Page 17 of Loving the Legend
I grin when bubbles appear, but it vanishes when they disappear a minute later.
Okay, I’m sixty percent confident I’ve been messaging Sid this entire time.
I click out of the message and reach for my book when my phone vibrates again. I snatch it up and hit play on a video. Sid’s half smile, half smirk appears. He’s wearing a cream sweatshirt, but the torso and shoulders are brushed with blue-gray watercolors.
“Hey, you,” he says, staring into the camera.
He flips the camera, and a row of Marvels’ players comes into focus. Having just sat through team dinner myself, I recognize the setup.
“Yo! Pumpkin or sweet potato pie?” Sid calls out.
At least a dozen heads snap toward the camera, and a chorus of “pump-sweet-kin-tatoes” is shouted in its direction. The camera view flips back to Sid’s face.
“We should’ve maybe rehearsed that. Looking forward to your dance skills.” He winks, and then the video ends.
I drag my finger across the video bar until it’s back at the beginning and hit pause over his face. I grin hard as I take him in.
CHAPTER FIVE
It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re in the final four minutes of an early game against the Phoenix Stars at home. We’re down ten points. Coach lets me start at the top of each quarter, but he benched me for the last seven minutes to hydrate and rest. We held the lead for most of the game, but in the last five minutes, Craig, the Stars' point guard, scored two back-to-back shots. Then their center hit a very rare three-pointer and was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line and increasing our deficit to ten points.
“Ty, you’re up!” Coach barks.
I jump up and execute a few hamstring curls while waiting to get injected back into the game. I shake away the fatigue from jolting awake at four in the morning with another nightmare. As soon as this game ends, I’m headed home to sleep through the next twenty-four hours.
It’s our possession when I’m injected back into the game. I groan as Lucas, the Stars’ power forward, moves to defend me.
“Your coach used to be a legend,” he says, raising his elbow close to my nose. I swat his arm away and pivot, keeping him to my left. I dribble the ball and scan the court. Idris is in theperfect spot to hit a corner shot, except he’s jammed up by their center.
“Look at him now, trusting the last minutes of the game to a rookie,” Lucas spits. “The league has gotten soft. If you were my rook, I’d make you get down on your knees and—”
“Hey”—I hit a fast dribble, cutting him up, and sink a bucket—“Eat a dick.”I glare at him as I run backward.
Fuck face.
The Stars attempt a corner three-pointer but miss.
Yes!
Idris drives the possession straight down the lane, but he’s fouled mid-air and heads to the free-throw line. I bend forward to catch my breath. Both of his free throws stick. We trade high fives.
As the Stars take possession, the crowd yells, “Dee-Fense!” Their energy is electrifying.
I spot an opening for an interception and steal possession from an irate Craig.
Candy from a baby.
I drive fast up the court to hit a corner shot, but I miss. Tevin grabs the rebound and lobs the ball back to me. I cut around Lucas and release another corner shot, falling backward.
Swoosh—it’s clean!
The crowd goes wild. That shot was a beauty! It’ll definitely make the final cut of the highlights reel.
We cut the deficit to two points, the score 112–110. The Stars call a timeout to stop our momentum, but it doesn’t matter. We’re taking this tonight. The crowd knows it, my teammates know it, and even the Stars know it!
The game resumes, and as expected, Craig takes possession of the ball and attempts a fast break, running upcourt. Only as he takes flight for a dunk, Tevin makes a clean block, smacking theball right into my hands. Craig punches the air and yells at the refs. One glance at Tev and we burst out laughing.
I pass the ball to Idris, who gets jammed up and loses possession, causing a loose ball, but not for long. Our small forward, Hanson, grabs it and launches it to me. I catch it and shoot as the shot clock buzzer goes off. The ball barrels through the air and dives straight through the net.
