The Price Of Arrogance Part 1

Strangers in reality, couple in memory. Time would play a pivotal yet difficult role of manipulating your heart and mind into destroying whatever images and memories you had of me. One broken love chain, two shattered hearts. If only the truth was made known to me, for I would erase myself from your memory....

***

"Gentlemen, we must never underestimate the strength of Hilsbury. We may have inflicted crushing defeats and humiliation upon our opponents, but we are not invincible. I am certain most of you here are unable to banish the on-court abilities of Ethan Hill from your minds. He is a talented basketball player who managed to turn last year's final in Hilsbury's favour when it seemed the championship would return to Lexton High for the first time in three years. Our squad may boast talents like Nick and James to deliver the points for us, but those points will count to nothing if we belittle Ethan Hill and company. They may have defeated us before, but I will like to reiterate that losses and victories are never guaranteed in basketball. History cannot be changed, but it can be created. I....."

"Exaggerating their on-court abilities will not change my impression of them, coach. You are just overestimating that bunch of losers who could not even record a single win in their dreams. I propose that Hilston High be kicked out of all subsequent competitions as it is a waste of my time and energy playing against them."

The insolent remark prompted everyone in the room to turn their heads and face the door, where James stood with a smirk on his face.

"How did you vanish without me noti....

"Shut up Mark! His explanation, which will neither convince nor impress me, is strictly for my ears. As a result, I want the whole bunch of you to get your bums off those benches and warm up on the court now," the coach instructed, while glaring at James.

The instruction was swiftly executed as the players made their way towards the exit without hesitation. A couple of shoulder pats and good luck wishes greeted James as James' teammates vacated the room in a neat and civilised manner. Silence soon occupied the room and it did not take long before some form of sound is being injected into the room.

"Please go consult a ear specialist if you have difficulty hearing what others have to say. For your information, I did not mention the word Hilston during the briefing. I said Hilsbury, the opponent which we will be facing later."

The coach paused for a moment as James wiped the smirk off his face. He realised that he had incurred the wrath of his coach and he acknowledged it by lifting his head, murmuring an expletive under his breath.

"Mr Carter, as a basketballer, you should know that underestimating our opponents, no matter how weak they may be, could prove detrimental in our quest for glory. We must never be disdainful of those who are less talented. As a player during my college days, I battled against players who could not dribble, shoot or even jump. Their skills were atrocious and it was a breeze playing against them. They did lose, and they lost terribly. I did not despise them, as the determination displayed by them on the court was worthy of respect."

The coach paused for a second time, with his eyes still focused on James. James had not moved an inch from his original position. His mind was totally blanked out and he dared not think about the consequences which might tag along because of his one moment of rashness. James wanted to speak, but his mouth remained shut. He possessed the idea that the coach was lecturing him because of an inappropriate comment made which annoyed the coach. James was wrong.

"Where did you go, James? You better tell the truth," the coach demanded.

"I went to the bathroom to relieve myself coach. You do not expect me to relieve myself here, with my shorts on, do you?"

"Mr Carter, I am willing to grant you permission to visit the bathroom. The problem is did you even seek my permission? I saw you sneaking out through that door. You thought nobody noticed, but you were wrong. I am not blind, James," the coach answered.

James was stumped for words. He was caught red-handed and had no choice but to apologise.

"James, what is done is done. If a word of apology is sufficient, murderers would have missed the gallows. The world advocates punishment. Criminals serve time behind bars for breaking the law. Children will be scolded by their parents if they misbehave. James will have to spend lesser time on court because he did not ask for permission to go to the bathroom. Simple as that," the coach explained.

"How much time do I have?"

"2 quarters. Any more questions or complaints and the time which you will spend on court will be halved."

Without hesitation, James turned around, faced the exit and dragged himself away from the locker room. James was dissatisfied with the punishment given to him, and he vented his anger by throwing basketballs against the walls and kicking whatever was in his path. An innocent drink can was not to be spared either as it was being stamped upon by the raging James, becoming a flattened piece of metal which resembled a miniature frisbee.

"Imma...Ethan Hill?"

The coach spotted a familiar figure making a brief appearance near the door of the locker room. Squinting his eyes, he managed to have a view of Ethan Hill having a discussion with his coach. The coach tried to eavesdrop, but they were conversing in a manner which made eavesdropping impossible. His ears had failed him, but his eyes had not, for he had captured a sight which prompted a grin from him.

The Price Of Arrogance Part 2

The basketball arena resonated with jeers and taunts as the Hilsbury High students atttempted to intimidate the practising Lexton High players. Some sections of the crowd tried to affect them psychologically by displaying banners containing pictures of that fateful day. To further intensify the atmosphere surrounding the arena, a minority of the supporters present chanted the numbers 78 and 77, with greater emphasis being placed on the number 78. The aim was simple yet vicious. The number 78 may be an ordinary number to anyone found on the streets, but it was of no doubt, a number etched in the minds of those Lexton High players involved in the heartbreaking loss. Their efforts to derail the visiting team's preparation plans appeared futile as the Lexton High players knocked down shots after shots, which riled the boisterous Hilsbury supporters. It was a matter of seconds before the obstreperous crowd began bombarding their Lexton High counterparts with maledictions and flooding them with whatever words which came to their minds. To make matters worse, James remarked that such useless tactics, deployed only by the weaker and desperate teams, provided the motivation and encouragement for his team to secure victory over an arrogant team which relied on taunts for success.

James was unable to comprehend why the home fans were behaving and treating the visiting Lexton High players with disrespect. Incensed, which he already was, he intended to provoke them further, but was stopped by Nick who grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him out of the basketball arena.

"What are you doing Nick? I have the right to voice my comments and enrich those cocky barbarians who regard us as garbage."

"Think twice before opening that mouth of yours, will you? You will only aggravate the current situation if those needless comments of yours are to be heard by those so-called cocky barbarians."

"Look Nick, Coach just restricted my playing time to a miserable 2 quarters and I am rather peeved at that decision. Those uncivilised monkeys in there have to infuriate me further by insulting us, degrading us and calling us names. We come here to play basketball, not to be subjected to such abuse."

"James, please calm down and listen to me. Clashing head-on single-handedly against an army of nearly 500 is unintelligent. Inane remarks about their attitude and behaviour will only antagonise them and exacerbate the situation. The noise level in there is already unbearable, and I have no intention in worsening the noise pollution problem. More importantly, our opponent is the Hilsbury players, not those brainless loudspeakers who think that taunting and verbally abusing us will secure victory for a team in basketball."

James seemed mollified by Nick's explanation. His impetuousness would land him in hot water, if not for Nick's timely intervention. He wanted to apologise, but the words seemed to have been stopped by the immigration department located at the tip of his tongue. Instead, James bent his neck and lowered his head, preferring to admire a beetle making its way past him rather than placing his attention on Nick. Extending his arm with his palm facing upwards, Nick continued.

"Taunting is worthless, talent is priceless. We will see who will then have the last laugh."

Lifting his head, James stared at Nick before grinning at him.

"Hell yeah," exclaimed James, who also slapped Nick's palm in response.

"Come on, we better get back in before Coach or our teammates find us missing."

In fact, Nick had dragged the hot-headed James out of the basketball arena in full view of the practising Lexton High players who pretended to be optically disabled for that few seconds.