Leaving the gym and heading toward the bus stop, Aaron couldn't help but think about what happened in today's training.
He felt that his performance was good for someone testing a new position he wasn't used to.
But he also couldn't help but feel a slight frustration at having to move from his favorite position on the court.
He understood Coach Arbitello's reasoning and the reasons why he didn't put him as a center, but even so, that couldn't help but hurt his pride.
Despite this, Aaron decided to see it as a challenge and motivation, knowing that in the future, the NBA sought players who could do everything from shooting to passing.
Aaron was determined to show that no matter what position he found himself in or where they put him, he could perform without problems in any of them.
Before he could even reach the exit, a voice from behind him stopped him.
"Aaron!" shouted an exhausted Drew, making the greatest effort possible to catch up with his friend. "Wait for me!" he continued speaking, reaching where Aaron was.
"Phew, phew," Drew panted with his hands on his knees while recovering the breath he lacked. "I'm dead," was the first thing he said after air entered his lungs.
"What's up, Drew?" Aaron asked curiously, seeing how his friend sought him with such desperation.
"Are you okay?" was the only thing an anxious Drew asked toward his friend, his gaze fixed on him.
"What's with the question?" was all Aaron could say to his friend while raising his eyebrow in confusion, not entirely understanding what his friend was referring to.
"I saw everything," was the only response Drew gave with a seriousness rarely seen in him, a sign that he wasn't playing.
At that, a look of understanding appeared on Aaron's face as he understood what his friend was talking about.
"It's nothing," Aaron said, waving his hand in a sign that he should downplay the matter as if it weren't anything important.
"But..." Drew started to say, but before he could even say whatever he was going to say, he was interrupted by Aaron.
"You don't have to worry," Aaron began in an attempt to calm his worried friend. "Maurice doesn't scare me or worry me," he finished saying while putting both hands behind his head.
At that response, the seriousness on Drew's face disappeared, but a trace of concern still lingered on his face.
Giving a tired sigh, Aaron decided to explain before Drew continued worrying over nothing.
"What year is Maurice in?" Aaron started with a question toward his friend.
"It's his senior year," Drew responded without hesitation, since he knew that most of the Varsity starters were in that year and Maurice was the star player.
"Exactly," Aaron affirmed while continuing to explain. "This is Maurice's last season on the team, so he won't do anything that could jeopardize him," Aaron explained, and seeing that Drew was still confused, he decided to expose the implications.
"It's his last year and he hasn't signed or has an agreement with any university yet," Aaron said bluntly, as if that were the answer to everything.
"Ok..." was the only word Drew said, trying to pretend he understood.
Rolling his eyes, Aaron took a deep breath and decided to keep explaining why he wasn't scared at all of Maurice's intimidation attempt.
"If he tries something, the most affected one will be him and not me, since he is the one under the radar of several universities," Aaron said with a smug smile, lifting his head slightly.
"I see, and if he does something to you, he could say goodbye to his college career," Drew finished, finally understanding the logic behind Aaron's thoughts.
Giving Drew a thumbs up, Aaron continued, "Unless he doesn't want to play at a good D1 university, then yes."
After that, they continued walking in a comfortable silence, broken by a new question that arose in Drew's mind.
"But doesn't that mean you'll play alone on the team?" Drew asked again, looking at Aaron.
"Yes and no," Aaron said, affirming but also denying the question, which only made Drew even more confused about what his friend meant.
Before Drew could even speak, Aaron decided to explain everything without giving Drew a second to speak. "At first they might resist, but if they want the team to win, we all must play together," Aaron said, explaining the logic.
"Even if Maurice is the captain, he also wants to win, so even if he hates the idea or resents it, he will have no choice but to play with me," Aaron finalized.
"If he did something, he would be even stupider than he already seems to be," Aaron thought, biting his tongue to avoid saying it out loud, knowing how big-mouthed Drew can be.
"I'm leaving now," Drew said as he pointed to his father's Humvee parked outside the school. "Do you need a ride?" Drew offered, knowing that Aaron always came and went alone.
"Don't worry, man, I'll wait for the bus," was Aaron's response with a shrug as he extended his fist toward Drew, who responded with his own.
Seconds later, as Drew climbed into the back of the Humvee, the car's horn was heard as a sign of goodbye.
Assuming it was Mr. DeLuca behind the wheel, Aaron raised his hand in farewell while watching the car pull away, becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.
Once the car was out of sight, Aaron headed for the bus stop, putting on his headphones along the way.
With music in the background, Aaron walked observing the streets while reflecting on everything that had happened in these last few days.
30 minutes later
With the sound of the door opening, Aaron entered the apartment, being immediately greeted by a pleasant smell coming from the kitchen, which made him approach.
As soon as he was inside the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of his mother, who was humming a melody, concentrated on what was in the pan over the stove.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Melissa slightly turned her head, seeing that it was her beloved son who had arrived home.
