Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 5 : The Basketball Match

I was surprised at what just happened. I not sure how to react to what just happened. I saw Monika was running behind Sophia and I followed them too.

Once we reached the room, I found Sophia was sitting on the bed and was crying, while Monika was trying to comfort her.

With tears flowing through her eyes, Sophia spoke with a heavy voice "Why do they hate me so much? I always listen to whatever they say. I can never get them to like me. I always try to do everything they ask me to do and still they feel it difficult to accept me as their own?"

"Just because my Mom and Dad left me alone in this world, they think that they can keep hurting me as much as they want and no one will be there to stop them. You know Joe Bhaiya, I have never done anything bad to them. Do you know what they did after you guys went home to change?"

"They took away my shorts and my sneakers and Darika didi reminded me that aunty had strictly warned me that I am not supposed to wear any shorts and sneakers. They told me that if I wanted to play, I should wear a skirt and Garima Didi gave me one of her old school shoes to wear. Which were very tight and uncomfortable for me?"

"Aamayd didi told me if I don't want to wear these, I can use any of the shoe uncle bought for me. I guess luxury is something which only the privilege should have… being an orphan is worse than a curse…”

It felt like the girls wanted us to lose the match by sabotaging one of my players. That was mean and for the first time in a long time, I was mad at someone.

Monika looked at me and understood that I was angry, but I managed to calm myself for the sake of my team.

I got hold of Sophia's shoulder and said: "So this is bothering you, why don't you show me where your shoes are kept, let's see what could be done."

Sophia and Monika were looking at one another trying to figure out what I had in mind and what did I know about girls and their fashion sense. But just to humor me Sophia opened one of her lockers.

What I saw was shocking. I found that the almirah was only used for keeping shoes. What was strange was that the shoes were arranged in a proper manner and very neatly, the pumps were placed in one rack, while the stilettos were on another, the knee-length boots were on the top and the calf-length wedges and heels are placed together. What was strange is that all the shoes present in the wardrobe are all heels. there were no flat shoes.

I asked her "Do all these shoes belong to you or the whole family keep their shoes here."

Sophia replied "All of them are mine. whenever uncle goes on tour, he always makes sure to get lots of dolls, dresses, shoes, and jewelry for me."

Looking at the rack, I felt like I was inside some celebrity's wardrobe. Even Monika was shocked to see the huge collection. It felt as if she has no idea her friend owns such a huge collection of dresses.

Monika said to Sophia, "The next time I come here I would like to browse your Dress and Jewellery locker. I would want to try them on and click lots of selfies."

Sophia hugged her and said, "You can try any dresses you want Sweety. Don't hesitate to ask me. I am sure you will look like a beautiful princess in them."

I was going through the shoes and found a knee-length boot. I took it out and found that the sole was big. Monika told me that those are wedges and that even though they seem flat from the outside, they are actually heels with a height of at least 3 inches. None of the heels seems suited for playing the match however Monika suggested that Sophia can play comfortably with the boots that I have in my hand. Even though they have heels but wedges would still be comfortable considering that there are no flat that she could put it on, and so, I asked her to try it out.

Sophia asked us "Are you sure?"

I replied "Trust me. Your sisters are going to regret hurting you. But there is another thing I want you to do first. Do you have any white or black thigh-length socks or stockings? "

She replied "Yes" 

"Get that too." I said and then I paused and continued, "One last thing, Can you show me the skirt that Aamaya wants you to wear?"

She brought me the skirt and I took it from her. I asked her to stand straight, and tried to place it over her in order to check the length of the skirt, and found that if she wore the skirt on her waist, it would reach till the thighs and it would be helpful for her to run around.

Then I said to her "Go and wear your shocks and pull the skirt up to your waist. no need to wear shorts." 

She went to the washroom and got herself changed. I felt like I had become a fashion designer.

Monika looked at me and asked her "Would you mind telling me what you are up to Bhai?"

I said to Monika, "It is for Sophia's safety. If she wears the skirt that Aamaya gave her, at least I know that they will be happy, and trust me, whatever she is wearing will come to our advantage. I am going to play psychological warfare with them. Jealousy and rage will be our weapons in this match. In school, I learned that if you are feeling rage while playing any game, there is a 90% chance that you end up losing the match." 

It felt like Monika understood what my plan was.

After about 5 minutes Sophia was ready. By then I was ready with the white boots and told her to put them on.

