guard nearly threw the pass anyway, then pulled it back and froze. Finally, he got it off to the small forward, now wide open along the left baseline.
Marcus ran out to defend him and TK swung out in front of Josh so a pass was still impossible. The small forward stood there, stock still, even as he had a second to throw up an open shot before Marcus closed in on him. Finally, he just threw up a shot over Marcus's raised hand, the ball bouncing off the near side of the rim. However, Josh had rebound position after TK's move to the outside of him, and bounced up to neatly snatch the ball and put it back in the basket.
TK shrugged as Luke stepped out of bounds and inbounded it to Jason. As soon as Jason got up to the top, TK ran up and set a screen on his right side. This time, Josh edged out to stop Jason's drive, giving TK just enough room to spin and run to the basket. Jason bounced him the ball, and Andrew immediately ran over to block TK from the basket, as Josh also came over to double to prevent TK from just going around Andrew.
TK immediately raised the ball up like he was just going to shoot over Andrew, getting Andrew up in the air with his hand up to block it. TK pulled the ball back, waited as Andrew started to come back down, then went up for the shot as Andrew was falling down on top of him.
The haphazard shot didn't even get up towards the rim, but the force of impact of Andrew crashing into TK was more than enough to draw a foul call. TK and Andrew fell to the floor as the whistle sounded, then slowly picked themselves up.
"You're not really fourteen, are you?" Andrew asked as he got to his feet.
"Afraid so," TK answered, getting up and brushing his arms off.
"Have fun playing under Calipari in three and a half years*, then," Andrew said, moving towards the side of the lane.
"He'll be suspended by the NCAA by then," TK said.
TK went over to the free throw line, swinging his arms around as the referee got ready to throw him the ball. He missed the first, then made the second.
Hakua took the ball up, again looking for one of the twins in the post, like clockwork. Luke continued to make an entry pass to Andrew nearly impossible, while TK and Marcus doubled Josh, leaving Hakua with limited options. They shuffled it over to the open small forward, who immediately rose up to shoot it before Marcus got to him on the left baseline, but even this open, routine shot clanked off the front of the rim and bounced out to TK. TK dribbled down close to half-court, then found Jason near the top with a pass. Again, TK immediately got up to set a screen, Jason bursting around TK, and Josh forced to step out to contain Jason's drive.
TK spun, ran to the basket, and caught the ball. He turned to the basket to see the chess pieces move. Andrew came over to jump in front of him, and the defender in the left corner sprinted over towards Luke, hoping TK would throw a pass without thinking that he could pick off. TK took one dribble in, then threw the ball into the defensively-vacated left corner, where Derrick had been left wide open.
Smoothly, Derrick jumped up and shot the corner three, rattling it through the rim, leaving Rakunan just three points short of the twenty-five point lead milestone they strove for.
Hakua rushed the ball up the court, and the point guard stopped and popped for a three at the top that bricked off the side of the rim to Luke. Luke got it up to Jason, who took off down the court.
TK went over to the right corner as Jason dribbled at the top. Jason's defender kept glancing over his shoulder, waiting for TK to set the pick that wasn't coming, and eventually Jason simply blew right by him into the lane.
The entire defense took a couple steps towards the charging Jason, and TK took off towards the rim virtually un-noticed. Jason saw the play develop and lobbed it over to the right side of the rim. TK rose up just as Josh realized what was happening, grabbed the ball, and threw it through the rim just as Josh smacked him in the chest with his open palm in a misguided attempt to block the shot.
Whistle, foul, three point play. The neutral crowd finally broke, making their allegiance no secret as they went wild over the play.
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"So are we gonna have to go back in here?" TK asked. Steve had just fallen over trying to defend Andrew, giving Andrew a free layup.
"No, we're fine," Ken insisted. Five minutes were left in the fourth quarter, and Rakunan was up sixty-eight to fifty-two. "They can't score fast enough to make this deficit up."
Jason took the ball up to the top, then just stood there dribbling as the seconds ticked off the clocks. Every now and then, his defender would attempt to steal the ball from him, so Jason would turn around and use his body to protect the ball.
"As long as Jason keeps milking the clock and avoids turning it over, we're perfectly fine."
Steve tried to post up on the right block, but ended up slipping and falling down while trying to get post position.
"He's never gonna learn how to move in that body, is he?" Davis remarked. "Look at him, it's like a little guy in a big guy suit."
Jason finally made a move with eight seconds left on the shot clock, driving to his left, pulling up for a jumper on the left elbow as his defender skidded past him. The jumper fell short, hitting the front of the rim, Andrew grabbing it and hurling it up the court immediately. The ball was just out of the reach of the Hakua point guard, leaving the ball to bounce out of bounds and possession to go back to Rakunan.
"We got this," Ken re-stated. "Not enough time left. We should start thinking about tomorrow."
"Let's soak this one in for now," TK said. "Great all around game, y'know? Everyone did their job."
"Today wasn't really your day to dominate, but I hope you realize that tomorrow is," Ken said. "Barring a jaw-dropping upset, you know what we're looking at tomorrow, right?"
