Salman watched Kiyoshi walk back to his team, his brow now all crinkled up in thought.

  ‘Special guy?’ Seriously, who was this ‘special guy’? He tried to shake it off, telling himself it was just a load of BS, a cheap trick to try and get into his head. Banani High, a ‘special guy’? Please. It was almost ughable.

  They were still Banani High, right? Still predictable. Still… totally beatable. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

  But even though he was trying to convince himself it was nothing, that tiny seed of doubt Kiyoshi had pnted was already starting to sprout in his brain. Kiyoshi's smile, those cryptic words, the whole vibe of a surprise waiting to be unleashed – it had subtly changed the whole game before it even began. He couldn't quite shake this nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, Banani High wasn't going to be the pushover he’d expected.

  Maybe they weren’t as easy to predict, or as easy to crush as he'd first thought. And that little flicker of uncertainty, even if it was small as heck right now, was exactly what Kiyoshi was aiming for. Game hadn't even started, and the mental warfare was already in full swing.

  Psych!

  The piercing shriek of the whistle cut through the excited chatter and pre-game jitters hanging in the air. Practice match time – officially! From the sidelines, the Banani High bench practically vibrated with anticipation, pyers leaning so far forward they were almost on the court. You could practically taste the nervous energy.

  "Alright, team, let's get a load of what Motijheel's bringing to the table," Kiyoshi Sajeb, the Banani team's captain and Point Guard, announced, his voice surprisingly chill but with this little spark of pure excitement underneath. He gave his basketball a couple of solid bounces, thump, thump, his eyes doing a quick sweep of the whole court, like he was already strategizing in his head. This was it, time to see what they were made of.

  Standing right beside Kiyoshi, clipboard cmped in her hand, was Tahera Khanam, their team manager. Her face was a cssic mix of "please let this go well" nervousness and hardcore determination. You could tell she’d put in the work. "Okay, Kiyoshi, you know the drill. Focus up, talk to each other out there, and seriously, try to actually enjoy yourselves, okay?" she reminded him, her voice firm but encouraging.

  James, the newbie on the squad, stretched out his arms with a super confident grin spreading across his face. "Enjoyment? Manager Tahera, enjoyment is guaranteed. Especially when we’re about to, like, totally dismantle Motijheel’s whole 'we’re the best' thing they’ve got going on," he said, a pyful smirk dancing in his eyes. He was itching to get in there as SG and show off what he could do when his moment came. Dude was ready to ball.

  Ahsan, the Vice Captain and another Point Guard whiz, chuckled, bumping fists with James. "Woah there, James! Let's pump the brakes a sec. They're Motijheel, remember? But yeah, confidence? Absolutely essential. Keep that energy, for real." He knew they couldn't underestimate the other team, but James's enthusiasm was infectious, in a good way.