The Basketball Boy From Beverly

Hi, Teammates

“Hi… you are the new guy”

Gray walked to his bed and dropped the bag. “Was there an old guy?”

“Actually, I meant you’re new in the school”, he stared back at Gray with excited blue eyes hiding behind his glasses. “I saw your short encounter with Kevin. You should really stay away from him”

“Really?”, Gray adjusted and laid back on the bed. “How dangerous is he?”

“Well, he can get away with almost anything. His dad is rich and he has a lot of influence”, his roommate said and held out his hand. “My name is Connor”

“I’m Gray”, Gray shook his hand. “So how’s the place? Is it cool to be here? This is my first time being in a boarding house”

“You sound like you been to many schools”

“I have been to many schools. I hope this is my last”

“Hmm”, Connor stared at him. “Why’s that?”

“It’s not something I like to talk about”, Gray glanced at him. “My welcome here wasn’t so great, though. It takes a few weeks, at least, before I start having problems with people”

“Then trouble must love you more than you love trouble… I have to say becoming a boarding student isn’t a very good idea… not if Kevin has eyes on you”

“How do you mean?”

“Kevin brings endless trouble and, asides him, there are more”, Connor said. “There really was an old guy and he owned that bed. Once Kevin made you appear-“

A knock on the door interrupted them.

“Who’s there?”, Connor stood up and walked over.

“It’s Kevin, hey. Get out, Gray”, Kevin howled from the outside. “Come to the basketball court. Let’s see what you got!”

Gray got up. “I’ll be there”

“Be careful, man”, Connor whispered. “Once Kevin makes you weak, others will come… and it’ll be worse”

“He rhymed his words”, Gray whispered back. “You didn’t hear it, did you?...... I’ll be alright, Connor”

………….

“Let’s welcome the new guy on the team!”, Kevin shouted, as they stepped on the court.

Gray looked around blankly. He had seen almost every of their faces, already. They seemed to be the school bullies. They clapped, loudly, as Kevin flipped the ball to him.

“Now, Gray”, Kevin said. “Right where you stand. You have to toss the ball into the net… and you have to score five times. If you can’t, you are just the same loser. If you can, you might just join the team finally”

“Yea”, the ballers chorused rowdily.

“I see what you’re doing, Kevin”, Brad muttered.

Gray could hear from where he stood. He felt cold and confident… but there was a bit of fear. *There are two warnings in 24 hours. One from Dad. One from Connor… but I’m not going to lose this*

………….

Chloe glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time and got up.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to actually call him”, Tracy said. “I don’t want either of you in here and I mean it”

“Come on, Tracy”, she replied. “There will be no noise tonight”

“If he shows up, I will report him”, Tracy replied. “It’s against the rules, anyway”

“You know nothing’s going to happen if you do that…. Whatever, Tracy!”, she slammed the door and walked out, folding her arms within her pullover.

She paced down, heading to the basketball court. It was as silent as expected. Asides the basketball players and the bullies who usually stayed silent, the ‘losers’ were forced to stay in the room.

“Hey, Chloe”, Bucky’s cold voice frightened her for a second. She glanced at him and his crew. They had managed to bring cigarettes into the school without getting caught.

“What do you want?”, she retorted, walking past. Her heart sped fast, as she hastened her steps, getting away quickly. She had heard too much about Bucky’s folly to let him make any advances at her. Her relationship with Kevin seemed to be her protection.

She heard them laugh but she didn’t bother looking back. She was closer to the court already and she could hear the ballers' jests.

“… if you can”, she caught Kevin’s voice, as she sneaked into the court. “You just might join the team”

She sat down, without making a noise. Only a half part of the court was lightened so she had herself shielded from the light.

“Alright”, Gray replied and took a step back.

“Don’t move any closer”, Kevin said, with a hint of mockery. “If you can’t score from there, you’re just the same i***t you look like”

“Don’t be quick to judge”, Gray replied. “I am going to score five times… but if you can’t score four times in a row, then I will join the team with no excuses from you. I’ll let you take a step closer”

“You’re challenging me?”, Kevin laughed. “This guy is a fucker. Let’s see you do it”

Chloe leaned on a bench and the iron creaked. She stiffened, hoping no one heard the sound. No one turned. They were too busy mocking to hear.

Gray flipped the ball in his hand and tossed it right through the basket. They stood still and stared at one another.

Kevin clapped. “Good. Let’s see you score the next four throws”

Gray tossed the ball again and it went right through the basket, scoring a second goal. He picked the ball again and tossed it into the net, scoring a third goal. They stared blankly at him.

He rushed over to get the ball and ran back, tossing the ball and scoring the fourth goal.

“You cheated”, one of the ballers said. “You didn’t get to the marked spot before you tossed the ball. You didn’t think we would see that, did you?”

Brad laughed at him. “This guy’s such an i***t”, he mocked. “You can’t cheat like that in a real basketball game. Get the ball and shoot again”

Gray stared daringly at him for a few seconds. “You can pass the ball to me, at least”, he said. “It’s right behind you”

“Walk over here, my dear… I’m no slave”

Gray smiled. “Alright”, he ran to grab the ball and rushed back. He took a step back and stared at the net, taking short glances at Brad. He threw the ball swiftly, hitting the edge of the basket and deflecting right at Brad. The ball bounced off Brad’s head. Gray muffled his laughter and sobered up. “Sorry about that, man”

Brad dashed at him. “What the hell was that for?!”, Brad yelled and punched him in the face. “What the-“

“It’s enough, Brad”, Kevin said, holding him back. “The ball deflected. No one’s fault….. Right, Gray?”

