Page 264 - Half Girlfriend

of the most expensive stadiums in the world. I went inside, and was

astonished by what I saw. It was the best basketball court and spectator
stadium I had ever seen in my life.
The teams had towering players, many of them over six-and-a-half

feet tall. The Lakers wore yellow kits with a purple strip down die

side. The Knicks had on blue jerseys with an orange border.
I took my seat. It took me a minute to scan the huge arena and

figure out all the complicated scoreboards.The crowd of nearly twenty
thousand roared at every point scored.

I was in New York. However, I supported the LA Lakers. They had
Kobe Bryant, one of the worlds best basketball players and iny

favourite. He scored the most, over forty points in the game. I
wondered if an Indian player would ever join the NBA.

The game ended with the Lakers scoring an easy win. The crowd,
exhilarated from the game and the atmosphere, began to trickle out of

the stadium. I followed them to the exit.

*
As I came out of the MSG, I saw a couple of elderly people in
jackets with the New York City Tourism logo, waiting near the exit. An

elderly Hispanic woman walked slowly towards me.

‘Tourist?’ she said.
‘Yes, well, sort of,’ I said.

‘How your trip goes? Me Daisy, from the Senior Citizens for NYC
tourism. Sorry my English not good. I am Mexico originally.'

‘My trip is going quite well, thank you,’ I said. ‘And your English
is just fine.’

I could not believe I had commented on someone else’s English.
She held a bunch of brochures in her hand.

‘May I ask the favour? Will you practise English me five minutes?’
Daisy said.

I had to go home and pack. This was an unusual request anyway.
‘I join adult school to learn English.To practise I volunteer here

tourism department,’ Daisy persisted.