Stolen Powers

Chapter One: Welcome to the Big Leagues

"I'm open!" I yelled across the court to Carter, our point guard, who shot me the ball while I was backing down on the man guarding me. I spun around while he wasn't expecting it and shot the ball, which rolled around the rim and finally dropping in. 

"Good shot Mase!" Donovan said as we ran down the court to play defense. 

The man Carter was on passed the ball away from me, so I relaxed and backed down further towards the basket in case he shot it. When he didn't, he passed to the center, guarded by Tanner. He pulled up for it, and it sunk with ease. I saw Tanner curse under his breath. I glanced at the scoreboard. "It's fine Biz." That was his nickname. "We have a solid lead." 

The ball was in-bounded to me, which happens only every few plays, and I raised a fist in the air. Benjamin, our best player, set a screen to get me further open, but he cut straight towards the basket, and I shot him the ball. 

He wasn't able to shoot it, but Donovan rolled around his man and called for the ball. Thankfully Ben saw him before Donovan's man got back on him, and he bounced it perfectly to him. He wasted no time laying it in without any trouble. 

Once halftime came, we were up 34-39 against the team we were facing, the Gatesville Hornets, a team I was pretty familiar with. Coach Jackson credited us on executing the plays well and the effort, but he wanted us to play better on defense, especially on getting stops, meaning allowing less shots to fall. 

The third quarter rolled along, and the starting lineup with Carter, Ben, me, Donovan, and Tanner were on the court. Gatesville was first up with the ball, so we were on defense. They passed to my guy, and he immediately launched a three pointer that I wasn't ready for, and it drained off the back rim, cutting our lead to only two. I cringed as Ben chewed me out about it. 

He raised his pointer finger in the air, signaling an isolation play. I ran to the corner of the court, and so did Carter, and Benjamin was alone just past the three. He let the ball fly towards the basket, and we came back with a three of our own. 

37-42, Leopards. 

After about three minutes, Coach Biles began to make a few subs to give us a little break. Sam was checked in for Carter, Graham for me, and Shelton in for Tanner. That left Ben and Donovan still in. 

Sam hit a three right off the bat, but Gatesville's star player returned one right in Ben's face, which he was pretty pissed about afterwards. 

At the end of the third, it was tied 50 apiece. 

Coach let me back in the game, with the rest of the starters as well, probably for a better chance of taking back the lead and keeping it that way. 

The fourth quarter came, and we had the ball first. Carter, not even calling a play, passed me the ball. I stomped my foot twice, and Donovan set me a screen, and I had a clear path to the bucket. Sprinting towards it, I jumped off the ground and rose up for a nasty two-handed dunk. While the crowd went crazy, I hung there for extra emphasis. 

Ben, with a huge grin on his face, patted me on the back. "Great job. Let me in on the action next time." 

"I got you. Same play, but I'll take the ball down the court. Let Donovan screen for you. Tanner will be your second look, got it?" 

Ben nodded, and we focused on defense. We got the stop we were looking for, Ben rebounding, and it was a fast break opportunity for us. Ben shot me the ball and nodded his head. I put my hand out to tell everybody to slow it down so we could run the play. Carter looked confused, but went along with it. 

I passed Ben the ball, and he did the same thing I did, stomping his foot down twice. Donovan screened for him, but Gatesville must've predicted what we were planning. Ben backed up, and returned the ball to me. With the shot clock at ten seconds, meaning we had that amount of time to get a shot, I had to think of something quick. 

Carter was our best three point shooter, so I passed him the ball. He scanned the floor and gave it up to Tanner, who spun around and attempted a layup, but missed, and the Hornets rebounded. 

The Hornets, now on a fast break, answered quickly with an easy layup. With a minute left, we were up only two points, 56-58. The good news, the game was almost over. Carter got the ball, and dribbled slowly down the court, intentionally burning time. I was surprised Coach Biles didn't call a timeout, but Gatesville did instead. 

We had time for one more play, but so would Gatesville. All he wanted us to do was get one more bucket in, and prevent a three from the Hornets. It seemed simple, but it was harder than it seemed. 

I had to pass the ball in, and Donovan was the best option. I got it to him, and he sank the immediate mid-range for another two points. 

With thirty seconds left, there wasn't a lot of options they could do, except hit a three and pray for a miracle. Fortunately, they missed the three horribly, and Carter held the ball until the final buzzer sounded, and the whole team came onto the floor to celebrate. 

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"Great job Mason, I'm proud of you," Bailey, a close friend of mine told me as we were walking out to our cars. 

My parents always had to work, but they constantly told me that they'd be here for one of my games sooner or later. I never told them that they had to be there, though. 

Donovan had a girlfriend named Jamie, a cute, Mexican chick that he's known since middle school. I've only been here since seventh grade, and that's when me and Donovan bonded instantly. 

Bailey was a very pretty girl that I've always admired for a long time, but I've never had the guts to ask her on a date. Donovan had always pestered me to do it, but I've always ignored him because I was afraid she'd turn me down. She was even out of my league, I've always thought. 

"Thanks, you did great cheering as well," I said. 

Oh yeah, she was a cheerleader as well, which made my situation worse. 

The four of us decided to go out that night to eat, off of Donovan's idea, to Sonic. He also said that he'd drive as well. 

I sat close to Bailey, and Donovan kept looking at me in the rear view mirror at the two of us. We carried a light conversation about the game, especially my dunk. 

I kept the nervousness in my stomach, and a sudden shock made me yelp as I touched the door to get out. 

"Mason? What happened?" Jamie asked me with a concerned look on her face. 

"Uh, nothing," I said, but my hand was glowing a very faint blue color. I hid it in my sweatshirt pocket. 

We later ordered some food, and it came quicker than I thought it would. Bailey sat close next to me, which made my nervousness even worse. 

Then she tried to hold my hand, but as soon as she touched it, she yelped louder than I did as she pulled it back. 

"Bailey?" I asked, confused. 

"You shocked me!" She exclaimed, but with a smile. 

I glanced at the other hand, and that was when I knew something was up when it was still glowing blue. I excused myself to the bathroom, and I looked at myself in the mirror. Curious, I turned off the light, and my whole body was glowing a faint blue. I clenched my fists, and electricity was forming in bows in between my fingers. 

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Hey guys! I hoped you enjoyed this first chapter of my newest book, Stolen Powers! I know that there was a lot of basketball references that not all of you may know, so please let me know if you have any questions at all. Just comment or message me, and I'll answer. Please don't hesitate! Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!