Extra Basket-Chapter 50 - 37: I Want to Stand by His Side

The steady hum of the train filled the silence inside the compartment.

Outside, the early morning sun drifted across the glass windows, casting pale gold light across the seats where the Eastgate Wildcats sat. The tension wasn’t loud — it lingered like static in the air, coiled tight between glances, thoughts, and unspoken grudges.

Three players, three very different minds.

Miho Park, the captain.

A name that echoed across regional courts.

A Korean prodigy with the skill to dazzle and the mindset to dominate — at least, that’s how people saw him. Right now, though, his eyes weren’t focused on the scenery or his teammates.

He was somewhere else. Somewhere deeper.

Next to him sat Davis Conner, the team’s solid rock at power forward — reliable, strong, always calm.

And beside Davis, resting his head against the cool window, was Armi Hassuf, the ever-curious shooting guard known for his brains and occasional habit of overthinking everything.

None of them spoke for a while.

The rhythm of the train tracks provided a beat, almost like a countdown.

Miho’s thoughts surged like a flood.

"(Pullback Dribble ...)"

"(That Hesi move into the floater... That angle—!)"

"(How did he even pull that off?!)"

"(I read it. I swear I read it. But my body... didn’t move.)"

In his mind, he saw Ethan again. Cool. Calm. Almost mocking.

He wasn’t just recalling it — he was fighting it, trying to rewrite the outcome through sheer will.

You could call it image training.

You could call it ego rehab.

But to Miho Park... it was a mental war.

And right now? He was losing.

Across from him, Armi Hassuf opened one eye, exhaled slowly, and watched Miho with a knowing look.

He’d seen this before.

Miho had always been intense, but ever since his lost to Ethan and that play — he’d been colder. Sharper. Obsessed. Armi didn’t say anything out loud, but his thoughts carried weight.

"(Captain... may this journey teach you something.)"

"(Not just how to beat Ethan... but how to face yourself.)"

Davis leaned back, unsure if he should speak. But he stayed quiet. He knew better than to interrupt Miho mid-visualization.

The three of them sat in silence again. The train rumbled forward.

Their destination: Eastgate High, where their next Chapter and their eventual rematch waited.

But in Miho Park’s mind?

He was already there.

Fighting ghosts.

And preparing for war.

.......

Meanwhile... Inside the Classroom at Oak Hill Academy

Location: Mouth of Wilson, Virginia

The clock ticked slowly on the whitewashed wall of Room 3-B, inside the main academic building of Oak Hill Academy.

The classroom buzzed with quiet murmurs, pens scratching paper, and the occasional sigh of despair. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

At the front of the room, Mr. Wang Lee, their strict but passionate Biography teacher, was deep into a lecture about some historical figure nobody cared enough to remember.

"...and that is why Florence Nightingale was not only a nurse but a symbol of resilience and modern medicine..."

His voice droned like a background soundtrack to a very long nap.

At the back of the room sat Ethan, Lucas, Coonie, Jeremy, and Kai — all second years, all athletes, and all in various stages of "not paying attention."

Kai?

Face down on the desk.

Completely knocked out.

He had both arms folded like a pillow, hoodie pulled over his head, and mouth slightly open.

"I don’t give a damn about some biography crap." Kai had mumbled five minutes into the lesson before fully passing out.

Coonie?

Tapping his pen against the desk, eyes glazed over.

He looked like he was trying to stay awake but was losing the fight minute by minute.

"That Idiot sleeping like buffon" he whispered to Jeremy.

Jeremy?

He was trying to pay attention... for about two seconds. Now he was scrolling his notebook with little sketches of basketball plays and random doodles of anime eyes.

Lucas?

He looked calm, posture upright, but his mind was elsewhere.

"(That jump shot... I still haven’t perfected the timing. I wonder if I can adjust the mimicry...)"

And then there was Ethan sitting near the window.

Mr. Wang was still talking, but Ethan wasn’t listening.

His eyes were glued to the window.

Something, no, someone was outside. It was Louie Gee Davas.

Standing just outside, awkwardly pressed against the glass like a lost puppy.

He wasn’t doing anything dramatic.

Just looking inside the classroom. Waiting.

His hair was a little messy, black with a hint of brownish gold under the sunlight. There was still that tiny cut above his right eyebrow something that hadn’t healed yet.

And he looked... sad. Like he’d been standing there for a while.

But the moment Ethan looked at him, their eyes met.

Louie’s face lit up instantly.

He smiled like the sun had just come out, waving both arms like a kid at a birthday party.

"(What the hell is he doing?)"

Ethan blinked and frowned slightly.

"Did this guy seriously skip class just to come look through a window like a cartoon character?"

Lucas noticed too.

"Hey... isn’t that the first year from earlier?" he whispered.

Jeremy turned toward the window and nodded slowly.

"Yup. That’s definitely him."

Coonie smirked. "He looks like he’s about to propose or something."

Kai snorted in his sleep.

