“He said something about my parents,” Sugar said, staring into space, angered by even the memory of it.
“Okay, he shouldn’t have done that,” Ronde agreed. “But you didn’t have to deal with it the way you did.”
Sugar sighed. “I guess you’re right about that. I kind of lost control. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Let me tell you something,” said Ronde. “I was on the football team for three whole years. I know you get angry sometimes when things get tough. But you’ve got to think about the whole team, not just yourself.”
“You just don’t understand,” Sugar said, sighing. “My life this year has been . . .” He stopped talking, and Ronde could see that he was fighting back tears.
“Hey, man,” Ronde said, his tone softening, “I know it’s been tough on you.”
“You have no idea,” said Sugar. “My whole family’s breaking apart.” He sniffed once, then again. The silence in the house was deafening.
“My dad works all the time,” he finally went on. “My mom? She didn’t care enough about me and my sister to stick around and work it out. Nobody cares about us kids . . . so I decided I had to look after myself. Nobody is going to help me out, and nobody is going to feel sorry for me—so I’ve got to make sure I get what I need.”
“Wow,” said Ronde. “You should hear yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“You sound so . . . so selfish.”
“Me? What about my mom? My dad? You think they’re not being selfish?” He laughed again, with that same bitter note. “You don’t know a thing about it. I’m alone here, on my own. My sister’s only ten, and she’s crying all the time.” Ronde looked around, and Sugar explained, “She’s sleeping over at a friend’s house.”
“Listen,” Ronde said, “I hear you, and I do understand. Maybe you think my life and Tiki’s is a bed of roses.”
“It isn’t?”
“No! Did you know my mom has raised us all by herself, all these years? She works all the time, too, just like your dad—except she works two jobs, not one, and I’ll bet she doesn’t make half as much money as he does.” Ronde could tell that just by looking at the expensive furniture in Sugar’s house.
“My brother and I have to work at an after-school job, and give all the money we make to our mom so she can pay the bills,” he went on. “It’s just me and Tiki, eating dinner alone half the time. But you don’t see us complaining. We take what life gives us, and we make the best of it!”
Sugar was silent, taking it all in.
“We know our mom loves us, with all her heart. So we do our best to help her, however we can—washing dishes, mowing the lawn, contributing money from our job—whatever it takes. We’re a family, and we stick together. You and your sister and your dad, you need to do that too, now that your mom’s not around.”
Ronde winced, wishing he hadn’t said that. “I mean, like you told me, at least he’s there for you.”
“When he’s here,” Sugar said.
“Same with my mom. Sometimes parents have to work, so their kids will have food and clothes and a roof over their heads.”
“At least your mom loves you,” Sugar said. “My mom couldn’t care less about us.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Ronde said.
“She left us, just like that. No good-bye, no nothing. Not even a note. If she loved us, she would have said something.”
“Maybe she had her reasons, that had nothing to do with you,” Ronde guessed. “Anyway, if she doesn’t love you, why was she there waiting for you in the parking lot that night?”
Sugar shifted uncomfortably on the stair where he’d sat down. He stared at the floor.
“She was crying, did you notice? Did you even give her a chance to explain?”
When Sugar didn’t answer, Ronde kept talking. “You know, sometimes it’s even worse for kids if their parents are always fighting and yelling and screaming, and they just can’t get along. Sometimes it’s best if people separate.”
“It’s not best for me and my sister!” Sugar said, his jaw tight. “Nobody’s thinking about what’s best for us.”
“Well, hey,” said Ronde, not backing down, “then you, better than anyone, should know to think about the rest of your teammates. We’re kind of like a family too, right? How do you think the guys feel when you dump all over them?”
Ronde opened the door to leave, and let Sugar think about what he’d said. Then he pointed to the paper lying at the foot of the stairs. “Oh, by the way. You really should read Tiki’s advice column this week. You might learn something.”
