“Eh, why he suddenly cry?” Asked the husband.

“Kenna scolding from coach lor,” I replied.

The little boy was wiping his tears with the bottom of his t-shirt while we watched from afar.

“Eh, why nobody pass him the ball? Can I ask him to come over?” Said the husband.

“NOOOOOO! Let him handle it himself. Do not interfere,” I glared at the husband.

The exasperated husband held his tongue and looked as if he was ready for an arguement.

My boy was the last one to be released from class because the coach was talking to him. He then came over and spoke to us.

“He felt left out and cried. I asked the other boys to play nice,” said the coach.

The first time the little boy cried was because he wasn’t paying attention and was told off by the coach.

Second time he cried was during play time and nobody passed him the ball.

“Stupid boy,” I muttered under my breath.

The husband thought he has always been consistent and the coach should cut him some slack for not paying attention because everyone else was fooling around.

I thought if the coach held him to a higher standard means he has standards and he is ready to upgrade to the next level.

Let me tell you my boy, if you ever go for a selection, nobody cares how consistent you have been. People only care how you perform that ONE time. That is the same for examinations.

I say this because I was replaced by a newbie and had my chance of representing my school taken away for that one time I did not try to save a ball that will be out of court during selection for basketball team.

Nobody cared how fast I sprinted, how many rebounds I got and how many balls I intercepted during every training. I was deemed not initiative enough on selection day.

Two years of training and I couldn’t play. I cried long and hard and my heart ached. To add salt to my wounded heart, I was even made to go and cheer for the whole team during their matches or receive no testimonial.

As for playtime and why no one passed him the ball, I can only say he is too used to not taking initiative to look for play mates. Most of the time, the neighbour’s kid came to knock on our door to get him. I should do something about this.

I told the boy if he wants to play, he should take the initiative and go get the ball himself. Several times, he got the ball but he allowed other kids to snatched it away. Nobody point crying if you choose to let go.

Son, it hurts to see you cry but there are worse things people do in life. Nobody can take anything away from you unless you allow them to.

Whoever holds the ball controls the game.

Initiate.