"Congratulations to your champions… The Adidad Gladiators!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as the Gladiator's came up to the forefront to collect their large trophy. They were all prompted to stand together and those at the front were tasked with holding a sign which read; "WWBA 2019 Tournament Winners."
"Everyone smile!" The photographer said, placing his face close to the camera.
However, he frowned in the next moment, "You there, tall guy. Can you try be a little bit more natural?" He asked, pointing to Ken.
Ken froze, his face turning into a scowl. He had never been good at getting his photo taken and was often picked on by the photographers wherever he went. People might even say that he didn't have the face to be a professional athlete, despite being handsome.
It wasn't a problem if he wasn't posing for a photo, but the moment he tried to smile, there was something unnatural about it.
"Oh don't worry Mr. Photographer, Ken's face is always like that." Steve quipped, leading to an eruption of laughter from his teammates.
Ken turned to the source of the ridicule and sent a dark look towards his friend who promptly tried to hide. After a few more tries, the photographer seemingly gave up, muttering something about his job being difficult.
"Alright everyone, we have a few more awards to give out, so please stand by."
***
Around a bit more than an hour later, Ken and the others arrived back at the hotel. By the time everything was over, the sun was already sitting on the horizon, ready to retreat for the day.
Everyone was in a great mood, apart from Steve who seemed to be suffering from stomach cramps on his way back. Yet, this only made Ken amused.
"Alright guys, I know you're all tired. But I want us to at least have a little celebration tonight over dinner. It won't be much, but I think you all deserve it." Coach Wyatt stated as the bus stopped.
He'd been wearing a satisfied grin ever since the end of the game was announced, causing his mustache to be permanently fixed upwards.
"Head up to your rooms and get ready, we'll meet downstairs in an hour for the celebrations." He finished, gesturing for everyone to depart the bus.
Ken got up from his chair and was one of the first to leave the bus. He waited for Steve since the two shared a room together and used the same key.
However, upon seeing his captain Max with a stunned expression on his face, Ken raised his eyebrow in question.
"Max? Everything okay man?" He asked with concern.
"Hmm? Oh… Yeah, it's great." Max replied, as if his mind was off with the fairies.
But he shook his head, a sudden burst of excitement appearing in his eyes. "I spoke to one of the scouts after the game… It's not official yet, but they want to offer me a scholarship."
His voice was whispered, almost like he didn't want to get his hopes up in case it fell through. But it was clear to Ken that the guy was ecstatic with the news, polar opposite to his mood last night.
Ken couldn't help but smile warmly, placing his hand on the guys shoulder. "You deserve it man… What College is it? Are they a D1 College?"
Max nodded, "Georgia Tech…"
Ken's eyes widened, "Wow, I've heard good things."
"Mmm. I think the scout said his name was Lorenzo. Hopefully he wasn't just talking out of his backside." Max replied, however his face froze in the next moment as he reached into his pocket.
"H—Hello. Yes this is Max Blair…"
"Y—Yes, Mr. Lorenzo is nice to hear from you again."
Ken watched the guy walk off with the phone up to his ear, feeling a sense of relief. It seemed that Max's performance during the tournament was enough to showcase what he was capable of.
After nearly everyone had gotten off the bus, Steve was the last to come out. His face was pale and he was holding his stomach, almost as if he'd taken a bullet to the gut.
"Alright soldier, let's head up to the room and get ready for the celebration." Ken said, putting his arm around the guy's shoulder.
"I don't want to go to the toilet again… It hurts." He complained, leaning against Ken.
"I know buddy, but you gotta go potty okay? Otherwise your stomach will continue to cramp up." Ken rationalized with him, sounding like a father talking to their toddler.
At any other time, Steve probably would have quipped back, but he was too busy trying not to fall to the ground to back chat.
Eventually, the two went up to the room where Ken decided to shower first. There was no way that he'd allow Steve to use the toilet before he went for a shower… That was one way to ruin his appetite.
After around 20 minutes, Ken walked out of the bathroom, "It's all yours" he said, addressing Steve who was crumpled to the floor.
Ignoring the guy's complaints, Ken sat on his bed and got out his phone, intending to send some messages out to his family and girlfriend. One thing that he had worked on since coming to America was keeping in contact with everyone regularly.
He didn't want to grow apart from Ai, or Daichi for that matter. These were still two of the most important people to him in this life.
"Hmm?"
Ken was a little surprised to see an email notification that wasn't from the people he was expecting.
"Invitation to the Perfect Game Showcase?" He mumbled, reading through the body of the email.
Ken had heard of the showcase from Nico and Latrell when looking at their Perfect Game profiles on the website. They had said that he probably would receive an invitation after the tournament, but he didn't expect it so soon.
"It's only been over an hour since the tournament finished…" He muttered in confusion.