For The Love Of The Game (Book 1)

Chapter 27: Good At Everything

I looked at Xavier for quite a bit of some time, as I saw his eyes quite a bit wide, all at the exact same time too. It was clear to me that he was a little bit afraid, as he had even admitted it to me the other day. He said that the time from him being in school compared to when these kids were, it was in fact a bit different for him. Though that was to be expected, all at the exact same time as well, as I knew that there was always new trends.
I had simply just told him to not say some old school words that would sound stupid, and that the kids would not under stand. That was the only advice that I could give him, as it was not like I fit in with the cool crowd. I was not all too sure as to just what it was that the new wave was even like it the very first place any ways, all at the exact same time too.
I kind of just began to start to breath in quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could in the mean time, all at the exact same time as well, never the less. As I kind of just stood there, and I stared for just a little bit more time, I then began to start to look over to all of the kids. I saw that they all had the exact same look that it was that Xavier seemed to be having back to him.
It was clear to me that no one was going to step up, and be the first one to give all of their team mates their name, all at the exact same time as well. As much as I felt like I was a little bit afraid, and I felt like this was not normal for me, and that I did in fact not want to do as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time too, that was when I decided to go on ahead and do it any ways.
It was not a normal thing for me to do what so ever, all at the exact same time too, as I was in fact very aware of it, never the less. How ever, I also knew that it was some thing that I had to do matter what, as I knew that it was in fact some thing that I did in fact need to get started, never the less. I knew that we could not all just simply sit here all day and stare at one another, all at the exact same time too, as I kind of just gulped as soon as it was that I had in fact began to start to think on just what it was that I was even doing right now, in the very first place any ways, none the less.
How ever, in the end, I did in fact man up to it, all at once, as I then did in fact shake my head a little bit to my self, and I stepped on to the pasted line that was on the out of bounds line, all at the exact same time too. As soon as it was that I had in fact done as such a thing like that, all at once, that was when I then did in fact go right on ahead and I began to start to nod to all of the kids, all at the exact same time too. It was clear that I was in fact letting them all know as to just what it was that I was about to do.
As I looked at all of the kids, it seemed like it was kind of hopeless, as it seemed like I had a team full of misfits, all at the exact same time too. It seemed like every one was just far too scared to do any thing back towards me, all at the exact same time as well. It was as if they were scared that I, as the little guy none the less, was going to judge them, and I was in fact going to laugh at them, all at the exact same time too.
I kind of just rolled my eyes, all at once, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as in the end, I did in fact see one kid that I was not all too sure as to just what it was that was even his name just yet, never the less, go right on ahead, and he began to start to nod to me all of the sudden. I let out quite a bit of a soft sigh to my self, all at once, as it seemed like the entire group of kids had in fact noticed as to just what it was that he had in fact just done.
I then did in fact see all of the kids begin to start to go right on ahead, and they did in fact begin to start to nod back to me, all at the exact same time too, to let me go on ahead and know that they too were in fact paying attention to me, once again. I did my best to just try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I was in fact relieved to see all of the kids do as such a thing like that, never the less. I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I began to start to speak to them all, all at the exact same time as well, as I did in fact begin to start to realize that they all were in fact beginning to start to listen as to just what it was that I even had to say to them all, all at the exact same time as well, none the less.
"Well... My name is Trevor... And though I might be short, which is the first thing that I am sure is going through all of your heads right now... Let me tell you all what I am good at first..." I said to them all, all at once, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too. As I kind of just stood there, and I stared for just a little bit more time, I then in the end, did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I began to start to nod back to them all, once again. I knew that they were still in fact paying attention to me of course, but I just was trying to remember as to just what it was that I was even trying to say to all of them, all at the exact same time too. As I kind of just stood there, and I more or less stared at all of them for just a little bit longer, that was when it then all of the sudden came back to me all of the sudden, all at once. I began to start to breath in quite a bit of a soft sigh to my self, all at the exact same time too, as I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I began to start to go on and do as such a thing to them all, all at once, as I knew that they all were in fact still listening as to just what it was that I even had to tell them all, all at the exact same time too. "I am good at passing the ball, and I am really good at defense... Maybe not contesting shots, but I do cause a lot of chaos, and a lot of turnovers..."
I looked at them for just a little bit of some time, all at once, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too, as I then did in fact once again, begin to start to nod back to all of the kids that were in fact still here with me, all at the exact same time too, just as it was that I had in fact done just a few moments before hand. I felt like I had said all that it was that I had really needed to say.
