Lexington, Kentucky
As soon as the plane landed and Aaron stepped out of the cabin, the first thing he felt was the heat that charged the atmosphere despite the air conditioning. "So hot," was the first thought that stormed Aaron's mind.
Even though summer in New York was also hot, here it was also humid, which was why the environment felt heavier to Aaron, and he regretted not having packed a cap in his backpack as the sun beat down directly on his head.
"I hope the person who was supposed to pick me up has already arrived," he murmured in a low voice while stopping in front of a vending machine and buying a bottle of water, then heading straight toward the domestic flight exit.
Once he stepped out, Aaron began to look for someone wearing the Wildcats team apparel or holding a sign with his name, but after carefully scanning the entire arrivals area, Aaron realized there was no one who seemed to be there to take him to the University of Kentucky campus.
"Did they forget?" Aaron thought, checking around the entire airport again, confirming that indeed there was no one who seemed to be waiting for him or recognizing him.
Doubtful at that sensation, Aaron took out his phone and called the number Coach Calipari had given him before; after a few seconds of the phone ringing, a voice was heard through the device. "Hello?" the voice asked. "Coach Calipari," Aaron said by way of greeting.
"Aaron, my boy, to what do I owe your call?" Coach Calipari asked him, curious to know the reason why he was receiving a call from his new player that day. "Uh, I'm at the Blue Grass Airport, sir," Aaron responded, sensing that the reason why no one from the university or the team was there was because they didn't know he was already in Kentucky.
"..." For a moment Coach Calipari remained silent while immediately starting to check something on his computer; cursing under his breath, he grabbed his keys, ready to go straight to the airport himself to pick him up. "Stay there, I'm coming to get you now." Without saying anything else and without waiting for a response from Aaron, he hung up the call while heading quickly toward his car.
Seeing how the call had been hung up and that the coach in person would come to receive him, Aaron decided to look for a place to sit and wait, finding empty chairs next to a table where he sat with the rest of his suitcases, waiting for the coach to arrive to take him to the campus.
Returning his gaze to his cell phone, Aaron decided it was the best moment to make a video call to his mother, so pressing the familiar phone number, Aaron didn't have to wait long until the woman in question answered the phone.
"Hello, sweetheart," Melissa said with a smile the moment the video call connected and she could finally see her son's face on the screen. "Hi, Mom," Aaron said with a smile while letting her know that he had arrived and that the flight hadn't had any complications except for light turbulence mid-flight.
"And how is Kentucky?" Melissa asked, curious to know if her son felt comfortable with the place so far. "Well, so far it's way too hot," Aaron said while taking another sip of his water bottle which, without noticing, was already less than half empty.
After that, Aaron switched to the front camera, showing his mother the view he had from the airport window in which the meadows and grass around the entire place could be seen.
"It's very different than here," Melissa couldn't help but say, thinking about how different it was there with meadows and plains while New York was an entire concrete jungle without many green areas or rural zones, except for Central Park and the small parks in communities like theirs.
"And you aren't on your way to the university yet?" Melissa asked curiously, since she imagined she would receive a call from Aaron once he was settled in the student residence and finished finalizing details with a university advisor.
"About that…" Aaron began while starting to relate to his mother that they had probably forgotten he was arriving today in Kentucky and how he had to call Coach Calipari who, as soon as he heard he was at the airport, didn't hesitate to come running in this direction.
"At least they are on the way," Melissa said, although she was slightly dissatisfied hearing that Aaron was practically at an airport completely alone and in a city hundreds of kilometers from where they were. "Besides, the campus isn't very far from the university," Aaron responded, having seen on the maps app that the University of Kentucky campus was less than 20 minutes away by car, so Coach Calipari wouldn't take long to arrive.
"Is that Aaron's voice I hear?" said Paola, who had entered through the main door and approached the direction where Melissa was upon hearing the voice coming from the phone.
"Aunt," Aaron said as a greeting, seeing how his aunt's face appeared on the phone and behind her went Hector along with Mia.
"How is everything? Does the KFC taste different over there than here?" Paola asked him seriously.
"I haven't tried it yet, but for me, KFC will be KFC no matter if it's here or over there at home," Aaron responded, as he didn't think the flavor would vary much from the one near home.
"And did you meet your teammates yet? How is the team?" Paola asked him quickly, wanting to find out the whole situation of the team, but before Aaron responded, Melissa spoke quickly, explaining how it seemed the university had forgotten he was arriving today and that he was now waiting alone at the airport.
Following that came a series of diatribes and insults in Spanish from Paola, who felt indignant at all of that.
