One Shot of Chance

Chapter 4 - Sinharley State University

Sinharley State University men's basketball has won for three consecutive years. They defeated the school, Eastwood University, which was one of the famous names in high school for sports, particularly in Basketball.

Their school won after Shintaro Yamazaki and Kazuhiko Hibiki, both freshmen at that time, entered the university. They were scouted by the school and became scholars afterward.

Their school was not really into sports. In fact, it focused more on the Engineering and Architecture department. But when Marcus started recruiting players, the Department of Engineering showed interest, saying that the school must not only be exercising their minds, they should be exercising their muscles too.

Marcus Palacio, the team captain, was ecstatic to have the two. They carried the team like no other. He thought that they were Sinharley's hidden gems. But he did not know the reason why the two entered this university and not at Eastwood or any other schools that prioritized athletes.

They had a hard time claiming the trophy, of course. The training was so harsh that many freshmen quit midway. It came to a point where they lacked players that made them unable to play in matches.

That was why Marcus could not hide the fact that the two did almost all of the rebounds and shootings. They were also the reasons why many students joined the team, no matter how hard the training was. They were so influential, not only to the viewers but to players as well.

People also started calling them geniuses.

They attended the same elementary, the well-known Charlotte Elementary School, one of the three kings when it came to basketball. It was a school known for producing talented athletes, not only basketball, but other sports like tennis and soccer as well.

They have already been playing basketball since then. Kazuhiko attended Sinharley because his mom was an alumna, while Shin chose the school for no particular reason. Instead of asking his friend, Kazuhiko chose to ignore it and let his friend be. He was still glad that he did not stop going to school, knowing how hard-headed Shin was.

On the other hand, Sinharley State University women's basketball hasn't won any trophies yet. It was only formed two years ago, and since then, they could not even enter the semi-finals. But the school was showing them interest in their sportsfest. They saw how Rowie and Patricia worked hard for the team.

They were not yet as polished as the other school's basketball team. They were new to it, after all. But the two of them were still working hard on looking for other ideal players. They were aiming for the trophy next year.

"Rowie, the class is about to start. Wake up!" Jennica tapped Rowie's shoulder to wake her up.

Charlotte sighed while glancing at her friend and at the whole cafeteria. "You really do not care where you sleep, don't you, sleepyhead?"

Rowie rubbed her eyes and yawned. She wore her eyeglasses to see things more clearly. "All set. Let's go!" she beamed before standing up like she had never heard her friend's comment.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and did not say anything. She was used to it already and she knew better. She was aware that her friend did not have enough sleep last night, or any other nights before.

Printing shirts, printing tote bags, and other printing stuff; those were just some things that she had been busy about. Charlotte could not blame her for being talented. She just needed money to help her mom. And yes, at a young age. If only she could help her friend. But knowing Rowie, she would not accept any help, no matter how small.

After two hours straight with English Literature, Rowie almost fell asleep again. Their instructor did not seem to mind because he knew Rowie well. She was a smart and diligent girl. She would listen if she did not know what to do. But because her work was already on its way to the photocopier, no one could scold her. In short, she was already done weeks ago.

They had a thirty minute break after that and then another two hours of statistics and probability.

Rowie listened. She hated math but she had to learn it. This time, it was Jennica who was about to fall asleep — or rather, she was long asleep already.

Lunchtime came. Rowie and the gang almost sprinted to the cafeteria. Their stomachs had been growling since the beginning of mathematics. A bowl of hot corn soup from the cafeteria was all they wanted — before eating lunch, of course.

When the corn soup was served, they moaned in satisfaction. It felt like they had gone to a deserted place and it was their first time drinking water. Mathematics had that effect on them.

Larry had already been to the U.S. The whole gang sent him off and joked that he did not have to go home anymore. Jennica and Rowie gave their two friends private time to talk as well. Charlotte seemed to be really gloomy. She was just trying to be cheerful around her friends but they knew better. They would just roll their eyes and ask, why argue with him if you are going to miss him anyway?

They just do not understand people in a relationship sometimes.

Half of their lunch was already eaten when Patricia disturbed them with news that made Rowie lose her appetite.

"Rowie, we are having a meeting." She greeted her friends and turned her full attention to Rowie.

"With the whole varsity?" asked Rowie while still munching.

"Yes. With Marcus and his team."

Rowie stopped eating a bit, then resumed. "Why?"

"Finish eating first, then I will tell you. I will be going now. Sorry to disturb your lunch. Have a happy lunch!" she exclaimed.

Rowie began to be curious. It was bad timing, really. When she became curious, she would think about it until she knew what the reason was.

She tapped her spoon and fork at her plate.

"Stop thinking about it, Rowie! Just finish your lunch," Charlotte exclaimed.

"But, Char! I am curious," Rowie replied.

"I know. But you will know the reason later. You are distracting us. Stop it!"

Rowie stopped tapping the spoon and fork. Why would Patricia say that while she was eating? Did she know that she would lose her appetite if she said something like that? That girl, really! She did this on purpose so that she would run after her and asked for the reason. If she did, it was effective!

"I am off, guys. See you later," she said while grabbing her things.

"Wait— your food!"

Rowie did not pay attention. She searched the whole place to look for a tall and thin girl. She was so tall for a girl that she immediately found her, especially with her ponytail that was almost on top of her head, making her look taller than she already is.

Pushing the others a little, Rowie made it to where Patricia was and grabbed her arm.

"Tell me now," she said.

Patricia gave her an amused look before smirking. "You followed me here just for that?" she said, teasing Rowie.

"Please, Tricia! You know that I will be curious. That's why you told me those things. You are really..." She did not finish her sentence on purpose.

"Really what?" Patricia's eyes twinkled. Rowie glared at her, which caused her to laugh. "Okay, I get it. I will just buy some snacks. I know you will be hungry later."

"Why would I be hungry?" Rowie shot her with a sharp look.

"I know you enough for me to say that."

"Really?"

"Yes, you little pig."

Rowie scoffed.

"Wait for me in the gymnasium. Marcus must be there already with his team, with your crush." Patricia gave her a meaningful look before shouting her order to the vendor.

Rowie walked away to ignore her captain's last words. She hesitated a little about whether to go to the gymnasium or wait for Patricia, but chose the first option. Kazu would be there so she wanted to watch him play.

He was a year older than her, but who cares? She still liked him.

Even though he was the shortest in the team, his moves were impressive. He dribbled and shot the ball like lightning. He was just too fast for anyone to predict what he was about to do next. He was also good at guarding his opponents— an asset that made the other teams incapable of shooting.

Who would not fall for that?

For a moment, the confrontation last night came to Rowie's mind. She did not know what really got into her to say those words to a stranger.

Yes, she knew Shintaro, but the guy did not know her. Who was she to scold him like that? But she was just worried. She knew many players who smoke and drink, and later on regretted doing it. There was something in her that did not want that to happen to him.

He might be a stranger, but she did not want someone to regret something later on. It was not really bad to say them to a stranger. They were strangers after all.

"I did what I could. It is up to him whether he will stop it or not. Not my loss," Rowie whispered under her breath before pushing the gymnasium's door open.

Her heart started to hammer for no particular reason.