I kind of just stood there for a little bit more time, all at the exact same time too, as if I kind of expected to here cheering as if there was a crowd that had in fact just heard as to what it was that I had even said to all of my team mates, all at the exact same time too. How ever, in the end, I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I began to start to move away from the line, all at the exact same time too. I really did not want to make it any more awkward than it kind of felt like it already was with me just standing up there with no such sort of response from any of the kids, all at the exact same time too.
I had done my part, and that was all that it was that it felt like really mattered, all at the exact same time as well, as I knew that it was best that I just leave the rest up to the team, all at the exact same time too. I was glad that I had in fact already gotten that over with, none the less. It did in fact relieve quite a bit of some of the stress, and quite a bit of the anxiety that it was that I had in fact even been having long before now, never the less, once again, at that.
As I kind of just stood there, and I stared for just a bit more time, I then began to start to walk over to my friend Brandon, all at the exact same time as well, as I looked at him with quite a bit of a blank look on my own face, all at once, as I was not all too quite sure as to just what else it was that I should really even be doing right now, all at the exact same time too. I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too, as I kind of just got my mind, and I kind of just got my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now.
As I kind of just stood there, and I stared for just a little bit more time, all at once, that was when I then did in fact in the end, decide that I did in fact want to just go on ahead and let Brandon know that he might have to be the one that had to step up and speak this time, all at the exact same time too. I felt like it would not be hard for him what so ever, as I knew that he was in fact quite a bit of an out spoken guy as it was, all at the exact same time too. I felt like there was not really all that much that I needed to be worried about right now, in the very first place any ways, all at the exact same time too.
How ever, either way it was, I did in fact nod to my friend, all at the exact same time as well, as it was clear to me that no one was in fact going to man up, and that no one was in fact going to go up to the line and state their name, all at the exact same time too. I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too. I knew that if perhaps 2 of us were to do as such a thing like that, than it would in fact mean that the entire team would in fact do as such a thing as well, as that was at least the hope, if I was not going to lie to my self either, as I knew that there was in fact no garuntee what so ever, if it would in fact work, never the less.
As I kind of just stood there, and I did in fact stare for just a little bit more time, all at once, that was when I then did in fact begin to start to breath in quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self, as I then did in fact see my friend nod back to me all of the sudden. It was clear that he had in fact thankfully enough for me, under stood as to just what it was that I was even getting at in the very first place any ways.
As I kind of just stood there, and I did in fact stare for just a little bit more time, that was when I then did in fact begin to start to see him do as such a thing that I had in fact been hoping that it was that he was in fact going to do, all at the exact same time too. I cracked a bit of a smile on my face all of the sudden, as I then did in fact begin to start to see that my friend did in fact begin to start to head over to the out of bounds line, such as it was that I had in fact done just a few moments ago, long before now.
As soon as it was that he had in fact got up to that point, all at the exact same time as well, that was when he then did in fact go right on ahead, and he then did in fact begin to start to nod to me, and the rest of the kids that were in the gym, all at once. It was clear that much unlike it was that I had been, that he was in fact comfortable enough to go on ahead, and look at the rest of the kids that were in fact in the gym with him, all at the exact same time as well, never the less.
That was hard for me, as I knew that I had mainly just been having my eyes on Brandon during that process, as I felt a lot more safe by just trying to pretend that no one else was around me, and that I was in fact just pretending that it was that I was in fact talking to my friend Brandon, all at the exact same time too.
I kind of just rolled my eyes a bit to my self, all at once, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I then did in fact begin to start to get my mind, and I did in fact begin to start to get my focus off of all of that other stuff, all at once. I saw that this time, such as it was that had in fact not happened the last time. That was of course the fact that all of the kids that were in fact with me in the gym right now, all at the exact same time too, did in fact begin to start to nod right back over to him, all at once, with out even hesitating, such as it was that they had in fact done when ever it was that I was up there.
I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could in the mean time, all at once, as I did my best to just try to not think on it all too much, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to breath in quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self, all at once, once again. As soon as it was that I had in fact done as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time as well, that was when it was clear that we had all made it clear to him, that we all were in fact paying attention as to just what it was that he was about to say to us, none the less.
