Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Second Chance
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[July 4th]
[Mc Pov]
"Mom, I'm sorry" I whispered into her ears as I tightly embraced her in a hug wanting to make sure she wasn't a fiction of my imagination. To my absolute delight, she was real and tangible, and her familiar scent of vanilla reaffirmed this for me.
"Son, what's wrong?" She asked me as she broke off our hug, checking me up and down looking for any abnormalities in my body. Looking at her concerned face, I could not fight the small smile that had crept on my face.
"Don't worry Mom I'm fine I promise, I just had a nightmare that's all," I told her with a bright smile I patted her blond hair. Looking at her younger self who had yet to go through any health complications made me feel grateful for whatever made it possible for me to see her again.
She had long curly blond hair that reached her mid-back and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sun. To finish off her angel-like future, she had a small nose and mouth accentuated by the little beauty freckles on her cheeks. She is already beautiful, but this does not even account for her swimmer's body that she gained from years of training.
"You sure you are okay? why did you scream then?" She asked me as she looked up at my face, as she was still kneeling on the floor. Looking at her inquisitive face, that said she did not believe my excuse only made me chuckle. Whenever it comes to me, she seems to wear her heart on her sleeves.
"I promise I'm ok, let's have some breakfast before we start packing," I told her as I got out of bed standing in my Pj's. She promptly stood up as well, standing at six feet tall, a whole head taller than me. Although she stood up, I could clearly see a confused expression on her face.
"Why would we pack?" She asked me as she followed me out of my room sounding seemingly surprised by her own question.
"Aren't we moving to Jacksonville for your Job and to be closer to Grandma and Grandpa?" I asked as I took a seat at the kitchen table. The house wasn't as big, actually calling it a house is just a tad bit generous. This so-called house has two bedrooms and a bathroom, while the kitchen is basically the living room. This house was in the truest sense a bachelor's pad; the only good thing about it is that it was in a relatively safe neighbourhood.
"I thought you were against the move; I mean you didn't talk to me for a week because of it," Dang I totally forgot that I pulled that stunt around this time in my past life. Around this time, my mother was offered a job in Jacksonville as an offensive coordinator for the high school football team. She got the job thanks to my grandfather, and it would have been a career-changing job for her as she had been looking for a job on a coaching team since I was four.
Since my dad decided to abandon her when she was seventeen and pregnant, she has struggled to raise me and finish her education at Georgia State. She mostly had to do night courses, but she managed to obtain a degree in sports coaching. Although she graduated with flying colours, she didn't manage to get a proper job on a football team as an offensive coordinator at any level. So, she decided to go back to school to do a degree in management and marketing while coaching different community teams in ATL.
Anyway to make a long story short her dad has been trying to convince her to move back to Jacksonville and even managed to get her a job at the high school after showing off her resume. She Is actually talented at her job managing to help lead teams she was a part of two title games but the stigma of being a woman haunted her career.
So, when she was finally offered this job, it was like a ray of hope for her. On the other hand, I was just going into my sophomore year and did not want to uproot my life to move halfway across the country. This resulted in me not talking to her for a week straight in a silent protest at the decision.
"I am sorry for being difficult: I was just scared about being a sophomore in a different school with older kids I don't know," I told her sincerely as this was my original fear and the reason why I was so against this move.
I turn 15 in the summer, but due to my grades being good, I am basically a junior this year as most of my classes would be with the juniors. It was okay in my current school, as all the children in my class were with me last year in my freshman year, so I was able to make friends even though I was a year younger than them. (sigh) The curse of being a genius is a really hard burden for some of us.
"I know that this is asking a lot, but I promise you will make new friends and I will be with you in school, plus they have a good basketball program over there," she told me in a saleswomen-like manner trying to sell me on the idea as if I had not already agreed to it.
"I know that's why I've decided to give the whole thing a try, let's move to Jacksonville Mom," I told her with a confident smile as I put some cereal into my bowl so I could start eating. My mom seemed happy at my response, standing up to make a phone call. Looking at how fast she moved, it seemed like she wanted to confirm everything before I could have a change of heart.
~~~
'So, this is real huh?' I mused to myself, as I pinched my arm for the seventh time. The first one was to make sure this was real, the second one was in case the first one was just my imagination. Now the third one was because three is the charm, but the fourth one happened because I had the sudden thought that I was just imagining the pain, so I had to be sure.
This went on until the seventh pinch when a translucent screen appeared in front of me. Seeing the screen, I was nearly 100 per cent sure that this was a kind of dream. It figures that this whole situation was too good to be true. But just like Pandora, I decided to give into my curiosity and open the mystery box, let us just hope I don't unleash COVID-19 early or something like that.
