JONES POV

And there he was again that annoying little guy. What was his name again, I think Mike.

I changed the court just so I would not meet him anymore and now he comes here.

Has he still not given up?

Suddenly, he started bowing and screaming,

“Jones sensei please teach me basketball!"

Sensei?

Did he just call me sensei? I’ve never been called sensei before.Why does it feel so good to be called sensei, I could really get used to it.

Does he like anime, too? Must be so otherwise he wouldn’t have called me sensei. Maybe I should give that boy a chance after all?

No I can’t change my mind because of a simple sensei.

“Jones?”

Mike looked at me a little confused. I haven’t answered him yet.

“I told you I’m not going to train you."

I tried to sound as cold as possible so he wouldn’t bother me anymore, because I’m not interested in training anyone, especially him.

“I know, but I can’t get good enough on my own!” he cried desperately.

“I’ve been training every day for the last two weeks and I really thought I’d improved but then I met someone from the basketball club. We played a 1v1 and I lost without being able to do anything. He told me that as I am now I don’t have a chance against Hans, so I’m begging you: please train me!”

He bowed even more this time. He seems to be very desperate, apparently his powerlessness has hit him very hard. But it’s just like I said, and I tried to keep him from that feeling.

How pitiful.

“Who says my training would make a difference? And even if it makes a difference in the future, you will experience that feeling a lot more often, if not worse. Do you still want to continue?”

“Yes! I hate that feeling, but I will still achieve my goals!”

Without even a second of hesitation. There’s no point in trying to talk him out of it. That look in his eyes. He’s just like me back then.

How pitiful.

“And why didn’t you sign up for a basketball club outside of school?”

“My parents don’t want to register me yet."

I just sighed. He’ll probably keep begging me all the time if I don’t train him. How annoying.

“Okay well, I’ll train you,“ I replied annoyed.

“Oh my God thank you thank you thank you!”

“Wait there are still a few conditions."

“And they are?”

“My training only contains 1v1s. We play one 1v1 a day and then I’ll tell you what you need to improve, but you gonna improve it on your own, and I won’t help you."

“Okay. What else?”

“One more thing. You have to call me Jones sensei."

Mike looked at me confused.

“Why?”

“If you want me to train you, you better do it."

“Okay okay. I didn’t know you had such fetishes."

“That’s it, I’m not training you anymore!”

“Sorry I’m sorry I won't say things like that anymore Jones sensei ."

I just shook my head.

||MIKE POV||

I finally got Jones to train me. The 'sensei' thing is a bit weird but who cares we don't discriminate.

“Em, can we start with a 1v1 right now?”

“We can do it. You have ball and we’ll play until someone has 5.”

“Okay."

We checked up and started the game.

“Don’t hold back, Sensei!”

“Of course."

I watched Jones well. His defensive stance was similar to Lucas’, but the pressure he exerts is incredible. I have the feeling that if I dribble, the ball will be stealed right away.

What am I supposed to do? Shoot? No my shot would be blocked immediately. Jones is much taller than me and even Lucas could block my shot easily.

Jones just looked at me with his cold glance. That look really puts someone under pressure.

It was only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. I realized that all the thinking was going to lead nowhere and started my move.

I tried the same as I did against Lucas. I pretended to dribble but started to shoot. But this time I didn’t shoot that also was just a fake.

No reaction.

Jones didn’t seem to fall for my fakes. I tried to dribble past him but the ball was stealed immediately.

Now Jones was on offense and in the blink of an eye the game was over.

I was more powerless than I was against Lucas.

’Damn it!'

Losing two games in one day really is not good for self-confidence.

“Well, now I know about how good you are. But in your case, you should rather say how bad you are hahaha."

Jones is a real comedian.

“So as I promised, I’ll tell you what you need to improve."

I waited anxiously.

“What you need the most right now is better ball handling!”

Ball handling. I know my ball handling was not that good but I assumed it was enough for now. Apparently not.

In the game against Lucas, as well as in the game against Jones, the ball got stealed right away.

“To put it simply, your ball handling is a disaster right now. You’re also a beginner so I can’t expect much from you, but if you really want to be better than Hans you have to be better than a beginner. With bad ball handling you only gonna be limiting yourself.It’s very simple how do you want to get to the basket or dribble freely so you can shoot if you can’t dribble properly?”

When he says it like that, it sounds really simple. But now I at least know what I need to focus on for the next two weeks.

“Thank you, Sensei!”

