The Elimination Round

[Hiroki's Home]

Around the dining table, Hiroki sat as his mother gracefully placed his breakfast and a cup of tea before him. The rhythmic sounds of morning filled the air as his father entered the kitchen. A warm greeting ensued, accompanied by a tender kiss, and he took his place opposite Hiroki. Nathaniel Mckenzie, the world's #1 football player, inquired about Raheem's absence.

"Isn't Raheem gonna join us?" Nathaniel asked.

"No, father." said Hiroki

"Why not? Did you guys get into a fight?" Rihanna Mckenzie, the world's #1 netball player, questioned.

"Something like that."

"What was it about?" Rihanna asked.

"Lacrosse. He wanted me to join, but you know I'm not good at sports, so I..." said Hiroki

"Quit before even trying. That's all you do, just quit without trying, right?" Nathaniel remarked.

"I tried football because of you," Hiroki responded.

"No, you didn't. You tried football because you thought doing that would make me love you more, and you failed at that too. Sorry, I mean quit. Look, football wouldn't have made me love you more because I already love you enough." said Nathaniel.

Nathaniel got up. "At least try it. I mean, put out your 100%. And if you fail, then don't quit. Try harder. You owe your best friend this much; he stayed with you when you were trying football. At least you can do the same for him."

Rihanna took a seat as Nathaniel walked out. "Your dad may seem hard, but he's right, you know. We didn't expect you to be a footballer or a basketball player because of us. You can always try something else, like academics or lacrosse. We will support you all the way. Plus, you owe Raheem, so give it a try for him at least." She got up, kissed him on his forehead, and followed Nathaniel.

"When are you gonna tell him?" Rihanna asked.

"Soon, very soon," Nathaniel replied.

"I hope so." said Rihanna.

[School 105 Classroom]

Hiroki walked in looking for Raheem but didn't spot him. He stopped one of his classmates. "Have you seen Raheem?"

"Yeah, he just went to the lacrosse meeting. Wait, aren't you a part of it too, Hiroki?" a girl replied.

"Yeah, I guess. When did he leave?" said Hiroki

"Just 5 minutes ago, I think," she said.

Hiroki rushed down the hall to the lacrosse gym. "Why am I even running this fast? I hate sports, but I don't hate my best friend. If it means I have to do this, I will, for his sake," Hiroki said to himself.

"Everyone is in the gym. Where's the white-haired kid?" Keekee, asked.

"Looks like he quit."

"Oh, too bad."

"It hasn't been one day yet."

"And he said he's the son of Nathaniel and Rihanna McKenzie."

"Son, my ass."

"I know he was lying."

"Enough silence, everyone!" Mika shouted.

"Anyways, I called you all here to tell you that..." The door banged open, and everyone turned around to see Hiroki bending over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Good, so you're here. Hurry up and fall in," Mika said.

Hiroki walked up and stood beside Raheem. "Hey, look, I'm sorry about this morning," they both said at once.

"Huh? Why are you sorry? Raheem was right. I should give this a try, for you at least," Hiroki said.

"Well, I'm sorry that I said those things to you," Raheem replied.

"It's okay. You were right, but my parents think you're right too, so..." said Hiroki

Raheem laughed. "I see. Good to know."

"As I was saying, there are 50 of you, and only 10 players are on a lacrosse team, including the keeper. I will make you guys face each other as a team, and I will be picking two players from each team. You must be wondering, one team won't be able to play, but they will. The team with the fewer goals will go up against them. The first team to score 3 goals wins." said Keekee

"Let's be clear and real. Even though this is a team sport, I can only choose two people from a team. This elimination round will start after school. To know which team you're on, please look at the screen above you. If your name falls under one of these numbers, that will be your team." said Keekee

They all looked up while it shuffled the names. Hiroki and Raheem were on Team #5.

"Yes!" Hiroki shouted.

"Let's have some fun," said Raheem.

"Looks like the first match is between Team #1 and Team #3."