BETWEEN WORLDS: BEHIND THE SCENES (CHAPTER 5)
Taking a look back at Chapter 5
When I started working on the idea for this novel, this scene screamed to me, as did the first chapter. They were very vivid in my mind (chapters 2 - 4 worked themselves out as I started diving deeper on all the beats between these two chapters).
I knew I needed a moment where the tension was jutting against one another, and had to do it in a way that just felt natural. On the court, to me, was natural because that's where this tension had begun six months ago. Was either party responsible for the tension? Not necessarily. This tension would still be there if Zahair hadn't been nasty on the court. Because trash-talking is a way of life in basketball (Zahair has a sharper tongue than most).
The tension between Azeil and Zahair from chapter 1 is a catalyst because Zahair has been focused on that last game all summer, and it's eaten away at him. He's shared it and talked about it with the likes of Khalil and Raffiel to the point that they've internalized it and share the same view as Zahair in that way. Azeil did what he had to -- he played basketball, and no one can fault him for that. That doesn't erase the tension, though, because he led the comeback and hit the game-winning shot.
I liked thinking about how this was the first time Azeil had picked up a basketball in a while, and just trying to get him back to his old habits. In addition, I wanted to briefly put him back in his comfort zone so that he was on level footing when Zahair came into the picture. The court is the only home he has left -- he's no longer living with his mother, doesn’t have Highland Prep behind him, any of those things. He's truly out on a ledge, and every so often, you have to give someone a bit of security and safety for them to inch out further from their comfort zone.
The match between Zahair and Azeil is something I really enjoyed, and I could visualize it as I wrote it. These two are going hard at one another, Azeil, because that's the only way he knows how, and Zahair, because he has so much animosity when he sees someone like Azeil on the court. It blows up in the only way possible: a fight between the two. Zahair has his perspective (which is wrong), but it is embedded in him, and he does the only thing he knows how to do -- fight.
See you tomorrow for Chapter 6.
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