"Hi, sweetheart," Melissa said with a smile, seeing Aaron as he hung his backpack on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
"Hi, Mom," Aaron said, approaching to then lean down and give his mom a kiss on the cheek.
"You've grown again," said Melissa, who had to lift her head to see her no-longer-so-small baby.
"You think so?" Aaron asked, not entirely noticing the height difference his mother spoke of.
"Uhum," was the only sound Melissa made, concentrated on the pan. "I still remember when you were this size," Melissa said with a nostalgic smile on her face while putting her hand at the height of her hips.
Aaron couldn't help the nostalgic smile on his face, remembering all those moments in his childhood and how his life had taken a great turn in these years.
Not only the physical change—which, to be honest, Aaron appreciated since, given his growth, he's about to surpass the 6' 7'' mark, which placed him in a height percentile higher than most people in the world.
But also the change in his entire life; now he had a better relationship with his mother, he had friends, and he felt happier than he ever felt in his previous life.
"Take a shower, you're stinking," Melissa said, pulling Aaron out of his daydream as he saw her bring a hand to her nose and cover it dramatically.
With a smile forming on his face, Aaron had an idea as he opened his arms and moved closer and closer to his mother.
"Don't even think about it," Melissa said, already getting an idea of what her son had planned.
Even in the face of the warning tone, Aaron did not falter and kept approaching his mom, wrapping her in his arms and lifting her up.
"Aaron!!" his mother couldn't help but shout, and then let out a laugh at the situation unfolding in the kitchen.
As soon as his goal was accomplished, Aaron slowly lowered his mother, who, as soon as her feet touched the ground, glared at him with a spatula in hand.
Putting one hand on her hips and pointing the spatula at Aaron's face with the other, Melissa exclaimed, "Go bathe once and for all so we can have dinner!" while threateningly shaking the spatula in front of Aaron.
Raising both hands in a sign of surrender, Aaron slowly retreated under his mother's watchful eye, going to his room and coming out a few seconds later with a towel in hand.
Once out of the shower, fresher and without the annoying layer of sweat, Aaron couldn't help but let out a sigh of relaxation, then threw himself on his bed while waiting for his mother to call him for dinner.
"Time to do something productive," Aaron thought, picking up his cell phone, but before he could even do anything, the sound of an incoming message was heard. As soon as Aaron saw the name of the sender, a slight look of annoyance appeared.
Deciding it was best to overlook it, he ignored the message and opened YouTube, searching for "Tim Duncan best moments" in the search bar. He was greeted by a long list of videos; entering one at random, Aaron waited for it to load to start watching it.
Waiting patiently for the video to load, Aaron was greeted by energizing music as the mythical number 21 appeared.
The first plays that appeared in the video were Duncan's signature move, the "Bank shot," a shot always related to Duncan. The play consisted of receiving the ball in the mid-post, then pivoting to face the defender. Using a jab step with his right foot to destabilize the opponent and, without needing to dribble the ball, he rose in a controlled vertical jump.
"Pum," once you heard the sound of the backboard impacting, it was safe to assume the ball would go in. Aaron couldn't help but marvel at that movement and how Duncan had the discipline and patience to take it to that level.
After that came his near quadruple-double in the 2003 finals: 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks were the numbers reached by Duncan against the New Jersey Nets, being considered by many as one of the best performances in an NBA Finals and also the best performance of his entire career.
After that came his classic Fadeaway against Kobe and Shaq's Lakers, in which Duncan showed his nerves of steel in the key moments of a game. With 5.4 seconds left against the Lakers, Duncan executed one of the most difficult shots of his career. After receiving an inbound pass at the top of the key, he was immediately surrounded by Shaquille O'Neal, dribbling to his left looking for an angle, but under Shaq's pressure, he had to launch backward in an extreme fadeaway while losing his balance. Despite the Lakers' center extending his arm almost grazing the ball, Duncan's shot went in cleanly with 0.4 seconds left.
After that, each of his plays continued to be shown, marveling Aaron and reminding him why Duncan is considered one of the best power forwards in NBA history.
While he continued watching the videos, it was as if all the outside noise disappeared completely; such was his concentration that Aaron didn't even hear when his door opened.
"Aaron!!" shouted an exasperated Melissa, seeing her son still lying on the bed. Coming out of his trance, Aaron looked at his mother and asked, "What's wrong?" not knowing why his mother had burst into his room.
With a glaring look, Melissa responded, "Dinner has been ready for 5 minutes. To the table, now." After that, she turned and went back to the table without giving Aaron a second look.
A slight trace of embarrassment crossed Aaron's face as he stood up quickly and headed for the kitchen.
Despite this, the plays did not leave Aaron's mind throughout dinner as an excitement grew within him, excited for the new season to finally begin.
Authors thought's
What did you think of today's chapter?
Respecting the 2014 Draft order and considering Aaron's level, he will be the #1 overall pick. I'm going to have him go through the same situation as Andrew Wiggins, so the real experts should know which team Aaron is heading to
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