12
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Tiki had suffered through his classes all day. He couldn’t keep his mind from wandering. Fantasies of glory on the court alternated with nightmares where he blew the game for the team. Twice, teachers had called his name in vain, causing his classmates to laugh when he finally realized what was going on.
The only good parts of the day came when he ran into his teammates in the hall or at lunch. Every one of them seemed excited that he was going to be playing with them that afternoon. He was glad to be welcomed—he just hoped he wouldn’t let them down in their hour of need.
Today’s game was a real challenge. With two games left to play in their season, the Eagles were 7–8. Both their remaining opponents had winning records. Today’s game was against the North Side Rockets, who were in first place in the league, with a 13–2 record. What made it even harder was that the Eagles were the visiting team. At home, the Rockets were undefeated, at 7–0.
The rest of the team didn’t seem all that worried about it, though. On the bus, and in the visitors’ locker room, everyone seemed full of energy and good spirits. Tiki wondered why, until Ronde clued him in. “They’re into playing, because they know that today, it’s up to them, not Sugar.”
Tiki understood then, and smiled. He only hoped Sugar had read his column. Ronde didn’t seem to think he would read it, but what else could either of them do to get through to the team’s troubled superstar?
For now, there was only one mission, though, and Sugar had nothing to do with it. That mission was to win, and Tiki meant to accomplish it, no matter what.
This part was familiar to him. The football Eagles had had their backs to the wall many times, and they’d always found a way to win when it mattered most.
Coach Jackson laid out the game plan. “Ronde will start at point, with Rory at shooting guard. Budnick and Jarvis start at forward, and Bobby at center. Tiki will be first man off the bench, subbing for both Rory and Ronde. Got it?”
They all clapped their hands, and Tiki could see the light of determination in all their eyes. This, he thought, was going to be interesting. . . .
The first thing he noticed when he entered the gym was the size of the Rockets. They were much bigger than the Eagles—taller, wider, thicker, and heavier. They had bulging muscles and an air of confidence that was impossible to miss. Probably because, Tiki thought, the last time these two teams had met, the Rockets had handled the Eagles easily, 72–57.
They would also have noticed that Sugar Morton was missing. Well, thought Tiki, if ever a team was ripe for a fall, it was the Rockets. The way he figured it, the Eagles had them right where they wanted them. The Rockets were in for a nasty surprise.
The game began, and Tiki cheered from the bench as the Eagles put on a clinic in passing and defense. Almost every time down the court, everyone on the team touched the ball at least once. Tiki was sure that had never happened with Sugar at the point guard position.
On defense, the Eagles were all over the ball-carrier. Bobby was holding his own against a much bigger center for the Rockets. And Ronde kept finding Rory in the open, where he sank his first four shots in a row.
By the time Tiki got in the game, and Ronde sat down, the Eagles were up by six points, and the crowd in the North Side gym was beginning to get restless. Tiki started right in by stealing the inbounds pass, then
chucking it upcourt to Rory, who laid it in for the score!
Quickly, Tiki got back on D. Just in time, too. The Rockets’ shooting guard nearly bowled him over, but Tiki had established position, and the ref called the other kid for a charging foul.
Tiki took the ball downcourt. He looked for Rory, but could see that he was gassed. Rory was breathing heavily, his hands on his hips. Instead, Tiki found Bobby under the basket, and he sank the shot with a foul on top of it.
Coach Jackson sent Ronde back in and called Rory to the bench. Tiki beamed. For the first time in any sport, he and his twin were in a game at the same time, on the same team! Tiki was now the shooting guard, with Ronde taking over at the point.
Each time up the court on offense, Tiki would put on one of the patented moves he’d perfected on the football field. Ronde, who knew him better than anyone, would pass the ball to him in stride, timing it perfectly so that Tiki could get the shot off cleanly. The Eagles went on another run, and by the time Tiki sat down again, they were up by twelve points!
“This is even better than in the driveway!” Tiki yelled to his brother after one play, and Ronde nodded back, laughing.
