Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
When Milena spotted Cameron walking onto the court, she froze for a second before anger took over
‘What the hell?’ Milena thought bitterly. ‘Is Cameron seriously trying to flirt with Xander on the basketball count? Is she crazy? This is a men’s basketball game. What’s she doing there?
William jumped to his feet when he saw Cameron. ‘Is that really him? he thought, hardly believing his eyes. No way! How could he play the game now? Basketball is way too physical. What if he gets hurt? A stupid basketball game is nothing compared to his SAT
William was about to call for a time-out when Charles grabbed his arm.
“Mr. Drake, the game’s about to start,” Charles said. “Where are you going? The first half was incredible. Missing even a second of this half would be a tragedy, don’t you think?”
William bit his tongue, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
William was about to stop the game, but the referee’s whistle had already signaled the start of the second half.
“Mr. Drake, sit down,” Charles said. “Let’s see what happens.”
William reluctantly sat, his brow furrowed with worry. At this point, he couldn’t care less about the game’s outcome. He just prayed Cameron wouldn’t get hurt.
On the court, Horizon Academy’s players were completely ignoring Cameron. They stuck to their original strategy of targeting Xander. As soon as the game resumed, several players swarmed around him.
Just a minute into the second half, Xander caught the ball. Horizon’s players moved in, ready to shut him down with their usual tactics.
But Xander surprised everyone with a quick behind-the-back pass. “Cameron, ball!” he shouted.
The ball sailed through the air toward the three-point line, heading in the direction everyone had overlooked.
Cameron jumped up smoothly, caught the ball, and in one fluid motion, launched it into the basket.
“Yes!” Xander jumped up in celebration.
Their other three teammates stood frozen in disbelief. “A three-pointer?”
Horizon Academy’s players were equally stunned. Barely a minute into the half, and they’d just been hit with a three-pointer -from the short man they’d been looking down on, no less.
Everyone in the stands went quiet.
“Holy crap, did that just happen?” someone finally muttered.
“A three-pointer? Just like that?”
“No wonder they put him in. He’s got skills.”
The Horizon Academy crowd couldn’t believe their eyes.
Meanwhile, Langford Academy erupted in cheers.
“Damn! Three points! Cameron, you’re insane!” one shouted.
“We still have a chance! Only down by 15 now. Second half just started. We can do this!”
With this promising start, hope instantly sparked through the Langford students. Some were clenching their fists, eyes glued to the court.
“Yes!” William jumped to his feet, pumping his
Charles glanced up at him.
Successfully unlocked!
William grinned. “Mr. Barkley, aren’t you stiff from sitting so long? Get up and stretch a little.”
Charles just rolled his eyes.
On the court, Cyrus shot Cameron a surprised look and then quickly exchanged glances with his teammates. Obviously, they’d need to keep an eye on Cameron now.
Cameron high-fived Xander, cool as ice. “Let’s keep going.”
Xander nodded and turned to the others. “Pass the ball to Cameron whenever you can.”
“Got it.” The teammates nodded firmly. Their energy was definitely up now.
The game resumed, and just as expected, two players immediately locked onto Cameron with suffocating defense. The other two remained focused on Xander.
“Cameron! Catch!” A teammate grabbed the ball and instantly hurled it Cameron’s way.
He regretted it immediately. The tall guy, Cyrus, was blocking Cameron completely. He just needed to raise his hand and the ball would be his.
But in the split second before Cyrus could reach up, Cameron leaped behind him and snatched the ball mid-air. Before anyone could even process what happened, Cameron slammed the ball toward the hoop.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
“Yeah! Three points!” The Langford Academy students jumped to their feet, cheering wildly. Meanwhile, the Horizon Academy crowd sat there looking completely shell-shocked.
‘Two three-pointers in just three minutes? How’s that even possible? That man is so short. How was he pulling this off?’ they thought.
The score gap had narrowed to just 12 points. At this rate, Langford might actually turn this thing around.
The Horizon Academy students started chanting to boost their team’s morale. Langford’s fans fired back with their own cheers. The game was getting seriously intense.
“Dude, you’re insane!” Xander’s face was drenched in sweat as he flashed Cameron a thumbs-up, grinning from ear to ear. If Cameron had gotten in the game earlier, Horizon wouldn’t have steamrolled them like that.
Cameron’s expression barely changed. “They’re gonna switch tactics now. They’ll target me, so I’ll pass to you. Make those shots count.”
“No doubt.” Xander was all confidence.
Sure enough, Horizon Academy pivoted their strategy. They clamped down on Cameron with ruthless defense, which meant they were easing up on Xander.
Xander caught the ball and sank a two-pointer.
“Whoa!” the Langford Academy students gasped again while the Horizon Academy crowd looked increasingly grim. Cyrus’ face darkened. What should have been an easy win was now complicated thanks to Cameron jumping in.
The game continued, and Cyrus finally managed another two-pointer. Langford Academy was still trailing by 12 points when the first 10 minutes of the second half ended.
“Xander,” Cameron said, “just play your game. Don’t worry about me.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Xander looked confused.
“Exactly what I said.” Cameron’s face gave nothing away.
Xander was speechless.
As the game resumed, he quickly understood what Cameron meant. The Horizon Academy players were all focused on defending Cameron, who had zero problems running them ragged all over the court.
Cameron moved light as air while four of the Horizon players-everyone except Cyrus-were clearly running out of steam. They finally cornered Cameron under the basket with the ball.
To score, Cameron would need to get the ball into the basket on the opposite end-over 90 feet away. No one could make that shot.
Cyrus gave Cameron a smirk that clearly said, “Just hand over the ball already.”
Instead, Cameron just stood there, jumped, and hurled the ball with both hands.
Cyrus turned away with a dismissive smile, ready to grab the ball when it inevitably missed.
But the ball sailed right over his head and, as everyone watched in shock, dropped perfectly through the basket on the opposite end.
The swoosh sound hit everyone like a punch to the gut. The stadium fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into
“Whoa!” Langford Academy students jumped to their feet in excitement.
“No way! Am I seeing things? That was a full-court shot! From one basket to the other, and it went in! That’s insane!
“That was sick! No wonder Cameron crushed Xander. That man’s a beast.”
“Cameron is officially my idol now.”
“Cameron! Cameron! Cameron!” The Langford students started chanting Cameron’s name in unison.
Meanwhile, Horizon Academy students stared wide-eyed at what had just happened right in front of them.
They couldn’t believe it was real. But the cheers from the Langford section confirmed it was all too real, leaving their faces pale with shock.
Charles took off his glasses the moment the ball went through the hoop, blinking in disbelief at the court.
William’s jaw dropped before he noticed Charles’ reaction and patted him on the shoulder with a smug smile. “Well, Charles, you were right. Missing even a second of this half would’ve been a real shame.”
Charles was speechless.
On the court, Xander charged toward Cameron and wrapped him in a bear hug. “Holy crap, Cameron!” he shouted. “That was freaking amazing!”
Cameron tried to dodge but wasn’t quick enough.
