First game
"You're going to be there tonight, right Shelby?" The bell just rang so we're packing up to head to second period. Had to ask the important questions before we split up however. I already know George will be there so I focused on the female member of our little trio who doesn't hesitate in her response.
"Yeah. Orchestra doesn't have to perform for basketball games but I'll come just for you. You are playing right, not just a ben-"
"Shelby. Finish that sentence and I'll literally stop talking to you." I tell her with a mock glare.
"Yeah, how could you even ask that?" My one true believer backs me up. Probably just taking the chance to tease her too; she makes this cute face when flustered. Like she is now.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Shelby defends herself, "Really Lucio, I was just playing."
"Fine," I relent, fully enjoying the slight blush, "I'll forgive you when I see you there. Promise?"
"I promise." She meets my extended pinky with hers for the solemn gesture. "I'll sit as close as possible."
"Perfect, I'll be looking for you. Bye Shelby."
She separates from us, I don't miss the fact that she glances back, leaving me with George who chuckles a little. The fist-bump we share then is something every guy would understand.
"So I got permission for you to come in earlier than the rest of the crowd, give you time to find the best position." I tell him, turning in the opposite direction Shelby took. He falls into step beside me.
"Nice, that should be a big help. To be honest though, I'm kinda looking forward to this but at the same time I'm also a bit worried. Lot of pressure man."
"You'll do fine bro. We already practiced with it and basically all you'll need to do is keep it focused on me. Don't zoom in though."
He nods, "I remember. No zooming in and make sure it's steady."
"Exactly. The tripod will handle that for you too."
"I don't think it's the recording part I'm worried about," He confesses, "It's all the people who'll be around me. One bump and that thing could get damaged. And that shit is expensive!"
"True." A rowdy crowd is one of the things we really can't control and that sucks because the camera really is expensive and it's possible for someone not paying attention to do something stupid. "Maybe we could get some of the guys to stand near you? Like a blockade?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Would they be able to come in early too? Since they're technically helping me with the cameraman thing?"
"Maybe? Probably yes but I'll ask coach later on."
George goes to respond but stops as someone puts a hand on my shoulder to get my attention.
"Hey, Lucio right? I just wanted to say good luck tonight. I'll be cheering for you."
It's a girl, one I've noticed around campus but haven't talked to. She's blonde, maybe 5'5", and kind of hot. My enhanced intelligence makes quick work of unpacking this encounter. I don't know her but she knows of me. Tonight is our first game meaning most students have no idea yet that I'm on the team. The most likely explanation here is that this girl has been paying special attention to me and I think I know why. It's in her body language, her playful smile and the glint in her eyes along with the hand still touching me. Plus there's a freckled girl a little ways back watching us intently. She's clearly a friend to this girl.
Well, if that's how it is… nothing wrong with some light-hearted flirting. My lips slowly curve into a smile.
"Thanks, Sara." I'm a cheating cheater who cheats. She looks surprised and then pleased that I know her name. "Good to know I'll have you in my corner."
"Yeah… no problem."
The short exchange ends there and she returns to her friend. I can't see Sara's face after that but between checking out her retreating ass and sending a little head nod to the supportive friend, I catch Freckles giggling. I think I made a good first impression.
"Damn bro. Maybe I should join a team…" George muses out loud before we continue on our way.
After that morale raising encounter, the rest of the day passes by in a blur. I pay attention of course but my thoughts return more than once to the game. Also get well wishes from friends who know I'm on the team. It's not on the level of football players who get that and goodie bags but I'll take it; if the team goes far then we'll get a bigger spotlight.
I make sure to eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and even stay limber. Don't think those things are as important to me now with gamer's body but it's the thought behind them. Forming a habit and setting a good example that the others can use so they'll be at the top of their game. Eventually school lets out and I find somewhere to hang out until the time comes. There's a two and a half hour gap between dismissal and when the players have to be here which is spent on my phone. I could have gone home and came back later but I don't have a car and my parents won't get off before I would have to return. Maybe next time I'll take up the offer and have a teammate swing by my place.
So time flies, players converge, and pre-game rituals are observed. We get one final pep talk in the locker room and then make our way to the court. The crowd is a decent size and I make out a few faces including George's near my camera before focusing on the opposite team to analyze the players.
We lose the tip off but get the ball before they can score and a few seconds later it's in my hands as the point guard. I consider using Clutch to give us a solid start and after seeing no downsides from that activate the skill. The first three and first bucket of the game swishes right in. I smile while the home fans cheer.
These guys are in for a rude awakening.
