The sound of rubber basketballs echoed through the gym each time they hit the floor.
"Over here! I'm open!" Vincent Fern, a boy with curly blonde hair shouted at me.
I dribbled the ball over and passed it over to him. Vincent lined up at the net and went to shoot it, but just like the other attempts, he missed by a long shot.
"Ugh! Again." Keith groaned out of rage.
"C'mon guys, we have to win atleast one game this season." Ryan huffed in frustration.
"I know, but what else can we do?" I sighed and sat on the bleachers.
Coach Mocke came out of the lockerroom, starting practice officially.
"Alright boys, lets try some warmup stretches and then run our laps." He directed us, with slight disappointment in his expression.
We ran and ran and ran, sweat beading on my forehead. I feel a bit more determined, yet really nervous. In 2 days we have a game against the Berkshire Highschool Beavers. They're the best team in the county...and us? We can't even score once. Sometimes I feel this team is at a dead end.., but who knows, maybe soon everything will become better.
I run back to the half court line with the other teammates. Keith looks down the line at me with a concerned look then back at the coach. He looks a tad on edge, I hope he's okay.
"Okay, so today we're going to practice on shooting into the hoop...again." The Coach said, sitting back down, "Just take turns shooting until I give the next direction." He continues.
We all nod and begin practicing. The sound of our shoes squeaking against the polished wood flooring filled the desolate room, along with some shouts and grunts every now and then.
I run over infront of Ryan and steal the ball and quickly toss it Dylan Coale, a boy with long brown hair. He then dribbled it for a bit and passed it to Keith. Keith looked around the entire court and then stopped at me and passed it quickly and I shot it towards the hoop...
I barely missed it.
The entire team sighed a bit and then got back to scrimmaging. Will we ever get any better at this rate?
"Okay, okay, Keith and Andrew, go sit on the bleachers. Christian and Pierce, come out and play." Coach Mocke demanded.
Keith and I sat down and watched as our train wreck for a team attempted to play.
"This is hopeless." I chuckled out of disappointment.
"Hopeless? Isn't that a bit much?" Keith asked me.
I look over at him and tilt my head. "We're halfway into the season and have yet to win a single game. So yes; hopeless."
"Nah...I just think we just need...extra help with practice." Keith suggests. "How about after school tomorrow we go back to my house and practice there -- along with some other teammates."
"Hm.." I thought for a bit, "That could help a lot. Let's talk to the others after all of this."
Practice soon ended, and I went on my way.
After practice I drove home in my Mom's beat up SUV she had let me borrow for the evening. A slight drizzle fell from the reddish-orange but also slightly blue sky. The sun was setting on yet again another day. As I pulled into my driveway, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Keith sent to a groupchat that the whole team was in.
"Hey guys, Andrew and I thought tomorrow night, we can all practice at my house to get a little extra work in. Thoughts? ~Keith"
No one replied..
"Hello?" Keith texted once more.
"I definitely can still, Keith." I replied.
"Thank you, Andrew. See ya then, I guess." Keith replied after a few minutes. I hope he's okay, he usually replies pretty quick.
I better get some sleep then, hm?
YOU ARE READING
Strange Days
Mystery / ThrillerAndrew Ross is the star player of his team, the NarrowStream Hornets, at his high school. However, their team is losing 3-0 when suddenly, when all hope was thought to be lost, they win their first game! Soon after it is announce that they had gott...
