Young Writers Society

A/n: This is one of the chapters that I would call . . . an in-between chapter. It's made as a buffer between two big points of the story as to slow down the pacing. There is some revealing of character to the reader, but not much, so please enjoy this relaxing chapter of Chris screaming negative thoughts!

Chris watches as Alex weaves and spins past defender after defender.

No one can stop him.

No one.

How can Chris even compare to Alex? Chris is just a casual, recreational player. How could he even begin to compare to Alex?

I shouldn't even try to be the King of the Court, thinks Chris,  because Alex already is.

Truly, Alex is just a monster. A monster that is much too powerful for a team like this. Alex needs to play on national level-- with the strongest players from the strongest schools.

He doesn't need to meddle around with weaklings like me. We're just a burden to him.

Chris shakes his head. I need to stop thinking like that

Colin passes the ball to Chris. Bewildered, he takes a shot. It bounces off the rim melodramatically, but very high. He sighs. Another rebound for the other team.

But like a clap of thunder, Dwayne flies up and snatches the rebound from the Weird-Hair.

"We're nowhere near finished yet!" Dwayne screams, and even though Chris is resolving that he needs to have a talk with Dwayne about screaming volume, Chris smiles, too.

Of course, the ball is immediately stolen from Dwayne, but that's not important.

Their point guard dribbles down the side of the court, finally wary of Alex, whose eyes are pinned on the ball.

The point guard feints to the side, but Alex closely follows, and lunges forward. Alex steals the ball and starts down the side again.

Alex and Dwayne play furiously well. Of course, Dwayne makes equally as many mistakes as he does something good, but he makes up for it with his encouraging shouts.

The game, however, is ultimately lost.

Alex and Dwayne are huffing and puffing as they collapse on the chairs and drink their water. Why do they try so hard? thinks Chris, It's just a practice game. It was obvious we were going to lose!

Even worse, Chris has to high-five everybody on the other team. It's such a stupid rule. There is no sportsmanship involved in basketball. Either you lose or you don't. The high-fives are more like rubbing their victory in Chris' face.

"Hey, you five," calls Jacob, "Come over here."

The five of them trudge up to Jacob like stray cats in the rain.

"You all did great," says Jacob, "But I noticed a lot of places where you all can improve."

Chris hates it when Jacob acts silly, but he hates it even more when Jacob acts all grown-up.

"We know that!" shouts Chris, "We know that we suck, okay?"

"You said 'we'," murmurs Dwayne.

"What?"

Dwayne grins, "You said 'we'. We're with you now. Your attitude is different from before."

"Shut up, you shorty," growls Chris.

"Now, now," Jacob smiles, "I have lots of things to talk about with you guys. First and foremost, Alex, I would love to see your little ability there able to last longer, because the problem today was that the game was already basically decided when you reached full power."

Alex nodded, "Like Dwayne said before, I'm working on my stamina as much as I can."

"Good," Jacob turns to Spencer and Colin, "You two have just as much talent as everyone here except for Alex,"--hearing this, Alex flushed--,"So you two can do just as well as Dwayne and Chris. Just need to work on getting relaxed. You're playing too stiff.

Colin shakes, "I'm sorry. They were just too scary. I didn't research enough on the stress and intimidation of playing basketball."

Alex places a hand on Colin's shoulder, "Don't research anything about it. All you need to do is trust us and play the best you can."

Spencer is silent, but also seems slightly proud. [i]Probably because Jacob said he's as good as the rest of us,[/i] thinks Chris.

Jacob stares at Dwayne, "Dwayne . . . you're the most interesting player here. Since you're short compared to your teammates, it looks a little funny that you're playing center, but i've never seen anyone as good at center in seventh grade as you. Good work. You should probably practice your ball handling technique, though."

"And me?" Chris inquires.

"You didn't play enough," dismisses Jacob, "I didn't see much of you."

Chris can feel the creases forming on his forehead. He can feel the anger boiling within him.

But he holds it in. Chris decides he will be the example of self-control.

"You guys should practice. The tournaments will be starting in a week!" grins Jacob, "Go, go, go!"

Despite the circumstances, Chris smiles. He knows he is going to enjoy playing basketball with these guys.

"All right. We may not look like it yet, but someday, Marble Creek will be the King of the Court!" shouts Chris. The rest of them cheer, and Chris can feel the companionship emanating from all of them. And Chris truly believes they can win the tournament.

Until a week later, when he finds out which team they're playing first.