[Hello Host] A familiar female voice spoke to me. The peculiar thing was that her voice was directly in my head as if she were a telepath. Guess since I am imagining that I went back in time, why not imagine telepaths as well right?
[I am here to assist the host in your second chance at life do not fret this is very much real.] The voice spoke up again, sounding serious but also very calming. Not bothering about her other words, hearing her say that this was a reality made an inexplicable feeling rise within me. I felt elated that my wishes were finally answered, and I was given a second opportunity to write my wrongs.
[Host I know you are emotional right now, but we need to proceed with the initiation procedures] The voice spoke up again as the empty screen in front of me started to change. The screen displayed a loading screen that was rapidly loading starting from 0%. It took approximately a minute before the loading process was completed, and reached 100%.
____
[Welcome please a career path to proceed]
A) American-Footballer
B) Basketballer
C) Baseballer
D) Golfer
E) Boxer
F Tennis Player
G) Other
(Please choose wisely as it's a one-time choice for the host)]
_____
'Hmm looks like it wants me to make a choice, I might as well pick' I mused to myself as I promptly selected the Basketballer tab. This was an easy decision for me, as I was chasing the dream of the NBA at this point in my life. I played varsity basketball in my sophomore year as I hit my first growth spurt standing at 6'0 tall at the age of fifteen.
The dream was the NBA, but I did not even make it out of the city. It is honestly tragic to sacrifice everything for my basketball dream only for it to end in a moment of foolishness. In my senior year, I had many Division Two and a few Division One scholarship offers from colleges, but I lost it all in a pick-up game.
Around that time, Mom and I were struggling for money, so I thought I could make a quick buck in a local pickup game. So, when one of my friends invited me to a game in one of the hoods I jumped at the chance as they tend to play for a lot of money. I should know that they would not just let me win money from them and walk away with it. When I won, they ended up jumping us and, in the fight, I ended up tearing my ACL.
Although I ended up undergoing surgery, I was never the same. I went from a three-star recruit to a no-star recruit in the span of one month. My last growth spurt did not help either, as my body just would not move the way it did before. My entire game was built on fast movements and high-flying manoeuvres, so once I suffered my injury, it was as if my wings were clipped, and a boulder was placed on my back.
[Please confirm your choice]
[Yes] [No]
This was all I saw before me, as I snapped out of memory lane. Not hesitating any longer, I pressed yes. The screen shone white for a second as the loading screen appeared before the screen turned completely black. Just as I was about to complain that the system was being too dramatic, golden words appeared on the screen, counting down.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Basket King System]
[Host has been confirmed check status please]
'Status' I called out in my head following the instructions of the system. Upon my command, the black screen promptly changed as the character screen appeared in front of me. This reminded me of one of those video game status screens as a figure with all my stats could be seen on it.
~~~
[Status]
Name: Hakim Lyon
Gender: Male
Date of Borth: 2000/July/19
Age: 14
Height- 5'7
Race- African American
[Physicals]
[>Badges]
[>Missions]
[>lottery (looked)]
~~~
Looking at the status screen, it was slightly weird to see how accurate the information was. I felt like I was part of a video game, and this was just my basic information. seeing that nothing was happening I figured that I need to learn about the system myself. Not holding back my curiosity any more, I tapped on the physical tabs.
[Physicals]
Speed: D
Agility: D
Strength: D
Vertical: C+
Stamina: D
Athleticism Rating: E]
My physical status is quite low, but I can probably improve it with enough time. It will be much easier now that I have a numerical value to base my physicals. With this, I will be able to grow in a balanced manner and create a perfect build. Most of the statistics were self-explanatory, and it seems that athleticism was the overall rating of my physical status.
Moving on from my physicals I went to check out my skills menu. However, I wish I hadn't as I was not ready for the mental trauma. The skills I had been so proud of in my past life were mediocre at most and honestly made me feel embarrassed. This made me feel that the previous pride I had built over my basketball skills was just laughable.
~~~
[Skills]
[Finishing]
Close Shot: C
Layup: C
Dunk: -E
Post-Control: F
---
[Shooting]
Three-Point Shooting: E
Mid-Range Shooting: -C
Free throw: -B
---
[Playmaking]
Ball Handling: C
Dribbling: D+
Passing: C
---
[Defending]
Interior Defence: D
Perimeter Defence: D
Steals: -C
Blocks: F
Rebounding: F
~~~
My skills right now are just pitiful; If I had not hit my growth spurt, I would probably not have made the varsity team. I will have to work hard in the future if I really want to reach the NBA and be a factor and not just some benchwarmer.
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To Be Continued...
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