Points

Madoka's POV

First quarter ended and the score was 24-27 with our team down by 3 points. Kenji was stretching his legs and arms while coach was telling the boys what to do.

"This game already feels intense." said Emiko, "I hope Kenji Kun can pull through this."

Break was over and the haters started chanting again. Good thing Kenji doesn't really care what the people yell.

'How many points did Kenji score?'

Homura passed the ball to Kenji and they began to push down the court and Kenji began dribbling around while the opponent team's point guard, number 3, guarded Kenji. Akito put up a screen to Kenji's left so he ran to the left and number 3 bumped into Akito giving Kenji an open shot. He drained a three and we were now tied, 27-27.

Number 3 got the ball and they pushed hard. Number three drove in and in a blink of an eye, passed the ball to the power forward who immediately passed the ball back to the shooting guard who was wide open. The shooting guard shot the ball but he missed and Dai tried to get the rebound but their center posted him out of the paint and got the rebound.

Their center was about to do a fadeaway but then Kenji came from behind and blocked his shot. The referee suddenly blew the whistle and our team seemed confused. The referee called a defensive foul on Kenji and the haters began to cheer and clap, mocking him. Kenji had the ball in his hand and he seemed confused but he just passed the ball to the referee and walked off to his position.

The center shot the ball and made his first shot but missed his second. Dai got the rebound and our team ran down the court. Dai threw the ball and Kenji caught it and dribbled down court and shot another three making it in allowing us to take the lead, 30-28.

Number 3 ran down the court with the ball and he drove into the paint and he faked going to the left and quickly went to the right with just two steps. Kenji fell for it and went to the left entirely and the haters all mocked him as number 3 made a layup. Kenji drove down court and slowed down once he got to the three point line.

He began dribbling around in front of number 3, Kenji then faked going to the right and then went to the left but number 3 stayed on him so Kenji suddenly stopped and dribbled the ball in between his legs and did a step back three. The ball hit the backboard and it went in so we were still in the lead, 33-30.

Number 3 ran down the court and drove in but he spun around Kenji but I saw him pass the ball to their small forward as he spun around. I knew Kenji didn't see it because he kept guarding the point guard. Homura guarded their power forward but their power forward spun around and did a fade away jump shot.

Kenji got the ball and he passed it to Akito who drove in and went for the layup but he was blocked. Kenji got the ball and he too went for the reverse layup but their center bodied him out of nowhere. I don't know how hard he bodied Kenji but it was hard enough that Kenji literally did a 180 flip and fell hard on his ankle.

"Foul!" yelled Emiko

"Why isn't the ref calling it?" I asked

"These refs aren't calling anything." said Yuziki

Everyone on the court ran down the court but Kenji struggled to get up. I saw him fall back down when he tried to get up. Our team was busy playing defense and number 3 passed the ball to the shooting guard and he shot a jump shot. Then Dai grabbed the ball and threw the ball across the court and Kenji, who was now standing up, caught the ball and made a layup.

"That was a smart move." I said

Kenji jogged down the court but he was slightly limping. It looked like he hurt his left ankle but not too badly. It kept going like that back and forth for the rest of the quarter until the halftime buzzer beater. The score was now 64-63 with us in the lead with one point. I sighed and went down the stairs and went up to one of the refs.

"Why aren't you calling anything?" I asked

"Call what?" asked the ref

"You're not calling any fouls on our side but you're calling unnecessary fouls on the other team." I said

"I have no idea what you're talking about." scoffed the ref

"Oi, don't give that fucking bullshit. Kenji's fucking hurt and you didn't call a defensive foul when it was supposed to be one. If you're going to continue doing that then I'll do whatever I can to sue you and I don't care if I go down. As long as you go down then I'm fine." I snapped

The referee seemed to be in shock and in distress so I just turned and left.

"What were you two talking about?" asked Emiko

"Nothing." I replied, "How many points has Kenji made?"

"28 points. I think he might break his pr." said Haruka

'Kenji needs 60 points in order to avoid getting his punishment.'

I bawled my hands into fists and looked at the back of Aiko's head who was on her phone.

"The cheerleaders in this school are pretty talented." said Yuziki

I didn't care about the cheerleaders, I was more focused on Aiko. I sighed and leaned back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.

Halftime break was over and the teams got back on the court and we were starting off with the ball. Akito passed the ball to Kenji and he began to casually dribble the ball in between his legs while moving. He got to the half court line and shot the ball. I gasped as the ball went in and the crowd went crazy. All the haters stayed quiet and it was nice to hear them finally shut up.

Kenji began to guard number 3 as he dribbled around the 3 point line. Number 3 began to do his fancy moves and suddenly passed the ball to the shooting guard. Kenji didn't see it and the shooting guard shot the ball but Homura blocked the shot. Our team ran down the court with Homura in front of everyone. Homura jumped up and did a dunk causing the audience to jump up.

Number 3 got the ball and he threw it right past Kenji's head. Their shooting guard caught the ball and tossed the ball up near the rim and their power forward grabbed the ball mid air and dunked on Homura. All the haters started cheering for the other team while jeering at us at the same time.

