VIVERE
-
chosenone58
- Posts: 3660
- Joined: 28 Nov 2018, 19:06
VIVERE
It's been a minute since I last chised. Thanks for the follows and hope y'all enjoy the ride
VIVERE
Chapter 2
The beeping of the machines shows that she is still alive. In Danny’s mind, however, he feels that his mother has been dead for a long time. Yet, he still finds time to visit her almost daily. There is a part of him that still holds a sliver of hope that she will wake up.
“Hey, Mom, it’s me again,” Danny says looking at his unconscious mother. “I think it’s been almost a week since I quit the basketball team. With that dream out of the way, I’m starting to look for a job to help pay the bills. Dad still sends money, but who knows what that guy’s been up to. Last I checked, he sent me a letter from Cambodia.”
Danny placed a new bouquet of pansies on the bedside table and briefly sat by her side before he left the room. As he was closing the door to his mother’s room, a nurse approached him.
“Hello there, sir. Are you Mr. Mortisson?” the nurse asks.
“Uh, yeah. That’s me,” Danny nods in response.
“Oh good. The boy you brought here last week is now awake. Please come with me.”
Danny confusedly followed the nurse to the unit that the mysterious boy was in. After the boy fainted that day, Danny took him to the hospital. Due to HIPAA, Danny was sure that he would never see or hear about that boy again. His parents should be the ones who they should be calling, not some high schooler.
When they arrived at the room, there were two men wearing dark suits surrounding the bed of the now awaken child.
“I brought him here,” the nurse tells the men and leaves the room.
One of the men stepped back from the bed and approached Danny. “Nice to meet you, Danny. I am Detective McMahon and that guy over there is Botello, my partner.”
“Hey there,” Botello waves at Danny.
“So why do you need me here?” Danny crosses his arms.
“There has been an increased number of disappearances in Washington recently. My partner and I are overseeing that investigation.”
Danny gazed at McMahon perplexed. “But what does that have to do with this kid here?”
“The police have been searching for the boy’s parents since you’ve brought him in here, and there hasn’t been any luck so far.”
“He’s awake now. Why not ask him now?”
“We can’t,” Botello barges into the conversation. “He has amnesia. The only thing he told us was your name. Do you know him?”
“What? I never even told him my name. I never even seen the kid until the day I brought him here.”
McMahon and Botello looked at each other. “What do you think?” McMahon asks his partner.
“I think he’s telling the truth, Boss.”
“Hmm…” McMahon faced Danny again. “Anyway, we’ll be monitoring this kid while we dig for more information about him and his family. As for you, we would like you to keep him company as you’re the only thing that he remembers. Maybe he’ll regain his memory with you around.”
“Woah, woah, wait a minute. Why should I help you guys?”
McMahon took out a stack of cash from his pocket and flashed in front of Danny’s eyes. “A little birdie told us that you are looking for a job. I think the pay you’ll get from us will be more than you’ll be making at McDonald’s. We were also informed that they were going to reject you too.”
“Wait what?”
McMahon handed Danny the stack of cash and a business card.
“We have to get going now, but we’ll keep in touch.”
After the two detectives walk out of the room, Danny approaches the child lying on the bed.
“'The job 's not done.' So what job were you talking about?” Danny asks.
The boy tilts his head and shows a puzzled expression. “Job?”
“You really don’t remember anything?”
The boy shakes his head.
Danny stared out the window and lets out a heavy sigh. “What have I gotten myself into…”
---
Two games into the basketball season, Xanadu High has been hit with a predicament. Starting point guard Cain Morris has been diagnosed with a strained right hip and will be out for about 4-6 weeks. Without their floor general, Xanadu’s offense will suffer heavily as shown from last game when Cain got injured in the second quarter and did not reappear until near the end of the fourth.
Cain’s injury occurred at the worst possible timing as Xanadu’s next game will be against Nathan Hale, the most hyped-up team this season. With the school offering tickets and a bus to travel to Nathan Hale and to watch future NBA star Michael Porter Jr. in person, some of the Xanadu students are taking advantage of the opportunity to make a profit by getting people to bet on the game. Cain accidentally took a glimpse at one student’s 4 leg player parlay on a desk when he was walking out of one of his classes.
Michael Porter Jr. over 29.5 points
Jontay Porter over 10.5 rebounds
P.J. Fuller over 2.5 assists
Albert Warren under 1.5 3PT made
The spread for the game was Nathan Hale -25.5. What do people think will happen when a team with the second best player in the nation and a former NBA All-Star as a coach plays against a mediocre high school team without their starting point guard? The students of Xanadu High had absolutely no hope for their home team.
With the team’s dignity and possibly season now in jeopardy, Cain has taken upon himself an important mission: to bring back his childhood friend Danny Mortisson to the team. He has until the 9th when the game happens to save this team from embarrassment.
