by David Aro
When it got dark, Tyler found his way home. He crawled into his bed. Then held the blankets over his head.
Tyler fell asleep before his mom got home. And he stayed in bed the next morning.
“You sure you’re okay?” asked his mom through the door. She was about to leave for work.
Tyler grunted. Like she was waking him up. But Tyler wasn’t really asleep.
He had watched his clock tick away most of the night. He had counted the specks in the ceiling. He imagined they were little stars in the sky. He wished on them. Then rolled over onto his side.
He fell in and out of sleep. He couldn’t wait for summer to be over. Then things could go back to normal.
Tyler dreamed of playing basketball with his friends. He woke to the sound of a ball bouncing. Then he heard what sounded like Cam, Markus, and Brianna outside.
Tyler jumped out of bed. He put on his shoes and ran outside.
It wasn’t a dream! Cam, Markus, and Brianna were taking turns shooting a ball against the building.
“He’s alive!” said Cam.
“I’ve stopped by your house every night for the past week,” said Markus. “Where have you been?”
Brianna tossed the ball to Tyler. Tyler held the ball tightly in his hands. He looked at the brick wall they used as a backboard. Then passed the ball back to Brianna.
“I have something to tell you,” said Tyler.
The four of them sat on a patch of grass. Tyler told them everything. How he felt alone. How he practiced with Golden Roots Prep. And how Steve had come back. Which made Tyler miss the All-Stars even more.
“With them?” asked Brianna. Her lips curled.
Tyler lowered his head.
Cam put his hand on Tyler's shoulder. “To be honest,” he said. “I felt like the one that let you down.”
Brianna stopped making a face. “Cam's right,” she said.
“Did you just admit you were wrong?” asked Markus.
Brianna chucked the ball at Markus. Then she looked back at Tyler. “But we have some news that might cheer you up,” she said.
“We've both worked so hard in summer school,” said Cam. “We're done!”
Tyler rubbed his eyes. He couldn't tell if he was still in bed dreaming.
“And my dad told me he wanted me to have fun with the rest of my summer,” said Markus. “I only have to help out two mornings a week.”
Cam stood up. He kicked the ball in the air with his foot. He caught it. “So, do you guys want to go to the park?”
“Sure do,” answered Markus.
“You know it,” answered Brianna. Cam helped Tyler off the ground. “Definitely,” said Tyler.
Tyler showed his friends new drills. The ones he had learned from Golden Roots Prep.
First, Tyler warmed them up. Then he showed them how to work on their ball handling. They dribbled the ball as close to the ground as they could. Around their left legs. Then their right legs. Then in a figure eight between both legs.
“This is great!” said Brianna. These drills were easy for her. She was already a great ball handler.
Markus’s running had gotten better. Thanks to all the mowing.
“Not bad,” said Tyler, after the fifth sprint. Markus didn’t even need to rest.
“Don’t tell me you guys are having all the fun without me,” said Jasmine. She walked toward the basketball court.
Brianna ran to her. She gave her a big hug. “What are you doing back so soon?” “My dad got a new job,” she said. “He has to do some traveling.”
“Does that mean you’re back?” asked Cam.
“Sure does,” answered Jasmine. “I hope I didn’t miss too much?”
Tyler stared down the path he had taken to Golden Roots Prep. Then he looked back to his friends. His team.
“Actually,” he said, “there are still a few days before the tournament. And we are already signed up.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Jasmine. “Where do we start?”
The Ail-Stars got to work.
They walked through their play—Up.
“Good job, guys,” said Cam.
Tyler also showed them some of his new plays. Down. Open. And Jam.
“You must have spent a lot of time thinking of these,” joked Brianna. “Maybe you do belong in a school with a real sports program.”
“I’m fine right here,” said Tyler. He tossed the ball to Brianna at the top of the key. “Let’s run it again.”
They ran each play over and over. They made sure they got it just right. Brianna hit Jasmine with a perfect pass as she came off a screen. She knocked down the shot.
It was like they had been practicing together all summer.
Tyler even walked them through some of the Golden Roots plays. “This way, we’ll know how to defend them better,” he said.
“Do we have game film to go over like a pro team, too?” asked Markus.
They all laughed.
The All-Stars did extra workouts to and from the park. One day, they skipped the whole way there. Then they did defensive slides the whole way back.
“What the heck are you doing?” yelled someone from a car window.
But the All-Stars didn’t stop. They wanted to be ready.