North Side called another time-out. Tiki high-fived the entire bench, including Rory, who said as he was going back in, “This is the best we’ve played all year—thanks to you two guys!”
Tiki was pleased, but a little embarrassed. He knew Sugar Morton was a much better basketball player than either him or Ronde. But sometimes, he knew, it mattered more how well your teammates played around you.
Today, they were playing with fire and passion, and the Rockets were in full panic mode. Oh, they’d be making it to the play-offs, whatever happened today, Tiki knew. Still, the shame of losing to a much weaker team was not pleasant, especially if you were in first place and thought of yourselves as the best in the league.
At halftime, the Eagles held an eight-point lead. Ronde and Tiki had tired at the same time, and there was no other substitute at guard. The Rockets had taken advantage with a little run of their own in the final two minutes, to make the score respectably close and give themselves a fighting chance in the second half.
In the locker room, Tiki urged the rest of the team to keep it up. “We’ve got to play the whole twenty minutes, not just fifteen or seventeen,” he told them. “That team over there is too good. If we let up the least little bit, they’ll sense it, and knock us flat.”
“We’re short one man,” Rory pointed out. “I was running on empty there at the end, and we had a small forward playing out of position to fill in.”
“Well, you’ve got to find your second wind,” Tiki said flatly. “Don’t worry, it’s in there somewhere. Just keep telling yourself to play proud, and you’ll find it.”
Rory nodded, his jaw set with determination.
“We are not going down today!” Ronde said, and they all cheered as they headed out for the second half.
At the beginning of the game, the Rockets had been ambushed by the Eagles’ energy. By now, though, they knew what they were up against. They would be confident in themselves, and why not? They were used to winning. They could always dial it up a notch when they had to, and they knew it.
Winning this game was going to take some doing, Tiki realized. He took a few pretend shots, without the ball, just to visualize it properly in his head. And then the whistle blew, and the second half began.
Rory Mathis started out on fire. He sank three straight shots, one of them a three-pointer, to give the Eagles a comfortable lead again. Tiki saw how Ronde would look for Rory, finding him with the pass at just the right moment—a second after he’d made his move, creating the space for the drive to the basket or the open jump shot.
Tiki had been right about the Rockets, too, though. Soon, they got their game together, and started swarming Ronde and Rory. Unlike Sugar, neither of them was very good at maintaining possession in the face of a double-team. They coughed up the ball four straight times, and finally, Coach Jackson had to call a time-out.
He put Tiki in for Ronde. Rory had to stay in the game, even though he was clearly flagging. Coach Jackson had been short by two players for this game, and he’d replaced them both with only one—Tiki. He might have fresh legs and wind, but he couldn’t replace two tired guards at once!
The Rockets knew it. They eased up on Rory and focused all their pressure on Tiki. However, unlike Ronde, Tiki was used to keeping hold of the ball while under pressure. He stayed with his dribble now, and managed to find Rory open.
If Rory hadn’t been so tired, he surely would have made the open shot. Instead, he left the ten-footer short. It barely even grazed the rim before hitting Bobby in the head and bouncing right to the Rockets’ point guard. He raced right past the startled Eagle defenders, including Tiki, who was caught flat-footed. The kid laid the ball in, and suddenly, the Eagles’ lead was all the way back down to one.
Tiki was determined to turn things around, but Rory needed a break, and Ronde was still getting his. Tiki slowed things down, playing catch with Bobby Dominic—in toward the basket, back out toward the point—until the clock wound down to five seconds. Then, passing it to Bobby one last time, he yelled, “Shoot!”
Bobby wasn’t a bad athlete. He even had a bit of shooting touch. But he had never in his life been ordered to shoot. He stared at Tiki as he caught the ball, a look of utter confusion on his face.
“SHOOT!” Tiki screamed.
The buzzer went off with the ball still in Bobby’s hands. Tiki wanted to react, to moan or throw his hands in the air. But he knew that would only discourage Bobby, and the Eagles needed all hands on deck. “Don’t sweat it,” he told Bobby instead as they backed up on defense. “Go for it next time.”
