After talking things out with Sarah, things became much less hostile between the two. Thanks to this, Ken was somewhat able to enjoy the rest of the night.
In some ways, knowing that Sarah was not attracted to him, nor had any intentions towards him, had made things far less awkward. The night continued onwards, and after the dance, both he and Sarah left the venue.
"You sure that this training plan of yours will work?" She asked, lifting her gaze from her phone with a hint of hope in her eyes.
"Mmm. As long as you stick to it for 3 months, you'll see some results. I'll give you an updated one in 3 months time." Ken replied confidently.
"Thanks…"
"No problem."
The two awkwardly stood outside the venue for a while, waiting to be picked up. It was already 10pm, but Steph and Steve were still enjoying themselves inside.
Thankfully, a couple of taxi's arrived a few minutes later, breaking through the awkward atmosphere. Sarah walked to the cab and turned to Ken, "Good luck in the tournament." She stated, not waiting for a response.
Ken smiled, shaking his head. It turned out that Sarah was actually a nice person, once they had gotten past the initial dislike from Ken stealing her date.
With that, Ken got into the other cab and went home.
'I'll definitely take Ai here next year.' He thought inwardly watching the venue disappear into the distance through the cab window.
***
A couple of days later, the Gladiators team stepped into the lobby of the airport in Georgia after a 3 hour flight. Ken had faced much worse travel times, so he was happy that it had not been too long.
"Alright guys, we have a bus waiting for us outside already. Let's get a move on." Coach Wyatt stated, rounding up his players.
It was obvious that he was a father, particularly in this moment. For some reason, all dad's became hyper efficient when stepping into an airport.
The team followed, lugging their bags along with them.
"You still not talking to me?" Steve asked, anxiety plastered onto his face.
Ken turned to his friend and scoffed, ignoring him. He didn't really hold a grudge for the prom thing, but the fact that Steve had basically ignored him after getting into the venue had ticked him off.
"Come on man, I'm sorry okay. Like I said, I owe you big time." Steve pleaded, walking beside him.
"Hmph, you don't say?" Ken spat out sarcastically.
Steve let out a sigh, realizing that he had messed up. He'd thrown his friend to the wolves, barely even acknowledging him during prom. It was almost like he'd taken him along just to babysit.
"What can I do to make us even?" He asked sincerely.
"…Suffer." Ken said under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
With Steve pestering him all the way to the bus, Ken did his best to ignore the guy. He didn't plan on letting this drag on for too much longer considering how annoying the guy was being.
Eventually, he stopped him. "Dude, just shut up already. It's done now, let's not bring it up again."
"Wait… So you forgive me?" Steve's features lit up, clearly not expecting to get off scot-free.
"Yes, so can we please just drop it?"
"Ah, sure man!" he almost jumped in glee after being pardoned from his sins. It was as if his charges had been acquitted, turning him into a free man.
Now filled with relief, he began to talk more freely. Unfortunately, it was all about Steph. Ken was forced to listen to the bright-eyed and excited stories of the teen who was clearly experiencing some puppy love.
'This is torture.'
Thankfully, they arrived at their destination in around 30 minutes.
"Alright guys, I know I went over this before. But while we're here, let's run through it again." Coach Wyatt said, standing up at the front of the bus. With his words, the players went silent, giving him their attention.
"We're in Pool M, alongside Hawaii Elite, Upstate Mav's, Exposure National Scout Team and Elite Squad National. Out of all the teams, Elite Squad has the most D1 commits, meaning they should be our toughest opponents."
"Remember, the winner of the pool automatically advances to the single-elimination bracket, but there are also wild cards. Even if we don't win against Elite Squad, as long as we perform well in the other matches, we'll have a good shot at making the bracket." The Coach stated.
He grinned, his eyes moving over Ken briefly. "But, I have no intention of losing to them."
A few chuckles rang out within the bus, and Ken got a few more glances from his teammates. Ken on the other hand, was wearing a determined expression.
This is the kind of tournament that he'd been waiting for ever since he made the decision to move to America. Not only would he be playing against the best competition in his age bracket that the country had to offer, it would also be on a big stage.
It was likely that more scouts would be watching this series than those who had watched the U18 World Cup.
Ken felt that it was a little backwards, but it seemed that colleges were mostly focused on local talents, rather than ones from overseas countries like Japan.
"Okay great. Our first match starts in an hour or so, but Hawaii Elite are playing the Elite Squad right now. Let's go check out our competition ay?" He said, twirling his mustache.
With that, the whole team alighted from the bus and made their way to the field.
As the fields came into view, Ken nodded with satisfaction. For such a big venue, the facilities were pristine. It was slightly better than the Titan's practice ground which was more modern.
For some reason, Ken preferred the older fields, possibly because it reminded him of back home. Either way, he would be happy to play baseball anywhere.
Ken glanced at the scoreboard and a small smile appeared on his face.
Hawaii Elite - 0
Elite Squad National - 6