“Dang, I didn’t think this through!” Lars held his head.

“You sure didn’t,” Yuel criticized. “But, I don’t think you can turn back now.”

“I sure as heck can’t.” Lars gulped. “Look at ‘em dudes. They be glaring daggers at me for all the stuff I said. They wanna kick my ass real bad. If I tell them I quit, they never gonna take me or the club seriously.”

“Yeah,” Yuel agreed. “If you forfeit, we’ll lose this entire argument on the spot. They’ll probably not listen to a single word we say from that point onward. Ben’s situation will remain unresolved forever.”

“Gaaaaah! I messed up big time!” Lars facepalmed with both hands. It almost looked as if he was mourning.

But then, the very next moment, he jumped straight up as if nothing happened. “Oh, I know! I just gotta ask for a 1v1 again! If it’s one-on-one, I ain’t gonna lose to anybody, yo!”

“I doubt that’ll work.” Yuel threw a cautious glance at Mike. “He refused your challenge for a reason.”

“Reason? What reason?”

“I’m not sure,” Yuel said. “Maybe he’s not confident in his own skill. Or, maybe he’s just being cautious against an opponent he never played before. He can’t embarrass himself here, especially not in front of his gang.”

“So, are you saying he’s shook?” Lars grinned. “Looks like he understands he’s dealing with a pro here, hehe.”

“Is this really the time for jokes?” Yuel made a face. “What are you planning to do about this mess?”

“Welp. Hmm. Umm. Geh. Agh. Gaaaaah...!” Lars scratched his head. He dug his own grave here, no two ways about it. He accepted a challenge that was far beyond his level and he couldn't back out. Basically, he played right into Mike’s trap. It was a dead-end!

“Looks like we have no choice,” Yuel said. “They got three players, so we’ll have to use three players too.”

“Wut? What three players?” Lars looked around. “Ya mean, me, you, and Vince?”

“Yes, that’s all we got.” Yuel wore a difficult expression. “I’m not sure how good Ben is but he looks exhausted, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to let him play either way. So, the three of us should handle this.”

“Are you sure, dude?” Lars asked. “I’m the one who jumped the gun and accepted that derpy challenge. I don’t wanna drag you guys into this mess.”

“It’s too late for regrets. Besides, we all came here together so we’re already involved. We started this, so we better see this through. I’m sure Vincent will agree.”

“Okay, gotcha.” Lars nodded. “Then, it's gonna be a 3v3! We gonna win ezpz! Actually, this is even better than my 1v1 idea. The more dudes from our club participate, the harder it’ll prove that we’re all serious players. We ain’t no frauds, yo!”

“Except, Mike isn’t entirely wrong. Most of us who play Classmancers are not very athletic.”

“What do you mean? I’m fit as heck, yo!”

“Yes, you. But, you’re the exception here. Meanwhile, Vincent and I aren’t couldn’t be farther away from ‘athletic.”

“But, you also exercise and stuff.”

“True, but that doesn’t turn me into an accomplished athlete. I only do it to stay in shape. So, I’m sorry to say, but this match will be rough. Even though having us on the team would technically turn it into a 3v3, you’ll still have to pull most of the weight.”

“That’s okay, I’m used to it.” Lars nodded. “And hey, I dunno about Vince, but you’re not too shabby at basketball. You showed me some nasty tricks the last time we played. The only thing is, your aiming skills are kinda...”

“They’re atrocious, yes.” Yuel nodded. Back in grade school, when Yuel tried to fit in with the other kids by playing sports, two obstacles stood in his way: his nonexistent stamina and his terrible coordination.

After Yuel started exercising on a regular basis, he overcame the first problem for the most part. He was by no means a paragon of vitality, but he could at least survive through a sports match as long as he didn’t push himself too hard.

However, the second problem remained unresolved to this day. Yuel’s coordination was still terrible when it came to handling the ball. Everything from his passes to his shots obeyed some alien laws of physics that shouldn’t exist. It’s as if it was physically impossible for the ball to reach its destination when Yuel was involved. That must have been Newton’s Fourth Law.

I wonder how much I would’ve improved if I practiced regularly. Yuel smiled wryly.

His coordination problems extended beyond sports and affected his performance in Classmancers as well. However, in Classmancers, Yuel became better and better over time via practice. He was no sharpshooter by any means, but he could reliably land shots. Sometimes, he could even go for quick shots and land a few of these in a row as well. 

If he practiced basketball as much as he practiced his aim in Classmancers, could his poor coordination improve as well? Maybe, just maybe, he would’ve been able to execute proper passes and to score some goals. That would’ve been neat.

Well, this isn’t the time to regret my life choices. Yuel shook his head. He couldn’t travel back in time and start practicing basketball now. There was no choice but to confront the challenge in front of him with his poor skill. Lars will have to pull most of the weight in this match.

“Are you girls done whispering?” Mike demanded. “So? What it gonna be? Are you gonna 1v3 us, you jackass?”

“Yeaaaah, about that...” Lars smiled at Mike’s provocation without batting an eye. “My bad, I got carried away there. No way I can win a 1v3. I mean, ya guys must be hella good and all. You even stay after school to practice. Mad respect for that.”

“Heh, this guy gets it.” James nodded.

“Yeah, looks like he’s smarter than he looks,” Larry agreed. “He knows he’s dealing with pros over here, haha.”

“So?” Mike asked again and glared at Lars. “Are you quitting? I thought you were gonna prove how ‘serious’ you nerdy ass club is.”

