Six minutes into the fierce battle between the teams, the Langford Academy students let out a collective gasp. “Woah!” Xander had just sunk a shot from inside the three–point line, scoring two points.
When the scoreboard changed to show Langford Academy at 2 and Horizon Academy still at 0, the Langford students went wild.
“Xander! Xander!” Their chants filled the gym.
Across the court, the Horizon Academy students just rolled their eyes. ‘It’s way too early to celebrate, they thought. ‘What’s there to get so hyped about?’
Both principals watched from the sidelines, seated together in prime viewing positions. “The kids are so full of energy, aren‘ t they, Mr. Barkley?” William said with a smile.
Charles Barkley, Horizon Academy’s principal, forced a tight smile. “Yes, Mr. Drake, you’re right about that.”
The game went on.
Soon after, a tall guy from the opposing team–Cyrus–nailed a three–pointer.
“Ah!” The Horizon Academy students leapt to their feet.
“Cyrus is such a beast!”
“Cyrus, you’re amazing!”
“Go Horizon! Horizon for the win!”
Charles turned to William with a smug smile. “Look how excited they are. Seeing them so full of youth takes me back to my day.”
William shrugged. “We all had those days. Nothing special about it.”
Charles just chuckled.
On the court, Tyrell looked apologetic. “Sorry, Xan. I couldn’t block him.”
Xander shook his head, unfazed. “We just started. Don’t care about that. Let’s keep going.”
“Alright, let’s go!” Tyrell shouted.
The team still seemed confident. After all, they were only down by one point.
Soon enough, the first 10–minute quarter ended, and everyone took a breather. Xander and his four teammates huddled together.
Sweat dripped from Xander’s forehead as he lifted his jersey to wipe it away, revealing his perfect abs.
“That Cyrus on their team? We’ve never seen him before,” Xander said. “He looks strong. Tyrell, just focus on blocking him.” Tyrell frowned. “Xan, he’s huge, almost six–three. I…”
Tyrell’s ribs were still aching from when Cyrus had collided with him earlier.
“If you can’t handle it, get out,” Xander snapped. “We’ll put in a sub.”
“I can do it, Xan,” Tyrell said through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, the Horizon Academy players were strategizing as well. Cyrus Mendes threw his arms around his teammates‘ shoulders.
“Xander’s the only real threat on their team,” he said. “I couldn’t care less about the others. If we focus on shutting him down, this game is ours.”
“Let’s go!” They all put their hands in the center, shouting encouragement with fierce determination.
The referee returned to the court and announced that the game would continue.
Cameron stood watching with folded arms, her gaze settling on Cyrus‘ face with a half–smile. “I bet they’re go Xander.”
“Do we have a chance?” Elijah asked with a frown.
*o target
Cameron smiled, “You want to win?”
“Of course,” Elijah replied. “We have to win.” Th
Successfully unlocked!
ne line.
Cameron glanced toward where William was sitting. He didn’t look happy.
Horizon Academy had just scored another two points by Cyrus again. Now they were up by three over Langford Academy.
If things continued like this, it wasn’t looking good.
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