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The exam is over, and after assigning homework, summer vacation officially begins. We even held a small celebration in the classroom. Fortunately, after the summer break, no one is allowed to gain weight; everyone must maintain their figure, or else they will be given nicknames by us, which is quite fun. As I walked out of the school gate, I took a deep breath. Ah, for the first time in a long while, I realized how fresh the air at the school gate is. Hooray, summer vacation is here! Just as A Fei and I were about to head home, Ouyang rushed over. He asked me again if I was really not going to participate in this year's Street Basketball Championship. I seriously told him that I wasn't participating this year, but he still wouldn't give up and asked for my phone number, insisting that I remember his number so that I could notify him if I changed my mind. Poor Ouyang seems a bit obsessed with honor; it's no wonder, as he hasn't tasted any personal or team glory yet. As the only mediocre member of the Jade Unicorn Three Swordsmen, A Fei is the vice president of Junior High School, and I have gained fame due to my title as the King of the Last Shot. We even won the highest honor: the National Championship. Ouyang must be particularly eager for a trophy to prove himself.
After getting home, I threw my backpack onto the bed and lay down without moving. Finally, vacation has arrived! So much has happened this year, but what stands out most in my memory is our journey in this season's City High League. This season's City High League was really similar to last year's—no, it should be exactly the same: two consecutive wins in the group stage followed by a loss, then losing first place in the last round of group matches to our opponents, and finally stumbling through the Quarterfinals to eliminate our opponents and advance to the semifinals, only to regretfully fall short there. The difference this time is that we lost more tragically than last year; different processes but the same result.
On the first day of summer vacation, A Fei came early as promised to practice basketball at school. When we arrived, it was empty. A Fei picked up a ball and tossed it to me: "Bro, let's get started!" I sighed and began practicing my jump shots. Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the gym: "Shuai Dong and Pang Hao are here!" They walked in, and we went over to high-five them: "Brothers! You guys are here too; let’s have a game with all four of us!" "Three-on-three is the standard for Street Basketball, right? We’ll help you make up the numbers!" Situ Jianfei and Zhao Bin also showed up. We hadn't seen them in a while; it was unexpected for them to come to the gym. Situ Jianfei smiled: "But we didn't come alone; Yanan, Ding Fang, come on in!"
Situ Yanan came in again; why can't I shake off this nemesis? As soon as she entered, she rushed over to me and gave me a big hug: "Brother Jie, I've missed you! I've been so busy reviewing my studies that I haven't seen you." While Situ Yanan hugged me tightly, I noticed that Shuai Dong looked particularly uncomfortable. He picked up a basketball from the floor and slammed it down hard; then he started kicking it around. I quickly pushed Situ Yanan away and went over to stop him: "Hey, Shuai Dong, that's a basketball, not a soccer ball! Don't kick it around!"
"Don't worry about it; if I break it, I'll pay for it!" Shuai Dong pushed me away dismissively. It seemed my words weren't working; I'd have to call for reinforcements. I cleared my throat: "Ahem, Yanan, come help me talk some sense into your Dong Ge." I shot her a glance. Situ Yanan made a face at me but reluctantly walked over.
"Dong Ge, what's wrong with you? A basketball is meant to be dribbled, not kicked! Imagine how painful it would be if that hard ball hit your foot!" She picked up the basketball, and immediately Shuai Dong put on a smile: "I didn't expect my little sister Yanan to care so much about her brother; fine, I won't kick it anymore." It seems that when she spoke up like that, it had an effect—Shuai Dong is more focused on her than on us.
We were all set to play a three-on-three game of Street Basketball. We firmly stated that we needed to separate Shuai Dong and Pang Hao, as they couldn't be on the same team; otherwise, we would definitely lose badly. Also, A Fei and I had to be separated because among us six players, only we two were serious basketball players while the others were amateurs. After some discussion, it was decided that I would team up with Zhao Bin and Pang Hao, while A Fei, Situ Jianfei, and Shuai Dong formed another team. We decided who would start with rock-paper-scissors.
As it turned out, Zhao Bin's basketball skills were quite poor combined with Pang Hao's speed disadvantage; only I could really play competitively on our team. The other team wasn't much better off either; however, Situ Jianfei was slightly stronger than Zhao Bin. Both Shuai Dong and Pang Hao were equally matched. The game lasted only ten minutes before we lost 6-0 against A Fei's team. Our shooting percentage was around twenty percent; we shot 70 times but only made 15 baskets—my own record was 0 for 11 from the field with five points from three-pointers (hitting 5 out of 8). Since it was his first time playing with us in a match, Zhao Bin shot wildly 22 times but only made two baskets—while Pang Hao did slightly better with two out of eighteen attempts.
Their performance was slightly better: they shot 66 times and made 16 baskets—A Fei scored 24 points with 9 out of 10 shooting; relative to others’ performance, Situ Jianfei did okay with 4 out of 17 shots made while both Shuai Dong and Zhao Bin shared the title of worst shooter with two out of twenty attempts—a ten percent shooting rate.
Overall though our first training session went well enough; however, there are still sixty long days ahead waiting for us to pass through before we can truly relax. We practiced until just past ten in the morning when Situ Jianfei, along with his sister and couple partner Zhao Bin, left first. Taking advantage of their departure, so did Shuai Dong. After hanging around for a bit longer with us, Pang Hao also left. Soon enough only me and A Fei remained in the vast gymnasium.
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