“Nah, ain’t nobody quitting, dude,” Lars responded to Mike’s glare with an unwavering gaze. “Let’s do this thing, but let’s do it fair. Ya got three dudes, so we’ll also bring three dudes. That’s fair, right?”

“Hm, I see.” Mike shot a glare at Yuel, sizing the guy from head to toe.

“Ugh...” Yuel instinctively backed away. That gaze pierced him like a blade. He was like a helpless rabbit eyed by a ruthless hawk.

Nevertheless, Yuel stood his ground. They’ve come this far, so they couldn’t give up here. Even though their chances looked grim at best, they had to give it a shot. This was their best shot at resolving Ben’s conflict peacefully.

Since Yuel signed up to this madness, he had to do everything in this power to secure victory for the team. He didn’t possess even half the physical skills Lars had, so he had to make up for it with mental finesse.

“Can we please use standard 3v3 rules?” Yuel asked.

“Meaning?” Mike raised an eyebrow. “There are tons of variations.”

“I believe the most popular variation is played on a half-court until one team scores 21 points.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.”

“In this variation, a normal shot scores one point instead of two, whereas a ‘’three-pointer’ scores two points. Is that fine?”

“Geh.” James made a face. “What’s with that bullshit? I remember playing a game like that before and it’s confusing as fuck.”

“Git gud at math, bro.” Larry laughed.

“Hmm.” Mike eyed Yuel intently, trying to infer the guy’s real intentions. Is he really just verifying the rules? It feels like this smarty-pants is planning something...

Was there anything disadvantageous for Mike’s gang in these rules? Playing a 3v3 on a half-court was common practice and playing until 21 points was common as well. Likewise, the aforementioned scoring rules were widely used in 3v3.

Therefore, at face value, there was nothing wrong with the rules the guy presented, was there? These were all standard rules, so they shouldn’t benefit the enemy in any way.

Meh, I’m probably overthinking it. Mike concluded. “Sure, let’s roll with these rules,”

Good. Yuel nodded to himself. It was a small thing, but it nonetheless increased the team’s chances of winning.

With Lars on the team, the alternative scoring rules played to their advantage. But of course, the enemy had no way of knowing that since they haven’t seen Lars in action yet.

“Okay, it’s on!” Lars pumped a fist. “Our team gonna be me, Yuel, and Vince.”

“Wait,” Mike interrupted the early celebration. “Considering you’ve been droning about how ‘important’ Ben is for your little club, I say it’s only fair to have him represent the club in the game, don’t you think?”

“Eh?” Lars blanked out for a moment. “Why, tho?”

“If you wanna convince us your club is some serious shit and that Ben is competing there in a ‘real sport’, then I say he should show his determination on the court. Don’t you agree, guys?”

“Totes, haha.”

“Yeah, make him run.”

The subroutines wholly supported their leader. Just like that, Mike gained a majority in this discussion for a random suggestion he came up with on the spot.

This smartass...! Yuel grimaced. Their side was already at a grave disadvantage, yet Mike was trying to boost the delinquents’ odds even further. This godfather was going to pull every dirty trick in the book to secure the gang’s victory.

“But, Ben is tried,” Yuel argued.

“Then let him rest a little.” Mike shrugged as if it had nothing to do with him. “We’ll give you ten minutes to prepare. Aren’t we just the nicest?”

“I don’t think ten minutes is enough to rest up...”

“That’s not my problem,” Mike asserted. “It’s Ben’s own fault for being such a fatass. He should’ve exercised more if picking balls can tire him so much.”

“Yep.” James nodded. “Bruh be acting like he finished a whole marathon or something, haha.”

“Lame,” Larry added. “He should be thankful we’re wasting our precious time to help him get in shape, seriously.”

“Ugh...” Yuel couldn’t come up with a retort against any of that nonsense. The trio was patting each other on back, pretending their lies were the absolute truth. It was impossible to tackle them.

“Okay, no problem,” Lars spoke up all of a sudden. “We’ll have Ben play.”

“What...?” Yuel could swear his ears were playing tricks on him. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Lars gave a thumbs up. “It’d still be a 3v3, so we gonna win ez. Besides, they make a good point. If Ben plays for our team and we win, that outta convince them even harder that our club means business.”

“I suppose that’s true, but...” Yuel frowned. “Did you see Ben’s condition? He can barely stand. I don’t think he can play very well. Besides, he is...”

Yuel didn’t want to come off as insulting, but he had to be realistic here. Ben was quite obese for his age, so he most likely wasn’t very athletic. Combined with how exhausted he looked when they came to the gym, it was clear as day that Ben wouldn’t be able to contribute much in this game.

And, I’m not exactly a great player myself… Yuel shook his head. Add us up together and we’re probably worth less than one half-decent player. At this rate, this game will be a 2v3 at best, maybe even a 1.5v3.

“Don’t worry, dude.” Lars flashed his teeth, wearing his usual confident grin. “I know Ben looks half-dead over there, so we just gotta carry the team together. Besides, if Ben always hangs out with these basketball dudes, he might’ve picked a thing or two. Don’t write him off just yet, yo.”

“Sounds like wishful thinking to me.” Yuel frowned.

Unfortunately, it was too late to argue about this. Lars has already accepted Mike’s unfair condition, there was no turning back at this point. They had to win this 3v3 with Ben on the team, such were the conditions.

Will this makeshift team be able to compete against three members of the basketball club...?