I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once. Brandon did not seem to hesitate one bit, as soon as it was that he had in fact seen every one go right on ahead and nod back to him, all at the exact same time as well, as I then did in fact notice that he had in fact gone right on ahead, and he had in fact began to start to nod back to us all, as he did in fact begin to start to speak to us all, all at the exact same time too. As soon as it was that I had in fact began to start to notice him do as such a thing like that, that was when I then did in fact begin to start to breath in quite a bit of a heavy sigh to my self all of the sudden, as I did my best to try to just keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could in the mean time, all at once.
As soon as it was that I had in fact done as such a thing like that, all at once, that was when I then did in fact go right on ahead, and I did in fact begin to start to pay attention as to just what it was that was even going on right now, in the very first place any ways, once again. I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I began to start to listen as to just what it was that he even had to say to me in the very first place any ways, never the less, or rather to all of us, at that.
"Alright... Well my name is Brandon... I have not really played basketball in quite a while to really know what it is that I am good at, but I would say I am good at being a team leader... I used to be good at shooting back in the day... But that was back in the day..." He said to all of us, all at once, as I was in fact glad that he was in fact the very least, being for real with just what it was that he had in fact said to us all, all at the exact same time too, as I was glad that it was that he was not acting like it was that he was the best person in the world.
Though, I had not known him for all that long, it had in fact seemed like that was not the type of person that he was what so ever, so I kind of felt like I did not need to worry about that. How ever, there was in fact one thing that it was that I kind of felt like I did in fact need to worry about of course, which was in fact the fact that he had said that he was a good leader. That was the reason why I had came to this school after all, as I knew that I had come to be a leader of the basketball team, none the less.
I felt like if he was trying to take over that role for me, than it did in fact seem like we were in fact going to have some problems, all at the exact same time as well. I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I began to start to look over to Xavier from the corner of my eyes, all at once, as I then did in fact begin to start to see as to just what it was that he might think on just what it was that my friend had said, and just whether or not he might have caught as to just what it was that he was getting at, never the less.
How ever, when ever it was that I had in fact began to start to look over to Xavier, all at the exact same time too, that was when I then did in fact just seem to sort of notice that he had a little bit of a blank look, all at the exact same time too, as it seemed like he was not all too sure as to just what it was that was even going on right now, nor did it really seem like he knew as to just what it was that he should even be doing him self, all at the exact same time too, as I kind of felt like I should just give up on even trying to do any thing about that, if I was not going to lie to my self either, once again, never the less.
I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm, and as chill as it was that I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too, as I was in fact tempted to squint my eyes over towards my friend, all at the exact same time too, as I was worried that he was in fact challenging me for that spot of being the leader of the team, all at the exact same time as well, never the less.
How ever, when it was that I had in fact began to start to look at him, I had in fact began to start to notice that he too did in fact kind of have a bit of a blank look on his face, such as it was that Xavier had, all at the exact same time too, never the less. If I had to guess, than I was going to assume that he had  not really meant as to just what it was that I had kind of thought that it was that he had mean on just what it was that he had in fact said to every one, all at the exact same time too. I just kind of did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could in the mean time, as I more or less just got my mind, and I just got my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff.
I then did in fact begin to start to turn my head over to Brandon, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to turn my head over to some other kid that it was that had in fact decided that it was that they too were in fact going to step up, and that they too were in fact going to go on ahead and speak to the entire team that was in fact here, all at the exact same time too.
I kind of just let out quite a bit of some soft sighs of some sort of relief to my self, all at once, as it seemed like it had in fact worked just as it was that I had in fact planned for it to go, all at the exact same time too. I kind of just began to start to breath in quite a bit heavily to my self, all at once, as I did in fact got my mind, and I did in fact get my focus off of all of the rest of those other thoughts that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now, never the less.
I kind of just stood there, and I did in fact stare there for just a little bit more time, as I looked at the kid, as he too did in fact do the exact same thing that it was that me and Brandon had in fact done just a few moments before now, all at the exact same time too, never the less, at that.
I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I kind of just did my best to more or less get my mind, and to get my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now, all at the exact same time too. As I did my best to just try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could once again, as I then did in fact begin to start to see the kid go right up on ahead, and he then did in fact begin to start to nod to us all, all at once.
This time, even faster than it was that every one had in fact done when ever it was that Brandon had in fact done as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time too, I did in fact see all of the kids that were in fact on my team, all at once, go right on ahead, and they did in fact begin to start to nod back to him, all at the exact same time too. It was clear that it had in fact calmed the kid down quite a bit, as it was in fact clear to me that he did in fact feel a lot better as soon as it was that he had in fact seen us all do as such a thing like that, all at once.
