I ran back up the gym floor and took a spot at the end of the line. Other people waiting their turn were talking, or even quietly joking around. Nobody joked around with me. No body was friendly to me I knew everybody, and everybody knew me, but nobody seemed to want to do anything more than grunt at me.
“That’s it!” Mr. Roberts yelled out. “Let’s call it a night!”
I walked over and took a seat beside Kia on the edge of the stage. She looked as tired as I felt. And if I thought Mr. Roberts had been tougher on Kia and me in the morning, I knew it for sure now. It seemed like he didn’t think we could do anything right. ‘Run faster, Nick,’ ‘Dig deeper, Kia,’ ‘Come on, Nick, put the pass on the mark,’ ‘Kia, you should have had that shot.’
Trying out for the team was never a great idea, but it had fallen way down the scale to really, really bad. Maybe we should just quit and make everybody happy.
“Let’s get going,” Kia said.
She didn’t even sound like her usual self. She sounded sort of… I don’t know… down or defeated.
“You coming over to my place for a snack?” I asked.
“Yeah, but I can only stay for a while. I’m really tired and I think I want to get to bed early.”
“After finishing your homework,” I said.
“Of course. Our usual work and then the extra assignment.”
Besides our regular work — reading, journal and ten math problems — Kia and I had an additional assignment. Mrs. Orr had come back and caught us talking at recess and we had to write about why that was wrong.
We left the gym and started to circle around the school to head home. I didn’t feel like talking and it seemed like Kia felt the same. That was unusual and more than a little bit —
“Hi, guys!”
I spun around, jumping up into the air and — it was Marcus! Thank goodness.
“You always this jumpy?” Marcus asked.
“Not always.” I’d thought Roy might be waiting for us and Marcus popping out like that had startled me.
“You two did well today,” Marcus said.
“We did?” I asked.
“Yeah, better than most,” he added.
“I don’t think Mr. Roberts would agree with you,” Kia said.
“Just because he yelled at you a couple of times?” Marcus asked.
“More than a couple.”
“It’s nothing to worry about. I just wanted to tell you that I think it’s great you’re trying out for the team. I just wish I’d tried to do it myself last year when I was in grade four.”
I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Marcus hadn’t been on the team last year.
“I’d heard that it was only for grade fives, so I didn’t even try. I know I had the skill to make that team last year. I guess I just didn’t have the guts like you two.”
“Guts? Us?” I asked in amazement. The only thing I knew about my guts was that they kept on rumbling whenever I thought about this whole thing.
“Not everybody is happy about us trying out for the team,” Kia said.
“You’re wrong there,” Marcus said.
“I am?”
“Yeah. Except for me, I don’t think anybody wants you on the team.”
“I told you,” Kia said to me smugly.
I turned to Marcus. “At least you’re on our side.”
Marcus looked down at the ground. “That was actually what I wanted to talk about… out here… without anybody else around.” He paused. “I really would like you two to make the team. I’m on your side, but my friends aren’t.”
“I thought we were your friends,” Kia said.
“You are! For sure!” Marcus said. “It’s just that I’m still getting some heat from my friends — my grade five friends — about teaming up with you two for the tournament.”
I didn’t say anything, but I thought I understood.
“So I wanted you to know I might not be cheering for you out loud, but I am cheering for you inside. I better get going.”
Marcus walked off across the schoolyard. This was getting worse, and worse, and worse and…
* * *
“How’s it going?”
I turned around to see my father standing at my bedroom door.
“Okay. Slow, but okay,” I replied.
He walked in and sat down on the chair beside my desk where I was finishing up my homework.
“It seems like you have more homework all the time.”
“Not all the time. Some days more than others,” I said. What I didn’t mention was the extra assignment for being late and then talking today.
“So did you have fun today?” he asked.
“About the same as usual… oh, you meant with basketball.”
“I don’t know if fun is the right word. The tryouts were hard, really hard.”
“That’s good.”
“It is?”
“Of course. Hard workouts will separate those who can play from those who can’t play, so you and Kia should stand out.”
“Well… we did get Mr. Roberts’ attention today,” I said, without saying how we had gotten his attention.
“So you figure you have a good shot at making the team.”
“I didn’t say that. No grade threes, or even grade fours, have ever made the team before. There’s some really, really good players in grade five.”
My father’s face became thoughtful, and he slowly nodded his head.
“Making the team isn’t that important,” he said.
“What?” I’d heard the words, just couldn’t believe them coming out of my father’s mouth.
“Making the team isn’t —”
“I heard. I just don’t understand,” I said, interrupting him.
“It would be nice if you made the team, but that isn’t the important part.”
“Than what is?”
“Trying. Being there, putting yourself on the line and attempting something that’s diffi-cult. Are you and Kia trying your hardest?”
“Of course!”
“Then that’s what matters. You give it your best shot and if you’re not named to the team, then at least you walk away with your head held high.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I admitted.
“Good. How about you finish up some work while I go downstairs and make us two humungous bowls of chocolate ice cream?”
“With a little whipped cream on top?”
“Nope.” He smiled. “A lot of whipped cream. How long till you’re finished?”
“No more than five minutes.”
“That’ll just give me enough time to get them ready. Hurry up,” he said as he got up.
I turned back to my work. What he’d said should have been encouraging, but it wasn’t. I’d been thinking that the best thing that could happen with the tryouts was to either quit now, or just sort of go through the motions so I wouldn’t make the team. Now those were no longer choices.