Whispers [complete and non-edited]

Chapter 11

The clock ticked calmly as Laehal waited for the bell to ring. He had been benched for a number of reasons.

1. He was not good at basketball
2. His team had an extra player
3. He accepted that his team didn't want him to play
4. The phys ed teacher said he looked tired

So there Laehal sat, staring at the timer on the wall. There were only 7 minutes left of the last period. He watched as the seconds slowly ticked by.

The buzzer went off and the timer paused. The score changed from 10-12 to 11-12. Laehal's team was winning.

Laehal was surprised at how well his teacher had made the teams. Although he was surprised that the teams had gotten to double digits, he didn't question it. It seemed a fairly...well, fair game.

The two teams were now around the centre of the gymnasium. The teacher had decided to do a toss off every time a team got a goal instead of letting the team whose basket was scored on start with the ball.

Laehal never really got why they did that. He also never got his angles right. How did Kyrel always get the exact angle to throw the ball at the backboard? And why was it called "banking"? He got why they called a no-rim-or-backboard shot a "swish". It was because of the sound the net and ball made.

But why should they even care about what kind of shot it was? If it made it into the basket it really doesn't matter, does it?

"Alright, Maya you sub off with Laehal."

Laehal was approached by a panting girl who was nearly doubled over. He had a feeling that she was going to be sick soon. She laid down on the floor and panted and coughed. Laehal took a deep breath before walking onto the court.

He was immediately bombarded by a stampede of coloured jersey-wearing basketball players. They ran at him to follow the ball, which was being batted at the ground viciously by a boy named Lorenzo. He was Italian, and by far the tallest student in Laehal's school, at 6"3'. He could dunk.

As he approached the basket, Laehal could see him getting momentum. He had to be stopped before he could dunk. Laehal ran after him, and by chance, he nicked the ball just enough to make Lorenzo lose his momentum. But there was a catch. Laehal fell in front of Lorenzo, who quickly ran over Laehal. In the process, Lorenzo lost the ball as his left foot caught on Laehal's jersey, taking him down. On top of Laehal.

For a few moments, Laehal was out of breath. His team took the ball to the other side of the court without even a regard to Laehal. Need he remind them that he was the one to stop Lorenzo? Apparently.

The buzzer went off once more, signalling a score for Laehal's team. That would make it 11-13.

The ball was thrown into the air, and the two players facing off were the small players. But don't underestimate them. They can be just as vicious as a starving chicken infected with rabies.

The last three minutes of the game were spent by everyone following the ball around. Many times, the ball was thrown over to the other side of the court so that Lorenzo couldn't get it. When the final buzzer went off, Laehal's team was congratulated by the phys ed teacher and the class was dismissed for the day.

Laehal tried to pass the bit of blood that was in the place of the incident without gagging as he went to change into his regular clothes. Key word: Tried.

Laehal didn't know whether it was Kyrel or Little Red who had broken something. The thought of either one made him gag more than the evidence. He hated it when people were hurt just because they believed in something, or in his case, someone.

As he entered the changing stall, he heard people gossiping about the earlier incident.

"It's all Laehal's fault, you know. If he hadn't stuck up for that little nerd--"

"If he hadn't stuck up for her she would be hurt right now. You don't know what he was going to do, do you?"

Mumbles of 'no' floated through the room.

"He was going to hit her against the lockers. He could have broken her neck!"

Gasps replaced the 'no's and as Laehal left the change room, he could feel all their eyes on him.