Cornered Prey
Cornered Prey
For most middle school basketball games this would be a standard score but for two of the best offensive teams in the state, this was a relatively low-scoring game.
But for the Jefferson team things couldn't be better as everyone huddled up together on the sidelines had tired but excited smiles on their faces.
With sweat trickling down the side of Jason's face he smiled as he threw a punch to Kyle's shoulder "That's what I'm talking about Kyle! That block was crazy."
Kyle's shoulders were quickly rising and falling with each breath as he grinned "Couldn't let you have all the fun now could I?"
Vince who had been standing next to Kyle put his hands on his shoulders as he began to shake him "Hahaha you mighta been having fun but ain't no way High Bridge is feelin the same. That has gotta be like your fifth or sixth block tonight."
Despite the clear fatigue that was plaguing all of them the players wearing Jefferson jerseys were all surrounded by a bright atmosphere.
On the other side however a different story was taking place. One of the High Bridge players, a medium-toned brown-skinned boy with a short black crew cut stomped on the floor before reaching out in front of him.
He grabbed the collar of another player who had his hands on his knees, breathing roughly as streams of sweat poured down the side of his face.
"Why the hell were you clogging up the paint Ron!? You were supposed to set a backscreen for the corner guy and drift out to the perimeter!
I had the perfect angle for a layup but it got spiked down by that goofy giant because you didn't draw him out!"
The boy named Ron was pasty white with medium-length brown hair tied into a ponytail. He was a good three to four inches taller and a good bit heavier than the boy grabbing onto the collar of his jersey as he was one of the team's Centers.
Ron pushed back the boy holding onto his collar while giving a mean glare " Back off Will! You're the one that messed up the play in the first place!"
Another player chimed in from behind "Yeah Will! You started cutting before Ron got a chance to set the screen! How is he supposed to draw the defender out if you don't give him the time to move outta the paint!"
Rudy stayed glued to his spot on the bench as he just stared at his teammates arguing while wiping the sweat off of his face with a towel.
His hands clenched tightly to his towel 'Why are we fallin apart like this? We been in tighter spots than this in the past but we've never been this wound up before.'
Once again he found his gaze drifting toward the Jefferson team as they stood on the sidelines 'I get that they have the better conditioning between the two of us because they're actually used to playing this crazy level of defense every night but come on, is the gap really this freakin huge?
Even if their players have better stamina than us we've been goin deep into our bench for rotations. Each one of our guys been pouring everything they got on defense.
If anything they should be the ones feeling gassed, not us.' As his eyes locked onto a familiar back his figure seemed to grow more and more, exuding a pressure like that of an unclimbable mountain.
His heart began to tighten as an indescribable mix of motions made it feel like it was twisting and turning in his chest.
A sickening feeling began to well up in his stomach, as though someone had poured a bucket of ice water in there and began churning it.
For the first time in his life Rudy felt a crack form in what he had believed to be his unbreakable confidence.
His face began to sink until his gaze dropped down to the floor, the back of Jason's Jersey seemingly unbearable to look at.
He placed the towel over his head obscuring his face from everyone else, but most importantly blocking his own vision so that all he could see was his own shoes and the floor below them.
Hot streams began to leak from the corner of his eyes as his body curled forward 'This isn't how this was supposed to go!
I was supposed to reveal my defense as my new secret weapon. I was supposed to dazzle everyone with this new part of my game.
This was going to be my revenge arc. This was going to be my chance to finally come out on top over Jaya. This was going to be my moment as the main character.
I gave it everything I had and I still failed. Main characters aren't supposed to fail if they try their best. They're supposed to find a way no matter what.
He was right. I'm just a part of the background, I'm not special... I'm not important... I'm nothing...'
High Bridge's Coach shook his head in frustration as he finally got his players to calm down. With the infighting currently taken care of, he walked toward Rudy as the clock for the timeout was almost done.
He was shocked to see Rudy with his towel over his head but even more so when he saw how badly Rudy was trembling.
He didn't need to take the towel off and take a peek at his face to know what kind of an expression he would be hiding underneath it.
A helpless sigh escaped his mouth "Take a breather Rudy. We'll start the quarter off without you so just try your best to rest up."
He then gave Rudy a pat on the shoulder as the buzzer sounded out signaling for the players to make their way back to the court.
Standing at the center of his players he gave them a quick word of encouragement before sending them back out into the game.
Despite his comforting words and actions he knew that Rudy was most likely done for tonight. With a heavy heart, his turned his head toward the lonely figure sitting away from the rest of his teammates.
'This was the worst possible outcome. Even if we lost this game I was hoping that this would make for a good experience for Rudy to grow from. But it looks like it was the opposite.'
He turned his sights back towards the court as the game recommenced but his head was still preoccupied with thoughts concerning Rudy.
'Did I get too greedy? Maybe I should have said something sooner. I knew why Rudy always took a laidback approach with everything he does, I should have thought about what would happen if he gave it everything he had and still came up short.'
His arms crossed and brows furrowed as he watched Jason pick the ball loose from his team's Point Guard at the top of the key as they tried to run a play.
Will rushed down the court in an attempt to contain Jason as he lead the fast break. With a defender on his left and the ball in his right Jason began to make his move as he crossed the free-throw line.
With a behind-the-back dribble he hopped toward his left forcing his defender to turn as he now faced Jason on his right.
But just as Will had finished planting his feet in his new orientation Jason began to rotate back toward his right side as he pivoted around his defender.
Will stumbled back in surprise as his body and mind acted out of sync in response to Jason's sudden move, his arms waving a bit at his sides in an attempt to maintain balance.
He looked on at Jason but to his surprise instead of going up for a layup he tossed the ball behind him and towards the left.
Turning his head he saw Kyle's agile figure gliding through the air with his arm cocked back reaching behind him he caught the ball with his right hand before guiding it toward the rim, barely managing to dunk it because of the distance of his jump.
Coach Jackson shook his head slightly in disbelief 'Damn this kid is a monster, all those minutes he played and his moves are still this crisp.
Taking into consideration Rudy's past it's no wonder why he's in the shape he's in. If he had just gotten beat then that would be one thing.
He probably felt like he was getting destroyed. To finally start giving it everything you had for a whole season for the first time in years just to see that it didn't do a single thing to close the gap...'
A glint of concern flashed through his eyes 'I wanted this to be a chance for him to finally shed everything that was holding him back.
I wanted him to see that there wasn't a reason to be afraid of giving your best effort in something, that there was meaning in doing so even if without it he could be better than most.
Instead, he probably feels like all of his fears were proven true. Damn it, I should have prepped him more for this.
I should have focused less on his game and more on his mental. I took the easy and irresponsible way out in thinking that this game could fix everything for him.'