Hey guys, sorry I didn't update for three weeks. Here's why: I had writer's block…sorta. I knew what I wanted to write but I didn't know HOW to write it. I didn't know where to place a few scenes and didn't know if I should introduce this scene before that scene and whatnot. So I decided to write a chapter for The Hunger Games, Disney Style in hopes of inspiration. It helped…somewhat but not completely. But during the week I experimented with different types of scenes so there was a lot of deletion and addition to this chapter. That's why it took so long, but it all worked out in the end. Apologies.
Hungryhippo1000 told me that I should make my chapters longer, something that I agree with. My previous chapters used to be around 800 words, way too short. My goal for future chapters is to AT LEAST make them 1000 words and I know that even that can be too short of a chapter. But I'll do my best to make them longer.
Thanks to Laura B, Hungryhippo1000, Alana Fox, jazzmonkey, and JazzGirl123 for reviewing.
I haven't forgotten about the Bakugan. They're not in this chapter but there's definitely something coming up soon.
Enjoy!
"TIME OUT!"
Huffing and puffing, Dan dropped the ball and scurried over to his teammates who were already gathered around his father.
"That was a nice shot, Dan," complimented Coach Kuso. "But we need to put more effort in this quarter. This is our last quarter, our last minute. We're up by two but they are slowly creeping up behind us. I know this isn't the finals but we need to treat it like one. If we don't, we won't be playing in the finals at all. Whatever you do, do not let them score. You got that?"
The team nodded. "All in," commanded Dan as everyone put their hands in the middle. "One, two, three…"
"BASKETBALL BRAWLERS!"
TWEET!
The sound of the referee's whistle brought the brawlers' attention back to the court. Dan, Chan, Ren, Billy, and Fabia took their positions while the rest shifted their eyes back and forth from the court to the scoreboard which read 42 to 40.
Number 24 from the Neathians passed the ball inside the court to Number 12 who lightly jogged towards the basket, allowing enough time for her teammate to trail her.
Without even turning her head, she passed to Number 52 who managed to shake off from Runo's aggressive defense in attempt to make a layup.
SLAM! Chan's high jump saves the day as she rejected the layup. Unfortunately, Number 12 grabbed the rebound and attempted to set up a play. But when she made another pass to 52, Runo was ready. She dashed in between the two Neathians but wasn't fast enough to intercept the ball. But her readiness didn't go to waste as the ball bounced off her hand and into the bleachers.
"Dammit," muttered Runo. "So close."
"Cheer up, Runo," said Dan. "You stopped them!"
Runo gave him a small smile and resumed her position. Dan returned the smile and glanced at the clock. 30 seconds left.
Number 24 passed in the ball to 52 who passed to 12 who shouted, "Crossfire!"
Number 18 who was positioned down low ran to 20 in attempt to set a screen.
"Watch the screen!" Ren called out.
Fabia heard just in time and pulled off a little spin move to avoid Number 18's screen. She ran after 20 who now had to spend his time shaking off her defense instead of calling for the ball.
20 seconds left.
Number 12 passed to 24 who tried to avenge 52's layup but was fortunately stopped by Ren who immediately towered over her.
10 seconds left.
Number 24 passed to 52 who planted her feet on the group and released the ball in an attempt to make a 3-pointer. It hit the backboard and landed into Dan's hands. The Brawlers were now in possession.
The Neathians quickly fell back to defend the basket. But Dan smirked as he slowly dribbled the ball towards his basket, ignoring his friends' calls for the ball. As he walked past the half-court line, he glanced at the clock.
3.
2.
1.
BUZZ!
"Aw…" mumbled the crowd, a few clapping out of politeness. After all, this was the gym of the Neathians. The Brawlers, however, were psyched.
"WE WON!" shrieked Runo as she dove into Dan's arms. "WE WON!"
"Nice stalling, son!" exclaimed Coach Kuso.
"WE'RE GOING TO THE CHAMPS!" roared Billy, punching his fist in the air.
"GUNDALIANS, HERE WE COME!" whooped Dan.
