Running ball

Mixed gender basketball

The dark night sets in like a cloak

But yet, dribbling sounds could still be heard

In a rural place, there still lies residences

And boy, were they mad

But nobody is going to wake up at 3 am,

to challenge the boys

Ken spin his body and pass through the defender

The opponents were already breathing heavily

But Ken still kept in pace

Nevertheless, he couldn't barged through the well-guarded perimeter

He did a leap of faith

And the ball slipped pass his fingertips

That sensation

He already knew he scored

Swish

_________________________________

The furious eagle-eyed woman ready to complain

Unwittingly became a supportive audience

As the basketball players moved out of court

Some of them high-five the lady

Me: How the heck can they play basketball so well in the dark?

Me: They were moving so fast, I could only see shadows

My eyes side-tracked to the tall Ken

In white jersey with red stripes, short and light shorts

He walked faster than anyone

I wanted to watch more

Then I realized, there is work tomorrow

Lowering the curtain with butterfly motifs,

it helps to block out the sound

The neighbors were just pleased they are finally heading back home

This area have integrated houses, everyone's houses are connected together

It saves about 50% of building costs

But when the athletes heads back home,

you could slightly hear their noises entering in the house,

makes it hard to sleep

_________________________________

It's community day

Everyone is gathering to give out free food

Forking the bread rolls and chomping on the sweet fried foods

There were more than you could count

It tuns out this place is a low-income street

Most of the residents usually hid at home to reduce living expenses

I handover a $50 note into the donation box,

its not just the poor, there are pregnant people in here

I am worried for them

Bulls: Thanks for your generosity!

I got spooked

The box attendant seems to return from his restroom break

Me: Aren't you a familiar face?

Bulls: We high-five

Me: Oh yeah, the basketball players... at night

Bulls: Aren't you coming to play with us?

Me: I can't see at night and it might be...

Bulls: Lol, we dun always play at night

Bulls: But sometimes, you know, all the work schedules and real life stuffs pushing our playtime backwards

I wanted to complain but I do not want to disappoint his smiling face

Me: Maybe next time

Bulls: A deal then!

I was kinda rejecting him, but he couldn't comprehend it

I have never played sports in my entire life

During school sports classes, the students that were in sports clubs hoarded all the sport equipment, and they were mostly boys

The girls...just run, then walk around

Eventually, we just sit in the school cafe and take a break

Where was the sports teacher even?

_________________________________

I went back inside my dilapidated house

Me (Complaining): Why are they performing event so near my house?

Looking at the ceiling

Looking at the fridge

Looking at the mirror

I got bored, and looked through the windows

Once again, I saw the handsome man

This time round, he was wearing a suit, a far cry from his sweaty jersey style

I already knew his name was Ken

Whenever they want to pass the ball, they shout each other names

A serious athlete would be showing secret finger signs

And then I remembered, they can't see well at night

But Ken wasn't socializing in the party,

he was...

digging into the food

and not handing in any donations or second-hand supplies

Can't if he is broke or rich, his suit could be given to him

The curiosity kills the cat

_________________________________

I have a great job, I work with accounting

when there is no work, I stay at home

But recently, it gets boring at home

So I traveled around

It seems like there were many sport activities going on here

Basketball, badminton, golf, tennis, soccer, volleyball, and even more

One might find an olympian here

Street 52

If I crossed further, it will be a shopping district

I am rich but I am picky in what I spend my money on

"Hey hey!"

I turned around

Bulls: You came!

Bulls: Just in time, we are missing one player

Me: Oh no, I am traveling around

Bulls: Good, you are in light clothing

Bulls: I seen you always wear those checker uniforms, can't play sports in those

Before realizing it,

the ball was in my hands,

my shoulders squeezed with anxiety

Pop

Did I just?

The audience cheered, seemingly at me

Basketball wasn't as hard as I imagined

_________________________________

In just a few weeks, I caught the sports fever

Jersey, branded sneakers and protective glasses

I looked like a clown

Better than a moldy cheese hiding at home

I got into a few mixed gender competitions

Bulls were coaching me like no tomorrow

I kept complaining why can't I join the woman only competitions?

Jay: Our street is shrinking, that's why

Bulls (Disapprove): It haven't happened yet

Jay: The government is expanding the shopping district, street 70 will swallow half of street 52

Bulls: Only if the residents sell their houses to the government

Me: The residents looks needy

Jay: That's why this street have been targeted

When the sun sets, so does my ambition

If I were in a woman only competition,

I could guarantee a win 75% of the time,

challenging the boys, I am losing 100% of the time,

battling against mixed gender, its fifty fifty, depending on my teammates,

I dun want to play a sports where I keep losing

My house were beaming lights,

it means someone was here

_________________________________

An agent appeared before I slot in the house key

Agent: Madam, you are really lucky

Agent: I have a great offer of buying your house for $500,000

Me: Holy nuts!

I bought this cheap gallow for $90,000 and the house improvement costs $10,000

When bathing

I kept thinking

and thinking

Money or basketball

Community or retirement

Next morning, I walked out

Neighbors were whispering

Dogs were barking

The basketball courts were empty

Where is everyone?

Then, I saw Ken sitting on a chair, hugging his basketball like a baby

Me: Care for a fight?

Ken: You mean like basketball right?

Me: Ah, yea, my mistake

I did a jump shot and he did jumping block

I was shorter than him and released my ball faster than he expected

Clank

The ball swirl into the net

My clothes were on fire

I am as light as a lizard,

dodging all of his snatches and passing through him with ease

The sun bleeds through ken's forehead

This is when I saw his cold steel of nerves

He wasn't even slightly affected by his losses

It's three to zero, four more balls, and victory is mine

Ken mumbled something underneath his breath

1, 2, 3

1, 2, 3

I feinted a shot but moved in and did a lay-out,

but my ball was missing

Ken stole the ball away, he needs to clear the court,

which means he have to move out of three point line and return back to make a shot

But he didn't returned

He stood outside of the 3 point line and make a long distance shot

Swish

It doesn't matters, it still counts as 1 point in half-court matches

Three point to one point, I am still leading

But every time I flick a shot or dribble past him,

Ken swiped away the ball with uncanny speed

He have completely read through my movements

It's three to five points now, my motivation sunk like an anchor

He passed the ball like a slow dart towards me as it was my turn

Time to change the tempo, I make a daring shot

A three-pointer

The small wind changed the ball trajectory slightly, and I missed

Ken blazed in to get the rebound

As I tried to snatch his ball from behind, he spin around and did a jump shot,

too fast, less than a second, the ball crossed through the net, and my knees are grinding against the tough floor

Ken: Are you alright? Let's bring you to a clinic

My head was on fire

Me: After the match

3 to 6 points, one more point and I am losing

I dribbled in a triangular movement and Ken was with me every step of the way,

when I raised my ball, all I could see were one-hundred palms swaying in the air

This guy ain't going making it easy for me

When my shot was blocked, he quickly clear the court,

this time round, I followed suit and tried to snatch the ball,

like in anime, he jumped high on one foot towards the net,

then another jump using another leg,

his hands almost touching the ring

Swish

I lost

completely