Two weeks later, one day before the game against Hans

“Five to 0 again.”

“Did you think you’d have a chance against me after two weeks?”

“I wanted to make at least one point before I play Hans."

“No worries this Hans also would not score one point in a 1v1 against me."

“Still, it feels like I haven’t improved at all."

“You’ve improved."

“But who knows if that will be enough?”

“I don’t really care if you lose or win."

“Huh sensei I thought we’d gotten a little closer. Are you perhaps a Tsundere?”

“I hope Hans defeats you."

“Sensei you really don’t understand jokes."

Day of the 1v1 against Hans

Today is the day for which I have been training for the last month. The day that decides if I get into the basketball club or not.

The day of the 1v1 against Hans.

Exactly one month ago I played against Hans. Now it’s time for us to meet again on the court.

I couldn’t sleep last night, so I was a little tired this morning. I had a normal breakfast and made my way to school at 7:30. On the way to school I met Junior and Kilian.

Kilian is a very good friend of mine. We go to the same class and he also likes anime. He is very tall for our age around 5’9 but also very massive. How do I say that correctly... in other words he is fat. But that doesn't matter at all. Also he is a fellow black brother so we he have to support each other.

“Hey Junior, Kilian what’s up?”

“Ah hello Mike," Junior answered first.

“Sup," Kilian replied immediately afterwards.

We shook hands and went to school together.

“Today is finally the day, Mike. Do you feel ready?” Junior asked excitedly.

“I’ve been training every day for the past month."

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you forgotten? Mike messed with the basketball club and today they finally do the 1v1 for Mike’s entry."

“Ah right, the whole school talked about it. Mike you really got guts."

“It’s not like I provoked this situation, it just happened."

“Maybe I should start playing basketball?” Kilian thought out loud, “Soccer isn’t fun anymore."

“That’s a good idea!”I replied immediately, “You’re tall that’s a huge advantage in basketball."

“I also think you should start, then we could play together,“ Junior added.

“I don't know yet.But I’m definitely going to watch Mike’s game first to see what basketball is like."

“While we’re at it you definitely have to watch Kuroko no basket this is such a good anime."

....

We continued talking and then arrived at school. We went to our classroom and waited there until the class started, when suddenly someone stormed into our classroom.

“Hey Mike I’m supposed to tell you from Julius that you’ve got your game in the one hour break today."

It was Lucas. When I think about it, I didn’t know what break we were playing in. I thought it would be like last time, but apparently not.

“Who’s Julius?” Junior asked aloud.

“The captain. Lucas always calls him by his first name.“

“I hope you don’t disappoint me," Lucas said with his arrogant tone again.

“No way!”

Lucas just nodded and disappeared. Shortly after that, the teacher came and class started.

One hour break

I went to the court with Junior and Kilian, there were a lot of spectators, most of them ninth graders, but a few people from my class were there too.

I went to the court and my friends went to the other spectators. I couldn’t see Hans anywhere. The captain and Lucas were also missing.

But then they came. Their appearance seemed like the heroes who come at the end to save everyone.

The captain was in the middle. He really seemed like the leader, even though he was the smallest. He didn’t put his jacket on properly,it was just around his shoulders.

Akashi from KnB also wears his jacket like that. I guess that is some shit badass captains do. He also had a basketball in his hand.

To the left of him was Lucas. He seemed very chilled and a bit dreamy. Yet he had his own powerful aura around him.

And to the right of the captain was my opponent today. He looked very frightening and angry. Apparently he still has a grudge against me.

Now they stood in front of me. We just stared at each other until the captain finally spoke.

“Today you’re going to play Hans to join the basketball club, but first I’m going to explain the rules. You play until someone has 10. Make it take it and I’m going to be the ref. A field goal counts one point and a three two points. You play half court and with this ball."

He picked up the ball he was carrying and pointed at it.

“Who shoots for the ball?” the captain asked.

“I’ll do that!” Hans answered immediately.

I was surprised. Hans can’t shoot why does he want to shoot for ball? Don’t tell me he learned how to shoot?!

Hans went to the free throw line and shot the ball. The ball rolled in the ring but didn’t go in.

How close!

“Tze lucky you," Hans said annoyed.

The ball didn’t go in but you could see that Hans worked on his shot. His shooting form looks much better than one month ago.

“Mike has ball," the captain declared.

He gave me the ball and left the court.

We checked up and started the game that is going to decide everything.