“Yea”, Gray nodded.

“Now, let’s deal with your challenge”, Kevin grabbed the ball and moved to the spot.

“You can take a step forward”, Gray said. “Just so you get a chance”

“What do you take me for? Someone like you?”, Kevin replied, proudly. His hands shivered on the ball but he managed to keep a steady face. He stared at the basket with doubt. They never had to stay that far from the net in a real game to shoot.

He tossed the ball and it flew right in the basket. He landed confidently on this feet. Gray clapped. “I am impressed”

“Shut up, man”, Wilson retorted. “You couldn’t get yours right Z”

Kevin grabbed the ball and ran back towards the spot. He tossed the ball before getting back in position. He scored again. Gray kept his eyes on Kevin’s legs.

Kevin tossed the ball again, a lot farther from the position than the second time. “You really are doing great, Kevin”, Gray said and walked beside the post, staring fixedly at Kevin’s legs again. He could tell Kevin would realize and correct himself.

His eyes moved up a bit and he caught a slight movement in the dark. He stared further and saw who it was. Kevin’s girlfriend sat there, staring back at him.

“Goal”, the ballers erupted.

“Did you see that?”, Wilson hit his shoulder. “Now, that is a basketball captain. You tried, though”

Gray gaped for a second, staring at Kevin, and swallowed. “That’s cool, man”, he said. “You are better than I thought”

“You can’t fit in here, Gray”, Kevin replied, staring at him with intimidation. “You lost so you can’t join the team… sorry”

Gray nodded and watched them rush towards the door. He glanced at the chairs again and Chloe was no longer there. She didn’t leave the court so she was definitely hiding somewhere around.

“Get out of here, Gray”, Wilson said. “The lights will be out in minutes and I will be here to close the door.”

“Yea, alright”, Gray said and threw the ball with his back turned. The ball flipped up and bounced on the edge of the basket, flipping right back through the net.

He walked towards the door, staring at the chairs. *Where did she go? She didn’t leave here*

The ballers had left already and they were far from the court. “I know you’re there. If the lights go out, you might just get locked in”

“That’s impossible”, Chloe said, walking out. “What was that about?”

“What do you mean?”

“You lost the last throw on purpose, just to hit Brad”, she said. “You saw Kevin cheat but you didn’t say anything. What are you planning to do?”

“Planning?” Gray laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, woman… You saw your boyfriend cheat. You could have called him”

“Why would I do that when it’s not my business?”

“Yea, whatever. I want no problem with Kevin so I’ll just walk away”

**★**

Lena stormed in. She could hear the lectures going on from a distance already.

“Lena. You wait behind for detention”

“I know, sir”, she said and walked over to her seat.

“Alright, then”, the tutor said. “Class dismissed”

“f**k! You guys are done?”

“What happened? You woke up late or something?”, Gray asked, standing up.

“Stop smiling like you achieved something”, she retorted. “I woke up late”

“It’s alright. I had the lectures recorded for you”, He held his phone out to her, as they stepped out of the room..

“Wow! Thanks”, she reached for it.

He pulled back the phone, quickly. “You were pissed, yesterday”, he muttered. “Say you forgive me”

“Just bring it, Gray”, she said and nudged him. “I won’t, till you beat Kevin up with these big muscles”

Gray smiled and gave the phone to her. *She’s not so bad* His eyes fell on Connor. He seemed to have his back against his locker, with two hefty guys towering over him. They looked too old to be students, somehow. He took a step closer but they walked away already. He didn’t need to make any more scene. *He should be alright*.

**★**

“Uh… Everyone. The key to the basketball court is missing”, the janitor announced, through the speakers in the hallway. “If you come across it, please, return it as soon as possible”

Gray stared at the speakers for a second. “f**k!”, He muttered, as his eyes met with Chloe’s. “Stop looking at me like you suspect me”

He walked away, quickly.

“Should you be suspected?”, she asked. “From the look of things, you look like someone who has got a lot to hide… I can just go report you right now”

“Trust me, woman… you will end up being the joke if you report me”, he turned and ran off.

.......

“The key to the court”, Gray said and handed it over. “I found it at the boarding hallway”

“Oh, thanks”, the janitor collected it with appreciation.

“I told you not to accuse anyone of stealing a KEY”, the principal said. “That is good of you, Gray… you are part of the basketball team, right?”

“I hope to be, sir”, Gray replied.

“You should see the coach… tell him I said you should be tested”

“Thank you, sir”, He nodded and walked out of the office.

“So you miraculously found the toe and returned it?”, Chloe was waiting outside the door with arms folded.

“You know eavesdropping on the principal is not a good thing, right?”, Gray replied. “I heard of a missing key and I went in search of it, like good people should. Do you have a problem with it?”

“What’s your plan, Gray?”, Chloe asked. “You’re not doing all of this for nothing, are you?”

“I just want to be a basketballer, woman”, Gray said and jogged away. “You seem to care about me. I don’t even know your name, yet.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’ll find out what you’re up to”, she muttered.

**★**

“Hi, Kevin”, Gray called, jogging into the court.

Kevin turned around. “I told you not to step in here, anymore, didn’t I?”

*I saw that coming*. “Yea but I had to respect the principal”, Gray replied with a smile. “Hi, teammates”

The coach whistled into the court. “Hello, guys!”, he announced. “We have a new guy in our midst!”