Page 32 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

3 IN THE NAME OF FOOTBALL

After a long vacation, I yearned to go back to school. Especially the new school and the new dress excited
me. “Yippee, I am going to a high school now,” I said to myself. “I am gonna miss my old school, but I
must go.”
The high school had all the classrooms in a single towering U-shaped building, and the football ground
in the front, and the basketball court between the academic building and the girls’ dormitory.
The seniors played basketball even during lunch breaks. One afternoon, my friends and I watched them
play.
“Hey, Uncle,” said a senior, a thin guy. “Come, please. We’re short of a player.”
My friend and I exchanged glances.
“You tall guy.” He pointed at me. “Yes, you, Uncle.”
I turned around. Nobody was behind me. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” he said. “Please come.”
My friends chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” He glared at my friends. “Is there a problem, juniors?”
My friends stopped chuckling.
“Me? Uncle?” I said. “Why? How come?”
“Aren’t you Tshering Chopel’s younger brother?” he asked.
I gaped. “I am.”
“Your brother was our hero,” he said. “We used to call him Uncle. You’re Uncle Jr. now. Come,
please.”
“I can’t play,” I said, blushing. “I never played basketball before.”
“No problem,” he said. “Just block the ball.”
My heart pulsated. “Are you sure, Ata?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Come.”

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