Basketball Chapters

Hey! I've written a story that is split into five chapters. The theme of it - as you may have guessed by the title - is about basketball. It follows a group of people that like it, is associated with someone who likes it, or someone who is about to take part in a basketball tournament. Fair warning, this is a first draft of it, and since it is my first time trying to write a story like this, there are improvements to be made on it.

With that being said, here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

The Package

What is this? He didn’t know what to think. Looking at the package, he decides to pick it up, and go back in. I’m not expecting anything, so why is this here? Walking to his couch, he scratches his head in confusion. Come to think of it, how did I know to go to the door? I didn’t hear anyone knock. Confused, he looks back at the door. Right, I didn’t close it. He goes to the door, closes it, and locks the lock. Well I guess I’ll see what’s in this thing. He opens the package with excitement, as if he was expecting something from someone close to him. The first thing he sees is a note inside the box. Picking it up, he reads it. “I hand made this for you. Winter is here, and I know you need these. I don’t want you to get cold. I hope you like it. Yours truly, Walter.” He puts the note on the table next to the couch. Picking up the items in the box, he sees a pair of dark brown mittens and an orange scarf. He can’t help but smile, with a flood of old memories coming back. Walter. Yes. My son. I remember now. He said he would be sending something. He goes to his phone, and dials Walter’s number. Nobody picks up, and it goes to voicemail. He waits for the beep to come to pass. “Hey Walter. It’s dad here. I got your package. Thank you. I really like it. Call me when you get the chance. I want to see how you’re doing.” He hangs up the phone. ​

The Wait

The grass tickles the back of her neck. It makes her smile. She doesn’t let it get to the point of making her laugh. The rumbling of the plane above her started to diminish as it went on with its takeoff. Coral opens her eyes. The sun is bright. She squints to let her eyes adjust, almost to the point of closing them again. Once they have adjusted, she fully opens them again. The wind dies down. I was enjoying the wind, but at least the grass stopped moving, she thought to herself. “Oh good, you’re awake,” Ruby says. “I fell asleep?” Coral asks. “Yeah,” Ruby replies. “How long was I out for?” Coral asks. Ruby looks at her watch, and thinks for a moment. “Not long. Twenty minutes?” Coral yawns. Hearing the steady sound of a basketball hitting pavement, she moves to a sitting position, and looks around. The park next to the airport is still quiet, but she sees the guys playing 1 on 1 basketball nearby. The same two guys they beat in the game they played a few days ago. “Do you want to join them for a game?” Coral asks, moving her head towards them. “It would be nice to kick their ass again, but we have to get going. We want to have enough time to go through security to catch our flight,” Ruby reminds her. Coral is a little sad to hear that, but Ruby has a point. The basketball tournament they are taking part in is something they both have been looking forward. Plus, they will be able to visit a city they haven’t been to in ages. Looking at her watch, Coral turns to Ruby. “I guess we should be going.” “Yeah,” Ruby replies. They both get up. “Those two guys. What are their names again?” Coral asks. Ruby looks at them. “The one in the dark brown shirt is Sonny. The one in the orange shirt is Cyrus.” They pass Sonny and Cyrus on the way to Ruby’s car. “You both are lucky we won’t be kicking your asses today,” Coral says in a friendly and teasing tone. They both look sad. “But we’ve been practicing,” Sonny replies. “You’ll need more than thirty minutes to be able to beat us,” Ruby says in the same tone as Coral’s. “Next time, then,” Cyrus replies. Coral and Ruby head to the car. Little did they know how much improvement Sonny and Cyrus made since the last game they played. ​

