Starstruck II: Saruman's Curse

Changing Dynamics Pt 3 (Basketball Team AU)

All that week at school, the basketball team was on edge, which meant the whole school was on edge, and they didn't know why. There was more fights that week then all of last semester. Several teachers took sick days. The lunches tasted worse than usual, as the lunch ladies were not feeling well.

Charlie had noticed this phenomenon a few years ago, and had named it the Game Effect. The basketball team somehow seemed to control the mood of the school. When the team was winning, the school was usually cheery and excited, but if the team was losing, the school became gloomy. The strangest part was, no one seemed to notice that it all centered around the team. Sure, everyone followed the team on their road to the championship, but no one seemed to notice just how much it affected their moods. It kinda freaked Charlie out.

***

Luckily, this was one of the rare weeks that the team didn't have a game, so they were able to go to practice and focus on what it would take to take down the RFs. On Saturday, the team felt as confident as they could.

James, of course, always felt confident. The team might have been edgy all week, but he was doing just fine; he always was. Eat, sleep, basketball. No time to feel nervous.

The team got to the park about half an hour early, to warm up. They were running the drills they always did before any game, although it felt different this time. The park was silent except for the dribbling of basketballs and the wind. The full moon cast an eerie light onto the court. They had a small audience, just a few people they had asked to be there. Among them was Charlie, Arwen, and Ezri. There was two other people Charlie didn't recognize.

"Do you guys hear that?" Spock asked.

"Hear what?" James asked.

"No, I hear it too," said Dean.

In the distance, the rumbling of an engine could be heard. Also in the distance, they could see headlights steadily approaching the court. Once again, Space Jam could be heard.

The team gathered at one end of the court to watch the RF's fabulous entrance. One by one they climbed out of the car. First came High Jump Matthew. He could dunk on a hoop fifteen feet above his head, without taking a running start. Then was New Mexico Two Step, or Gacé. As his name suggested, he could take two steps and be in New Mexico; he was able to cross a court faster than anyone in recorded history. There was Kaia, who was so fast and agile on the court she resembled a bee in midflight. There was Kara, who kept a cool demeanor off the court but was wild while playing. There was Colleen the Zebra Goddess; what else needs to be said? She was the goddess of zebras and basketball. Then came Ashley, hair dresser and dance teacher by day, basketball legend by night.

And how could anyone forget Paris, basketball extraordinaire. They had been the team captain since the formation of the RFs basketball gang and could play like there was no tomorrow. Rumor had it that they had 73 colleges waiting with full-ride basketball scholarships for them once they finished high school at the end of the year. Apparently, they had once been challenged to a game of basketball- 25 players against them- and they had 61 points before 9 minutes had passed. The pillow on their bed is just a slightly deflated basketball. They once made a basket from inside a moving vehicle, and all the windows had been up (not recommended, as windshield replacements can be expensive). Once, they were on vacation in Germany while they were supposed to be playing a game, so they video called another player and played from over the phone. When asked if there's anything they want to do, they always say play basketball. When that's not an option, they look up basketball statistics on their phone and sit in silence. And if that's not an option, they'll watch a basketball game in their head where they're the star and everyone else is inferior. So it's basically exactly like when they play basketball.