Emrys and Amber exchanged a nce before turning back to mingle with their ssmates, alongside the boys who had opted to take on the challenge. However, the atmosphere was grim on the side of ss 22D. Albert Sitwell frowned at the boys in his ss. “Come on, don’t be such cowards. There are more than twenty of you, and only me and Hendrik Stiller are brave enough to step up?” Including Jared Farrell, they were still two yers short.


    “This… it’s because we’re afraid of losing,” a boy said timidly. “What can we do? You know as well as anyone, if we lose, Mr. Farrell and Miss Reed will have to kneel in front of that jerk in public…” He nced nervously at Jared Farrell and Tina after he spoke.


    “We can’t just admit defeat without a fight!” Hendrik Stiller was nearly driven mad by their cowardice. Where had the spirit of ss 22D gone? Yet, as the boys looked around at each other, none dared to step forward.


    “Then, I’ll do it.” The students of ss 22D were stunned as a seemingly inconspicuous girl with short hair and sses, dressed in baggy sports attire, stepped forward and addressed Jared Farrell, “Mr. Farrell, girls can y too, right?”


    “Do you y basketball?” Jared Farrell asked, eyeing her.


    Tina studied the girl, who she recalled was named Courtney Tate. Courtney was average in appearance, neither excelling nor failing in her academics, and in ss 22D, she virtually blended in without any distinct features, except for her notable height of at least 5’8″, always sitting quietly in the shadowy back rows of the ssroom. Tina barely remembered her.


    Her stepping forward was unexpected, causing the whole ss to look at her skeptically, doubting her basketball skills. Without a word, Courtney picked up a basketball from a nearby basket, dribbled to the three-point line, jumped, and shot. The ball swished through the, silencing ss 22D with the sound of sess.


    “Does that work?” Courtney asked Jared Farrell.


    “Yes, you’re quite good,” Jared Farrell nodded appreciatively, having noticed her skill level from the moment she started dribbling.


    “We still need one more yer,” Albert Sitwell said, initially dazzled by Courtney’s three-pointer. He then sternly looked at the rest of the boys in ss 22D. “Can you guys stop being so timid? She’s just a girl, and she’s stepping up!”


    The boys remained silent.


    “I’ll join then,” Tina said, hands in her pockets, as everyone turned to look at her.


    “Miss Reed, are you sure?” Hendrik Stiller asked, looking at her with the same skeptical eyes he had for Courtney.


    Tina spun a basketball on her fingertip and tilted her head at Hendrik Stiller, smiling, “You think I can’t?”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    For some reason, even though Tina was smiling, Hendrik saw something sharp in her gaze. “No, not at all,” he quickly waved off any doubt.


    “So Miss Reed, what position will you y?” asked Albert Sitwell, cautiously.


    “Point guard okay?” Tina suggested with a smirk. The point guard, crucial for organizing the offense, didn’t need to be tall but must control the tempo and every pass decisively.


    Albert Sitwell and Hendrik Stiller were full of doubts but dared not voice them, while Courtney was indifferent. Jared Farrell, doting on Tina, wouldn’t have objected to any position she chose.


    Finally, the team was set: Jared Farrell as the small forward, Albert Sitwell as the power forward, Hendrik Stiller as the center, Courtney Tate as the shooting guard, and Tina as the point guard. This oddbination of yers took the court.


    When Emrys and four boys from ss 22A entered the court, they were surprised to see the lineup from ss 22D. “Jared Farrell, are all the boys in your ss wimps?” Emrys couldn’t help but scoff. “And you had to bring two girls to y? Plus, isn’t Tina a teacher? Is it even appropriate for her to y?”


    “Miss Reed is our lead teacher for ss 22D, and she most certainly can represent our ss!” Albert Sitwell retorted, his pride unwavering. “We thought beating you would be too easy, so we brought two girls to give you a chance. Understand?”


    “Whatever makes you feel better,” Emrys sneered, turning to his team. “If you lose to them, especially to the girls, don’t ever im you y basketball.”


    The four boys from ss 22A exchanged looks, theirpetitive spirit ignited. They all knew about Emrys’s deliberate injury of Elena Heisler and Amber’s recent incident. Though they initially resented the sudden arrival of this sports teacher and nnedto y leniently against ss 22D, Emrys’s words now challenged their pride.


    The game started swiftly, with a high school PE teacher, who happened to be nearby, serving as the referee. At the whistle, Jared Farrell leaped higher than Emrys, tapping the ball towards his team. The students from ss 22A rushed to intercept, but Tina effortlessly snagged the ball. Albert Sitwell and Hendrik Stiller immediately dashed over to support her defense.


    Tina, facing the eager defense of ss 22A, dribbled with her right hand while signaling to her teammates with a raised index finger on her left, “Let’s score the first point.”


    As she finished speaking, she feinted forward; when an opponent moved to block her, she swiftly spun around, dribbling past three defenders in a blur. Approaching the half-court line, Emrys stepped up to intercept. With a quick raise of her hand, Tina lobbed the ball.


    “Damn!” Emrys cursed, turning around only to see the basketball already in Jared Farrell’s possession. Dodging an opposing yer, he drove to the basket,pleting ayup and scoring two points for ss 22D.