Chapter 3: Too Expensive!
Hi everyone,just a heads up.This chapter is slightly long with just a little over 2000 words so please be patient and enjoy this chapter.Thank you!
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After getting dragged most of the way to the mall by his father, Reo was full of grievances.
Being put in a headlock for most of the journey was not a pleasant thing especially for a 10 year old.
However, while Reo was speechless about his father's shamelessness, he was quite touched that this father cared about him a lot.
His previous father was always the cold and distant kind. No matter what Reo did, his father always had a look of contempt whenever he saw Reo.
It was like his previous father was ashamed of even having Reo as a son.
While most parents would at least have a sliver of pity for someone like Reo, his father seemed to look at him with disdain in his eyes all the time.
To him, Reo being his son was a disgrace that he could never wash off in this lifetime.
However, that was all in the past. Now, he had a new father.
One who was more shameless but at the same time, more caring.
So, once they arrived at the mall....although Reo was still filled with grievences, it had gone down by a lot.
His mood had soon stabilized but he was soon shocked into silence once again.
As soon as they had reached the 2nd floor, they saw a huge line of people that swirled and twisted around at least half of the floor.
It was the appearance of people when they were eagerly waiting for a new product release. Reo knew this all too well because he had been one of those people in those lines back in his previous life.
While it was a bit surprising to see a lot of people lining up for a new product, it wasn't really unusual.
What made Reo shocked was that this line didn't even begin at the 2nd floor!
Instead, it spiraled all the way up to the third!
Even the escalator had been put on hold just to accommodate so many people.
Seeing Reo's expression, his father explained the situation to him.
"Now do you know why I asked you to wake up early? It's because of this"
"Every national day, Sports Direct gives a huge discount in all of their stores around the country. As such, people always rush to buy the good stuff before they are sold out"
Then, his father put his chin in his hand while his face had a confused expression.
"Though, the line this year is shorter than all those other years. It might be because that Sports Direct only decided to announce their actual discount today morning otherwise we wouldn't even be able to get into the mall"
"Hehehe, this sure is a lucky day for me", putting a grin on his face, Reo's father started to laugh at his good luck.
Reo rolled his eyes at his father's attitude.
Good luck? Good luck your head!
They might have to even line up for a few hours before they could even see the Sports Direct store but here you are proud of your good luck.
What kind of nonsense is this?
As if sensing Reo was looking down on him, his father quickly put Reo into another headlock.
"Hey, brat! What are you thinking about, huh?! Are you looking down on your old man?!"
"Let me tell you, if we came even one or two hours later, we might have to camp overnight to even see the stall"
Reo was quickly dumbfounded by his father's words.
Camp overnight if they came even one or two hours later?
What kind of nonsense is that?
Isn't this the same kind of reaction people would have after seeing Thomas Edison's lightbulb for the first time and then to be presented with an iPhone 12 right after?
It was simply too crazy!
But after thinking it through for a while, Reo found out that there was indeed a possibility for it to happen.
After all, a 50% discount on 80% of all the items available in Sports Direct was just too good of an offer to pass on.
It wouldn't be surprising if everyone passing in Shibuya City came to that store at that exact moment .This offer was just too good.
In a sense, the management team of Sports Direct were like old foxes who planned everything out meticulously.
They had only announced the discount today morning when it was a fact that there would be at least 50 people camping outside the mall the day before.
He was pretty sure that there were at least a 1000 people at home cursing their mothers after seeing the discount.
If they had known earlier, they would have camped outside as well regardless of the cost.
Work?
Was a 50% discount worth a day of work?
Hell, yeah!
If it meant getting quality items at a lower price, some would even sell their slippers just to get some extra cash.
But when those people thought it through properly, they discovered that they had been tricked.
It was like those old foxes in Sports Direct deliberately saying....'We are giving away items for free but only while stocks last. First come, first served'.
Also, not many people were like Reo who lived near the Tokyu Plaza and had even left within 10 minutes after seeing the news.
It was at this moment that many people began viewing those who lived near Tokyu Plaza with envy in their hearts.
As for the duo, seeing that there was nothing much that they could do, Reo and his father began their long wait on the 2nd floor.
Minutes soon ticked by which soon turned into hours.
After 2 hours, they finally reached the beginning of the escalator.
After another 1 hour, they made it to the 3rd floor.
Another 2 hours later, they finally saw the Sports Direct Store.
It was only after another 30 minutes, did they reach the front of the line.
By then, Reo could confirm that the line to the Sports Direct store had most likely spilled to the entrance of the mall or even outside of it.
Just by looking over the sidelines, Reo saw many people on the floors below.
Some had brought foldable chairs to relax on while waiting for their turn.
Some of the bolder ones at the back of the line had even brought tents in the case of them camping overnight outside the mall.
It was just too crazy.
Reo was certain that even when the first computer came out, there was certainly not such a crazy reaction such as this.
At least, not so openly.
When they reached the front of the store, an employee told them to wait for a moment as the store was currently at maximum capacity.
It was only 5 minutes later, did the employee remove the retractable belt barriers to let them in.
When Reo entered the store, he was in awe.
