by Derek Jeter
Derek looked away, not wanting to be diverted from his focus. Instead, he drove upcourt in a hurry, dished to the shooting guard, and watched him sink an open 3-pointer! Suddenly, with one minute left, the lead was down to 11!
* * *
The yellows narrowed the gap even further, but there wasn’t enough time for them to really catch the blues. The game ended with Derek’s team down by 6—but Derek felt better that at least he’d made a difference.
He hadn’t shot very well, of course. Only 1 for 4—missing two that he should have made easily! But on the other hand, he’d done lots of other things right. He could only hope Coach Nelson had noticed.
“Nice game,” said the yellow-shirted shooting guard. “You should try out next year.”
“Thanks!” Derek said, finally flashing a smile. He glanced over at the coaches, but they were all busy making notes—except for Coach Nelson.
Where was he?
“Derek?”
Derek swung around to find the coach standing right behind him. “Hey, thanks for coming down tonight. You did well.”
“Thanks, Coach.” Derek waited for what the coach would say next.
“I’ll… be making my decisions tomorrow regarding the under-twelve team,” he said. “You can check the sheet in the lobby here after six p.m. Right now, though, I’ve got things to take care of with this team. So… ”
“Right,” Derek said, getting the picture. The rest of this practice would be private—and he and his parents weren’t invited to stay.
Derek had been hoping the coach would tell him right there and then whether he’d made the team. Now he’d have to wait another whole other day!
He wasn’t sure he could take the suspense.
Chapter Thirteen UPS AND DOWNS
“Now, when he sings about the number on the dial, we should find a phone and pick it up—but the wire is just dangling, right? And the monster’s getting closer and closer!”
“Right!” Vijay agreed. “So we’ll need a phone with a ripped cord—and we can do some moves with it that’ll be funny.”
“And the monster can be holding the other part of the cord where he ripped it!” Derek threw in.
He and Vijay were going through their piece for the fifth time that afternoon, making little tweaks here and there. Each time, they would come up with new bits to add, to make the story clearer and funnier and scarier.
Vijay had learned all the moves Derek taught him, so now the two boys could move in unison or mirror each other.
Vijay’s moves were harder for Derek to master—mainly because he’d gotten a late start and was only now beginning to learn them. Besides that, he was still going easy on his neck—just to make sure there was no problem when showtime came.
One more week. It felt like the show was right around the corner, but in reality he and Vijay would have plenty of time after school next week to practice. Derek felt pretty confident that they would do well—or at least not embarrass themselves. He’d been worried about that at first—in fact, it was only when they’d seen Gary do his thing that Derek stopped worrying about how it would go.
Gary’s entrance was going to be the cherry on top! In fact, it would be sure to cause a total sensation!
So far, Gary had rehearsed with them only the one time, but his part was easy. There were no real break dance moves he had to do—just come onstage with a monster outfit and a ripped phone cord, and look and act scary. And then, of course, break into that crazy chicken dance!
“Shall we try the whole thing one more time?” Vijay asked, ready to hit the play button again.
“I don’t think so, Vij,” said Derek, looking at the clock on the living room wall. It was after five already. The team roster would be posted by six, the coach had promised.
Derek had been thinking about it all afternoon, even though he’d mostly put his anxiety aside so that he and Vijay could practice. But six o’clock was less than an hour away now—Derek knew he wouldn’t be able to think about anything else till he knew his fate.
“I’m kind of played out. Let’s pick it up again on Monday, when we have Gary here.”
“Cool,” said Vijay. “I am no longer worried about our success, now that we have rehearsed a bit. But you know what they say—”
“Practice makes perfect!” both boys said together.
* * *
“Hey!” Derek spotted Dave and Chase in the parking lot and trotted over to them while his dad locked the car.
“I guess you couldn’t wait to see, any more than I could,” Dave said as the two boys high-fived.
“No, man—the suspense is driving me crazy! Let’s get in there!”
Chase shook hands with Mr. Jeter and clapped the two boys on the back.
“Good luck, men,” he said. “And remember, you’re already winners just by getting to the second round.”
Chase and Mr. Jeter had been co-coaches of the boys’ championship-winning Little League team last spring, and Derek really respected Chase. So they paid attention to what he said. Still, Derek knew that if his name wasn’t up there with the rest, he’d feel totally crushed.
He was sure Dave had made the team, based on what he’d seen him do at tryouts. But Derek had had to prove himself on a much more difficult stage. And he’d missed all those easy shots, too!
They got to the lobby and stared at the list.
There was Dave’s name, right at the top!
“Yeah! Congrats, man!” Derek told his friend, clapping him on the back.
At first, Derek didn’t see his own name, and his heart began to sink. But then Dave pointed to it—right below Sam’s. “Hey! You’re in, Derek!”
“YESSS!! Whoo-hoo!!” Derek shouted, his arms raised in triumph.
He and Dave high-fived and hugged each other. Derek was out of his mind with relief and happiness. “This is amazing! We made it, Dave!”
“We’re gonna rock it this season!”