I had still not calmed down. I was still angry at the girls. However, my anger took the back seat when I recalled the words Sophia said. 'Luxury is something which is something only the privilege have' 

I wanted to teach the girls a lesson on humility, and I said to Sophia “Honey… as you said Luxury is something which only the privilege should have… how about we show your crazy sisters in today’s match that they will not have the privilege or luxury to score a single basket…” I took a pause and continued “you are like a sister to me… my dad always says 'Think with your heart and feel with your soul'”

For some reason the moment I said those words Sophia stepped up and gave me a hug and was crying. I was not sure how to console her but a few seconds later she let me go. Monika took her to a corner and whispered something in her ear which made Sophia smile.

I saw Monika helped her tie her hair at the back just like Fergie does, and when that was done she said: “I am ready Bhaiya…”

It felt good and seeing Sophia and my sister happy I was satisfied. What could be more satisfying for a brother than to see your little sister happy because of something that you did? 

I took a step towards Sophia, smiled at her, and said "My dear Sophia, Let's go and win the battle. Lest show your mean sisters how real basketball is played..."

Now when Sophia stepped out of the house it looked like a cheerleader was exiting the house. She was looking great and happy. Now, it was time for Garima to fume with envy.

Monika could not resist herself and lashed out a retort to Garima "You were saying something". Garima looked at  Sophia and gave a devious smile and said "Don't be too happy sunshine. I will make you regret playing this game. Just wait and watch." and then went to where her sisters were stretching themselves.

Sophia looked at my eyes and said "Thank you, brother Joe." 

I looked at her and said "Trust me, today we are going to teach these sisters a lesson in basketball. They think they know too much."

Vikash had some interest in photography so he wanted to take a video of the basketball match. I went to Aunty to get permission.

She was a bit hesitant at first, however, I convinced her by saying "If we can get some video of your daughters in action, it may help make them famous. Vikash is a professional basketball referee, and he is acquainted with a few agents from Kolkata who might appreciate good talent."

I saw a sudden glimpse of greed on aunty’s face as she agreed. I went to Vikash and told him to take the video. Vikash called up a friend of his to start the video, and then the match started.

Aunty called up the siblings and discussed something with them. They were in the other corner, so I was unable to hear anything. All I could understand from their gestures was that aunty was blessing the girls to perform well in front of the camera.

I indicated to Vikash that we were ready for the game, and he blew the whistle, signaling everyone to assemble at the Center of the field. He started to describe the rules of the game.

"Today each team will be playing with 3 members. No extras. Your objective would be to shoot the ball through the basket hoop.

A team can score a single point by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during the play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from the front of the line. 

A team can also score one point converting free throws if the opposite team is assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points will win at the end of the game. 

The ball can be advanced on the court by throwing it to a teammate, or by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling). It is a violation to lift or drag one's foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.

You can shoot, pass, dribble, and rebound. No pushing or hurting players from the other team."

"Everyone got the rules correctly," asked Vikash, and they all nodded their heads.

Vikash shouted "Players to their positions" and each team moved to their respective positions.

The match started, Me and Aamaya were looking at one another with eye contact, and Vikash flings the ball into the air. As the ball came down, I jumped and pushed the ball towards Monika.

Monika got hold of the ball. As she got the ball and tried to move forward, Garima charged at Monika to get the ball from her, Monika stopped and to my surprise shouted, " Sophia catch."

Sophia rushed towards it, got the ball in her right hand, took a step to the left and saw Darika charging at her. As Darika reached closer,  Sophia bowed slightly bend herself towards the left, and out of nowhere took a step back and threw the ball towards the basket from the centreline. It hit the square box first, then rolled off the hoop into the basket.

Vikash raised his hand in the air and pointed 3 fingers saying it's a 3 pointer. I was shocked to see such a solid maneuver by a rookie, someone who apparently has never played basketball in their life.

The match continued and I started to take the ball forward, and suddenly, Darika bounced the ball away from me.

She was swift-footed and reached the midcourt in no time. As she flung the ball into the air to score a point,  Sophia caught it in the mid-air and passed it to Monika. Aamaya was charging in from behind to snatch the ball away but Monika without missing a beat threw it to me.

As soon as I received the ball, I flung it directly into the air and made the basket again. Vikash again pointed 3 fingers indicating another 3-pointer.

We were leading by 6 points to none. Monika came running towards me and wanted to give me a high 5 and I obliged. I looked at  Sophia and saw her beaming with happiness.

Suddenly Aamaya asked for a 1-minute time out to talk to her team members, to which Vikash agreed.

They were making their strategy and I could not resist taunting them, "Devise as many plans as you want, but I am going to make sure you won't score any baskets today."

I called  Sophia and Monika and asked them if they have any strategies. Monika replied, "Let's do what Leeds United did to Manchester City in 1969."

I understood what she meant, but I had to explain the same to  Sophia. I told her, "In the first half of the match we will play aggressively and score. Second half Monika and I will make sure they won't get a chance to touch the ball."

