Part III
Chapter - 4

It was pure white light.

When I opened my eyes, it was just pure brilliant white light, and I swam in it, like an absolute of nothing. My skin, my head, my voice—it was all one. I was a puddle of sweat. I could not even catch my breath. When my hearing returned, all I heard were shrieks, and ruthless horns. And someone calling my name. At some distance, the scoreboard, displayed a score of 66-65 in distant neon light. My breath came short.

People were calling onto me. And the rubber of the basketball slapping against the hard ground. The blocker they placed on me in the final quarter was Neil River, the scoring machine, the ace of Isaac High. The ball repeatedly left my hand as I dribbled it, but nothing seemed to shake his gaze on me.

My heart raced. The pressure was too intense. I could feel it weighing down on my bones. The coach had discussed leaving it to me, to lead the team to victory in the final quarter, and I could not be giving up now. Not here. Not at this point. When there remained less than half a minute to ace our way to victory.   

They said that Neil River of Isaac High was a beast, driving on wild instincts. And for the past forty minutes I knew him, I could verify that it was true. There was nothing to him other than excellence; and here he stood, right in front of me, as a barrier between me and my team’s hopes.

When I was a child, I always wished for situations like these, where I was stuck and could not find a way out—like getting beaten up by Sylvie—that how good it would have been if I were a Superhero, soaring through the air, and doing all that my heart desired. Going places I could, meeting people I wished to. But with time, I discovered that I was not a superhero. Even, I was not anything more than an ordinary human. I could not walk on water, the world did not run in accordance with my desires. We were defined as ‘weak'.

But it is a nature of things, to change. It was a lesson to be learned. I might not be a Superhero, but I had one for myself. The one who could soar the skies for me, and meet new people. Do anything, to everything, I could not even begin wishing to do. He had become my world.

I heard mom scream my name. She was in the bleachers too. She had carried a banner for our teams, along with every one of my poor neighbors along. The wild  Cowell's hoots were the loudest. People repeatedly turned to look at them. That day, I was not ashamed of them at all. They were my pride.

But I had greater problems to tackle. Time slipped and as I experienced the clock reaching out for the final fifteen seconds, and I saw a grin spread over Noel's lips. I flinched. He knew what he was doing. He was stalling for time. And he was being successful.

My heart skipped a beat. I had let him win this one. It was tiring. Yet, what he did not know was that I was going to wipe that off his face. A smirk rose to my face mouth too. As he saw that, the smile that he held literally washed off. His entire body have up to the thought. I felt something at that moment. Every speck of doubt I ever felt filtered through my head; as if it was a pure feeling, and the knowledge of having someone by your side.

Indeed, I might not be a superhero.

But I did have one for myself.

And it was a certain Supernova.

I passed the ball over my shoulder, as I heard it hit the court once. Neil’s gaze followed it still, his expression appall and feart. The crowd held its cheers, and it became drop dead silent. I did not turn to look, but I knew what happened.

Nova—the heart of our team, our ace—who had been waiting for me to pass the ball, grabbed it without any hesitation. He had not given up on me, even in these last moments. I heard his little breath that he used to take before jumping, and his get leaving the ground. He shot the ball when he reached his highest point in air, and I knew he had made the best shot just by hearing the way his feet landed on the ground. About a second and a half later, the ball passed through the basket.

The siren rang.

The crowd cheered.

Our team shrieked.

They made the loudest noise I had witnessed in my life, as they collected around him. And I? I was observing him from a distance, just like I always had. Nova, who had everything, or as I used to think. His precious smile—the smile of victor—that he wore on his face now. The way he laughed. The tears in his eyes. If only I could gather it all up, and keep it with me… forever. So, I observed from a distance.

But something was different this time. Because this time… he looked back at me. Something he would not have done, months back. He looked back, and he stared. He then smiled. The smile that he only gave me. He freed himself of the crowd, as everybody watched him. He ran, and he ran towards me. Until he was right in front of me. He panted, and struggled, as he just could not stop smiling. I liked seeing him like that. He was hesitant. He then held both of my hands in his. He looked me in the eyes. I could feel my breath slipping away.

His mouth opened. “Thank you, Alex. For everything,” he mouthed.

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