"It's not that big a deal," Aaron said, trying to smooth the whole matter over, as it wasn't like no one was coming and Coach Calipari would come in person to pick him up instead of sending a member of the technical staff; that simple gesture alone demonstrated the importance Aaron had for the Wildcats team.
Just as Aaron continued talking on his phone, he saw out of the corner of his eye how Coach Calipari was approaching in his direction quickly, which was saying a lot since he was still wearing a suit which, combined with the Kentucky heat, didn't look comfortable at all.
"I have to go," Aaron said to the screen while waving goodbye to everyone with his hand and hanging up the call before meeting Coach Calipari, standing up. "Coach," Aaron said with a smile while extending his hand for a greeting with Coach Calipari, who didn't hesitate to shake the hand Aaron extended with his own.
"Aaron, sorry for the delay," Coach Calipari said with an apologetic smile while inside he was already cursing the person in charge of logistics and receiving players, since something like this damaged the prestige of the team.
"Don't worry," Aaron told him, brushing it off since he didn't think it was a very serious matter, and he grabbed the handle of one of the suitcases next to him and was going to grab the other, but before his hand even got there, Coach Calipari was faster.
"Allow me," he told him with a cordial smile while taking charge of moving the other suitcase, and both exited through the airport door toward the parking lot where the coach's truck was located.
Once the suitcases were in the trunk, Aaron sat in the co-pilot seat while Coach Calipari turned on the car engine and left the parking lot heading for the highway and the university campus.
The moment they were outside the airport, Aaron could see the city of Lexington in more detail while he couldn't help but compare how different it was compared to New York, since here there were no enormous skyscrapers or a bunch of cars generating traffic in the streets.
Lexington had a more rustic air with brick houses and a calmer, slower vibe along with a warmer climate.
"And what do you think of the city?" Coach Calipari asked him while still keeping his gaze forward and both hands firmly holding the steering wheel.
"It's different from New York," was Aaron's simple response while his gaze remained fixed on the streets passing by until suddenly a large building loomed before them.
The building itself had a large tower in which there was a bell and a clock clearly marking the time, and it was surrounded by several trees and parks in which students could be seen going from one side to another. "Welcome to Kentucky, boy," Coach Calipari said with a smile while taking a slight detour, letting Aaron see the campus completely.
"And we're here," Coach Calipari told him while turning off the car engine, stopping in front of the university admissions building and stepping out of the vehicle, then gesturing to Aaron to follow him through a set of offices until he ended up in the correct office.
What followed was a simple process in which Aaron signed some documents, formally enrolling as a university student and as a student-athlete, while the person in charge explained to him how all the matters regarding schedules and other topics would work when the season began.
"And that would be all," the person in charge said with a smile while shaking the hand of the new university student; as soon as that happened, Coach Calipari entered the office again, followed by a new person behind him.
"Aaron, let me introduce you to my right hand, Orlando Antigua," Coach Calipari said with a smile while the person behind him took a step forward and extended his hand in his direction.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Aaron," Orlando said while Aaron extended his hand to return the handshake. "el placer es mio," Aaron said in Spanish, surprising both Orlando and Coach Calipari.
"Qué sorpresa que hables español tan bien," Orlando responded with an ear-to-ear smile to Aaron. "Mi tia es colombiana, asi que ella me enseño el idioma," Aaron answered him, with the two having a conversation in Spanish while Coach Calipari and the admissions officer looked from one side to the other without understanding what the two were talking about.
"Ahem, if you're finished, I think we should take a photo," Coach Calipari said while stretching out the jersey he was carrying with him.
The jersey was the iconic white color of the Kentucky team with the team name in blue, with the number 15 printed in the center and the last name Reed on the back.
As soon as Aaron held the jersey in his hands, he couldn't help but admire it while imagining himself wearing it in the team's stadium under the spotlights and shouts of hundreds of team fans.
"We have to take a photo to commemorate this day," Coach Calipari said while gesturing to the person in charge and passing him his phone, while both he and Orlando flanked Aaron who was in the center and had the jersey in front of him, and the three men smiled for the camera.
With the photo taken, the person in charge returned the phone to Coach Calipari while he put his phone away and the three left the office.
What none of them knew is that years later that photo would become iconic, as it marked the beginning of the journey of one of the best players of all time and who would be in charge of revolutionizing the center position in the future, placing his name in the history of the sport.
Years later, when they interviewed Coach Calipari about the season in which he had the opportunity to coach Aaron, these were his words: "I always knew he was different from the rest of the players we have seen, but I never expected him to go this far."
Authors thought's
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