LOGIN"This is a really nice field," said Joey Wilder. "And look at all those sponsor banners. Wow!""They're known as an elite university team that never spares money on equipment and supplies, because so many big-name companies and brands want to partner with them," Coach Gushan said with a snort. "And at every game they play, there are always scouts looking to recruit them.""What are they better than us?" Harry Bonn asked. "Not better looking, not better athletic, not better rich, and not better smart either."Royce chuckled, making everyone turn to him. "What you think about them is wrong.""What do you mean?" Harry asked, annoyed."You're blind and your mind is blocked if you say they're not better than us," Royce said. "It's obvious they're better than us. They wouldn't be St. Dominic's students if they weren't better than us. They'd be part of Moonveil if they weren't better than us.""Royce, why are you defending our opponents?" Olsen protested, which was confirmed by his other fr
"Let's take a break today," Coach Joe said. "No practice and no briefing. You can do whatever you want tonight, as long as you stick to the rules and don't let it affect your performance on Saturday.""Coach, I want to take the team to dinner at Uncle Chow's restaurant," Ethan said. "You should come too.""Sure," Coach Joe said.Everyone in the locker room cheered and threw shirts in the air. Adrian handed Ethan a new shirt and folded his practice shirt."Ugh, I envy our captain," Benneth said. "How nice it is to have someone who is always ready to take care of us all the time. You should thank me for giving up on him so you could have Adrian, captain. I'm willing to break my heart just to make you happy and keep leading the team to victory."Everyone laughed, including Ethan and Adrian."Okay, Benneth, as a token of my gratitude, you can have two portions of meat for yourself," Ethan said seriously."Oh, come on, captain. Two servings is my normal portion," Benneth replied."Four the
"Have we met before?" Adrian asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked Royce up and down, then up again. "Who are you?" Coach Gushan raised an eyebrow. "This is the captain of the Moonveil team. He's the top scorer all season and a potential national team player. There's a lot of news about Royce Barnes online.""Ah, sorry, coach, but I don't follow news that doesn't interest me," Adrian said politely.The face of Royce Barnes, player number 18, a key player for Moonveil Academy, changed. His cynical smile now looked confused."We met just five days ago, at Star Hills camp?" Royce said coldly. "You bought ice cream for my two younger siblings.""Oh, sorry, I did buy ice cream for some of the kids at camp, but I really don't remember you," Adrian said with a smile. "Maybe because you weren't one of those kids."Now several Moonveil Academy athletes were laughing. No one had ever said they couldn't remember Royce Barnes after meeting him once.Royce was a figure who easily left an impress
Adrian grabbed the hand on his shoulder and pulled hard, causing the owner of the hand, a stocky man, to nearly fall forward."Hey! You scratched my arm!" the stocky man snapped, looking down at his arm, which now had three long scratches, one of which was starting to bleed."You're going to break my shoulder if I don't scratch you," Adrian snapped back.The man snickered in annoyance. He admitted to himself that his grip on Adrian's shoulder might have been too tight."Royce, why did you hit that kind brother?" the boy in the blue shirt protested. "He bought us ice cream!"The stocky man stared at the ice cream in the boy's hand, then at Adrian with narrowed eyes."Why did you buy my little brothers ice cream?" the stocky man asked suspiciously."Why not?" Adrian asked, confused, rubbing his shoulder. "Are the little brothers not allowed to eat ice cream? They accepted it and ate it right away." "You're a stranger," said the man. "You want to kidnap my little brothers?""Oh my God,"
"You're spending all your money on all this, right?" Ethan asked, annoyed. "You're spoiling them too much!"Adrian stared at Ethan with a blank expression. "You don't want to come? Fine! Go to the stadium and practice by yourself. I'll still go and bring whoever wants to."Ethan's face paled. He grabbed Adrian's hand and held it tightly. "That's not what I meant, baby. I just don't think you need to do all this for us.""Why?" Adrian snapped, swatting Ethan's hand away. "You don't think I'm part of the team? You think I don't feel bad seeing all of you? Studying from morning till afternoon, then practicing until night, and coming home exhausted and tired. You can't even keep your eyes open to wash your face and brush your teeth!"Several people who had gathered a few meters behind Adrian, complete with beaming, enthusiastic faces and camping gear, bumped into each other when they saw and heard Ethan and Adrian arguing."That's my best friend," Irene said proudly. "Badass!""I'm an Ad
"Leroy got 30 years and Mathew Kendrick got 35 years. No remissions. Both were charged with multiple counts, and their sentences were continually increased. Sorla and Marteen, plus the attempted kidnapping of Ethan, the hostage-taking of Ethan, Mr. Keith, and Adrian, both got 15 years," Kirk said, handing him a copy of the court record.Coach Joe read the contents of the copy of the record. "Where did you get this document outside of court?"Kirk raised an eyebrow. "I have my ways, Joe. And connections."Coach Joe nodded. "So everyone has received their sentences. Very good.""Even though it was a closed trial, it was quite exciting," Kirk said. "The defense attorneys insisted on presenting witnesses and refused to accept written statements or videotapes. However, the prosecutor and his staff managed to overcome their wishes with strong arguments about witness protection. What made the defense relent was when two victims submitted testimonies. They turned out to be relatives, and one