I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as the kid then did in fact go right on ahead, and he then did in fact begin to start to speak to all of us, all at the exact same time too. As soon as it was that he had in fact began to start to do as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time as well, that was when I then did in fact begin to start to let out quite a bit of a soft sigh to my self this time, as I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I did in fact begin to start to begin to listen as to just what it was that the kid even had to say to us all, all at the exact same time as well.
"My name is Zaire... And well... You all know me... I am the football player..." He said to us all, all at the exact same time too, as he kind of cracked quite a bit of a smile on his face as soon as it was that he had in fact even said as to just what it was that he had even said to us all, all at the exact same time as well, never the less. It was as if he actually thought that we would know as to just who it was that he would be, just because he said that he was a football player, all at the exact same time too. I kind of just rolled my eyes, as I knew that I did not pay attention to football one bit, so I kind of felt like that did not matter what so ever, all at the exact same time as well. I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time too, as I then in fact in the end, go right on ahead, and I did in fact begin to start to notice that every one that was in fact all around me, all at the exact same time too, did in fact begin to start to nod back to him as a little bit of a response back to him, all at the exact same time as well, as it was in fact clear to me that they did in fact all know as to just who it was that he was, all at the exact same time too. Now I kind of felt like I was a little bit of an idiot for it, all at the exact same time too, as I kind of dipped my head a little bit low to the ground, all at once, as I then did in fact begin to start to hear him begin to start to continue to speak to us all, once again, just as it was that he had in fact been doing long before now. I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I then did in fact begin to start to go right on ahead, and I did in fact begin to start to begin to listen as to just what it was that he had even had to say to us all, all at the exact same time too, never the less, at that. "I don't really play basketball, but I felt like I might as well give it a try since I football season is over... I am big and strong... So I mean, we will go from there..."
I blinked my eyes, all at the exact same time too, as I felt like that still was not really good enough for me, all at the exact same time too. How ever, I could not help but to notice the look that I saw on the face of Xavier from the corner of my eyes, all at the exact same time too, as it was in fact clear to me that he was liking as to just what it was that he was in fact hearing, all at the exact same time too.
It was clear at the very least, that even if it was that he had not really played basketball before now, that it was clear to me that it might not really matter all too much. It was clear that the dude was a heavily gifted athlete, and whilst him being a fair height, he still wasn't tall, it was still good to have him on the team, all at the exact same time too, I knew that there was nothing to complain about what so ever.
The taller kid, that was around the same height as the star player from the other school did in fact in the end, eventually nod his head back over to the rest of us all of the sudden. As soon as it was that he had in fact done as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time too, that was when he then did in fact begin to start to head off the out of bounds line, all at once. He kind of dipped his head a little bit low to the ground for some odd reason or another, as if he was in fact a little bit embarrassed that he had in fact even stepped up to speak, all at the exact same time too.
I did not blame him all too much for that what so ever, at all, as I was not all too sure as to just how it was that I had even done it my self. He was the star receiver apparently, as it was that he had in fact told us, all at the exact same time too, so I felt like he should be used to this type of pressure, all at the exact same time too. How ever, seeing that it was that he was not, seemed like he was not the type of guy to throw the ball to in a clutch moment in a close game, all at the exact same time too, all once, never the less.
I kind of just blinked my eyes a few times, all at the exact same time as well, as I did my best to try to get my mind, and to try to get my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now. Luckily that was quite a bit easy, all at the exact same time too, as I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to turn my head over to some one else, all of the sudden. That was due to the fact that they were in fact walking over to the boundary marker, all at the exact same time as well, as it was fairly clear to me that they were in fact about to go right on ahead, and they were about to speak all of the sudden.
I kind of just began to start to blink my eyes a few times, all at once, as I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could all of the sudden, all at once. As I kind of stood there for just a little bit longer, I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to look at the kid, who seemed to be built like a hybrid Shooting guard, or perhaps a small forward. It kind of got my hopes up, perhaps a little bit too high, as I knew that this school did not really ever have a basketball team, never the less.
I just kind of did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I knew that small forwards and shooting guards were my favorite ones to dish it out to. It was easy to find them for an open 3, as most players had to switch off their man to help guard me, all at the exact same time too. I loved that type of stuff, and I was in fact interested to hear as to just what it was that this white kid, as he was the only other white kid in here with me, even had to say to us all, never the less, at that.
