The Reaper's Downfall

Chapter One

There were six seconds left in the game, we were down by two and it was our ball. The coach called a timeout and the gymnasium went dead silent. I peered through the court, looking for the #9 jersey. When I found it, I saw a familiar face staring at me. It was my best friend Caleb. Everyone including him looked exhausted. As he wiped the sweat dripping down his face, I gave him a thumbs up because it was the only thing I could think of doing. He smirked at me and went back into the huddle.

As each player walked out, I could hear their shoes squeaking. Every single person in the gymnasium knew that he would take the final shot. The opposing players were all locked in on him, but he seemed unfazed. Everything that these two teams have worked for this season came down to this, and every single person knew it.

As the whistle blew, the inbounder frantically searched for Caleb, but he was being swarmed. The ball was passed to #25, whose name was Grant. He was double-teamed, but the other team made the mistake of giving Caleb enough to shoot. Grant was able to get it to Caleb in the corner, and everyone held their breath. He gripped the ball and set up his shot. The defenders tried to get back to him, but it was too late.

As the basketball rolled up his fingers and into the air, everything felt as if it were going in slow motion. It bounced off of the top of the rim, and I heard an audible gasp. The buzzer rang as it bounced right into the silky white net. The crowd erupted. Our school swarmed the court and Caleb was quickly lost in the sea of bodies.

I smiled. I knew he could do it. Caleb just won us a semifinals game, meaning we'd be going to the state finals for the first time in Newacre history. I didn't have anyone else to celebrate with, so I headed to the parking lot and waited for Caleb.

A few minutes later, people started trickling out of the school. It took Caleb about fifteen minutes before he came out. He walked up to me with a huge grin and an arm around his cheerleader girlfriend, Riley. I stood up from the curb I was sitting at and gave him a tight hug, then nodded at Riley. She forced a smile.

"How'd you like that shot, Alex?" Caleb asked.

"I've only seen you practice that shot about a thousand times," I said. "I knew you were gonna hit it."

"Thanks man. Hopefully we trash Lakehurst in the finals so it won't come to that again," he said jokingly.

"Amen to that."

Riley cleared her throat and gave Caleb a look. He understood immediately and turned to face me.

"We're gonna be celebrating at Jake's place, you wanna come with?" he asked as he jangled his keys.

I couldn't help but notice Riley glaring at him, but he ignored her.

"Yeah, let's go," I said nonchalantly.

I was pretty excited, but I didn't want to show it. Since I'm a sophomore, I've never been invited to a party. That, and Caleb being my only friend meant that I could only rely on him for invites. Despite only being a sophomore, Caleb scored invites to every party this year. Riley is a sophomore too, but being a cheerleader automatically made her one of the more popular kids.

Caleb unlocked his jeep with a button on his keys. We climbed into the car, I sat in the backseat behind Caleb. Riley got the front passenger's seat. I zoned out on the way, mainly because Riley wouldn't stop talking.

The two of them started dating this year, but I didn't understand why. She was very different compared to Caleb's usual type: nice. Yeah, Riley was not a nice person. It seems like she actively tries to minimize any kind of interaction with me.

I'm not going to lie though, she is extremely pretty. Her light green eyes perfectly complement her wavy blonde hair. If she wasn't so cold towards me, I might've been attracted to her. Also, her mom is the mayor.