Box Out

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Box Out Page 15

by John Coy


  “None of your business,” Jessica snaps.

  Iris steps back, like she’s been slapped.

  “He’s desperate,” Leah says. “Desperate, ignorant, and a bigot—the trifecta.”

  “What do you mean?” Pelke shrugs. “I was just asking.”

  “Knock it off, Pelke.” Liam glares at him.

  “Remember, Pelke,” Darius says. “I’ve seen you naked.” He holds up his thumb and index finger close together. “There’s a little thing I could talk about if you want to go that way.”

  Jessica bursts out laughing.

  “What are you laughing at?” Pelke asks.

  “A teensy-tiny thing.” She holds her thumb and finger so close together, they’re almost touching. Chloe cracks up and the other girls on the sidelines laugh as Pelke retreats downcourt.

  Gund forces a three trying to cut the deficit, and Jessica pushes against Nielsen for the rebound. She passes to Leah, and Liam races downcourt on the break. Leah fakes to him and passes behind her back to Iris, who goes in for the score. The girls watching go nuts. Ninety-six to eighty-four.

  Jessica and Iris double-team Nielsen and Iris steals the ball. She passes to Darius, who brings it upcourt. He bounces the ball between his legs at the arc. He can blow by Gund anytime he wants. Instead, he passes to Liam, who’s guarded closely by Drake.

  “Take him,” Darius says.

  Liam turns and pump-fakes. Drake’s too eager for the block and leaves his feet. Liam goes up and under for the hoop.

  “That’s it.” Darius slaps his hand.

  Back at the other end, Staley knocks down a three when Leah gets stuck behind Nielsen’s screen.

  “Ninety-eight to eighty-seven. Game point.” Leah bounces the ball and Liam calls for the ball. He’s not just a rebounder; he’s got game. He wants to go right back at Drake. Leah passes to Darius on the wing and Darius feeds him. Liam turns baseline and spots Iris open at the edge of the free throw line. He bounce-passes to her, and Pelke’s slow to close. Iris shoots.

  “Game,” she calls as the ball leaves her hand. Everyone stops to watch the shot. Nothing but net, and the girls watching burst into cheers.

  Liam hugs Iris, and Leah, Darius, and Jessica wrap their arms around them. Girls swarm in from the side.

  “Leah, you got your win.” Liam bows his head against hers in the inner circle of teammates.

  “So did you.” She smiles.

  Liam looks over at the guys, who still can’t believe they got beat by thirteen.

  Staley comes up and slaps his back. “Good run, Bergie.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Good game,” Nielsen says as he hurries past.

  Drake is already at the bleachers, taking off his shoes. Liam walks over. “Good game.”

  “Whatever.” Drake tosses his shoes into his Adidas bag.

  Pelke grabs his stuff and scrambles to the door without talking to anyone.

  Liam goes up to Seth, who’s putting on his jacket. “Hey.”

  “Those girls are good,” he says. “You played great.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I was sure you’d get blown away. Instead you played like a monster.” Seth jams his hands in his pockets. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to play like that together on varsity next year.”

  “We’ll see,” Liam says. “Maybe with Darius.”

  28

  Opening

  Leah’s opening reception at the Regional Art Center is packed with friends, family, and teammates. Mom greets Jack and Mrs. Jack enthusiastically. Dad sets out a new tray of cookies, and Chloe picks out a rosette and talks to him. She’s wearing a shiny silver dress that twirls when she turns. Liam’s so used to seeing her hair pulled back for games and practice that he does a double take. She looks good with it down.

  He spots Iris in the corner, gazing at a painting. He grabs a couple of ginger thins and walks over. “Cookie.” He offers her one.

  “Thanks.” She’s wearing a blue sweater that highlights her eyes. “Check this out.”

  Liam looks at a painting splashed with jagged strokes of red and white around the outside and a circle of gold in the middle. “What’s it called?”

  Iris bends down to read the tag. “Jack.”

  Liam stands back. Quiet in the center, but intense with the colors of Horizon basketball. “That works.”

  Iris gestures at a dark-haired girl pouring punch into glasses. “That’s Hannah, Leah’s sister. She’s in eighth grade and plays point. She might be good enough to start for us next year.”

  Liam rubs his freshly shaved chin. Iris, Jess, and Chloe will be back next year. Another Braverman to handle the ball. That’s already a strong team. What about the boys? Drake, Nielsen, Gund, and Pelke will all be gone, and Kloss might not be the coach. Would Liam start? Would Seth? Would Darius come back if Kloss didn’t? He’s got to find a way to keep playing with Darius.

