Chapter 78: Basketball court.
[Hyde POV]
The finals were here. I sat at the back of the class as usual. Jody sat in front of the row,
"32 is D." I talked through my smartwatch, and the girls heard it through their earpods. Thankfully Tara's was still in range despite sitting in the next classroom.
I helped the girls cheat around 70% of the way through, not fully. They'd have to handle part of the questions themselves.
"Got it." Jody grinned and blackened the choice on the answer sheet.
The teacher walked by my side, and I went silent. "Are you done Mr Hyde?" He asked me.
"Yeah." I replied.
"Good."
He walked away without saying much. I breathed in relief and continued telling the girls the answers.
The bell rang, and all of the students were dismissed.
"Steven!" Tara hugged me in excitement after the exams ended. "You're a lifesaver!"
Jody also approached me and hugged me from behind. "You're the best."
Kat stared at us with extreme jealousy.
"Well… At least I'm the only one who had slept with him. Come Steven! Let's go do it in my room!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
Kat brought me back to her house for the first time.
We hang out in her fully finished basement, which has wood panelling on the walls and carpet on the floor.
It was miles ahead compared to Eric's basement. She even has a pantry next to the bathroom in the basement!
"So. What are you waiting for? Drop it." She said with annoyance as she pointed at my pants.
Two hours passed by, and now we were cuddling. While we were kissing, I noticed the tv episode was starting up again.
'Seriously? We just– There's two episodes on Sunday! Today is Tuesday!'
I was quite annoyed that I took out my frustration on Kat that evening. We did it a couple more times in her basement.
As I wore my pants, Kat heaved heavily and asked, "Are you going to go now Steven?"
"Yes. I have to go back home for a bit. Then, I need to stop by the autoshop. After that, I need to finish editing Bob's wedding video. Finally, I need to go to pick up the bathroom tiles for the farmhouse."
"You're so busy." Kat grumbled. "You know, going away immediately after we do it makes me feel so cheap."
"Oh. I'm sorry." I took out a gift I'd prepared from my system space, which was a golden broach with an emerald gem and gave the box to Kat.
"Will this make things better?"
"Steven!" She gasped in excitement and opened up the gift. "This is so beautiful!" She said and hugged me. "Oh my god. Is that real emerald?"
"Yes." I replied. It was something I bought online at a lab grown diamond company. The gold body was real gold though.
I bought it for 900 bucks, which meant I paid 180 bucks for it.
"Okay. Now, you can go." She kissed me on the cheek, giddy as she got the present.
"Wait. Did you buy one for Tara and Jody too?" Kat asked suddenly.
"Yup."
She paused and said begrudgingly, "Now I don't feel so special."
"Hey this is your idea." I laughed at her.
I went back to the Forman's house and checked the synopsis of the episode. It was pretty short. Eric and Kitty went on a date together. Fez has a girlfriend and Jackie was jealous.
Kelso also was blackmailed by Laurie to enter an official relationship with her. I myself had no idea what I should do in the episode.
I was a side character here. The episode was already packed without my storyline. I had a moment with Leo where we played the game of life in the photohut.
I didn't get anything from the episode too since the rating stayed the same.
"Why are the episodes so close together?" I mumbled. "Can you at least give me a timeline check?"
I asked the system.
Surprisingly, it answered.
[Season 2 finale would be held on the last day of school. Before summer.]
"Oh shit. That meant…"
We are in episode 19 now. That means there's 8 more episodes in just two weeks.
"Can I even go to the resort to have some fun?" I was nervous.
…
The next day, before I went to school, I received a call from Leslie.
"The park could be opened today." She informed me happily.
"Good job." I grinned. "All the red tapes are gone?"
"They might try something in the future. But right now, all of it is gone." Leslie replied.
I helped the girls cheat on the test again. During recess, Tara and Jody pulled me to the roof.
"Hey, we want to do something special for you today." Both of them grinned slightly and unbuckled my pants again.
'It's the 70s alright.' I thought as I enjoyed how wild the girls were being.
After school, I drove Fez to the basketball court to check it out.
Everyone else had their own transportation and were driving there with their girlfriends. Fez didn't have a driver's license so he's with me.
"Fez, don't eat candy inside my car." I scolded him.
"I'm almost finished." He whined.
"I don't care. Wipe your hands. It's so sticky."
