Part-437
“I don’t know, it’s… hard to expin,” James mumbled, kind of struggling to put his finger on it. “It’s… challenging, you know? Like, physically, obviously – running around like a maniac for an hour is definitely not the same as sitting and pondering chess moves.” He paused, then continued, “But it’s also… mental, in a weird way.
There’s actual strategy involved. Teamwork, figuring stuff out on the fly. It’s… interesting.
In a way that chess… wasn’t, after a while.”
Lily was all ears, watching him like a hawk. She was studying his face, trying to read between the lines, searching for any hint of the usual ‘James is about to bail on this’ vibe.
She knew his track record. He was like a moth to a fme when it came to new hobbies – super intense at the start, all in, but then, poof, interest vanished faster than free pizza at school. Chess, debate club, photography – they'd all been bright, shiny passions for about five minutes, then relegated to the ‘been there, done that’ pile.
She was low-key worried that basketball was just going to be the test casualty on that list.
“Okay, but seriously, you gotta promise me something,” Lily said, her voice shifting, getting all serious for a sec. But, like, her eyes were still sparkling, you know? Kind of like she was trying really hard to be serious but was secretly finding the whole thing hirious.
“Promise you won’t bail before the month’s even over. Just… give it a real try, yeah? See what’s up?”
James gave a small smile, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes. “Dude, chill, I wasn’t pnning on quitting tomorrow,” he said, a little bit dryly.
“But… fine, okay, I promise. A ‘fair shot.’ Whatever that means.”
Lily’s grin was back in full force, all sunshine and rainbows. “Yes! Perfect! And you know what’s even funnier? After basketball, you should totally dive headfirst into football! And then cricket! Like, complete the trifecta of random sports! We can call it ‘James’s Epic One-Month Sports Binge’! Seriously, we should put that on your resume! ‘Proficient in Basketball (Month 1), Football (Month 2), Cricket (Month 3)’… Imagine the employers lining up! Right?” She winked, like she’d just dropped the most genius idea in the world.
James let out this huge, over-the-top sigh, like he was auditioning for a soap opera or something.
But, you could tell he was secretly amused because his lips were doing that little twitchy smile thing. “You are absolutely impossible,” he mumbled, shaking his head like she was some kind of chaotic force of nature.
“And you are just begging to be teased,” Lily shot back, messing up his hair even more, like he was a puppy.
Then, she got a bit more serious again, her voice turning softer, less jokey. “But real talk for a sec,” she said. “If you actually are having fun, then that’s actually awesome.
Just… don’t go overboard, yeah? Don’t let basketball eat your brain and make your grades tank. And… if it starts sucking, or if you’re just not feeling it anymore, seriously, don’t feel like you have to keep going just because. Just… do what actually makes you happy, okay?”