The thing about Clutch is that it uses my MP, matter of fact, it's the only thing that does so far. My mana recharges with time so activating the skill only when I get the ball is doable. While I don't have it my MP steadily grows and when I do I can decide to shoot or pass, both of which are assisted by the skill. I make sure to pass a lot instead of being a ball hog and just like that, we pull away from the other team.
After half-time and a performance by our cheerleaders, we start off the third quarter where I finally get a nice block and receive an alley-oop dunk. The coach calls me out of the game amid a standing ovation from our side.
"That's my son!"
Don't know how that made it over the high volume but I send them a wave. Let them know Dad.
I sit out the rest of the game but we still win by a good margin. Personally finish with twenty-one points and two assists. And the time sitting down lets me look around and confirm that certain people are in fact present.
I left that court feeling like a champ. Especially when the XP from winning the game comes in.
Love my life.
…
Me and George meet up the next day at his place. A Saturday.
"This is some seriously good footage." I praise him while he scrolls through on his computer.
George is actually the one who inspired me when I was first deciding on what to have as a side hustle. Dude has some great digital design skills and the equipment and software to really make them shine. For just $50 and visible credit wherever I post them he's agreed to film my home games, currently working on a solution for away games, and edit the videos.
"I know right! Especially this clip right here." He's talking about my only dunk so far, it's super cool seeing it for myself. "I'm guessing you'll want a version of this for both of the highlights?"
"Definitely for this game and maybe for the compilation. I might have better feats later but this one is important. How long do you think this game's video will take?"
"For a thirty second video? With some special effects? Thinking two days max." He shrugs before switching to the software he uses. "I'll send you a copy of the original video too."
"Thanks bro."
"Of course man."
I stand behind him while he works for a little bit, offering some comments here and there when he asks. Another person might have been bored but this is a learning experience for me and he's doing me a huge favor.
One might wonder as to what we're doing or perhaps why. Well the answer has multiple facets to it. From what I've seen so far, I qualify for enough academic and need based scholarships that I wouldn't even need an athletic scholarship. So you could say basketball is more to get my foot in the door than to pay for college which wouldn't be far off from my original thinking. The whole idea behind joining the school team had been to pad my resume; good grades, good test scores, and being a good athlete should have made getting into college and getting scholarships easier. But now it seems I don't necessarily need the athlete part.
However, I like the sport and I've enjoyed being part of a team. Furthermore, I've realized that my ability is super broken and that I'm very much capable of becoming a great player in basically no time compared to other players who started in their adolescent years. And I can totally be a college athlete without harming my academics so if I'm willing to put in the time then there's no real reason why I shouldn't pursue collegiate athletics.
So the desire is there along with the capability, what's left to talk about? I'll tell you.
I've already admitted that I want to be rich, like everyone else, so the logical next step to my thought process was professional basketball where even the benchwarmers get paid a million per year. Assuming I could get into the league as more than an extra, I could be looking at millions of dollars doing something I enjoy. No one can tell me that's not a good deal. So although I'm not declaring the NBA as my goal, I want to leave that door open just in case. And since that opportunity largely relies on college ball, I have to take the steps to get onto a team in the first place. One of those being reaching out to the coaches of the schools I'm applying to and expressing interest in playing for them while getting them interested in me. Part of that includes highlight films which is where George comes in.
He's a talented friend and I trust him. I can't film myself while playing so I needed someone to do that. My own designing skills are growing but videos take time and a good computer; I have the first but our old device would probably crash doing these things. That's why I don't accept requests for editing videos just yet. And quite frankly, dude has the vision. I'm learning but for now he can take my general 'make it cool,' prompts and spin them into something worthwhile. The cool ones will be posted to my new Instagram while the one for the coaches will be more professional and consist of scenes from multiple games.
There are other things to figure out but in the meantime, I'll work on building the foundation for college recruitment.
…
There are perks to being a rising star on the basketball team.
Mainly comes in the form of recognition. People now know who I am and more say hi to me in the hallways, manly nods and handshakes from the guys and cutesy hello's from girls. I try not to let it go to my head; can't say I succeed. It honestly feels good to be popular. Sometimes.
With that new fame came almost two thousand followers to my new Instagram account within weeks. I would say a good majority of the school now follows me. That brought George some recognition because each video has his tag on it and I personally credit him as well. So people know he's my video guy and can go to him for the hookup; has two other players he's working with last time I checked. They don't get the same friendly discount I do...
My phone isn't as dry as it used to be. Got a group chat with the guys from the team where memes and jokes are constantly being shared. More often than not I'll get some hilarious post that provides just the right start to my day. When I find something good I make sure to send it over as well. Just guys being guys. On the flip side, I have a lot more girls in my contacts list than I did before the school year. Sara and I are Snap friends and let me tell you, that girl is bold. She isn't trying to hide her interest which is something I admire.