He took the wet wipe tissue from the back of my seat and began wiping his hand angrily.
"You deny me of candy over and over and over–"
I interjected, "You're getting fat."
He gasped and checked his belly. "Ayy! You're right."
Fez gained a lot of weight since he came to America. Mostly because of his candy obsession.
"I used to be as svelte as a gazelle, now, I'm like all fat Americans." Fez whined.
"Now that there's a court, maybe you can sweat it all off here."
I laughed and parked the car at the basketball court.
I added ten more parking spaces there, bringing the total parking to twenty. The parking place also has some landscaping so it looked pretty good.
There were already a lot of cars there, and I got the last spot. The reserved spot.
There were around 30 bikes parked at the bike stand. Around 50 people were waiting at the side of the basketball court, waiting for it to open.
I walked on the red brick path to the basketball court.
"Hyde. Are you not going to go hang out with your girlfriend?" Fez asked. "I'm meeting Patty over here."
"They are coming here too." I said as I picked up a bag from the trunk and a brand new basketball.
Right now, I am wearing a basketball jersey and long nike trouser pants.
I hate shorts, so I wouldn't wear them even though everyone else was wearing them.
There was a big sign on the fence, next to the payphone I paid 200 dollars to get installed. Fez stopped to read it.
{COMMUNITY BASKETBALL COURT}
{RULES:}
Open daily: 7:00 AM – 10:30 PM First Come, First Serve Basketball shoes are highly recommended to preserve the floor. Games rotate fairly. Winner stays, Challenger waits. No smoking on court or in restrooms. 50 Dollars Fine for rule breaker. No vandalism or damage. No glass containers. No drinking alcohol. No food on the court. Eat on the bench outside and throw the trash away in the garbage can. Report hazards to the groundskeeper.
{BY ENTERING THIS FACILITY, YOU ASSUME ALL RISKS OF INJURY.
THE OWNER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS OR INJURIES.
NO SUPERVISION PROVIDED.}
"Ay, there are a lot of rules." Fez complained.
"It's actually quite normal. A lot of public places have these rules." I told Fez casually and entered through the fence.
The teens there were shocked when they saw it. Fez locked it behind us, and stuck his tongue out at the kids.
"Hey! How come you have a key?" Someone shouted.
I shouted back, "The owner asked me to open it at 5. So wait till then."
The kids grumbled, and became slightly aggressive.
I bounced the ball on the freshly coated floor. The bounce felt different with the special made epoxy for the basketball court.
There were no bumps on the floor, so the ball bounced back like we were in an indoor court.
"Great." I smiled in satisfaction. "Fez," I threw the ball to him.
Fez caught it and dribbled. Then, he went past me and threw it to the hoop, but it hit the backboard and bounced back.
"Hey, this isn't like the Forman's driveway." Fez whined again.
"Of course not Fez." I rolled my eyes at him. Suddenly, I heard a shout from the fence.
"Hyde! Open up!" Kelso shouted as he rattled the door. He wore a white jersey with red numbers, similar to the Wisconsin Badger jersey. His number was 1.
Fez went to open it up while I shot some free throws.
"Three points." I claimed as I threw the ball, but it missed, "Damn it."
I picked up the ball again and threw it, this time, it went through the hoop.
"Alright! Hyde! New court! Awesome! We play ball! Double Awesome!" Kelso became a caveman.
He approached me, his eyes were studying every aspect of the court.
Eric, Donna, Jackie, Chuck, and a few more kids I knew from high school came with Kelso. No one from the basketball team was there though, since they were all still at school.
"Alright. Now we are all here. Let's play!" Eric said excitedly.
"Who's the leader?" Donna asked.
"Chuck and Hyde." Kelso replied with a snicker. "Since it's Hyde's ball."
I rolled my eyes and picked first. "Eric."
"Yeah?" Eric turned to me innocently.
"Eric." I called again, firmly this time.
"Yeah??" Eric was a little annoyed now.
"ERIC!" I snapped.
"WHAT!?" He was irritated.
Donna nudged him and said with annoyance, "ERIC! He's picking you on his team."
"What?" Eric's eyes shook. "I-I'm– I'm picked first? Really?" His smile grew. "ALRIGHT! TAKE THAT COUCH JEFFERSON!"
"Why couch Jefferson?" I asked curiously.
Eric whispered, "He told me I'll never amount to anything in sport."
