Kiyoshi looked straight at James, his eyes practically sparkling with a mix of admiration and pure gratitude. “James, dude, you’ve been absolutely insane! Seriously! Just… just keep doing whatever you’re doing! I don’t even care what it is! Anything you do, it’s gold!” He was basically worshipping at the altar of James's basketball skills.

  James just nodded, a confident little spark in his eyes, like he already knew what was about to happen. “Let’s tie it up,” he said, his voice totally calm, totally steady, radiating this almost unsettling level of self-assurance. It was like he wasn't just hoping to tie the game; he knew it was going to happen.

  They broke from the huddle, stepping back onto the court, ready for the final py of the half. The tension in the gym ratcheted up another notch, almost unbearable now. The final seconds of the second quarter started ticking down, each tick echoing in the suddenly silent gym. Banani inbounded the ball – guess who? Yep, James. All eyes on him.

  James dribbled once, twice, keeping it cool, calm, collected. His eyes were darting around, scanning the court, processing everything at lightning speed. Sloth View – that weird, almost-superpower thing – was humming along in the background, giving him that extra edge, that split-second advantage to see everything just a little bit clearer, a little bit slower. Basically, cheat mode activated.

  He spotted a gap, a tiny sliver of daylight just beyond the three-point line. Bingo. He took a step back, creating just enough space from Lut, who was glued to him like superglue, guarding him like his social media reputation depended on it.

  James raised the ball, ready to unch. The entire crowd collectively held its breath, lungs frozen mid-inhale. The Motijheel pyers tensed up, their bodies stiff as statues, paralyzed by anticipation and pure, unadulterated dread.

  He shot. Time seemed to slow down even further.

  The ball arced gracefully through the air, a perfect, textbook parabo against the digital clock ticking down the final seconds: 3… 2… 1… Every eye in the gym followed that ball.

  Swish.

  The buzzer went off. BEEEEP! The horn bred, loud and triumphant. And the net… rippled. That sound. That perfect, satisfying swish sound echoed through the sudden, stunned silence that had fallen over the gym. Then, all hell broke loose. Pandemonium. Absolute, ear-splitting pandemonium erupted.

  Three-pointer. Again. Seriously, at this point, was anyone even surprised? Of course it was a three-pointer. What else would it be? A yup? Nah, too pedestrian for James.

  The scoreboard fshed, numbers changing in bright red: 32-32.

  Tied. Just like that.

  Banani High had erased a thirty-point deficit. Thirty! In a single quarter. Powered entirely by the seemingly unreal, almost monstrous skills of their new Shooting Guard, James. The legend of James was officially being written, in real-time, on this very court.

  The entire gymnasium was in a state of total, bewildered shock. Like everyone had just witnessed a magic trick they couldn't expin, and were questioning reality itself.

  The Banani side? Pure, unadulterated euphoria. Delirious with joy. They were celebrating like they’d just won the championship, jumping around, high-fiving, cheering their lungs out, hugging anyone and everyone in sight.