Sophia smiled and said, "All the best," she paused and continued "But if you do that, they are going to play rough."

I replied "I have already considered that, as a matter of fact, they are going to do that now. I want you guys to do something, both of you concentrate on scoring and I will be the wingman. Since they are going to play rough, I will have to protect both of you from foul play."

Vikash blew the whistle and the match started again. Aamaya had the ball, and the 2 sisters were rushing in front of Aamaya, making sure that we were unable to touch the ball, and all of a sudden it felt like they wanted to target Sophia.

Aamaya instead of throwing the ball at the basket threw the ball towards Sophia's face. The force was good, but my little sister came from the left and punched the ball towards me ensuring Sophia's safety.

I could see Aamaya’s face turning red in rage. I started dribbling the ball towards the basket, and Monika followed me from the extreme left. As I reached the pillar, I passed the ball directly to Monika and she threw the ball in the air into the basket, and we had another point. It was a 2 pointer.

I was impressed by my sister. We were leading 8 goals to none. The game continued and by the end of the first half, our team had already scored 20 points and they were none.

Sophia had scored two 3 pointers and one 2 pointers which had helped us lead by such a huge margin. After my single basket score, I decided not to score anymore and made sure my sister and  Sophia had the ball and could score the rest of the points. We gave a big target to the girls to score in the second half.

I could see the siblings' faces getting flushed with rage or pressure. Aunty was trying to guide them. She was pointing her fingers towards the field and instructing something to her children.

Vikash was impressed at the performance of our cheerleader and wanted to talk to her. This was the moment I was waiting for. He went to her with a bottle of water and introduced himself.

Extending his hand, he said, "Hi dear, I am Vikash," pointing his finger towards me he said "I am Joe's best friend. You know you were playing like Michael Jordan. More like a female version of him."

Sophia looked at Vikash and replied "I don't know who that is Vikash Bhaiya? Is he a great basketball player?" Vikash could not utter another word after that. It seemed  Sophia broke his heart by calling him a Bhaiya.

After about 15 minutes, Vikash blew the whistle and the second half of the match started. Now it was my turn to be the one-man army and block the opposite team.

I had already informed  Sophia to be on the defence. Monika as usual was following me parallelly on the field. I stopped and kept dribbling the ball.

Garima approached and tried getting the ball from me and while dribbling I took a step back and transferred the ball to my left hand and started to dribble. She was not able to understand and keep up with my moves.

Suddenly, I saw Aamaya rushing towards me to cover her sister, I knew controlling the two of them would be difficult, so I passed the ball to my sister. She rushed back to our side of the field giving them the impression that she was not sure where she was going.

Darika rushed to her side to take the ball and suddenly my sister, with ease, shifted the ball to the other hand, causing her to fall on the ground.

Seeing this, Aamaya cried foul but Vikash rejected the call, saying nobody pushed, she fell on her own. The match continued and by the end of the match, the girls were not able to score a single basket. Their arrogance and pride were fully shattered.

Monika, very excited about the outcome of the match, looked at the 3 sisters and said "Garima do you know why you lost the match? It was not because of me or Sophia. It was your overconfidence that took you down. By the way, for your information, my brother got admitted to Sainik School with a basketball scholarship. He plays for the national team."

 It felt like Monika was going to rant some more, so I went to her and covered her mouth with my left hand, and said to Aamaya "I am sorry about my sister" and shook hands with all the participants of the opposing team.

Vikash took me to a corner and we started discussing the match, "Bro, I have been a referee in many matches, but for the first time in my life, I have seen such a one-sided match. I never had any doubts about your skills, but I can see that your sister is natural too and that little girl, Sophia, she really has some skills you know. Even a pro basketball player faces difficulty scoring a 3 pointer from the center field."

I replied to Vikash, "You are right, Monika has the talent to play for the nationals, but unfortunately she is not interested" . I pulled him to a corner and pointed my finger towards Sophia and asked, "Does she remind you of a particular day?"

"Which?"  he replied. His face clearly indicated that he couldn't recall the day I was trying to talk about.

"Do you remember, right before the match when she ran into the court, with her hands raised, and the manner in which she touched the ground with her forehead, or the way she scored the first basket for the 3 pointers from the centreline? Doesn't it remind you of an interstate sub-junior basketball tournament match we witnessed in Kolkata, some 5 years ago? There were 2 kids from the Bengal team who performed the same stunt."

Vikash looked at Sophia closely and then said, "Hmmm... I remember the match now... and the kids you are talking about, but how can this be possible. Naah that cannot be, that's impossible. they are all dead..."

                                                    TO BE CONTINUED...

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