"Wait. Did I make a bad choice here?" I mumbled to myself.
"Hey!" Kelso was irritated. "Eric never touched a ball in his life!"
He was slighted since I usually picked him first.
"You play at my house?!" Eric said with disbelief. He turned to me with a smile. "Also. Picking me first? That never happened once in my entire life. So thank you."
Donna laughed at him.
Chuck picked, "Jonas." A tall African American kid with an afro went to Chuck's team.
"Oh damn. We lost." I exclaimed flatly. "Donna." I picked the best player on court.
Jackie suddenly grabbed Donna's arm and said, "No. Steven. Donna's not playing."
"What?" Donna was stupified. "I'm here for that exact reason."
"Donna! Are you going to play in a team with all boys? What will people say?" Jackie whispered.
"That's she really good at it?" Eric interjected.
"Yeah, it's not like she didn't demolish everyone playing basketball at lunch." I added.
Eric nodded and said, "Yeah. Last time, after she won, she made me eat dirt."
"That's like 8 years ago! God, move on already Eric." Donna scolded him.
"It was last year." Eric rebuked her.
"Donna isn't playing. She's going to cheer you all at the bleachers with me." Jackie pulled her away.
Donna stopped her easily and said, "Jackie. I want to play. Go sit with Patty."
"Donna!" Jackie gasped, looking offended. "Fine. I guess I'll just sit alone then. I hope your team LOSE!" She went to the bleacher and sat there angrily.
Donna went to my team, and Chuck picked Jerry, a smaller teen, but athletic.
Kelso and Fez joined my team, so we have five people.
The match started, and Jackie helped with the scoreboard next to the bleacher begrudgingly. It was a simple flip of the numbers board so she could do it easily.
We played for a while, and I began sweating. Fez let the people inside the court at 5, and the entire place turned festive.
My team lost the match, obviously.
"This is all because of Kelso!" Eric scolded him.
"I'm sorry I'm trying to dunk!" Kelso shouted.
"You DID IT ON OUR HOOP!" Donna punched him.
Kelso yelped and ran away, then he got chased by Eric, Donna and Fez.
I drank some water at the water fountain. It has a water filter on it, so it tasted fresh and cool.
While I was drinking the water, Jody came and handed me a towel. "Steven. This is for you?"
"Oh. Are you trying to flirt with me? Because my heart is fluttering a bit right now." I joked.
Jody's face blushed red and she hit my biceps softly. "Kat and Tara are going back to study for tomorrow's test. So, we can be alone today.
"Great. Let's go do it in the car." I said teasingly.
But she grabbed my hand and said, "Let's go."
So she rode me in the car for half an hour before we got back to the court. Thankfully my windows were tinted so no one saw anything.
Jody became quite clingy after we did it. She kept grabbing my arm giddily as we hung out with my friends.
The sky darkened, however, the number of people there didn't decrease. Instead, it increased. The floodlights turned on, and the court had around 200 people, most of them sitting at the bleachers.
The court was split into 4 half courts. Kids were playing on one of the half courts, as the hoops there were lowered to 8 feet instead of 10 feet tall.
"I am hungry." Fez said, rubbing his tummy. "We need to have a food store here."
"We can't Fez." I replied to him. "Otherwise this place will get hit with a business zoning inspection."
"Not even a food stall?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. I need to check." I replied.
A vending machine would be possible, but knowing how the teenagers around the area behaved, it would be bad for me to put one here.
I went to the payphone and called the cafe. It was almost closing time, but Harris picked it up.
"Hey, it's me. How many sandwiches do we have left?"
"None. Why?" Harris asked.
"I need you to deliver food to the basketball court. Make it enough for a hundred or two hundred people. Put it in a basket and I'll sell it here."
"Two hundred huh?" Harris was astonished. "Alright. I'll send it there in an hour. It's easy to make sandwiches. "
"Great. See you then."
The game continued till 8, and the snacks arrived. There's no need for any permits for this one since it was a one time thing.
The snacks were gone in just five minutes. People followed the rule and ate it outside the court and at the bleachers.
At 10.30 at night, the court floodlight was shut off. The place darkened, but there were still small lights for people to leave the place.
The ground keeper I hired for 400 dollars a month, a disabled veteran with a missing limb, told all the kids to leave the court. They did that, albeit disappointed since they didn't have enough yet.