So needless to say, I'm enjoying my moment in the spotlight.
Which kind of leads to this conversation.
"We knew this day would come." My dad says solemnly. To the side my mother nods sadly. "We gather here today to commemorate the passing of something precious."
"Huh?" When they called me here I thought I was in trouble for something. Now I'm just confused. What are they talking about?
"It's okay honey. A lot of things in life don't last forever." Did someone die? If so, why are they being so indirect about it?
"Son, we want you to know you have our permission." Dad continues to which I look at them with wide eyes.
"For what? To do what?"
"I think you know honey." Despite her leading tone, I actually didn't know.
"You guys aren't making sense."
"…" It starts with a glance, and then the trembling of my dad's lips. Seconds later they both start laughing. I realize right away that they just got one over me. And here I was thinking someone died.
"You guys are the worst." I shake my head, smiling a bit myself. "I thought you were being serious here!"
"Sorry. Heh, sorry." Dad clears his throat and regains his composure, "Ok, for reals now. Lucio," Uh oh, maybe I should have let them keep laughing, "First of all, me and your mom are really proud of you."
"And we always have been. Even before the past few months you've been the perfect son and we couldn't love you more. You're everything we'd ever hoped you'd be." Mom smiles wistfully, fondly even. "With everything you've been doing, from getting good grades and basketball and your job, we realize that you've really grown up and aren't in need of us to be your guides anymore."
"In light of this, we've talked about it," Cue shared look, "And we're officially letting you know that you can make your own decisions when it comes to more adult things. Things like dating. We likely should have done this earlier but you never gave us any hint that we had to. Going forward, we're completely leaving that to you."
I did not see this coming. But it's huge though.
Girls had always been an iffy subject in this household. I've never suggested that there was someone I was interested in but that's because I'd always been focused on school and even before I hit puberty, dating had been subtly prohibited. Like they would make a comment about how education came first and that dating should wait until I got older. They never specified but I always assumed older meant when I became an actual adult. So as girls started becoming more and more attractive to me, I subconsciously put relationships aside and quietly dealt with the rising tension by hand. I still talked to girls and fantasized but it was with the condition that nothing real could come out of it. Seeing stories about promising futures being put on hold due to being stupid while horny played a part too.
It'd actually become really hard to handle recently. I have a much better memory now and I'm more fit than I'd ever been which came with the consequence of having really vivid fantasies with girls I know and having a lot of energy which translated to more solo sessions. It's very possible that jerking off contributed to my physical stat increases. Guess that's another bonus to masturbation that the doctors don't talk about...
In all actuality though, I'd settled to bring this up when I turned eighteen or just wait until I go off to college where I would have some space. Either way, I'd planned to get some action because my hand was quickly losing any appeal; especially when various girls were starting to give me the eyes. Above average INT and high WIS stat and I was still a horny teen at heart.
"Just like that?" I end up saying to break the brief silence.
"You've proven to be responsible so there's nothing left besides giving you the green light. Better with us on board than you becoming frustrated and taking the matter into your own hands." Dad shrugs. "Or someone else's actually."
"It's your decision now. Just remember when the time comes, pun not intended, to always use protection. No matter what the girl says, use a condom. Some ladies out there are just waiting to tie a promising guy to them and I don't want you to fall into that trap." My mom couldn't avoid one last piece of advice.
"I understand mom." And I really did, at least theoretically. All those cases with unhappy couples and nasty separations has taught me to be careful. Even more so when you're rich and famous which I plan to be. "Was that all?"
"That was. Oh, as long as you let us know before hand, we don't mind you staying out late. Maybe even overnight. That's all."
That evening as did my daily studying, my imagination ran wild with the new parameters.
Should I buy some condoms soon? I don't exactly have plans for that sort of thing but better prepared than not, right? Never know when an umbrella could be useful. Wait, does this mean I should actively start scoping out the field now too? I mean, I was already doing that – like any other teen – but it's different now. Something could actually come out of this. Do I go in with a game plan or just be laissez-faire with it and let things develop on their own? Cause I have more than a few girls who are sending me signals to the point where letting my interest show might be all it takes to start something with them.
My mind's eye brings up an image of a flirty blonde with a slim body and tight little ass. Mmm, I definitely wouldn't mind getting to know her better.
The picture changes. A brunette. Glasses, fuller figure, and a cute smile. Really fun to tease and watch turn red. I think there could be something between us too. Different from with the other girl though; not better or worse but just different.
Another mental image…
Not much studying is done that night.
Another chapter.