Just then, Sam entered the building, accompanied by his mother.
“You made it, Sam!” Derek shouted, arms raised. “We all did!”
He showed Sam where his name was posted, under POINT GUARD—with Derek’s right below it. Derek understood that this meant Sam would be the starter at the position and that he himself would be the backup. But, hey—so what if he started games on the bench? He’d been on the bench for his final tryout, too—and that hadn’t stopped him from impacting the game, had it?
Derek felt a shot of pure happiness run through him. He knew there would be tough moments during the basketball season. But right now he was sitting on top of the world!
For the first time in two weeks he could relax and take pride in his accomplishments—at least for a little while.
The basketball season would not be starting for another week and a half. In the meantime, there would be practices, of course—but from now until next Friday night Derek’s laser focus would be on the Fall Talent Show.
He owed that much to Vijay. But even more—he realized now that he owed it to himself.
* * *
That weekend the family watched Sharlee and her karate class put on a demonstration for the students’ families. Sharlee was one of the youngest students, but she broke boards just like the rest of them—with an extra loud “Kee-yah!” to boot.
Derek and his parents stood and cheered, and Sharlee could not suppress a grin as she took her solemn karate bow.
The whole experience made Derek really look forward to Friday. He’d never competed in a talent show before. In fact, he’d never been onstage at all. The only time he’d ever performed was on a baseball field—and that was different.
But watching Sharlee do her thing had kind of given him the “bug.” She seemed so relaxed up there, so sure of herself.
Derek couldn’t picture being that comfortable onstage. But during his and Vijay’s rehearsals now, he was starting to get a sense of what it might be like to just perform and enjoy the experience, instead of getting all nervous about it.
“Whoa! Whoa, there, girl!” said her dad, laughing. “Slow down!”
“What about your dance classes? And karate?” said Mrs. Jeter. “Are you going to be able to do everything and still get your schoolwork done?”
“Yeah, Sharlee,” Derek agreed. “Don’t you think you’re maybe taking on too much at once?” “Like I did recently,” he added silently.
“I can do everything!” Sharlee said, still floating on air from her demonstration of strength and power.
“Well, everything isn’t free, you know,” said Mr. Jeter. “But we’ll talk about it. It sounds like something that might be a good fit.”
“Plus it’s on Saturdays!” Sharlee pointed out. “Right before Derek’s basketball games.”
“Sounds like you’ve already done your research,” Mr. Jeter said, raising a surprised eyebrow.
“Uh-huh! Ciara is on the red team, so I want to be on it too.”
“Well, we might not be able to arrange that part,” Mrs. Jeter said with a laugh. “We’re not all-powerful, you know.”
“You can do it,” Sharlee said with an air of certainty. “You and Daddy can do anything!”
* * *
“Wow, Derek! Looking good!” Vijay said as he watched Derek spin around on his back then flip back onto his feet. “Rock on!”
“It really is going to be good, isn’t it?” Derek said. “I mean, it looks good to me. I don’t know what else we could add at this point to make it better.”
“Well, we do need to work Gary through his part a few more times.”
“He promised to come tomorrow,” Derek said.
“Well, he doesn’t have as many pieces to work on as we do,” Vijay said. “A couple times going through it should be enough.”
“Okay, Vij. I guess we’re done for today, then.”
“See you tomorrow in school,” said Vijay, high-fiving Derek. “Man, this really is going to be a thriller!”
* * *
“I quit.”
Derek stood staring at Gary Parnell’s impassive face. “Huh?”
“I said, ‘I quit.’ What part of ‘I quit’ don’t you understand, Jeter?”
“What do you mean, you quit? You can’t quit!”
“Oh, really? Who’s going to stop me? You?”
“Gary, you promised! You can’t back out now.”
“Watch me.”
“But why? You’re doing great! You’re going to be a hit, believe me!”
“A hit?” Gary snorted. “I think not. More like a crash and burn. Let me fill you in on my recent nights, Jeter. For your information, I have been enduring one awful nightmare after another. I wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming that the whole school is laughing at me!”
“Gary, come on… listen—”
“No, you listen, Mr. Busta Moves! One night I dreamed I was up there in nothing but my underwear—and there was a big rip in the back of my boxers! Another night—or maybe it was later the same night—I dreamed the real monster was chasing me down the school hallways. No matter how hard I ran, I kept going slower and slower, until he was right behind me, and I could feel him breathing down my neck!”
Other kids standing around them in the hallway turned to look, as Gary’s voice broke the sound barrier in the echoing space.
Scowling back at them, Gary lowered his voice to a hush. “I’m out, that’s all. Go find yourself another monster!”
“Great,” said Derek, really steamed now. “This is just great. What are Vijay and I supposed to do without a monster? The show’s only two days away!”
“I sympathize with your problem, Jeter,” said Gary. “Boo-hoo. Lucky it’s not my problem.”
“But Gary, a promise is a promise! You can’t go back on your word! Where’s your self-respect?”
“Oh, no problem. I respect myself for being smart enough to know when to abandon a sinking ship.”