"Hyde. The place is a huge success." Donna whispered to me.
"Donna, it's useless even if it's successful. The place is a public space. I don't get any money from it." I shook my head slightly.
But I did get some tax write-off. I also noticed something else.
Parents really didn't care where their kids were in this era. I mean, 8 years old and 9 years old were playing basketball till 10.30 at night. I even saw children as young as 6 years old.
'Luckily I installed all of the streetlights,' I thought secretly, but I was still a little worried.
The court was in a poor neighborhood. The lights ended like 100 meters away, and the kids would have to walk in the dark.
The street lights in the neighborhood were barely non-existent.
'Maybe I could get some solar lamps… I can buy the solar streetlight from China in bulk, but I want to install it… I'm going to need to deal with the town again.'
That deterred me a lot in trying to make the town better. The corrupt town council.
Once the basketball matches were finished, I saw people hanging out by the well lit gazebo next to the court, making out and having some conversation there.
The lights there would be turned off half an hour later. I just did that to let people rest before driving home.
"Steven. Should we go back to my place now, and "Study"?" Jody asked with a bunny ear air quotes.
I smiled and said excitedly, "Let's go!"
…
The next day, after the final paper was over, Tara pulled me into an empty classroom to show me her appreciation.
We did it there, while having the risk of getting caught by someone. It turned us on quite a bit.
"I can't wait anymore." Tara said as she kissed my neck. "You're too hot."
I was taken aback by her relatively direct advances. She wanted to do it again after we got out of school.
"Kat invited us to her house today." Jody said suddenly as I drove her and Tara back from the mall.
"Okay. Let's go."
We went to Kat's basement, and it didn't take long until we got frisky. They were being really possessive and tried to get me for themselves.
Suddenly, a loud shout interrupted us.
"KAT!"
Kat's mother stood at the top of the basement stairs, one hand gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes moved across the room in disbelief.
"M-MOM!?"
"Mrs Peterson?!" Jody and Tara exclaimed, both of their faces turned pale.
"Kat… what in God's name is going on down here?" The thick mom asked with a shaky voice.
No one answered. I slowly put my pants back up.
Kat scrambled to pull a blanket off the couch and wrapped it around herself. Jody grabbed her shirt from the floor while Tara turned away, her face burning red.
"Well," I muttered quietly, "this isn't ideal."
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY A WORD!" Kat's mom snapped, pointing at me like I was a criminal.
Kat flinched. "Mom, it's not what it looks like—"
"Oh really? Because it looks like three girls and one boy doing something that is absolutely not happening in my house!"
The room went silent again.
"MOM YOU DID IT BEFORE WITH–"
"YOU SHUTTT IT! I'M WARNING YOU!"
Kat's mother stormed down the stairs, heels clacking loudly against the wooden steps.
"You," she said, pointing at me again. "What's your name?"
"Steven." I replied casually.
"Well Steven, congratulations. You just made the worst first impression of your life."
Kat tried again. "Mom, please—"
"Don't you Mom please me!" she snapped. "You are seventeen years old!"
"Eighteen," Kat mumbled.
"That doesn't make this better!" The mom snapped.
Her eyes shifted toward the other girls.
"And you two! I thought you were here to study!"
Jody looked down and mumbled, "The finals are over today."
Tara stared at the carpet while fidgeting, Kat's mom crossed her arms.
"That's it. I'm calling your parents."
All three girls reacted at once.
"Mom!"
"Please don't—"
"Wait!"
She was already walking toward the phone.
"Mom! Don't do that!" Kat begged.
"No. Absolutely not. Your parents deserve to know what you're doing."
Kat grabbed her arm. "Mom, please! Don't call them!"
Her mother pulled away. "You should have thought about that before turning my basement into a motel!"
I rubbed the back of my neck and fixed my pant. "Look, ma'am—"
"YOU. OUT." She pointed at the stairs with her index finger. "Now."
I stood up with a sigh. "Well. Ladies," I said casually, grabbing my jacket, "this was fun while it lasted."
"Steven!" Kat hissed, her face fell in disbelief.
"Yeah?"
"You're not helping!" She snapped at me.
Her mom stepped aside and pointed again. "Door. Now."
I walked up the stairs slowly. Right before I left, I heard her say the words every teenage girl feared.
"You're not seeing that boy again! EVER!"