December 7
The bell rang and classes had ended for the day. When Danny opened his locker to grab some books for homework, a small note fell out.
“Huh? What’s this?” Danny picked up the note from the floor and unfolded it.
Danny Mortisson
You are an awesome hooper
Join the team again
Cain hobbled up to Danny with his crutches. “Well? Well? Well? Whaddya think ‘bout my haiku? It’s pretty dope, yeah?”
Danny crumples the paper and throws it at Cain’s face.
“Hey, watch it man! I’m injured!”
“Screw off!” Danny slams his locker shut and walks off.
"I'm not giving up, you hear me! I'm inevitable!" Raising both his crutches up in the air, Cain shouts loudly enough that the entire hallway can hear his voice before losing his balance.
ATTEMPT FAILED
VIVERE
Chapter 3
December 8
Thursdays were Danny’s favorite day of the school week for one reason: Chinese day at the cafeteria. Unfortunately for Danny, he would not be able to enjoy his beloved chow mein that day.
Danny Mortisson, please report to the theater hall during lunch. I repeat. Danny Mortisson, please report to the theater hall during lunch.
Danny’s heart sank as he heard the PA announcement. Slouching down with his arm dangling, Danny slowly tottered into the theater.
The lights were off in the entire auditorium except for one light on the center stage. Under that light shone a large cardboard box with the center of it cut off.
“What in the hell is this?”
A loud static sound began coming from the speakers and was momentarily followed by a deep voice.
Once upon a time, there was a peaceful land called Xanadu High School. There were a pair of twins named Rosa and Verde creating a new video game.
Two blonde puppets, one with pink accessories and the other with green, appeared out of the cutout in the box.
“Sis, have you finished writing the story yet?” a soft-spoken voice was emitted from the green puppet.
“You need to have patience, Verde. The story is the most important part of making a video game! Without a good story, how can you grasp the attention of the audience? You cannot rush perfection!” the pink puppet replies. The person behind the pink puppet was struggling to speak in a high-pitched squeaky voice.
“Sis, please stop playing Minecraft and finish the story already.”
“No! I'll do it later!” The pink puppet starts flailing back and forth.
The twins were living in harmony until an evil monster appeared.
Another puppet with googly eyes made from a dirty, tattered sock came into sight in the cutout.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I AM THE EVIL VEGAN MICHAEL PORTER JR.! DO I SEE YOU GIRLS HAVE FUN?! I HATE FUN!!!!”
The deformed sock puppet bites into the green puppet.
“Verde, no! Let my sister go!” The pink puppet tried to punch the deformed puppet, but its grip was not loosening up.
Uh-oh! The twins are in trouble! Who can possibly save them?
“Don’t fret, girls! For I am here!” A fourth voice was heard coming from the box.
The pink puppet gasped in surprise. “That voice!”
A giant cutout of Danny’s face now emerged onto the scene.
“OH MY GOD! IT’S DANNY MORTISSON!” The pink puppet jumps in excitement.
“I will save your sister! CHICKEN BEAM!” A red confetti comes out from behind the Danny cutout and hits the deformed puppet.
“Ugh!!!! A natural source of Vitamin B12?! Nooooooo!!!!!” The deformed puppet lets go of the green puppet and sinks to the bottom of the box, out of sight from Danny’s point of view.
“Thank you, Danny, for saving my sister! You’re the best!” The pink puppet joyfully exclaims as it hugs the Danny cutout.
“Don’t mention it. I’m just doing my job! DANNY AWAY!!!!”
“WE LOVE YOU DANNY MORTISSON!” The pink and green puppets cheer on the Danny cutout as it flies to the left, out of the scene.
And so, Xanadu High School has been saved from the evil Michael Porter Jr. thanks to our hero Danny Mortisson. The end.
Danny was left aghast at what he had just witnessed. This may have been the worst thing he had ever seen in his entire life. Danny climbed up onto the stage and stood in front of the box. He picked up the box and chucked it into the curtains. From what was under the box appeared his former teammates Cain (Danny cutout), Albert (deformed sock), Kyle (pink puppet), and Quinn (green puppet) kneeling on the stage floor.
“I missed chow mein day for this?! You guys can go fuck off.” Danny stormed out of the auditorium as Albert, Kyle, and Quinn angrily stared at Cain.
Cain, you are an actual idiot.
ATTEMPT FAILED
December 9 (Day of the Nathan Hale Game)
“Stop following me.”
“Not until you join the team again.”
“Never happening.”
Cain hobbling on his crutches was managing to keep pace with Danny speedwalking. This has been going on for about thirty minutes. Cain has four hours to convince Danny to join the team again before the game tips off. As Rocky Balboa once said, “It ain’t over until the bell rings.”
“Please come back.”
“No, go away.”
Danny entered the hospital with Cain following right behind.
“Welcome back, Danny. Visiting your mother again?” The receptionist greets Danny with a big grin.