Some mornings, Markus had to work with his father. They all chipped in. Jasmine and Brianna raked leaves. Tyler, Cam, and Markus pushed wheelbarrows filled with mulch. Markus’s father paid them two dollars each.
That reminded Tyler of their team shirts. “Maybe we could pool our money together. We could get the shirts I told you about?” he said.
“That’s a great idea!” said Jasmine.
“Do you think it will be enough?” asked Cam.
The Ail-Stars counted their money
“Not quite,” said Markus.
“We’re almost halfway there,” said Tyler.
They spent the last weekend before the tournament collecting soda cans. They picked up loose cans from the park. They swung by Lil Scoops. The owner gave them a plastic bag full. Then they knocked on each door of the Alton Heights housing complex. Even the owner’s.
“You guys are looking to make a j little extra money are you?” asked the owner.
“We’re trying to raise money for team shirts,” explained Tyler.
‘I'll tell you what,” said the owner. “Scrub the graffiti off the side of building 110. I’il give you the rest of what you need.”
“Deal!” said Cam.
The owner handed the Ail-Stars buckets, brushes, and soap. Then he showed the kids where to fill the buckets with water.
The All-Stars worked the rest of the day. The next day, too. They made sure to get every last speck off the building. And Monday morning, they placed the order for their team shirts.
‘Any chance they’ll be done in time for our tournament?” asked Tyler.
“I’ll put a rush on them,” said the T-shirt guy. “They will be done by Thursday.”
The team shirts were ready just in time. And they came out better than the All-Stars expected. They were brick-red shirts with white writing. “Alton Heights” was written above a basketball hoop. “All-Stars” was written below.
“I think we’re as ready as we’re going to be,” said Cam. He tried on his team shirt over his other shirt.
“I just hope it’s enough,” replied Brianna.
“As long as we’re all together, and we give it our best,” said Tyler. “That’s all that matters.”
The Rec Center hallway was painted with handprints in every color of the rainbow. Some were arranged in the shapes of grass, flowers, and the sun. There were two big trees. And a bunch of butterflies filled the space above.
The All-Stars could hear the sound of sneakers squeaking from the gym. They made their way through the crowd.
“Excuse me,” said Tyler. He stepped between two adults to get to the sign-in table.
Jasmine pointed to the tournament board on the wall. “Look,” she said. “We’re playing
the 3-Point Bombers first.”
“Golden Roots Prep already won their first game,” said Markus.
“We have to win two games in a row to see them in the championship,” said Cam. He tucked in his new team shirt.
“One game at a time,” said Tyler.
“Are you guys the Alton Heights All-Stars?” asked the man at the sign-in table.
“That’s us,” said Brianna.
The man got up from the table. He walked over to the gym doors. He held both his hands to his mouth and yelled. “The Alton Heights All-Stars are here.” He looked back at the All-Stars. “You guys better hurry. Your game is about to start!”
“But our game doesn’t start until ten,” said Tyler.
“The first game was a forfeit. One of the teams didn’t show,” said the man. “The Rim Rockers got a bye into the semifinals. We moved your game up.”
“But that’s not fair!” said Brianna.
The buzzer went off in the gym.
“Do you want to argue? Or do you want to play?” asked the man.
“Come on, guys,” said Tyler. He pulled Brianna’s arm.
The All-Stars set their bags down on their bench.
The 3-Point Bombers were already standing at center court. So were two men in gray Rec Center shirts with whistles.
“We don’t even get to warm up?” asked Markus.
“Sorry,” said one of the refs. “We need to keep the games moving.”
Tyler won the jump. But Brianna threw the bail behind Cam on the wing. It bounced out of bounds.
“My bad,” said Brianna.
The All-Stars ran back on defense.
One of the 3-Point Bombers looked to shoot from the elbow. Cam jumped in the air to block the shot. The Bomber rushed to get the shot off. Markus grabbed the rebound.
Brianna called out one of their new plays. “Open!”
The All-Stars spread out wide on the court. Brianna beat her defender off the dribble. She took it all the way to the hoop herself.
The Ail-Stars were the first team on the board. Then Jasmine stole the inbounds pass. She scored a quick layup. But the ref blew the whistle.
“No basket,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” asked Brianna.
“There’s no defense in the backcourt,” said the ref.
“Since when?” asked Cam.
“Tournament rules,” said the ref.
He handed the ball back to the 3-Point Bombers.
It took a few trips up and down the court. But the All-Stars got into their groove. Jasmine stole a pass. She hit Cam for a fast-break basket. Markus grabbed three more rebounds.
