Chapter 212: Basketball game

Penny’s defeat in that one scare fail didn’t discourage her. Instead, it gave her more motivation to the point all those who entered the horror booth left crying. On the third day of the foundation week, they closed their horror booth for the basketball game between the basketball team featuring Atlas and Max’s team.

This was the highlight of today’s foundation week.

Sitting down near Hugo’s team bench, Penny was in awe.

"This is the first time I’m watching a basketball game," she blurted out in awe, looking around the school gym and at how packed it was. "It’s even more crowded than my fan club assembly."

Well, mainly because almost all the students were there to watch the game.

This would be a moment of truth for the basketball team. This would prove if Max was truly that capable of defeating his own team, or if the team could stand on their own without him.

"Go, go, go Max! You can do it our Max!" some fans from Max’s fan club cheered. "Go, go, go, Max! You can do it, our Max!"

Looking at those cheering, Penny cringed a little. Those girls were even holding banners and pompoms as they chanted their fan chant. As her eyes veered down, she saw some star students seated near the bench. It was almost as though they were part of the team, since their seats were so close to the empty bench for Max and his team.

When Penny’s eyes landed on the weird guy beside Ray, her face turned sour. She looked away when the weird dude met her eyes, as if he could know she was looking.

’I don’t like him for a reason,’ she thought. ’Is he a part of the star section? But I don’t think I met him before in that class.’

Well, Penny hadn’t met all the star section students. Even if she did, she definitely paid them no mind.

"What’s taking so long?" Slater, who was sitting right beside Penny, couldn’t help but wonder. "The star students are already here, but the enemy team isn’t here yet."

"Tsk tsk tsk. Did he give up?" Penny wondered, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "I hope he did."

Because if Max gave up, then that means her money was safe!

"I don’t think so." Seated on the other side of Penny was Ginnie, earning Penny, Slater, and even James — who was next to Slater — their attention. Sensing this, Ginnie’s shoulder rose while her head lowered. "I mean, Ma — Max isn’t the type to back down or give up."

Lily tilted her head over to Ginnie to look at Penny and her brother to explain. "Ginnie actually studied and researched the players’ stat. She did it to help the basketball team, who are, as well, part of our club. And according to her research, Max is not the type to back down. However, he is the type of person who has a bad habit of being late for things he knew weren’t worth so much importance."

"That bastard...!" Slater fumed and ground his teeth. "Are you saying both my brothers weren’t worth anything?!"

Lily simply wanted to explain things to them, but since someone here was getting emotional, she quickly straightened her back and hid behind Ginnie.

Penny’s face also soured after hearing this. "That arrogant guy," she hissed, gazing at the basketball team, who was getting irritated with the wait.

"It could be a strategy, though!" Ginnie exclaimed when she found the courage to appease Penny and Slater. "I mean, making others wait can burn someone’s patience very fast. So, he could be doing this to throw the basketball team off their game."

Hearing this, the fire in Penny’s and Slater’s eyes distinguished.

"Don’t forget. Max is a part of the star section," Ginnie continued, relieved that the two calmed down. "All star section students are heavily involved with their family businesses. They were already gifted students, but their experience in the real world gives them more advantage than other students. So, if you think of the bigger picture, Max might not just be battling the basketball team in this game, but is also playing a psychological game."

"Wow. Ginnie is your name, right?" James, who was peeking over Slater, was in awe. "You got all of that information in a matter of days?"

Ginnie scratched the back of her head and smiled. "Penny’s money is on it."

"Ginnie~!" Penny was touched that her friend was also valuing Penny’s money.

"Hehe. It’s nothing." Ginnie chuckled sheepishly. "I mean, the basketball team was a big help during the first assembly and did everything they could do to help our cause. So, as part of Penny’s fan club motto, we also have to help our members no matter how small or big it is."

Lily covered her lips and squeezed her co-founder’s shoulder. "This is my co-founder. I’m so proud of her!"

"Well, even if that’s true, the basketball team is already annoyed..." Slater trailed off when he set his eyes back to the team, only to see them all laughing while talking to each other. "Well, I guess they remembered to keep their heads cool."

"Dad always makes them wait for an hour for a pee break," Penny blurted out as this thought suddenly crossed her mind. "I guess Papa really knows what he was doing back then."

Good thing Hugo and Atlas were just as miffed as the basketball team while waiting for Charles. Hence, they weren’t that in trouble.

After hearing Ginnie’s information, their group kept long patience while the growing impatience from others started to resonate in the gym. The only ones who probably didn’t care about this were the unmoved star section and Max’s enthusiastic fans, who continuously chanted until now.

When the impatience from the crowds almost reached its peak, Max’s fan club suddenly pitched. Their thin squeals resonated in the entire court, silencing everyone.

"Kyahh!!!! They’re here!"

"Max!! We love you!"

"Go, go, go, Max! You can do it our Max!"

The crowd couldn’t help but stretch their necks, trying to get a sneak peek of who Max invited to play this game. The basketball team also turned their heads to the entrance, the smiles on their faces, ready to play and win.

But alas, when they saw the people on Max’s team, the basketball team’s heart sank.

"Aren’t those..." one of Hugo’s team trailed off as he was almost rendered speechless. "... players from the minor league?"

When everyone realized who the people Max brought in, they all had one thought in mind.

"He brought in professional players to play against some upper high schoolers?!"

As for Penny, she simply bid farewell to her money.