Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas
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Chapter 1
“How many times do I have to put up with your crap?!”
Coach Larson slams the table, causing the flickering ceiling lamp to swing back and forth. He put his head down on his desk and let out a heavy sigh before looking back up at the target of his anger.
“I was only trying to help,” Danny retorted.
“Help?! I don’t give a damn what happened if my star player keeps getting into trouble every time he steps outside his house! And this time, he injured his fucking shooting hand!” Coach Larson points at Danny’s heavily bandaged arm supported by a sling.
Yesterday after practice, Danny was walking home until he was stopped by an old lady crying for help to get her cat out of a tree. Because the tree branch was too high for even the 6’1” Danny to reach, he resorted to climbing up. Just as he was able to grab the cat, the cat scratched his hand, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Fortunately, there was no fracture and only stitches were required for the lacerations on his hand.
With only three days left before the start of the season, Xanadu High School’s star player Danny Mortisson has injured himself. Although it was not a serious injury, Danny has been a headache for the coach and the rest of the team for the past three seasons. Almost every game or practice Danny will be getting into fights with teammates, opposing players, or players’ parents (especially the ones whose kids average 2 minutes per every other game). Every week is a battle in the classroom to keep him academically eligible. Despite this, Coach Larson keeps him on the team.
“You have so much potential. I been telling you that,” Coach Larson said, leaning back into his chair. “Why do you think I keep sticking with your bullshit? Huh?”
Danny gave a blank stare to Coach without replying.
“When I first saw you play in middle school, it didn’t take long to convince me that you could be something special. You were the only freshman who made it on the varsity team. I kept you around the team despite all that had happened. Do you know why?”
As Danny remained silent, Coach continued his ran
t.
“Because you’re a damn good basketball player. I’ve been sending your tapes to D1 schools, hoping that you can get an offer. I haven’t had any luck so far, but I’ll keep on continuing to do so. I know your mom’s situation is tough, and you’re desperate to go pro to help her out. I want to help you with that, but you need to help yourself first. You won’t be playing college ball, let alone NBA, if you can’t stay on the court.”
Coach drinks the last of the coffee from his mug and stands up.
“Well, it’s time go to practice. Let’s go.” Coach waves off Danny and gathers his equipment for the upcoming practice.
Danny stood still, ignoring his coach’s orders. He then muttered to himself, “I had enough of this.”
“Come again?” Coach Larson stopped in his tracks right as he was walking out of the room and turned around back to Danny.
“I’m not going to practice.”
“Why the hell not? Even if you can’t use your hand, you should still show your face to practice.”
Danny turned his head over to Coach Larson.
“Why not? Because I quit,” Danny replied with a stern voice.
Danny stormed out of the room, bumping his now former coach out of the way.
---
Drops of water began to fall from the sky as it landed on the face of a listless Danny staring into the dark gloomy sky. To him, there is no purpose in his life anymore. His basketball skills were his only value to society, and he threw it all away.
Not like it had mattered anyway. Now in his senior year, he had not received a single Division 1 offer. The only offer he received was from the local community college. The probability of a high school basketball player playing D1 basketball was only 1%. To make it to the NBA, that percentage is even lower.
“So that’s it, huh?” Danny mused. In his mind, this recent incident was a good excuse to quit basketball.
For the past couple of years, he was not playing basketball for the fun of the game. To him, it was a pathway to helping his mother. He thought it was a surefire idea, but the results were not showing. He played three years of varsity, two of which as a starter. No awards or accolades to show. Struggling to pay out of his pockets, he attended several basketball camps. Yet, scouts look the other way. AAU is a no-go for him with its high expenses.
Why waste another year playing basketball if nothing comes out of it? Danny Mortisson is nothing but a fool. That was what he thought to himself.
Danny continued to stroll around the neighborhood until he stopped at a playground. It was a place that he used to cherish as a kid, but now it looked like something straight out of a horror film. He headed over and sat on the one swing still intact. He closed his eyes and listened to the rain.
Pit-pat-pit-pat
That was all he could hear now.
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Nothing more.
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Danny remained sitting there without any regard for his surroundings. This was the only place where he could feel relaxed at this moment.
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Pit-pat-pit-pat
Pit….pat….
“The job’s not done.”
The tranquility of Danny’s inner world has been ruined. A high-pitched voice can be clearly heard as the rain was coming to a halt.
Danny opened his eyes to find the source of the disturbance. In front of him appeared a little boy. The boy was staring straight into the now shining orange sky, completely unbothered being drenched from the rain.
“What are you doing here, kid?” Danny asked the boy.
The boy turned toward Danny and looked at him. “Your job here isn’t over yet.”
Danny looked perplexed. At what he thought was the lowest point of his life, he has reached a new low with a kid now trying to lecture him. Or maybe this was just some bad dream? If he wakes up, he will still be on the basketball team.
“Job? What job? I still need to submit my application to McDonald’s.”
“You’re…the...only…”
The boy collapsed to the ground before he was able to deliver his seemingly important message.
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 2208
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
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This is intriguing as hell. Definitely following along.