~Basketball Brawlers~
Tuesday…
The news of the semi-final win spread quickly throughout Vestal Academy, but it wasn't enough to spark much spirit from the school. After all, in the last two years when the school made it to the championships, they came home beat. With only one returning member on the team this year, did the Brawlers really stand a chance?
The only people who believed so were Julie, Jake, and Marucho.
"You'll be there right?" asked Dan during lunch. "At the game, I mean? It's going to be a home game."
"Of course!" replied Julie. "Someone needs to be there to cheer you on!"
"We don't have a game that day," said Jake. "Sure, why not?"
"Yeah, I think I can make it too," added Marucho. "No big tests or anything to study for. When's the game again?"
"Thursday at 4:30 at our gym."
"Thursday…huh? Hmm yeah…that's perfect."
"What's perfect?"
"You'll see," said Marucho, with a smile. "It's a surprise."
~Basketball Brawlers~
Thursday…
Tuesday and Wednesday passed by quickly, much too quickly even for Dan who would usually be at the back of the classroom counting down the seconds until the dismissal bell rang. But although he was nervous, he was also excited and ready to kick some Gundalian butt.
It was only 3:00; the Brawlers were supposed to meet in the gym at 3:30, one hour prior to the big game. How they spent the remaining 30 minutes was up to them, but no matter where each Brawler went, the subject of basketball was never avoided.
With Joe and Chan…
"I don't think so!" exclaimed Chan as she rejected Joe's shot, sending the ball back into his hands. The two were practicing for the championships on the outside courts for Billy and Julie had already claimed the gym. But they didn't mind; the only con of practicing outside was that they only had water to cool themselves down instead of air-conditioning.
Joe laughed and set up for another jump shot but it bounced off the rim and landed into Chan's hands who started taking off in the other direction.
"Pathetic…"
Chan and Joe immediately stopped in their tracks when they saw the Gundalians approaching.
"You're early," Joe commented.
"We came to see if our 'competition' had made any improvements so far in the gym but it turns out that isn't necessary anymore," replied Mason, opening his arms. "Here you are, right out in the open, still pathetic as always. And you're the only returning player on the team, aren't you? Guess we won't have to try in this game, just like in the last two years."
"Haven't you heard?" Chan interjected. "Third time's the charm. And Joe's not pathetic; you expect him to make every shot? I bet his accuracy is better than yours." She couldn't stand seeing her boyfriend ridiculed.
"Why don't you prove that?" asked Mason, rolling up his sleeves and locking eyes with Joe. "Right now? You and me."
"Save it for the championships," insisted Fabia but Joe stepped forward to accept Mason's challenge.
"It's all right, Fabia," said Joe, readying himself into a defensive stance. "This shouldn't take long."
With Billy and Julie…
"Give me a B! Give me an I! Give me a double L! Give me a Y! Goooo Billy!"
Billy grinned as he slam-dunked a ball into the basket with inspiration from his girlfriend's cheers.
Julie whooped and transitioned into another round of cheers while Billy grabbed the rebound and set up for another shot.
The two were in the gym earlier than required but there were no rules stating that a player couldn't get some extra practice in the gym before the championships. Besides, Coach Kuso had opened the gym for them so it was perfectly fine for the couple to have the entire gym all to themselves.
"Whew," sighed Billy as he slumped onto the bleachers which he hoped to be soon filled with cheering students from their school. "I am so ready."
"Oh I'm sure you are," agreed Julie, giggling while tossing him a bottle of water. "But you better drink up. Don't need you dehydrated before the game even starts."
With Shun and Alice…
"Shun?" Alice called. She had been wandering the school for the past ten or so minutes searching for the ninja. She finally spotted him sitting on the branches of a tree in front of the school, eyes closed.
"Shu-" Alice started again but immediately stopped. He was meditating, probably not the best time to interrupt. She started to walk back but then-
"Yes, Alice?"
Alice turned around to see Shun's eyes open. He swung his legs out and let them sway with the breeze, holding out a hand to Alice. "Come up."
"Are-are you sure?" asked Alice, hesitantly. "I hope I'm not interrupting-"
"You're not. It's fine."
