Choker

CHAPTER 2

“Brick!”

The stiff, flat shot bangs off the front of the rim and into the hands of the Roosevelt jerk. My feet are frozen as Roosevelt frantically pushes the basketball up the court. I want to scream, “Stop them!”

But no one can. A driving layup at the buzzer and … final score: Roosevelt 52, Clifton 51.

I want to melt into the court. Instead, I collapse to my knees and tug my jersey over my face, hiding from the celebration exploding around me.

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” The screams are like sirens torturing my eardrums. Tell me this is just a bad dream.

I manage to scrape myself up off the court and slink to the locker room just as they haul a table onto the court for the trophy presentation. Roosevelt players rush by. One knocks into me. The final insult.

A thought strangles my brain: How am I going to face my teammates?

We were a “sure bet” to capture our second state title in four years. Even though we finished third in our conference, everyone knows the Clifton Tigers are big favorites in states because we compete in the small-school division, where we usually kick butt. This loss feels like a jolt from a Taser gun. Everyone is numb.

“We gave it our best,” Coach Antonelli says in the dead-silent locker room. “I know you’re all disappointed, but sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. They played a little bit better than us tonight. But I’m proud of you guys. We had a helluva season. Hold your heads up.”

I can’t.

“I blew it. I’m sorry,” I mumble to no one in particular, my eyes fixed on the ground. I hear my teammates storming away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see one glare back at me with absolute disdain.

I’m embarrassed to cry, but I can’t help it. Tears roll down my cheeks as I try to hide my face.

“Hey, Mark, you’ve heard me say this before: A basketball game is forty-eight minutes long. No single play decides it. Don’t blame yourself. We win and lose as a team.”

Coach Antonelli drapes his arm around my shoulder as he offers those hollow words. He acts like it was just a preseason scrimmage we lost. He deserves an Oscar for Best Actor.