"I can score on him," TK said. "I can defend him. He's all flash, no substance."
"All he has to do is catch you out of position," Davis said. "Don't get cocky."
Jason ran a pick and pop with Vincent, who went out to the left as both defenders chased Jason to the right side. Jason threw Vincent the pass across his body, and Vincent rose up for the open fifteen footer that bounced off the front of the rim and to Josh.
"Especially when that's the guy backing you up," Davis added.
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"Wait, what are you doing here?" Davis asked, looking at Yolei as TK fumbled with the room key. The five of them were standing outside a brown door marked with a 108 in gold letters on the front, at the end of a long hallway of similar doors.
"I was here at the game, I was here on the walk to the hotel, I was here for the walk down the hallway, why wouldn't I still be here?" Yolei asked, moving her backpack off her shoulder and grabbing onto one of the straps.
"Well, no, I know...it's a four bed room," Davis said as TK popped the door open.
"Oh...well, if she can be here, I should be too," Yolei said, pointing at Kari.
"What does that have to do with the fact that we have five people and four beds?" Davis asked as the five of them crammed through the doorway.
It was a simple enough room, a nice living room with a couch bordered by two recliners in front of a small television on the left side, and a kitchen with basics on the right. On the far wall, there were two doors, presumably the bedrooms.
"Well, we have a couch, we can make do," Yolei pointed at the couch.
"All yours," TK said nonchalantly, setting his bag down on the floor.
"Hey, how does Kari get bed rights over me?" Yolei asked. "She's here for the exact same reason."
"I date the star player, you date his sidekick," Kari said simply, kicking her shoes off. "Simple."
"No fair! We should flip for it!" Yolei insisted, throwing her back down on the living room floor.
"Why would I flip for what's mine?" Kari said dryly. "Come on, you're only here because I taught you how to watch basketball."
Yolei sat down on the couch heavily, pushing down on the cushions with her hands. "It's not even a very good couch. Come on guys, how about a little chivalry?"
"Not a chance," Ken said immediately, opening the fridge. "No way."
TK shrugged. "Sorry ladies, not happening."
"I'm not even dating either of you," Davis said, peeking past Ken into the fridge as well.
"Well...come on, I'm a restless sleeper, I'm a mortal lock to roll off this thing in the middle of the night. You guys don't want me to hurt myself, do you?" Yolei whined.
Davis pointed at Kari and Yolei. "Catfight for it. It's the only way."
"Well..." Kari furrowed her forehead. "What if me and TK shared a bed?"
TK had opened one of the kitchen cabinets to investigate it, but froze at this. "Uhh..."
"Hold on," Kari quickly ran over to one of the doors on the far side of the room, popping it open and poking her head in. "These beds are bigger than mine, they can definitely fit two people."
"Well, I mean...I'm a pretty big guy, you know..." TK said slowly, scratching the back of his head and feeling his cheeks go slightly red. "I mean...I dunno-"
"Oh come on, what's gonna happen?" Kari shrugged her shoulders, putting her hands out at her sides. "What's the big deal?"
"Well...I mean it's one thing to...talk about it, but..." TK bit his lower lip. "...I mean, I guess..."
"Alright, it's settled, problem solved!" Kari clapped her hands together.
"Not so fast!" Yolei said.
"What now?" Ken asked.
"If TK and Kari can sleep in the same bed, then so can you and me," Yolei said, walking up in front of Ken. "Right?"
Ken's eyes went slightly wide and he glanced over towards the far well. "Well...I...that would...that would waste a bed. You know, a perfectly good bed, gone to waste...don't want that."
Yolei simply scowled at him, folding her arms over her chest.
"Uh..."
TK, Kari and Davis just watched the scene with bated breath, afraid to make any sudden moves or sounds.
"I...I really don't think what...TK and Kari do has any...any bearing on..."
Yolei remained silent, just glaring at Ken.
"Uh...Davis would feel left out!" Ken said, pointing at Davis. "You know, odd man out, we don't want that!"
"That's his problem," Yolei said quietly, still frowning at Ken.
"Well...I mean, there's a question of person distribution. I mean, do the couples...share one room and let...Davis have the whole other room? Because...because that would be unbalanced. But then, if we...have each couple get a room, where does...where does Davis..." Ken glanced from TK to Davis, who held their lips shut tight. "It's a...it's a..."
Yolei didn't say a word, just holding her glare and scowl.
"I...I suppose there's...we could do that," Ken finally finished weakly, glancing down at the floor.
"Oh, Ken!" Yolei said, breaking into a smile and walking forward to embrace him in a hug. "See? Was that so hard?"
"No," Ken said quietly, face red. "Not hard at all."
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* John Calipari is a college basketball coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, widely considered one of the best college coaches in the nation, and known for producing NBA-ready players on his team after just one season of college play. He's also known for violating NCAA rules that result in his teams being stripped of prior achievements and/or restricted in future recruiting attempts, then leaving that team for another so he does not have to deal with the restrictions of the punishment.