Bobby nodded, his eyes regaining their focus. Next thing Tiki knew, Bobby had knocked the ball away from the Rockets’ center. Tiki pounced on it, and a North Side player pounced on him. The whistle blew. “Foul!” yelled the referee.
Tiki went to the free-throw line with a one-on-one opportunity. If he sank the first shot, he got another. If he missed it . . . well, that was it.
He glanced at the sideline, and saw that Ronde was up and ready to come in between free throws. Tiki knew Rory was done. He was bent over, hands on his hips, staring at the floor. He’d been on the floor most of the first half, and hadn’t had a break yet in the second. He’d been double-teamed the whole time.
Tiki knew he needed to sink this shot. He tossed it up. It clanged off the back of the rim. Tiki winced, and shouted, “No!” but it had no effect.
The Rockets dribbled back upcourt. Ronde remained on the sideline. And Rory, gasping for breath, was way behind the play.
His man raced for the basket. The point guard threw an alley-oop. Rory’s man grabbed it in mid-flight and laid it up and in. The Rockets had their first lead of the game!
By the time Ronde did manage to get back in the game, with ten minutes left to play, the Eagles were down by five.
Ronde was a great passer, but he needed Tiki to get free, and to sink his shots. Tiki knew the game depended on him now. If he could keep the Eagles close until Rory got his wind back, the Eagles would get a hugely needed boost.
Tiki regretted now that he’d ever bragged, to Ronde or anyone else, about his shooting prowess. It was one thing to sink a shot in your own driveway, or at the playground. It was another to sink one on the court against a first-place team, when so much was on the line.
He’d never been this nervous on the football field, and Tiki thought he knew why. His talents on the gridiron were so strong that he’d always had a certain inner confidence. No matter what, deep down in his core, he knew he could force his will on the game, and turn the outcome his team’s way most of the time.
He had no such confidence on the basketball court. On the other hand, he did know how to be a team player. Right now, that meant getting free and sinking shots. Tiki forced all other thoughts—all doubts, all fears, all distractions—out of his head. He f
ocused entirely on his man, on the ball, and on the basket.
The Rockets were swarming Ronde now. They obviously didn’t fear Tiki, leaving him guarded by only one man. Tiki put a double-deke move on him, then held his hands up for the ball.
It was there, as soon as he turned to look. Ronde had timed the pass perfectly! Turning to the basket, Tiki put the ball up off the backboard, right in stride. Two points!
“Come on! Defense!” Tiki yelled as they jogged backward up the court. And now, the rest of the team seemed to rise to the moment. Larry Budnick blocked a shot, with Jake Lewis grabbing the rebound and outlet passing it to Ronde.
Tiki trailed his twin at a run. Ronde launched a no-look pass to him over his right shoulder. Tiki grabbed it, planted his feet, and let go a jumper. Swish!
Suddenly, there was an air of panic in the Rockets’ home gym. The Rockets themselves seemed to share in the feeling. They were not used to being outplayed this late in a game. They launched two wild passes that resulted in turnovers.
Both times, Ronde managed to find the free man—Larry once, and then Tiki again. When he put it through the hoop from long range, it gave the Eagles a four-point lead, with only six minutes left in the game.
There was a tension in the Rockets now, a wild look in their eyes. They seemed to stumble and lose their rhythm as a team. Tiki watched from the bench, out of breath, as a refreshed Rory reentered the fray, and proceeded to nail three straight jumpers.
The Rockets began fouling, a sure sign of desperation. And even though a lot of the Eagles missed their free throws, the Rockets couldn’t convert on offense.
The Eagles defense was playing inspired ball. Everyone was helping everyone else whenever they needed it, and the mighty North Side Rockets just couldn’t find a way to score.
In the end, the score was 71–58, Eagles. The team was back at .500, with one game left to play. They’d beaten the runaway league leaders convincingly, without their superstar! They could go forward with confidence now into their final game.
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