✅ My Sister's Problem

26. Fair Play

I couldn't believe this was happening. I'd been half dreaming about it for a year, but never thought it would actually happen. As soon as I found the courage to ask – or rather, a situation where I didn't have a better option – everything had moved so fast. Suddenly I was right beside one of the cutest guys in school, about as close as it was possible to get. So close that I could smell him, just a hint of sweat mixed with the weird black pepper scent of his favourite shampoo. My heart was pounding and I wasn't entirely sure I knew why. I squeaked briefly as I felt his hand on my hip, a little half-whimper that escaped before I could stop it. I wished I had a little more agency, so I could do this by myself, but he was so confident and I was sure he knew exactly what he was doing. There was something surprisingly reassuring about having him pose me like a doll.

"You okay, Sally?" His voice was soft, but it had to be when his lips were only a couple of inches from my ear.

"Y... yeah. Just tickled a little, I wasn't expecting that." Then his hand was back on my hip, and this time I didn't flinch. It felt like he was only turning me by the most microscopic fraction, and that was how I knew I wouldn't ever have learned these details by myself.

"Okay, you got this. Waist a little this way, so the force is going straight along your near leg and you're not putting yourself off balance," he explained as his hands moved expertly. "Shoulders turning a little the other way, head straight. Pros can shoot without looking at the target, but that's something that comes with a lot of experience. Arms up, yeah, you got that part. Just let yourself breathe naturally."

Hugo stepped away a pace, so I could no longer feel him right beside me, and looked at my posture. I was sure I didn't look anything like as good as he did, but he was interested in specific details, not the aesthetics. He scooped up one of the balls from the ground, and placed it between my hands. He guided my hands across the surface until he thought I was holding it right, and that moment felt oddly intimate. It was like in the anime Nadine kept recommending, when the main character touches a girl's hand by accident in the supermarket, and she blushes bright red. Except this time it was quite deliberate.

"Now, let's try this," he said. "Where are you aiming for?"

"The backboard," I answered. He'd already advised me that for a first practice, I would be aiming for the board. Once I could control the ball well enough to hit it reliably, then I would start thinking about getting it in the hoop. Starting with a simple task, and getting into the real deal when I was more confident.

"Right. Think that's good practice, or too easy right now?"

"Umm..." I mumbled. I'd tried a few times on my own, but always aiming for the hoop itself, and somehow I had always wound up trying to replicate shots I'd seen Hugo make; never facing straight towards the hoop with my legs in what he assured me was the easiest position. "I think I can hit that. Aiming for a target like that is easy enough, it's just trying to judge the height and speed so it goes in..."

"Right. So, see the rectangle on the backboard? Try to get it within that, as close to the top left corner as you can. Shoulders still, pushing the ball straight away from them as you exhale. Show me you mastered that, and then we can think about more complex things."

I nodded, and returned my gaze to the spot he'd told me to aim for. He was talking down to me a bit, but not like an annoying kid who was interfering with his practice. He was talking like a teacher, or a coach eager to share his knowledge. I had his full attention and I felt great about it; he didn't want to give me a test that was too hard, but he'd allowed me the opportunity to raise the bar a little, to make me feel like I was doing well. We were standing in the Eisens' back garden now, a first lesson in how to play basketball for a girl whose understanding was only theoretical. I didn't have the courage to do it where anyone else might see, but when I felt Hugo's eyes on me I felt the same pressure of expectations I might have ahead of a big game. This was important; this was a challenge I had to win.