“But—”
“Jeter, let me make it crystal clear for you. I can live with myself, backing out of a promise. What I can’t live with is going up onstage Friday night and making a complete spectacle of myself—like you and Vijay are gonna do!”
Gary shrugged. “But hey—enjoy. And good luck—you’re gonna need it! As for me, I’ll be out there in the audience, laughing my head off like everybody else.”
As Gary walked away, Derek heard him mutter, “Sheesh! Talent shows! What a waste of time and energy!”
Derek stared after him, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Now what were they going to do? How was he going to tell Vijay that their perfect monster had just vanished? And where were they going to get another kid to replace him, with just two days left before the show?
Chapter Fourteen SCRAMBLE!
“Omigosh! What are we going to do? We’re doomed!” Vijay held his hands to his ears as he paced back and forth, as if he didn’t want to hear the bad news. Well, who could blame him?
Derek wasn’t exactly dancing in the streets himself. Without Gary, their act seemed not only empty, but pointless! What was a horror scene without a monster? And Gary, though he couldn’t dance in any meaningful sense of the word, was hilarious trying to—and that alone would have lifted the whole routine!
Now there was nothing but a blank where the heart of their dance had been. The whole story made no sense without the monster at the end.
“Do you think we should rework the whole thing?” Derek asked. “I mean, like, from scratch?”
“No way! No how!” Vijay said, clasping both hands together. “We have to find another monster—and fast!”
“But who?”
Vijay gave him a long look.
“No. Not Dave,” Derek said. “I asked him first thing, remember? And he told me he would never, ever get up onstage and dance.”
“But you and he are—well, second-best friends,” said Vijay, who thought of himself as Derek’s very best friend.
Derek felt equally close to both of them, but he couldn’t help there being at least a little rivalry between Vijay and Dave over the amount of time they got to spend with Derek.
“I’m not asking him,” Derek said. “You can if you want to.”
“It won’t do any good, me asking. And you know it.” Vijay sat down on the couch, looking totally defeated.
Derek couldn’t stand to see his friend that way. It broke his heart. “Okay, okay, I’ll ask him,” he finally said, causing Vijay to instantly brighten.
“It’s our only hope!” Vijay said. “He will surely say yes. He cannot refuse you if you beg him.”
“I’m not begging.”
“You know what I mean,” Vijay said, realizing he’d used the wrong word.
“I’ll ask him. If he says no, that’s it.”
“Yes… that really will be it. I think we will have to withdraw from the competition in that case.”
Wow. Derek hadn’t thought of it quite like that till now. After they’d put in so much work—and had so many great ideas… to just drop out at the last minute would be a crushing blow!
Derek would survive. After all, he’d still be on the AAU under-12 basketball team. With Dave.
But where would Vijay be? This talent show was going to be his new claim to fame at Saint Augustine’s.
Derek couldn’t let his buddy down—he had to find a monster!
He was pretty sure Dave would say no, though.
And who was he going to ask then?
* * *
“I’m really sorry, Derek. I get it about Vijay. I wish I could help you both. But there’s just no way. I can’t. You don’t understand the feeling I get in the pit of my stomach whenever I even think about it!”
“I do understand,” Derek said. “I mean, I’m that way myself when it comes to getting up in front of the class and giving a speech. Don’t you remember in fourth grade when—”
“That was before I moved here, remember?”
“Oh. Right. Of course. Well, it happened, believe me. And it wasn’t pretty. I can get up there if I’m dancing, but don’t ask me to talk.”
Dave gave him a smile, and Derek went on. “Look, I know how you feel, believe me. But you can’t let your fear stop you, Dave! If you want to ever get past it and succeed, you can’t be afraid to fail.”
“You sound like your mom or dad,” Dave said.
Derek felt himself blushing. He’d heard that advice from one or both of them, for sure.
But he wasn’t just repeating it from memory. He believed it. He’d wanted to back out of this talent show early on himself, hadn’t he? But he’d stuck with it, and he was glad he did!
At least, he had been glad—until now.
“Sorry, Derek. I really am sorry. I owe you one—just… not this one.”
Derek sighed deeply as he watched Dave walk away down the hallway.
“Hey, Derek. What’s up?”
Derek swung around and found himself face-to-face with Sam Rockman.
“Oh—hi, Sam!”
“You okay, man?”
“Yeah! Fine! Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know.… I mean, we’re on the team together, dude! Is that great, or what?”
“Yeah!” Derek high-fived Sam, who was obviously in a great mood.
“So your mom decided to let you play, huh? That’s fantastic!”
“Yeah! And it’s only because of you, dude. If not for you, I’d have been all scheduled up with tutoring, extra homework—ugh! I can’t thank you enough.”
And that gave Derek a great idea.
“Well, actually, if you wanted to thank me… I’ve got a way.”
“Yeah? Okay, name it!”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with me playing on the team.”
“No, no, nothing like that. In fact, you’ll be done with this by Friday night.”
“Cool!” said Sam. “Count me in. What do I have to do?”
