It wasn't arrogance, just a natural attitude

"Hey, Coach, looks like Arjun's shot up in height," the assistant coach noticed, surprised to see Arjun now towering over the team's center, Rajesh.

"Teenagers, they change overnight. It's totally normal," Vikram responded.

"True. Maybe we should start training him on some post moves," suggested the assistant coach.

"Yeah, I'll have a chat with him about it soon. The kid's got the physicality for it," Vikram nodded in agreement.

As the coaches were deep in conversation, the second quarter of the game kicked off.

"Let's go!"

"Come on, Arjun!!"

"Arjun, Arjun, you're the best!"

The girls in the crowd, some in miniskirts and others in tight jeans, were jumping around, bursting with youthful enthusiasm.

Many of them didn't even know Arjun personally, but they got caught up in the excitement and started cheering too.

The atmosphere in the arena reached a fever pitch since the game began.

Arjun felt a tingling in his scalp hearing the roaring cheers.

Anyone would think a movie star had hit the court.

Hearing the cheers, the players from The Doon School were now even more determined to crush Arjun.

Beep beep!!

The second quarter began.

Suresh passed the ball to Arjun.

The moment he got the ball, Arjun felt that familiar, comforting touch with it.

After blending in, Arjun's dominant hand was his right, but his left wasn't bad either.

The court was his stage from now on.

Basketball was going to be his career.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Arjun dribbled forward, his movements echoing those of a pro.

Vivek immediately came up trying to steal the ball.

Arjun, being tall, had a higher center of gravity while dribbling.

But with a quick crossover between his legs, Arjun dodged Vivek's attempt to steal.

He burst forward, accelerating past!

Arjun didn't feel any pressure from Vivek's attempt at all.

After Vivek was left behind, The Doon School's defense didn't close in fast enough, and Arjun found himself open just a meter beyond the three-point line.

Without any hesitation, he quickly shot a three-pointer.

For Arjun now, such open shots were easy points.

"That was a careless shot, not a good choice," Coach Vikram frowned, not pleased with Arjun's decision.

But he was quickly proven wrong.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc.

"Swish!"

Nothing but net!!

11 to 28.

Arjun's shooting form might not have been textbook, but it looked smooth.

"Arjun, so cool!"

"That was awesome."

"So skilled."

"Amazing!!!"

The cheerleaders and female fans in the crowd screamed in excitement.

Handsome and good at basketball!

After scoring, Arjun strutted back to half-court, celebrating.

Using Curry's shooting style, naturally, he adopted Curry's celebration too.

"Damn, we actually let him get away with that," grumbled the player who had egged Vivek on to try and shake Arjun.

"Don't underestimate him,that shot wasn't a fluke," Vivek coolly reminded his teammate.

Even though Vivek had just tried for a steal, he hadn't given much space, but Arjun used that tiny gap to breeze past him and effortlessly sink a three-pointer.

This level of skill wasn't something you'd have seen from The Greenfield School players in the first quarter.

"Hey Priya, are you sure Arjun doesn't have a girlfriend?"

"Nope, he doesn't."

"Do you have him on Facebook?"

"I'm in his class, of course I do."

"Hook me up, I want to follow him, see if I have a chance."

"I'll give it to you after the game."

The girls continued to gossip about Arjun on the sidelines.

...

The Doon School's offense kicked off.

Vivek brought the ball past half-court.

Arjun immediately pressed him.

Arjun didn't let up just because the opposition seemed less challenging.

"Bang!"

"Snap!"

Vivek was a bit careless with his dribble, trying to switch hands under his legs, but Arjun swiftly reached out and slapped the ball away.

Arjun's reach and quick reflexes threw Vivek off his game.

It was a bit of a stretch, but Arjun dove to save the ball and passed it to Rajesh.

Rajesh secured the ball, then waited for Arjun to come back up before passing it back to him.

The Greenfield School might not have standout talent or strength, but their basic tactical discipline was solid,they knew to pass the ball back to the playmaker.

Arjun took the ball and casually dribbled forward.

Coach Vikram, watching from the sidelines, could feel Arjun's significant improvement.

Arjun seemed much more composed than before.

Vivek didn't rashly try to steal the ball again but instead retreated respectfully.

Even though this high school league game was intense, the competition still felt light for Arjun.

As he dribbled to the top of The Doon School's arc, Vivek closed in, sticking close to Arjun.

Vivek prepared to up the intensity, spreading his arms and using his chest to push against Arjun.

Arjun could feel that the guy was annoyed about having the ball stolen from him.

Arjun called out to a teammate coming up to set a screen, "No need for the screen, spread out!"

Suresh quickly moved away...

The Greenfield School players were all curious to see how Arjun would handle this attack.

Facing the nation's number one Senior Secondary School player, Arjun seemed to want to take him one-on-one?

Yes!

Arjun wanted to play more, sweat it out...

Without much ado, a shoulder fake and then he shook Vivek off balance, dribbling past him on the right!

Passed him again!

Vivek felt a chill!

Not every move could shake him, but it mattered who was making the move.

In that instant, he felt Arjun's strength again.

Arjun accelerated towards the basket, The Doon School's two interior players clearly didn't expect Vivek to be breached so quickly.

Remember, Vivek wasn't just strong offensively,his defense was a nightmare for any point guard.

Arjun sped up again, breaking through The Doon School's defense and easily scoring a layup off the backboard.

13 to 28.

Arjun quickly scored 5 points, helping The Greenfield School regain some momentum.

"Nice job!"

"Way to go, my Arjun."

"So cool, I love you."

Arjun's triple bypass to the basket looked slick.

During the first quarter, no one from The Greenfield School could penetrate The Doon School's defense like that.

The girls kept up their enthusiastic cheers.

Arjun's moves were getting slicker and cooler.

After scoring, Arjun didn't bother with Vivek passing by but casually greeted his teammates.

From memory, Arjun knew he had just passed the nation's number one Senior Secondary School player.

But inside, Arjun felt no different.

This "nation's number one Senior Secondary School player" was just another player in his eyes.

It wasn't arrogance, just a natural attitude.