Part-442

  The Banani team, they all clumped together. Forming this tight little circle around Tahera and Kiyoshi, like they were about to share some major gossip. You could totally see the vibes on their faces – a little bit of “oh no, we’re actually doing this” panic mixed with a dash of “but we kinda gotta try, right?” determination. Tahera's like, "Aight, squad, listen up." She does this whole eye-sweep thing, checking everyone's in the zone.

  "Okay, yeah, so they're good. No duh, we have eyeballs. But 'good' isn't the same as 'invincible final boss level' good, you know?" She pauses for effect, then throws in this wry little smile. "They're just… taller, maybe their shoes cost more, and definitely rocking the whole 'we woke up fwless' arrogance thing." She kinda rolls her eyes, and you can hear a few nervous ughs ripple through the group.

  "But plot twist," she says, leaning in a bit. "We've got a secret weapon they totally don't see coming.”

  Arshad, always gotta be the funny guy, pipes up, his voice a little lighter now, trying to break the tension. “Alright, alright, Manager, spill the tea.

  What’s the secret sauce? Is it, like, our legendary pre-game pep talks? Or maybe that slightly questionable pizza we had st week? 'Cause honestly, all we got going for us is pizza and, you know… a whole lotta heart, I guess?” He gives a little shrug, but you can tell he’s trying to be upbeat.

  Tahera grins, like she’s been waiting for this moment. “Bingo! Heart is definitely on the menu, Arshad.

  But the secret ingredient? It’s… unpredictability.” She winks, real sly, and gnces over at Kiyoshi, then kinda subtly nods towards James, like there’s a whole inside joke happening that Arshad (and maybe even the reader) isn’t in on yet. “Game pn, people, game pn! Remember what we talked about.

  Py smart, py hard – like your Insta feed depends on it – and most importantly… surprise the heck out of them.”

  Then Kiyoshi steps up, and when he talks, everyone just kinda shuts up and listens. He’s not yelling or anything, but his voice has this… weight to it, you know? Like, when he says something, you pay attention.

  “We didn’t show up here to be anyone’s doormat,” he says, all calm and steady. “We’re here to learn a thing or two, yeah, but also to throw down, to actually compete. And to make sure they know – really know – that Banani High isn’t some team you can just brush off.”

  He keeps going, ying it out for everyone. “We’re gonna py our game. Not try to be them, not copy their style, but do us. That means we’re gonna be smart about it, py with our heads. But we’re also gonna go hard, be aggressive on the court. And most importantly,” he pauses here, making sure everyone’s locked in, “we’re gonna keep them guessing.

  They think they’ve got us figured out? Nope. We’re gonna be unpredictable.”

  He looks around at each of them, making eye contact, like he’s talking to each person directly.