Brianna dribbled by her defender again. This time, she passed it to Tyler for a jump shot.
In the second half, the All-Stars didn’t run one of their set plays. They were clearly better than the 3-Point Bombers.
The Bombers tried to shoot as many shots from behind the arc as they could. But most of their shots hit the front of the rim. Or they hit hard off the back rim. The long rebounds gave the All-Stars plenty of fast-break points.
The All-Stars won! And their team moved to the next round on the board.
‘Are there any other tournament rules we should know about?” asked Cam.
The man turned from the board. "What are you so worried about?” he asked. "You guys still won.”
The second round wasn’t so easy.
The Ankle Breakers were better than the 3-Point Bombers. They were quicker. And they liked to drive to the basket instead of taking shots from the outside. Luckily, the All-Stars played good team defense.
The Ankle Breakers’ point guard crossed over the ball. He dribbled past Brianna. Jasmine stepped in. She forced him to make a wild pass out of bounds.
Markus had four blocked shots by the end of the game. Cam had three steals. The player Jasmine guarded only dribbled by her once. Tyler had stepped in. He drew an offensive foul.
The Ail-Stars won again!
Markus’s father brought over orange slices and water. ‘After two games in one day, you need to drink up and eat,” he said.
“Thanks,” said Jasmine.
“Yeah, thanks, Dad,” said Markus.
“The oranges always helped when we were working out in the sun all day.”
“It looks like you’re going to have your work cut out for you tomorrow,” said Markus’s father.
Markus tossed an orange peel back into the bag. Brianna wiped the juice dripping down her chin. Tyler set down his water. Cam and Jasmine stared at the court.
The Ail-Stars were going to play in the championship game against the winner of the game that was happening now. Golden Roots Prep was facing the Rim Rockers.
And Golden Roots Prep was losing.
“Look at those guys!” said Markus.
The Rim Rockers looked like they were one or two years older. Their two big men, Curtis and Mo, were six feet tall. Their shoulders were almost taller than T.J. and Steve.
Curtis got the bail on the block. He drop-stepped toward the hoop like it was a drill, and Steve wasn’t even there.
“Let’s go, Golden Roots!” yelled Tyler from the stands.
“Keep it together!” yelled Brianna.
But that was easier said than done.
The Rim Rockers’ guards were super fast. And they had fresh legs. They pressured Jason at the top of the key. It made it hard for him to set up plays. When Golden Roots Prep did move the ball,
Curtis and Mo kept blocking shots.
Play after play, the Rim Rockers grew their lead by pounding the ball down low. Then they stole the ball. Mo dunked it on the fast break. And the game was out of reach for Golden Roots Prep.
“How are we going to stop them?” asked Cam.
“I have no idea,” answered Tyler.
The Ail-Stars got to the Rec Center early the next morning.
Tyler grabbed a ball off the rack. “Come on, guys,” he said. “We don’t have time to waste.”
The All-Stars walked through each of their plays. Twice. They stopped when the Rim Rockers arrived.
Curtis and Mo slapped the wall above the gym door.
“They look even bigger than they did from the stands,” said Markus.
The All-Stars did their layups. Jasmine defended Brianna from sideline to sideline. Brianna practiced her ball handling. Cam jumped up and down. He wanted to make
sure he was loose. Markus practiced his bank shots.
T.J. walked up to the bleachers. “Good luck, Tyler,” he said. He sat behind the All-Stars’ bench with Jason and Steve.
Tyler still felt hurt for how things had ended between him and the Golden Roots Prep team. He tried to ignore them. He took deep breaths and shot free throws. Then the buzzer went off.
The All-Stars were as ready as they were going to be.
Tyler stood next to Mo at center court. Mo was at least six inches taller.
Mo won the tip. The All-Stars hurried back on defense.
Curtis posted up Markus on the block. Markus tried to keep Curtis from getting closer to the basket. He held his arm on Curtis’s back. Curtis bounced the ball as he leaned into Markus.
The ref blew his whistle. “Foul!”
Markus held his hands in the air.
“You can’t push with your arm like that,” said the ref.
“What else an supposed to do?” asked Markus. “He’s pushing me!”
“You hâve to move your feet,” answered the ref.
On the inbound, Curtis tipped in the pass for an easy two.
Brianna brought the bail up the court. Her defender met her right at half court. She held her left hand out to guard the bail in her right.
“Down,” she called out.
Jasmine moved from the left wing to the left block. She tried to set a pick on Curtis. But he pushed right through her shoulder. He turned her sideways. Markus couldn’t get open.