He had been to Sports Direct stores before but not to one this big.
This store must be at least within the top 5 biggest stores in the country!
It's size and layout sure left one marveled at the sight of it.
Right then, his father started ruffling his hair and laughed at Reo's blank look.
"What are you staring at? The basketball section is at the back"
With that, they started making their way to the back of the store.
When they reached the basketball section, Reo found out that the store was actually bigger than he realized.
Most of all, the basketball section apparently took up over three quarters of the store's space.
It looks like his father wasn't joking about basketball being Japan's national sport and apparently, they took it very seriously.
After skimming through the basketball section, they arrived at the place where the balls were being sold.
There were currently a number of brands to choose from
Molten, Nike, Jordan, Spalding....You name it and it was right there.
As Reo and his father looked around, they began to chose which basketball to purchase.
"You should be taking the size 6 basketball. You're going to be 11 years old soon so the size 5 basketball doesn't suit you anymore"
"Also, if you're serious about starting out in basketball, I would recommend a training basketball. However, the quality is not that good and it's too expensive to keep on changing basketballs so we will be choosing one for long-term use"
Basketballs were divided into a number of different sizes but generally, there were 3 main sizes.
Size 5,size 6 and size 7.
Size 5 basketballs were usually for kids whose age were between 5-8 years old. With a circumference of 27.5 inches which made it easier for them to grip the ball due to it's slightly smaller size, it made for a perfectly good training basketball for kids.
The size 6 basketball on the other hand was slightly bigger with a 28.5 inch circumference which made it suitable for kids between the age of 9-12 while the size 7 basketball were for teenagers over the age of 13 as well as the standardized ball size used in the NBA league back in his previous world.
Even with all the changes happening, the sizes shouldn't differ by much.
While Reo was born with a weak body previously, his mind was still sharp and he had spent plenty of time studying about the general knowledge and tactics of basketball during his free time as a hobby.
He never knew that all those accumulated knowledge would end up being helpful in this life instead.
Then, as they were searching for a proper basketball, Reo suddenly halted in his tracks.
Peering into a distance, Reo stared at one particular ball that was clumped up with a few other balls.
It was a black basketball with beautifully lightning-blue grips on it. Looking closer, there was a huge blue-coloured brand named 'Spalding' on it.
Walking over to the clumped up balls, Reo hurriedly took out that black coloured basketball and proceeded to admire it's beauty up close.
It really was such a beautiful ball.
Just then, his father came up to him and looked at the ball in Reo's hand.
After inspecting it for a few minutes, he took the ball into his own hands to test it's material.
Soon, he exclaimed in surprise.
"This ball! It's really good!"
"Not only does it have a good feel to it, it's also made of synthetic leather. This makes it even more durable which makes it fine to play even in outdoor courts!"
His father had previously been in the basketball club back in his middle school and high school so he had at least a rough idea of what an ideal ball should be.
This was especially the case when choosing a ball for an outdoor court.
Even if a ball had a great feel, if it wasn't durable enough, it would easily wear down within just a few weeks.
So, picking the correct ball was essential to one's gameplay as well as saving money.
"What do you say, Reo? Do you want to get this ball?"
Reo immediately nodded his head.
He was attracted to this ball from the start to begin with so it was only natural for him to want it.
He had never really asked anything from his parents in his previous life but since his current father had already offered to buy it, there was no point in saying 'no'.
So, with the ball in hand, Reo and his father made their way to the counter for the payment.
No surprise, the line was long as well. However, it wasn't to the point of where they would have to wait for over 3 hours just to pay for the ball.
So, in under 40 minutes, Reo and his father stood in front of the counter.
However, just as they were about to scan the ball, the cashier made a surprised exclamation.
Reo and his father looked at the cashier weirdly as to his sudden outburst.
The cashier then cleared his throat embarrassedly and proceeded to explain.
"Sir, this ball is actually from a limited stock right now. In fact, I honestly thought that they were all sold out"
"The reason for this is because we are placing a special bundle discount together with this ball"
Without resisting his curiosity, Reo's father enquired about the bundle discount.
"This ball is one of the items that doesn't have a discount in the store. As such, it's original price is 4500 yen"
"However, the contents of the bundle discount consists of this ball, an Everlast basketball stand and a pair of Adidas basketball shoes"
"The original price of the bundle is 75000 yen but with the bundle discount of 40%,it is only 45000 yen without including tax", the cashier explained enthusiastically while stressing the word 'only'.
Reo was immediately filled with cold sweat when he heard the price.
Forget the bundle price, even the ball itself was too expensive for them.
An ordinary ball at most would cost 1500 yen but this ball was actually 3 times that amount! And this wasn't even including tax!
From Reo's perspective, it wasn't worth it.
So, tugging on his father's sleeves, Reo spoke.
"Dad, let's get another ball. This ball is too expensive"
When the cashier heard those words, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.
While adults would occasionally lie, it was a known fact that kids never lied.
So, when the cashier heard Reo's words, he immediately concluded that these people were living in poverty.
Then with a flash of disdain in his eyes, the cashier asked in a cold voice, "Can you afford this ball, sir?".
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