Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Kai cursed under his breath as he arrived at the school. He was once again late, but he ignored Sir Dao's shouts and went straight to his classroom.

Being in the school for a month now, he realized that the best way to deal with toxic teachers is to be toxic yourself.

Anyway, Kai would have taken the punishment if he didn't have any valid reason, but he did!

He helped Shang go home yesterday night, so he got home pretty late. The two of them had strengthened their bond for the past two days, and Shang even said that Kai might be taking Jet's spot as his best friend.

Kai arrived at the classroom about ten minutes left, so Sir Muchen was about to start with his lecture.

"Sorry, I'm late," he said, about to go to his seat.

However, Sir Muchen cleared his throat, making Kai turn back around.

"Kai," Sir Muchen said.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need to speak with you for a minute."

Kai pursed his lips and nodded while his classmates gossipped among themselves. Kai calmly followed Sir Muchen to the corridor, but in reality, his hands were shaking. He had never been called to the principal's office in his life before!

Well, technically, he did. However, he was on the receiving end of pity all the time. Now, it seemed like he was going to get scolded.

Sir Muchen sighed before speaking, appearing to calm himself down.

"Kai," he started off. "You've been late for seven times now—and that's just in one month."

Kai scratched the back of his head. "My apologies, sir. I had something to attend to late last night, so I woke up late."

"And all the other absences?" Muchen asked.

"My grandma asks me to deliver onions from time to time," he honestly responded.

Well, there were two times when he genuinely overslept because his bed was a tad bit too comfortable. However, Sir Muchen doesn't need to know that, right?

"I see," Sir Muchen said. "I know that you have your personal responsibilities, but this doesn't mean that you can come to school late."

"Yes, sir," Kai said.

"Anyway, I'm letting you off with a warning this time. However, the next time you're going to be late, I'll have to report this to—"

"Young man!"

Their conversation was interrupted when Sir Dai's voice echoed in the entire corridor.

Kai froze as the furious old man stormed to where they were. He was breathless once he got there, so he placed his hand on his knees and breathed heavily.

"How dare you run away from the gate when you're late?"

"Ey, that rhymed," Kai couldn't help but say.

Sir Dao's frown deepened, and his face became even redder.

"You even have the nerve to joke around? Oh, I ought to teach you—"

Sir Dao was about to flick Kai's chin when Sir Muchen responded.

"I've already talked to Kai, sir," Muchen nervously said. "Do you mind if I go back to the classroom so I can start my lesson?"

Sir Dao's eyes narrowed. "No. Your student came in late and didn't get the repercussions. I only let students with valid excuses go."

"Now, tell me," Sir Dao said. "Why were you late today?"

Kai scratched the back of his head as the two teachers stared at them. It seemed like he couldn't run away from the situation, so he decided to be honest.

"I helped a third-year student, Shang, get home from the hospital yesterday," Kai said.

"Shang?" Sir Dao asked, finding the student familiar. "Isn't he from the basketball team?"

Kai nodded.

"Why would you even help him?" Sir Dao asked.

"Because we're on the same team, sir," Kai said. "Shang and I are both from the basketball team."

"You?" Sir Dao asked in surprise. "You must be from the second string, am I right?"

Kai proudly shook his head. "I'm a first-string player."

Sir Muchen was pleasantly surprised. He didn't expect Kai to engage in the sport. He was unusually quiet in the classroom and appeared sleepy all the time. Moreover, he heard from some of his students that Kai's pastime was causing trouble.

"Really?" Muchen asked in surprise. "That's nice then—"

His statement was cut off by Sir Dao's loud laugh.

"Ah, really," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I thought that the basketball team already had low standards. I didn't think they could go lower this year. I guess they're really desperate for players."

Kai frowned as Sir Dao continued to make fun of the basketball team.

"You guys are so different from the football team," Sir Dao muttered.

Sir Muchen cleared his throat. "Can I take my student back inside now, sir?" he asked. "I don't want to waste any more time."

Sir Dao stopped chuckling and clicked his tongue. He then glanced at his watch before sighing heavily.

"I'll let you go…for now. Shang was a good student, so I'm letting you off the hook because of him. Now go," Sir Dao said, shooing them away. "I also have a class to attend."

***

The day seemed to be slower than usual since Kai was patiently waiting for their dismissal time. It was his first official day as a first-string player, and he was excited to be able to train with the rest of the team normally now.

However, before he could go to the exciting part, he still had to face one of his greatest enemies—Sir Dao.

As soon as the old man entered, the atmosphere in the classroom dampened. He really did have a talent for sucking all of the energy in the room.

Hao led the class greeting while Sir Dao half-heartedly nodded at them. Then, he brought out the textbook, so the students quickly followed.

"Close your textbooks," Sir Dao said, making the class confused.

Then, he smirked, making Kai feel like something bad was about to happen.

"Today, we're going to have a graded recitation. The coverage will be from units three and four."

Bao raised his hand. "But, sir, those are from the units we haven't discussed yet."

"Exactly," Sir Dao said. "As students, you must always be prepared for the unexpected."

"Now, this is how this will go. I will be asking a question, and you must answer correctly. If not, you are going to keep standing until you steal to answer a question that I ask your other classmate," he said.

There was a mischievous look in his eyes as he glanced at Kai, so at that moment, Kai already knew.

Sir Dao was going to target him once again.

Then, Kai smirked as he looked at his current mission on his user interface.

"Prove people wrong," he muttered.

The mission was still until Friday.

Proving a couple more people wrong wouldn't be a bad thing, right?