As the kid did in fact step up to the line, all at the exact same time as well, that was when he then did in fact do as to just what it was that every one else had even done, all at the exact same time as well, never the less. As soon as it was that I had in fact seem them do as such a thing like that, all at the exact same time too, which was it course, the fact that he did in fact nod to every one, to let us all know that he was in fact obviously going to speak to us of course. I did in fact nod right back to him, all at the exact same time too.
He was paying no attention to me what so ever, as his eyes were in fact on every one else that were in fact closer to the middle of the gym. I could tell that the kid was in fact nervous, all at the exact same time as well, as that was not a good thing to see from some one that it was that I did in fact have a little bit of some hope that could in fact shoot the ball for us, never the less. I kind of did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time as well, as the kid did in fact seem to calm him self down fairly well, as soon as it was that he had seen every one else nod to him all of the sudden, all at once.
The kid clearly did in fact seem to feel a little bit better, now that it was that he did in fact begin to start to realize that every one was in fact paying attention to him right now, all at the exact same time as well. The kid then did in fact finally begin to start to speak up to all of the rest of the kids that were in fact here, all at once, none the less. I let out a bit of a soft sigh of some sort of some relief to my self, all at once, as soon as it was that the kid did in fact begin to start to do as such a thing like that all of the sudden, all at once. I did in fact begin to start to listen as to just what it was that he even had to say to all of us in the very first place any way, never the less.
"Well every one... I am... I am Cody... I am kind of new to basketball... But what I am good at is shooting... That is what my dad always used to teach me..." He said to us all, as he then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to dip his head a bit low to the ground, as to just what it was that he had said at the end. If he had said it like that, and he had responded with that, all at the exact same time as well, than I felt like it had in fact made sense as to just why he had in fact kind of made it out to be like it was in fact past tense, all at the exact same time as well.
I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at once, as I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to see the kid quickly begin to start to walk off the out of bounds line, all at the exact same time too, before it was that any one else could in fact even comprehend as to just what it was that the kid had even meant by that. I kind of felt bad for the kid, if I was not going to lie to my self, as it was clear that he was in fact a bit hurt by it. But at least he had in fact met his dad I suppose... That was one thing that I could not say the same about for my self.
I kind of just grunted quite a bit heavily to my self all at once, as I once again did in fact do my best to try to just get my mind, and to just try to get my focus off of all of the rest of those other thoughts that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now, all at the exact same time too. I kind of just did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could, all at the exact same time as well, as I did in fact get my mind, and I did in fact get my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now, never the less.
As soon as it was that I had in fact got my mind, and I had in fact got my focus off of all of those other thoughts, all at the exact same time too, that was when I then all of the sudden did in fact see the last, and the final kid go right on ahead, and begin to start to step up to speak. It was the last kid that I did not in fact know the name of just yet, all at the exact same time as well. If I was in fact even going to be for real with my self either, I was not all too sure if I was in fact even going to be able to remember all of these names, all at the exact same time too.
I kind of just did my best to try to get my mind, and to try to get my focus off of all of the rest of that other stuff that I had in fact even been thinking on long before now. I then began to start to turn my head over to the last kid al of the sudden, all at once. The kid did in fact turn his head just like the rest of us, all the exact same time too, and he did in fact begin to start to nod to us all, to let us know that he too was in fact about to go right on ahead, and he was in fact about to speak to us all of the sudden, never the less.
I felt like this was going to be a long process at the rate that it was going at right now, as I was in fact glad at the very least, that we were at last half way through all of this, all at once. I kind of just blinked my eyes a few times, all at the exact same time as well, as I did my best to just try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could all of the sudden, once again. I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to shake my head a bit to my self all of the sudden, and I did in fact make sure that I did in fact do the exact same thing that I saw every one else doing once again. That was of course the fact that they all were in fact nodding back to the last kid, all at the exact same time too.
Now that it was that it was clear to the last kid, that he did in fact have every ones attention on him, all at the exact same time as well, that was when I then all of the sudden did in fact begin to start to hear him begin to start to speak us, all at once. He kind of sounded like a nerd if I was not going to lie to my self either, as I was in fact about to chuckle to my self, all at once. How ever, I did my best to try to keep my self as calm as I felt like I possibly could either way, as I then did in fact begin to start to listen as to just what it was that he even had to say to us all, all at the exact same time too.
"My name is Pearce... And we'll... I guess I'm just good at every thing..."