Chris moved to block the basketball in his hand, Jamal guided Chris to his left side with a large swing of his shoulders. Then, shifting his centre of gravity, he instantly brought the ball to his other side. The entire movement was as fluid as flowing water, causing all the onlookers to widen their eyes and cheer.
For a departmental competition, the entire surrounding was filled with students, all because of one single student.
Jamal moved forward with the ball. He passed the ball between his legs, once again shook off the other side, and made a layup.
The moment he made the shot, he turned his back to the other side of the court. His every action showed his confidence that he was not going to miss the shot.
The crowd ran wild. The cheers were like that of a pop idol concert. Jamal narrowed his eyes as he cast a glare towards the direction that made the loudest noise.
"Shut up!" He sneered.
However, that only seemed to incite the girls some more as they screamed their heads off.
Perhaps if it was someone else that made such a comment in public, they would be called rude, arrogant and other similar words.
However, Jamal was an eye candy. He was six feet tall with handsome features and light blue eyes that revealed a hint of sharp indifference. His white dyed hair was ruffled in a way that it gave him a wild temperature.
He was a sports scholarship student and the ace of the University basketball team. Not to mention that many professional teams had an eye on him.
Jamal's hands were outstretched as he wanted for the ball to come his way. There was no smile on his face and his calves were taut as his eyes followed the ball.
Chris, another player on the team was marking him. He mirrored his every move determined that he would not be allowed to score another single point.
The moment the ball entered his hand, he rushed to Chris and swivelled to his left side without any warning. The moment Chris followed, Jamal's smooth dribbles suddenly swivelled to Chris's right side before immediately turning back to the left!
The crowd broke into another frenzy. Top class dribbling skills and he was still a university student.
Chris decisively followed and blocked Jamal's side. He was about to intercept the ball when Jamal, as if he had predicted Chris's movement, took two steps back and then accelerated forward again!
Jamal flew to the basket and made a jump shot. The ball fell centred in the basket, not even brushing against the net.
This time, there was no noise as everyone looked stunned.
"Referee."
The student referee closed his open mouth before he quickly called out, "Fifty to five."
Jamal pulled the collar of his sportswear up to wipe the sweat that ran down his cheek. Ten more minutes.
___
The two young men strode down the street. One was a chubby young man with a few days of beard. The other wore a face cap, a black mask and glasses.
John elbowed him, "Look at you all kitted up. You have not even joined Eagles and you have already started living the celebrity life."
Jamal chuckled, "I played a match today and I needed to go incognito for a while. I am also not going to join the Eagles."
John sighed, he brushed his head with his hand before he put a hand over his cousin's shoulders, "I understand. I still feel like you are missing out on a lifetime opportunity. No other job you would get would pay you 70000 dollars as an initial fee plus other packages."
"Not everybody does a job they like. Just smile, no frown at the cameras, play your basketball and earn your cool cash."
Jamal rolled his eyes, "Why do I have a feeling that you want in on the cash?"
"Of course. I bought you your first basketball, you can see it as an investment. I knew your take and decided to buy some shares ahead of time."
"At nine years. Aren't you a business genius? If only you used that smarts to pass your economics class."
John bristled. He aggressively gave Jamal a kick only for the latter to skillfully evade to the other side.
Glaring at him, John retorted, "At least I got a D. You failed the class."
Jamal rolled his nose. He understood John's concern but ten or more years of doing something that he hated did not apply to him. The three years of University had already been the limit.
The both of them passed a huge statue of Jesus and Jamal bowed briefly, his expression was calm and pious.
John shook his head, "Jamal, you are weird." He said from his heart.
He is not a Christian but he followed the ten commandments in the Bible, He is not a Muslim yet he fasted during the last Ramadan. He is not a Buddhist yet he followed the Five Precepts.
"It takes only two seconds to bow. It is no big deal." Jamal rolled his eyes. Most rules do not have a high demand on a person so it would just be good if one followed them.
There is nothing wrong with being cautious and careful. Perhaps this is a big reason why he did not want to dive deep into the sports world, he could already tell his agent's desire to set him up as a brand.
That was too troublesome. To Jamal, living a safe, happy life without troubles was the best and becoming a sports celebrity was not the way.
At least that was the lie he told himself repeatedly. The truth was that the kind of glamorous, fast-paced was too scary for Jamal and he did not dare to take a step.
John waved his words off. The both of them branched to one of the street stalls to have dinner.
John had a salad. Jamal glanced at him, withholding an urge to laugh or mock him. He could tell that John had started one of his losing weight plans that would probably end in five days or less.
Jamal was a big eater so he had three bowls of fried rice and one bowl of stir-fried noodles with grilled fish and some vegetables.
After the dinner, they said their goodbyes. John lived with his parents but Jamal did not want to visit his uncle and aunt anytime soon so he took another route to the sports dorm.
The moment he reached his house and closed the door, he slumped to the floor feeling very tired. He lay on the floor as he pulled down a pillow from the bed, determined to binge-watch the entire season 3 of the kingdom anime series in one night.