Capítulo 9: 9. The will-o'-the-wisp boy acts without reason
They chatted for a few minutes before the three of them continued practicing coordination.
Originally, Harden and DeRozan were just emotionally charged, but now, realizing that the tactics really suited them and were conducive to winning, they practiced with even greater focus.
By noon, Zhang Yang took DeRozan and Harden home with him. He had already told his parents the night before about the competition he had to play in the afternoon, and his parents asked him to bring his friends home for lunch, as a way to observe what his new friends were like.
When he brought the two of them home, his parents had already prepared several dishes on the upper floor, and there was also a dining table in the upstairs living room, though it was seldom used.
Harden and DeRozan shared one thing in common regarding their family lives—their parenting was very strict.
Harden, in particular, had to get his mother's approval to make friends, and it was only because DeRozan was the one who brought him to Hidden Mountain; if it were anyone else, he wouldn't even have been able to leave the house.
Yang Jing warmly entertained her son's two friends, chatted with them briefly, and seemed quite satisfied with their upbringing. After a few minutes, she went downstairs to busy herself, leaving the kids some space. Having been a kid herself, she knew that with adults around, kids might not even feel comfortable sitting down.
After Yang Jing left, DeRozan commented, "Jack, I'm really envious of you for having such a gentle mother."
Harden was also envious, "Yeah, My mom spends two out of every three sentences scolding me, and the other one threatening to hit me."
Zhang Yang felt a mix of emotions, as in the original body's memories, his mom was actually quite similar to Harden's mom... but after thinking about it, he decided not to explain. In case his mom heard from these two that he was 'bad-mouthing' her, he would probably end up getting beaten again.
For lunch, Harden and DeRozan ate their fill.
As the saying goes "the youngsters eat the father dead," Zhang Yang ate a normal amount, but the rest was gobbled up by these two.
Patting his belly and leaning back in his chair, Harden said enviously, "Jack, your home is really great, with a chef for a dad, you get to eat so much delicious food every day."
DeRozan didn't say anything. His mother's cooking was delicious, but he was now living with his grandma and his uncle, who was responsible for the cooking, and it was... less than ideal.
Zhang Yang responded, "You guys are welcome to come over for meals anytime, don't be shy. My other friend used to come over to eat all the time too. He used to take me to play baseball, but now he's studying at California High School. He doesn't come back much during holidays as he works there. I heard he's supposed to come back these few days to celebrate his mom's birthday, but I don't know if he has."
At that, Harden's face lit up with joy, but his expression quickly turned bitter, "No, I have to go back in a couple of days. Only DeMar can come to your house often..."
DeRozan rolled his eyes at Harden. After listening to Zhang Yang, he wasn't concerned about that. He was very interested in meeting Zhang Yang's friend to ask him, why on earth did he take Zhang Yang to play baseball?
Zhang Yang obviously had the physique of someone who engaged in long-term sports. He had asked Zhang Yang which sport he used to play, and after knowing it was baseball and Zhang Yang's level in the sport,
He thought that if Zhang Yang had started playing basketball two years earlier, their playtime together would have been even more enjoyable.
At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about losing the game against those thugs...
Thinking about this, DeRozan felt he had to try even harder. His little buddy even had a talent for tactics, and the sense of crisis of being overtaken was enhanced once again.
...
At 3 p.m., the park's basketball court was swarming with people, three layers deep on the inside and three on the outside.
Usually, this time was the busiest, but today there were an exceptional number of people. Even the two other courts next to it were deserted, everyone had gathered around the central court.
When Zhang Yang arrived at the court, he was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected so many people to come to watch.
It must have been those guys spreading the word about their challenge against the number one middle school player from Southern California... What were they after?
Were they so confident they would win? Had they not considered how embarrassing it would be to lose after challenging someone, especially being several years older if they lost...
But such ghostly kids don't really need a reasonable excuse to do such things. They probably just wanted to do it.
If they won, they could make a name for themselves, and as for losing face... people like them have one thing in common, they are very concerned about their image, but they're also quite unabashed when it comes to losing face.
Jack muttered under his breath and teased DeMar on the side, "DeMar, you're really the pride of Southern California, with so many people coming to watch you play."
"It's California No.1!" DeRozan instantly retorted.
He was unsatisfied with the 'Southern' prefix and would have preferred if even the 'California' prefix were removed, but his skin wasn't that thick.
Seeing that Jack wasn't intimidated by the crowd, he felt more satisfied with his little buddy, satisfaction level +1.
He snorted, "What's this? The March finals in Los Angeles County had over 3000 spectators for our game against Inglewood High School."
Harden joined in, "Yeah, that game still excites me whenever I think about it. I hope to have the chance to play games like that again."
Inglewood High School, which included grades 6-8, was one of the two finalists in this year's Los Angeles County middle school basketball competition; the other was Compton's Liberty Park Middle School, where DeRozan and Harden played.
A game surrounded by thousands... Jack also longed for that.
But does Harden really have no confidence in himself?
As the three casually chatted, three mischievous-looking youths approached, drawing a chorus of shouts.
Some were calling out 'DeRozan', others 'little Iverson'.
'Little Iverson' referred to Russell Jones on the opposing team. Barely 1.8 meters tall, he scored over 40 points in several consecutive games during the county's middle school competitions in 99', drawing considerable attention in the Los Angeles area. It was just after Iverson had claimed his first scoring title over Jordan, so the local tabloids naturally slapped Jones with the 'little Iverson' label.
This business, in any other city, would have just caused a momentary stir. In Hidden Mountain City, the topic lasted a bit longer, but once Russell Jones entered high school and didn't make a splash, locals lost interest.
But Jones himself still regarded himself as 'little Iverson', accustomed to being the center of attention. He blamed failure entirely on bad luck and couldn't accept being just an average person, so he chose to hang around the streets and parks where there were always weaker players, ensuring he always felt significant.
Jack's casual criticism from yesterday turned out to be spot-on; Russell Jones really did want to derive his sense of significance from DeRozan.
Russell Jones sized up Jack and Harden, then sneered at DeRozan, "I thought you might be too scared to show up and would be crying in your mommy's bed, but here you are. Is this pretty boy and this fatso your teammates? That's hilarious."
DeMar immediately snapped back, "They are a lot stronger than you, at least they didn't get kicked off the school team in high school."
Struck where it hurt, Russell Jones started cursing, and the Mels twins at his side joined in the slanging match. DeRozan fired back with passion, not showing any weakness.
Jack gave a 'tsk' on the side. DeRozan's words... emmm... weren't wrong. Harden definitely wouldn't get kicked off the school team, and he couldn't either— he wasn't even on the team.
When Harden spoke, he seemed pretty goofy, and DeRozan usually acted like a recluse. Jack had planned to be the one to stand up and trade blows verbally... but DeRozan was surging with courage at times like this!
Seeing Harden's spectator-like attitude, Jack guessed this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Everyone has their own points of pride, and for DeRozan, it was naturally basketball.
Like Harden, Jack switched to spectator mode and enjoyed the show. The atmosphere became charged with the sound of the ongoing verbal battle.
In the noisy crowd, two out-of-place looking observers were having a conversation.
The onlookers were teenagers, and the two middle-aged men stood out. But since everyone's attention was on the court, no one paid them any mind.
"Tony, aren't you going to go and greet the talented new recruit your team has signed?" asked Andy Tang, the middle-aged Asian man speaking.
After speaking, his gaze shifted from DeRozan and Harden to Jack on the court.
This kid, he's actually going to play basketball?
Vote for me!
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