  Iris grabs his arm. “Look.”

  Walking in together are Jessica and Hunter Nielsen, and they’re both smiling. Maybe she felt sorry after beating him. No, that wouldn’t be like Jess. Maybe she likes him.

  Mom and Dad approach Liam. “What a turnout,” she says. “We’ve never had so many tall people, so many young people. So many tall, young people.”

  “Mom, Dad, this is my friend Iris.”

  “Nice to meet you, Iris.” Dad shakes her hand.

  “You’re the one who hit those free throws against Clearwater.” Mom reaches out to her. “That should have won the game. Those refs were terrible. They stole it.”

  Iris laughs and Liam shakes his head. That’s Mom.

  “You played a strong game, Iris,” Dad says.

  “Thanks, Mr. Bergstrom.”

  “Here are the Buckners.” Mom pulls Dad away to talk with Darius’s parents.

  “Chloe and I are going to a movie after this.” Iris offers him an Altoid. “She wants you to come, too.”

  “She does?” Liam sucks on the mint. “Are you trying to set me up, Iris?”

  “Maybe.” She grins. “She’s a friend. You’re a friend. I look out for my friends.”

  Leah and Chloe walk over as the warm light of spring pours through the front windows.

  “This is an amazing opening, Leah.” Liam gestures at all the people.

  “Thanks.” She’s a couple of inches taller in her maroon heels.

  “It’s the equinox today,” he says. “The same amount of light as dark.”

  “I didn’t know that.” She adjusts her necklace. “That’s good timing for an opening. Now I feel slightly better balanced.”

  More people come up to congratulate her, and Liam turns to Chloe.

  “Hey.” He holds out his hand and Chloe takes it. She’s got long, dark lashes. “Nice dress.”

  “Thanks.” She smiles.

  He breathes in her perfume. Sweet and clean. “I talked with Iris.”

  “And?”

  “A movie together sounds fun.”

  “Good. I think so, too.”

  “Hey, Norbert, Chloe.” Darius comes up. “Am I interrupting?”

  “No. Hey, D.” Liam lets go of Chloe’s hand and pounds fists with Darius.

  “I’ll see you later.” Chloe waves.

  “Definitely.” Liam moves closer to Darius. “Thanks, man.”

  “For what?” Darius shakes the ice in his glass.

  “For everything. For quitting the boys’ team. For saying yes to Jack. For pushing me in practice.”

  “You made yourself better, Norbert. And I enjoyed destroying those losers with you.”

  “I’ve got one question.” Liam puts his hand on Darius’s shoulder.

  “What?”

  “You remember Jack’s rule on dating team members?” Liam looks over at Leah. “Did you two wait until the season was over?”

  Darius’s deep laugh rumbles. “Not quite.”

  Liam laughs, too. “I didn’t think so.”

  Darius picks an ice cube out of the glass and
pops it in his mouth. “Hey, we’re playing at the B-CAB tomorrow. We need you.”

  “I’ll be there.” Liam grins. “Ready to run.”

  About the Author

  John Coy grew up playing football and basketball, and he worked as a tour guide, dishwasher, and mattress maker before turning to writing full-time. He is the author of numerous award-winning picture books, including Night Driving, winner of the Marion Vannett Ridgway Memorial Award for outstanding debut picture book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year; Strong to the Hoop, an ALA Notable Book; and, most recently, Around the World, an NBA Read to Achieve selection. His first novel, Crackback, was published to great acclaim by Scholastic Press in 2005. John is a member of the NBA Reading All-Star Team and a visiting writer at schools across the country. He lives in Minnesota and loves to travel. Visit John Coy at www.johncoy.com.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2008 by John Coy

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  “The Way It Is” copyright © 1998 by the Estate of William Stafford. Reprinted from The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems with the permission of Graywolf Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data

  Coy, John, 1958–

  Box out / John Coy.—1st ed. p. cm.

  Summary: High school sophomore Liam jeopardizes his new position on the varsity basketball team when he decides to take a stand against his coach who is leading prayers before games and enforcing teamwide participation.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-439-87032-0

  ISBN-10: 0-439-87032-1

  [1. Basketball—Fiction. 2. Prayer in the public schools—Fiction. 3. Church and state—Fiction. 4. High schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.C839455Bo 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2007045354

  First edition, June 2008

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  E-ISBN: 978-0-545-22996-8

 

 

 


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