Winnings

The sun was setting down and the surroundings are turning dark. The air is turning cold while the crickets are starting to make a chirping sound.

In the basketball court in a town called Sudao, you can hear heavy breaths.

"BASKET!" shouted the referee. Joe hear the referee shout and he smile. Paul's team won all their games.

"Argh! Wha..why are all of you are so lucky? All of you just know basketball, why can't we win against you?" the brawny guy with dark skin said while regretting coming here to play basketball. They lost in all 2 rounds. They already make plays and do good defense but they can't still beat them.

When they lost in the first round it was still okay and the second round came but they still lost. They were shock to know that they can't win the other team whatever they do. So, after the second round their team take a break and talk if they still want to play a third round.

"We already lost the first round and the second round. Do all of you still want to play?" asked the brawny guy with dark skin. He was scared. If they continue losing their money will be gone.

"We already lost 70 dollars to the other team and we are to think that they were weak in playing basketball." said by a chubby guy with dark skin. All of them has dark skin because they always play basketball under the heat of the sun. The chubby guy was their center. He thinks that with the help of his size he can overwhelm their enemies but he was wrong. A guy call Mark will quickly boxed him out when the time to rebound comes and there was also a guy who can jump higher than them. When he was boxed out his teammates can't fight in rebounding with that high leaping guy so every rebound goes to the other team and they can't stop their fast break scheme.

"We can play one last round against them. If we still lose, we will go straight home. We can just recoup our loses in the other town next time.

But the bet will still remain at 50 dollars so that we can still have 30 dollars as a back up if we lose." a skinny guy said. He was the one who always fights for rebound with Ashley. He also jumps higher but he always lost to Ashley in getting the rebound. Maybe because he is late in jumping or he not fast enough when jumping, in short, he always fails because of bad timing.

"Are all of you sure?" asked the brawny guy with a regretful expression. He didn't want to play anymore, the momentum of the other team can't be stop with their little tricks. They were also tired, two rounds of playing will really tire you out so, if they continue playing he was 60 % sure that they will lose even though the other team is also tired.

"They are also already tired, maybe those kids will fail in this round and now is the time to strike the iron while it is hot." Said the chubby guy. He thinks that those kids are no professional athletes and not training their bodies, they play basketball just for fun.

"Yeah. Let's play for the last round. If we lose then we lose but if we win, our loses can be minimized." Said the skinny guy. He already saw the other team breathing heavily, he even thinks that those guys have no stamina left.

"Okay." the brawny guy said to his teammates and turn around to Paul and said "Hey! Let's play one last match. The bet is also 50 dollars."

As Paul heard the brawny guy, he turns to look at him before saying "Wait! I need to ask my teammates if they still want to play." Then he turns to his teammates, but he knew that his teammates still wants to play, their plays was working so they are confident that they will win the last match. He is just acting to be seen as a weakling. He was ecstatic when they won the second match. The 32 dollar that they have turns 95 dollars. [A: 20 + 18 + 12 + 45. You solve.] If they win the last round they will have a hundred and forty dollars. It's a lot of money for them. They can now buy a good quality gift for Marian.

"We accept the offer."

They quickly started the match and as always, the brawny man's team still lose. They were shock to know that those guys have still stamina left, they were crashed in the last round. They execute their plays faster and no one can catch up to them. After the game the losing team quickly leave the place. They were so unlucky, they didn't even win a game against those kids.

Paul's team started celebrating. They have money now, they can buy the gift tomorrow morning.

Joe was watching them celebrate. He was also thinking about what will he give to Marian for her birthday. Maybe he will go to the city tomorrow morning to buy the present.

After the group eat snacks for celebration, they went straight home because its already dark.

When Joe arrive at his house he was greeted in the living by his mother.

"How's your day, son?" his mother asks while watching tv news.

"It's fine. By the way mom, tomorrow is the birthday of Marian and I need to buy her gift so I need money." Joe said while sitting opposite his mom and his mom agreed to him. After that he go to his bed to sleep. He is dead tired even though he didn't play. He still has his wounds and he need lots of rest.