Part-440

  You could just imagine the roar of the crowd in here. Suddenly our little after-school games in our dusty gym felt very, very small time.

  Nabil just breathes out, “Okay, this is… intense,” like he’s trying to process the sheer level of everything.

  His voice is practically a whisper, lost in the sounds of the Motijheel team already tearing it up on the court.

  Tariq, Mr. Stoic himself, just grunts, “Intense is an understatement.” He’s fiddling with his jersey, pulling at it like it’s suddenly too tight. Then he runs a hand through his hair – cssic Tariq nervous move. Even he’s looking a little rattled, and Tariq is usually our rock, the guy who doesn’t even flinch when the coach yells.

  But even he's clearly feeling the pressure cooker vibes of this pce. It's like Motijheel High isn't just a school, it's a whole basketball operation. We might be in trouble.

  We walk in, and the Motijheel team is already on. Like, full-blown practice mode, drills happening with this crazy precision. It was low-key intimidating.

  And get this – they were huge. Like, everyone on their team looked like they were personally recruited from a basketball factory. Taller than us, bigger than us, and they moved with this swagger.

  It wasn't just confidence, it was bordering on "we already won" levels of arrogance. Their warm-up was basically a highlight reel. Perfect passes that zipped around like sers, jump shots that were just swoosh nothing-but-net every time, and yups that looked like they belonged in a Nike commercial.

  Seriously, watching them was like watching robots py basketball, but in a terrifyingly impressive way. They were so in sync, it was creepy. Like they shared a brain or something.

  You could tell they’d spent, I don't know, approximately a million hours on this court. We looked like we'd shown up for the wrong sport.

  Banani High just strolled into the court like they owned the pce. You could practically see the Motijheel team doing a double-take, even though they were trying to act all cool and focused on their drills. Their bodies kept moving, yeah, but their eyes? Totally glued to the Banani squad.

  It was kind of funny, honestly. Like, they were trying to py it off, but you could see the gears turning in their heads. They were definitely sizing up the competition, checking out the new arrivals.

  And the looks they were throwing? Man, it was a whole mixed bag. Curiosity for sure, but also… I don't know, maybe a little bit of that "are these guys serious?" vibe, you know? Or maybe they were just straight up amused, like, "Oh, look who decided to show up."

  And then there was this one dude. Mr. Tall-and-Sculpted from Motijheel.

  This guy was extra. He started bouncing the ball like he was trying to make it explode, all while keeping his eyes locked on the Banani team. It was like he was sending a message without even saying a word.

  He gave this tiny smirk, barely even there, like he was too cool to actually smile properly. Then he just barked something at his teammate, real loud and dismissive. Dude was definitely trying to flex.