Chapter 19: Christmas
The State Tournament lasted for a week. We blew out the tournament and steamrolled the whole competition like college players going against high schoolers.
The games before the finals were so easy that I wouldn't even have to play past the 2nd quarter. It was only in the finals against Damien High School that I played an additional quarter just like our practice match.
We are now qualified to participate in the Nationals and represent California which will be in February.
For the whole tournament, I only averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 3-pointers made.
But that is all playing 17.25 minutes per game, so relatively speaking, it's already very impressive. The many scouts in attendance in every one of my games are proof that what I'm doing is still a must-watch.
Christmas is now approaching and as usual, my grandparents are gonna be with us. Normally, we spend Christmas with my dad's parents, then we spend the New Year in New York where my mom's parents live.
Both my parents never had siblings and all my grandparents are retired from their job except for Granpa Max who is the owner of the Law Firm my dad is currently working.
If everything goes right, my dad should be the next owner in a couple of years. Grandpa Max is super easygoing and loves both me and Andrea very much. My dad said grandpa was supposed to be very strict and hard to talk to, but when it comes to us, his grandchildren, he becomes nothing like what dad said.
It's actually very cool having a doting grandfather that is cold towards others, but there's still a problem. I don't think anybody told him that I'm pursuing a basketball career.
Ever since young, I was always told by Granpa Max that I'm too smart to not be a lawyer. Granda Max has a good grasp of my intelligence after hanging out with him every Christmas. When he taught me Chess, I quickly learned the game, and not long after, I could even beat him.
He was distraught after not getting a win ever since, so he would sometimes visit on the weekends to play Chess with me, but still could not get a win.
December 24, 2008, at the Cruz Residence
It's Christmas Eve and the turkey's all ready and prepared on the table with some Christmas pudding, apple pie, mashed potatoes, and a lot more.
At a table in the living room, I was sitting across from Grandpa Max while he is still thinking very hard what is the best move. There was still some time to spare before dinner so my grandpa agitatedly challenged me to play Chess.
On the couch beside us are Andrea and my dad sitting together watching closely at the Chessboard. I guess it's safe to say that everyone in the family is very smart, which I am deeply proud of. Not because we all know how to play Chess, but because we excel highly in academics.
After a couple of painstaking minutes for my grandpa, he finally made a move and he breathed a sigh of relief thinking that he was about to get an advantage with his move, but I guess that's where he was wrong.
As soon as he made his move, without hesitating, I made my move and at first, my grandpa was only surprised by my quick response. But after a while of thinking, he furrowed his eyebrows and went back to normal while simultaneously sighing deeply.
"Sigh, I give up." My grandpa felt defeated. I wanted to let him win but I know he would get angry if I played half-committing.
"Don't worry grandpa, you're still improving and are now making fewer mistakes." I smiled at him to cheer him up, while subtly hinting at my sister.
"Yeah grandpa, even though you lost, you're still the best!" Andrea understood my intent and quickly took action buttering up to Grandpa Max and hugging him to cheer him up. My grandpa is very competitive which probably is the reason for running a successful business.
"HAHAHA, Of course, I'm the best sweetie. There'll come a day when I'll finally beat your big brother." Grandpa Max took the bait and regained some energy from Andrea's antiques. I could see my dad rolling his eyes off grom my grandpa's simple-mindedness when he starts doting on his grandchildren.
"So Quin, how's school? I should be expecting a straight As right?" Grandpa Max put down Andrea after hugging her and switched topics. Which is what I was preparing for.
My dad had some little worry in his eyes but still did not respond on my behalf. He knew that I should figure out my problems as much as possible to prepare myself for the future.
"I'm doing great, grandpa. I'm confident I'll rank top in my class. And also, there's something I wanted to tell you." Here it goes.
"Sure, you can tell me anything." My grandpa seemingly sensed some hesitation from what I said so he became a little more serious.
"Well, you see... I got into the basketball team and we're gonna be competing for the Nationals in a few months."
"Aint that great? School isn't all about academics champ, you should experience other stuff as well."
"Uhmm... I think I'm gonna be pursuing a basketball career in the future too, and I'm really good at this." Maybe I was too quick and my grandpa couldn't hear me clearly, he couldn't respond for quite a while.
"Is that true Quin? But what about your academics? Even if you don't pursue Law, you could become great at learning Business or any other out there. But why basketball?" Now my grandpa is slowly losing understanding of my decision in life.
I couldn't blame him though. He is running a very successful business that could get huge in a couple of more years and if his descendants don't take over, then who will? He only has my dad as his only son and us grandchildren to follow after that.
Maybe he's a little too biased on giving me preferential treatment over my sister with regard to business or he probably has high expectations for making me run his business bigger and better in the future.
"Don't worry grandpa, I'm still gonna get a business degree at Harvard while also playing for the NCAA. You already know my capabilities and I will assure you that I won't slack off in my academics."
"But after I graduate or qualify to leave Harvard, I'll sign in for the NBA Draft and probably play for 10-15 seasons. Until then, I'll still probably be in my 30s or at most early 40s when I retire from playing if nothing goes wrong and I'll still have enough time to partake in the family business."
"And I know that I can't own the company if can't become a lawyer so I already made plans with Andrea going for the lawyer career path to take over. I will create a business of my own and partner with yours to handle my legal affairs so everything is still handled by us in the end. You don't have anything to worry about." After a long explanation that almost sounded like it came out of a script, grandpa stayed silent for a while.
My grandpa slowly looked at Andrea and asked, "Is that true Andrea, that you'll pursue law?".
"Yes grandpa, I've thought about this long enough and I think I can handle it." Andrea had a determined face nodding very hard while saying that.
Grandpa Max was a little touched by our conviction, he could feel that we really thought this through for a long time and possibly even collaborated with my parents since dad could be seen looking calm from the side.
"Don't worry about the kids, despite their age, they have a mature attitude and upbringing when it comes to serious matters like this. And even they stumble, we'll be there to help them up." My dad sounded really cool right there, can't lie.
Grandpa Max exhaled a sigh of relief and smiled while saying, "It doesn't really matter to me what you chose to do in your lives, but it still worries me that you'd make hasty decisions. So for now, I will agree with this plan of yours, but if something goes wrong, you'll have to go with my arrangements. Are we clear?"
Andrea and I looked at each other and showed a victorious smile,
"Yes, grandpa! We love you!"
Grandpa Max laughed at that and my dad smiled warmly at this conclusion.
"Alright, boys! Dinner's ready, come over here and help us prepare the table."
My mom who was with my grandma in the kitchen was cooking our food and we soon began enjoying our celebration for Christmas Eve.
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zQuinC
zQuinC 2 chapters for today. Enjoy!
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