583 Nominee (1/2)
It was 10:00 A.M. at Dai Li's training center.
”Everyone take a break!” Dai Li clapped his hands, signaling for the players to pause their training.
”We've been training for two hours. Finally, we're getting a break.”
”The morning training actually wasn't as intense as I'd imagine it to be. It was similar to our training back in China.”
”Perhaps this is because we're just beginning. Coach Li did not want to increase our workload too much. Maybe in a few days, our workload will increase drastically.”
Players walked to the side of the court in twos and threes, consciously forming a line in front of Dai Li.
”Alright, everyone's here. Get ready to eat,” Dai Li said as he waved his arms. After his wave, some staff appeared and walked towards them with dining carts.
The players were dumbfounded. They were wondering if they had heard him wrong.
”Eat? Did Coach Li just say eat? I didn't mishear him, did I?”
”I also heard it.”
”It's only ten in the morning. Isn't it a bit early to be eating?”
”Why are they pushing dining pushcarts over here when the Clippers' training center must have specialized dining halls? Do they actually want us to eat here at the court?”
Everyone seemed lost. The staff with the pushcarts had moved in front of them. Everyone looked over the carts. The first one had milk cartons; the second one had sliced apples placed on small plates; the third one had plates of sticky stuff.
”Everyone will have one carton of skimmed milk, a plate of apples, and a plate of this nutritional meal,” Dai Li said as he pointed to the pushcarts.
”So we're getting a snack!”
”We get snacks in the middle of training? The NBA sure is exquisite.”
The players moved to claim their food one-by-one. They did not pay much attention to the milk and the apple, but they were very interested in the pasty ”nutritional meal.”
”What is this plate of paste?”
”This must be a snack that the nutritionist of the NBA specifically prepared, right?”
”I know this stuff; I think it's used to build muscle. Trainers have their thinner players eat this stuff to help them bulk up.”
”There must be some protein powder in this, right?”
”There are also other kinds of vitamins and minerals. I'm not sure what the difference is between the standard nutritional meal here in the U.S. and the one back in China. I'll test the taste first.”
”It tastes pretty decent. I think it's vanilla flavored.”
The players each had their nutritional meals in their hands. They talked as they ate, some of them actually enoying the food.
Wood looked agonizingly at the snack in front of him. He gritted his teeth and, as if he had finally mustered enough courage, grabbed the spoon and put it into his mouth.
It's been years since I last ate this stuff. It still tastes the same. If I have to eat this every day, this will be true torture, Wood thought. He looked at the Chinese players and found that they were actually enjoying the stuff.
”Wait 'til you've eaten this for an entire week. I bet you won't be enjoying it anymore!” Wood mumbled to himself.
...
At dinner, the players gathered in the dining hall and talked amongst themselves as they ate.
”I thought that we would be having steak for every meal in the United States. There are so many vegetables in front of us: cucumber, broccoli, and lettuce.”
”This is chicken breast, isn't it? There's also freshly squeezed orange juice. There's not even sugar in it so it tastes a little sour.”
”Why are you looking for steak? Didn't we already eat grilled beef in the afternoon?”
”That grilled beef had a layer of cheese on it, so I couldn't get used to eating it. It doesn't compare to the boiled beef back at home!”