Alice walked to the tree, grasped Shun's hand, and let him pulled her up to the branch beside him. "What's up?" he asked, gazing at the cloudless sky.
"Are you ready?" asked Alice.
"For the game?"
"Yes."
"I guess you could say I am. Are you?"
"I guess you could say I'm not."
"Why is that?"
Alice got straight to the point. "I'm scared."
"Of the Gundalians?"
"Bit, but mostly I'm scared of letting the team down. I mean, remember what happened in the first game? I missed the pass and Dan started to-"
"Well Dan was just overreacting and being stupid-"
"But the point is that it happened. I just don't want it to happen again because a simple mistake like that can bring the whole team down." Alice hated feeling guilty.
"Well, that's just how team sports work, Alice," said Shun. "You screw up, you screw everyone else up."
Alice hung her head.
"But when you succeed, so does the rest of the team."
Alice lifted her head to come face to face with a smiling Shun. "Trust me. You'll succeed."
With Dan and Runo…
"Runo, I need to ask you something and I need your honest opinion," said Dan. He and Runo were lying down on their backs on the soft grass, gently enjoying the breeze and each other's company.
"Shoot," replied Runo.
"Do you think I'm a good team captain? Do you even think I should've been team captain?"
Runo didn't respond right away.
"Well?"
"I'm thinking," replied Runo. After another moment of silence, she sighed. "I will say this, Dan. Personally, I think Joe would make a better team captain in terms of basketball skills and experience. However, that doesn't mean you're a terrible captain. Joe has experience, that's it. You…well you're you. But if it hadn't been for you, none of us would be here right now. Not even Joe. Yeah, there's a low chance that we'll actually win the championships but you gave this school a third shot. And you know what they say, third time's the charm. But here's the point I'm trying to make. You inspired us to join, inspired us to keep going. Yeah, in the beginning you really went overboard with yelling at Alice and Ren but you've matured. I say, if there's anyone that deserves to be captain, it's you."
Dan smiled. "I remember you were the first to nominate me for captain."
Runo returned the smile with a kiss. "And I never doubted my decision even for a bit."
With Fabia and Ren…
"How bad is it?" asked Fabia as Ren checked her wrists, analyzing the damage Sid had done.
"Could be worse," said Ren running his thumbs over her palms. "At least he didn't do anything to your hands. But you'll need to flick your wrist when shooting the ball, so I think it's best if you sit out."
Fabia snatched her hands back and shook her head. "What kind of suggestion is that? This is our last game! I HAVE to play!"
"And risk breaking your wrists? There's always next year."
"There's no guarantee I'll be on the team next year. Besides, there's no way I'm going to let the Gundalians get away with this, especially Kazarina. She was the one encouraging Sid."
"But-"
"I'm playing," interrupted Fabia. "And that's final."
Ren sighed and dropped the topic but was hesitant to bring up a new one. "Fabia…there's something you should know before playing this game. I should've told you this a long time ago…but…"
"But what?"
"You see-"
"Fabia! Ren!" The couple turned to see Billy and Julie bursting from the back gym doors, heading towards them. "It's 3:25! Better start heading to the gym now."
"Why were you in the gym?" asked Fabia.
"Oh we were practicing," replied Julie. "Well Billy was at least. Coach Kuso let us in but he wants us now to round up the team so here we are. Know where the others are?"
"Right here, Billy."
Shun and Alice emerged from around the corner, Shun looking calm as usual and Alice looking nervous yet determined.
"Dan and Runo are coming," said Alice and sure enough, the said couple arrived a few moments later, hand in hand.
"Great, now all we need are Chan and Joe," said Billy.
"I thought I saw them practicing on the courts outside of the gym," said Ren.
"Well you were right," said Runo when she saw Chan and Joe coming from the direction of the courts. But something wasn't right. Joe had his arm over Chan's shoulders who was supporting his weight as he hopped over towards the Brawlers.
"Joe!" exclaimed Dan, rushing over to his friend as Chan helped him settle down onto a bench. "What happened?"
Joe merely shook his head and rubbed his right leg.
"Well?" asked Dan, turning to Chan.
Chan sighed. "His leg is broken. I-I don't think he can participate in the championships."