"(What kind of guy just stares into a classroom like that?)" Ethan thought, amused but confused.

Louie kept waving, mouthing something enthusiastically like:

"Ethan! Ethan! Come out!"

The teacher still hadn’t noticed.

Ethan sat back, crossing his arms.

"He’s just a first year... thirteen years old... way too hyper."

And yet, deep down...

There was something about that goofy smile. That energy. That spark.

Ethan couldn’t explain it, but it felt like Louie was going to be important — like fate had tugged the thread again.

Ethan stared.

At that kid beyond the glass.

At Louie Gee Davas—

A crooked smile on his face.

Waving like the world hadn’t crushed him yet.

Hope still shining in his eyes.

In the Novel "Turning point"

He dies.

And Ethan knew it.

Knew it better than anyone.

"(In the novel... Louie dies in a car accident. He never even got the chance to play a real game. Lucas never got a partner. The author just—)

Deleted him.

Tossed aside a kid full of talent, passion, and love for the game.

But now

"(He’s here... smiling like none of that happened.)"

...

Ethan leaned back in his seat, eyes half-closed as his mind turned like clockwork.

"(The real problem is... I don’t even know when it happens. The novel never said the exact date. Not even the place.)"

"(All I know is that it was sudden... like a cruel joke before the story got serious.)"

He clenched his fist under the desk.

"(How do you stop something when you don’t even know when it’s coming?)"

.......

"Ethan...?"

Lucas’s voice cut in through the fog of thought.

"Hello?"

He waved a hand in front of Ethan’s face.

"Are you listening to me?"

Ethan blinked, pulled back to reality.

"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly, forcing a small laugh.

"I hear you, ahahaha. Just thinking."

Lucas narrowed his eyes, not entirely buying it, but not pushing either.

Ethan shrugged, glancing once more toward the window where Louie had now started tracing something on the glass with his finger. Some kind of... doodle? A smiley face? It was hard to tell.

"Just ignore him for now," Ethan said. "We’ll settle it later."

Lucas followed his gaze. Louie had now started imitating a jump shot for no reason. Just vibing.

Lucas smirked.

"So... you want him to join our team or something?"

Ethan was quiet for a moment.

Then calmly, he replied—

"We’ll see."

Lucas raised a brow. "That’s not a no."

"Yeah, well," Ethan said, eyes flicking toward the chalkboard but not really seeing it. "A lot of things are different now."

.....

Mr. Wang was still droning about the life of George Washington Carver.

But for Ethan?

History class could wait.

He had a life to protect.

A timeline to derail.

And maybe—

just maybe—

a teammate to save.

...

Meanwhile, Outside the Classroom...

Louie Gee Davas stood quietly by the hallway window, his forehead resting gently against the cool glass as he peeked inside. His eyes weren’t scanning the lesson. They weren’t focused on the teacher.

They were locked firmly on Ethan Albarado.

His expression? Calm on the outside.

But on the inside?

Everything burned.

....

"(I watched that exhibition match...)"

"(Vorpal Basket vs Orlando Hoops. That prodigy—Alec Storm. Everyone hyped him up, rightfully so.)"

He remembered it perfectly.

Lying on his bed with his earbuds in, he watched the replay on his phone for the second time. He hadn’t paid much attention to it the first time—too tired after playing basketball

In the first Half "(It was just decent. Orlando had the upper hand, and I thought: ’Yeah, of course. They’ve got Alec freakin’ Storm.’)"

But then...

The third quarter happened.

...

Louie’s eyes shifted toward Lucas Graves inside the classroom.

"(That number 10... Lucas. At first, he looked like any other kid.)"

"(Then suddenly—bam—he started imitating Alec’s crossover. The eurostep. That spin fake. Shot-for-shot, move-for-move. Like watching a mirror glitch out in real time.)"

He grinned a little to himself.

"(He even managed to lock Alec down. That one-on-one? Savage.)"

But then his eyes slowly turned back to Ethan.

And that smile faded into something deeper.

Something more emotional.

....

"(But even then... even with Lucas going crazy... It wasn’t just him.)"

"(The reason Lucas could do all that... the reason the team didn’t fall apart... was because of him.)"

Ethan Albarado.

Blond hair catching the sunlight just right. Blue eyes focused but calm.

No dramatic gestures. No flashy trash talk.

Just pure basketball.

"(The passes... the cuts... the pacing. Every dribble was so clean. Every read was so sharp. And then when he shot? Damn.)"

"(It was like watching a ghost of the 90s... That same poise. That same aura. Like Michael Jordan. I’m serious—it was just greatness.)"

....

Louie’s chest rose a little with a slow breath. His fingers tightened against the window frame.

"(After watching that game... I knew it.)"

"(I didn’t just want to be on the team... I wanted to go against him. I wanted to learn from him.)"

"(Not because I think I can beat him... but because I want to be someone worthy of standing on that court with him.)"

To Be Continue