The Call

He closes the door and locks it. He yawns, thinking that it’s nice to be back home after a long day of work. Taking his shoes off, he lays the mail down on the side table. The table utters several creaks. All the pieces of the table then seem to simultaneously break apart, tumbling onto the ground. Hmmm…, he thinks to himself. I thought it would have more life in it. It’s old, but it looked like it could’ve at least hold the weight of some mail. He then looks down to the broken table and mail that fell onto the floor. At least it didn’t make too much of a mess. He takes the broken pieces of the table and puts it in a neat pile. I’ll take that out when I do the garbage. As for the mail, he takes it and puts it on the table next to the sofa. In the corner of his eye, he notices that the phone next to the mail emanates a red blinking light. Oh look, a message, he thinks to himself. He presses the play button. “Hey Walter. It’s dad here. I got your package. Thank you. I really like it. Call me when you get the chance. I want to see how you’re doing.” Walter smiles. He was hoping that his father would like the gloves and scarf. He picks up the phone, and dials his father’s number. After two rings, the phone on the other end answers the call. “Hello?” his father asks. “Hey dad. It’s Walter.” “Walter! It’s so good to hear you. I got your package,” his father replies. “I’m glad. I got your message. Have you tried them yet?” Walter asks. “I have. I just tried them on. They fit perfectly and are quite warm. Give me a sec, I want to take them off,” his father says, while taking them off. “Did you get my letter?” “Letter?” Walter asks. “Yeah. I sent you something in the mail the other day.” “I didn’t. Well, I haven’t checked today’s mail yet,” Walter says as he looks to the pile of mail next to the phone. He notices that the first one is from his father. “Oh wait, I see it here. It’s in today’s mail.” “Open it, son. How are you doing?” Walter reaches for the letter, and opens it. “I’m good. I just got back from work. It’s been a long day, but it was a productive one. What about you?” “I’m feeling better. Not forgetting things as much,” his father admits. “I’m glad to hear that,” Walter says as he pulls out what looks like a ticket for an event from the envelope. “What is this? A ticket to something?” He reads it. “Oh, it’s a ticket to the final match to Ruby’s basketball tournament?” “Yes. I know you couldn’t get a ticket.” “It was all sold out. How did you get one?” Walter asks. “I asked your sister. I thought she may have access to a few tickets. She had some, and sounded really happy to hear that I wanted to give it to you.” “This is awesome! Thanks for this dad! I didn’t think to ask Ruby if she had any.” “I’m glad, son,” his father says. After a short pause, he hears his father yawn. “I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.” “Definitely. Get some rest. Have a good night, dad,” Walter says. “Good night, son.” His father hangs up the phone. Walter puts the phone back on phone base. He looks at the ticket, and smiles. ​

The Dribble

“You’ll need more than thirty minutes to be able to beat us,” Ruby says. “Next time, then,” Cyrus replies. As Ruby and Coral walk away, Sonny turns to Cyrus. “Alright, it’s your turn,” Sonny says, as he passes the ball to Cyrus. Cyrus catches the ball with his left hand. He then starts dribbling the ball. “Do you think we’ll ever beat them in a game?” he asks. “Us? Against THEM?! Ha! Not a chance.” Sonny replies. Cyrus smiles. “That’s awfully pessimistic of you.” “There’s a difference between being pessimistic and realistic,” Sonny tell him. Cyrus starts going to his left. Once Sonny starts following him, Cyrus quickly stops. He starts going to the right, and passes the ball behind him from his left hand to his right. Putting a little too much force in the pass, the ball hits his right hand, and starts bouncing away from him. Cyrus and Sonny stop, and watch as the ball bounces away. “And how would we win with a play like that?” Sonny asks. Cyrus smiles. “One can hope.” He then goes to the ball, picks it up and shoots it at the hoop. Hitting the backboard, the ball rolls on the inside of the hoop and goes in. He gets the ball, and passes it to Sonny. Sonny starts dribbling. After a few bounces, he notices that the ball isn’t bouncing as high as it was the other day. With both hands, he squeezes it. “It could use a little more air.” “Wanna go to the gas station on 15th and Arlington?” Cyrus asks. “Sure. I’m starting to feel a bit tired.” Sonny says. “Then ice cream?” Cyrus asks. “Hell yeah,” Sonny replies happily. Leaving the park, they walk down 15th Street. The sun is shining behind them, and isn’t as strong as it was when they got to the park a couple of hours ago. It isn’t too crowded on the sidewalk, so Sonny bounces the basketball as they walk the two blocks to Arlington. Once at the gas station, Cyrus spots the air pump. Pointing to it, they go and fill the basketball with air. Sonny bounces the ball a few times. “Now that sounds like it has enough air in it,” Cyrus says. “Yeah,” Sonny replies. “And it feels like it, too.” They leave the gas station. They cross to the other side of the street, and stop in front of the ice cream shop. “Do you know what you’re getting?” Sonny asks. “Yeah,” Cyrus says. “The usual.” “Same,” Sonny replies. Cyrus opens the door to the shop, and they both go in. ​

The Message

Walter comes into his apartment. After locking the door, he takes a pause. It's going to be nice to see Ruby play, he thinks to himself. How long has it been since I saw her play last? It's always fun to see her play with her team. Why did I stop? After a moment, he notices the blinking red light coming from his home phone. Oh look, a message. Walter walks to his phone, and presses the play button. "Hey Walter. It's Ruby. Dad told me you got the ticket. I just landed and got into my hotel room. I won't have time to meet before the game, but I do hope you can make it." He takes a moment. He doesn't know why, but he feels the need to stand there and not do anything. Why do I have the sudden urge to do this? It's just a message. Walter tries to figure out what he's feeling. Nothing? Overwhelmed? No, those words don't seem to describe it. Numb? He takes a moment. Yeah. Numb. That sounds right. But why? Walter looks around. He doesn't know what to expect by doing this. It's not like he'll find something new. He's been living here for ages. Nothing new will just pop up just by looking around. The silence around him is...soothing. Not realizing it, he has stops looking around. Taking a moment to think what he's doing, Walter realizes that he is looking at his couch. I think I'm going to just...slump onto it. Slowly walking to it, he stops in front of it. He lets himself slowly lean forward, allowing himself to fall onto the couch.