"That was a cool alley-oop." said Emiko

Kenji ran down the court with the ball and passed the ball to Akito who pivoted on one foot and positioned himself, blocking his defender. Kenji ran up to Akito who passed the ball to him and Kenji shot another three making it in.

The score was 72-65 but number 3 ran down the court and passed the ball so fast three of our guys didn't see it coming. The center caught the ball and dunked, closing the gap.

"Number 3 is getting everyone with his pass." said Yuziki

Homura ran down the court with the ball but number 3 slipped right behind him and stole the ball. Number 3 ran down the court and did a clean jelly layup. Dai passed the ball to Kenji who then passed it to Akito. Akito ran down the court with the ball and tried to drive in but he was double teamed.

Akito tried to pass the ball but he accidentally threw it out of bounds. Coach looked disappointed as Akito shook his head.

Number three passed the ball to their center who passed the ball back to him. Number 3 began to dribble around the ball but then I saw him getting ready to pass. Number 3 was so fast with his pass but then Kenji slapped the ball out of the air.

Number 3 looked surprised when Kenji grabbed the ball and ran down court. Number 3 aggressively tried to guard him but Kenji put the ball behind his back and ran down his left side. Number 3 was still on him so right after throwing the ball behind his back Kenji spun around and did a clean layup.

"Let's go!" yelled Yuziki

"74-69..." whispered Ayaka

"How many points did Kenji make?" I asked

"35 points." replied Haruka

Kenji was now going off. He was able to steal every single pass number 3 did. Kenji kept draining multiple threes, increasing the gap of the score. The third quarter ended with us in the lead, 89-77.

"Kenji scored 45 points." said Haruka

'He needs 15 more points. That should be easy.'

The break ended and Kenji went back on the court and rolled his ankles a bit but I saw that he winced a bit when he rotated his left ankle. He shook it off and caught the ball. He began dribbling down the court and passed it to Homura who was in the paint.

He posted out the power forward then faked his shot then passed it to Dai who dribbled the ball once before trying to do a layup. He missed and Akito got the ball and passed the ball to Kenji who was wide open. He shot a three at the corner of the court and went in.

'48 points.'

"92-77." said Haruka

Number 3 dribbled the ball down the court and passed it to the small forward. The small forward crossed Akito and drove into the paint and shot a jump shot and it went in. Dai passed the ball to Kenji and he passed it to our shooting guard, I think his name was Satoshi, and he held the ball in the air, looking around to pass the ball.

Kenji clapped his hands, signaling Satoshi that he was open and he passed it to Kenji. Kenji got the ball and shot the ball, draining another three. Kenji was about to run back down the court but just as the center of the other team checked the ball to number 3, Kenji stole the ball and did a layup.

'53 points. Just 7 more.'

Number 3 was getting mad as he ran into Kenji and he fell back on his butt and the ref called a charging foul on number 3. Number 3 and began arguing with the referee but to no avail. Our team got the ball and Homura dribbled down the court and shot the ball but missed. Dai got the rebounds and tried to put it back up but failed again.

Akito got the ball and passed the ball out of the ball and into Satoshi's hand and he drained a three. Number 3 threw the ball and their center caught it and he dunked on Dai. Dai passed the ball to Kenji and of course he shot another three but this time, he missed. My heart was beating fast as I watched Dai get the rebound and pass it back to Kenji who shot another three and this one went in.

'56 points.'

Number 3 got the ball and passed it to their small forward who spun around Satoshi and did a reverse layup. Akito passed the ball to Kenji who passed it to Dai. Dai was outside of the paint and surrounded. He jumped up and threw the ball to Kenji who caught it and he made another three.

My heart was thumping so hard in my chest I couldn't stand up anymore. I took a seat and watched as number 3 made a three. I looked up at the scoreboard, 106-84 with a minute left. The game was already won but Kenji still hasn't reached 60 points. So far he made 59 points, all he needed was another shot to pass it.

I watched as Kenji ran down the court and passed the ball to Homura who held it out for him as he set a screen for Kenji. Kenji got the ball and dribbled in and went for the jump shot but their shooting guard ran and fouled Kenji. Kenji landed on his ankle and I saw him roll his left ankle.

My eyes widened as I heard the referee call a defensive foul but I saw Kenji on his stomach, clutching his left leg. The players on the court looked at him as Satoshi and Akito helped him up but it looked like he couldn't walk on his left leg.

"Oh my... is Kenji kun okay?" sadly asked Emiko

Coach called him in and the referee called a time out. Kenji took a seat on the bench and Coach looked at his ankle. Kenji seemed to be in pain as he took off his sneakers. Coach and Kenji started talking and Coach nodded.

Kenji got back up and limped towards the free throw line and I sighed in relief. Kenji still has a chance to make it to 60 points. The referee blew the whistle and passed the ball to Kenji. He dribbled a couple times before taking a shot.

It went in and I let out a huge sigh of relief. Kenji shot his second shot but he missed this one but it didn't really matter since he had done it. But I saw Kenji's face and his eyes were wide open and he seemed a bit scared.

'What's wrong with him?'