“Oh, not today. I’m here for, uh, the other thing.” Danny warily replied to not reveal his new job in front of Cain.
“Ah, right.” The receptionist prepares the name tag and hands it to Danny. “Here you go.”
Danny walks away without looking back at Cain. He has finally managed to break free from his best friend.
Two hours later
Danny spent time talking with the mysterious boy for an hour before going out to buy them dinner. Unluckily, he had to wait for more than thirty minutes to get his food due to them dropping it just before giving it to him. The store manager gave him three twenty-dollar gift cards as compensation for his troubles.
“Hey, sorry I took so long. I got you-” Danny was unable to finish his sentence and almost dropped the bag of food in his hands after what he saw when he entered the room. Cain was sitting at the bedside of the boy.
“Yo, welcome back! You got us some Five Guys?! You shouldn’t have.”
“I’m calling security.” Danny ignores Cain as he walks over to the bed to grab the call light, but Cain snatches the call light first.
“Chill out, man.”
“What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?”
“I said I came here for a follow-up for my hip and then I followed you. I hid in the waiting room until you left. Then I came inside here and I’ve been showing this fella right here some stuff from the good ol’ days. Ain’t that right?”
The boy nods.
“What’s his name anyway?”
“He doesn’t have one. He has amnesia.”
“Real shit? That sucks, little dude.” Cain pats the boy on the shoulder.
“Okay, fun time’s over. Now get out of here before I call security.” Danny grabs Cain’s arms and crutches and starts dragging him towards the door.
“Will you ever play basketball again?”
Just as Danny was about to throw Cain out of the room, he turned around to see the boy who asked him that question.
“What?”
“Will you play basketball again?” the boy repeats himself. “You’re very good at basketball! Mr. Cain showed me so many cool videos of you playing basketball. Why did you stop?”
“Uh…I…” Danny was unsure on how to answer.
“Mr. Cain told me you will be playing against someone very strong tonight. I really want to see you play!”
The job’s not done…
An eerie voice echoed through Danny’s mind. It was saying the same thing that this kid in front of him told him on that day. He wondered if this was a calling from God. A task only he can fulfill. Danny looks down to the floor and scratches his head.
---
G Donnell Porter
G Albert Warren
F Jordan Eisley
F Keljin Oliver
C Kyle Steele
That is Coach Larson’s initial plan for the starting lineup for tonight’s game. With Danny and Cain not playing, the team’s depth at guards is barren. Donnell is the only player on the team left that has reps running the offense, which creates a dilemma on the team’s rotation.
“Don, come here for a sec!” Coach calls out to Donnell.
Donnell darts over to Coach Larson’s side. “Yes, Coach?”
“I’ll be asking a lot from you, okay? You might have to play all 32 minutes tonight.”
“N-no breaks?” Donnell starts to tremble.
“You heard me. You’re the only one on this team that can run point right now. If I take you out, our offense will fall apart.”
“I-I-I don’t know if I can d-do that, Coach.”
“Why not?”
“I’m scared.”
“Scared of what? Treat this game like any other game. It doesn’t matter who’s on the other team.”
“But they have Michael Porter Jr.”
“So what? I just told you not to worry about who’s on the other team.”
“He’s a vegan.”
“What? What’s so scary about vegans?”
“Tom Brady’s a vegan, right? Vegans have some kind of evil power that makes them godly at sports. That’s how he made the Seahawks throw on the one-yard line in the Super Bowl two years ago.”
“Brady’s not a vegan. He’s on a plant-based diet. You can still eat meat when you’re on a plant-based diet.”
“I think I’m going to puke.” Donnell starts to gag and dashes out of the locker room while placing his hand over his mouth.
“The lights are way too bright tonight for him to make his starting debut, Coach.”
Coach Larson heard a familiar voice, one which made him feel a jolt of excitement travel through his entire body. Turning around, Coach’s guess on whose voice he heard.
“Look who came crawling back. Danny fucking Mortisson.” Coach faces forward again and starts scribbling on his clipboard.
“This is a little awkward to ask but…can I rejoin the team?”
“What are you talking about? You’re still on the team.”
“Huh? But I told you that I quit.”
“You did, but I didn’t acknowledge it. If I did, I would’ve removed you from the official roster already.” Coach hands off his clipboard to Danny behind him.
Danny reads the front page on the clipboard which shows the team’s starting lineup tonight. Danny sees his name next to Donnell’s name which was crossed out. “I’m at the 1 tonight?”
“Honestly, I was planning to bench you as a punishment on your first game back, but I don’t really have a choice when we barely have any depth at guard now. Are you sure your hand is good to go?”
It has been over a week since Danny suffered his hand injury. He already had his stitches removed but has not done any physical activity since he quit the team. Danny extends his right arm and clenches his fist several times. “Should be no problem.”
Coach Larson stands up from his chair and looks behind at Danny with a big grin on his face. “Put on a show out there tonight then.”