Chapter 3
“From one bench to another bench,” Daniel muttered. He was sitting on the plank of wood, held up by two iron posts, in front of his locker after the game. He sighed.
“Talking to yourself again, Friedland?” Dwayne Illy said. Daniel hadn’t noticed him walking by.
“What?” Daniel said. “Oh, no, I’m just, um, thinking.”
“None of my business,” Dwayne said, stopping him. Then he walked on, into Coach Turnbull’s office.
“I really have to stop talking to myself,” Daniel said quietly. Then he reached into his locker for his street clothes.
No need to shower, he thought. One drive to the hoop isn’t enough for me to break a sweat.
As he pulled off his team jersey, he overheard Dwayne and the coach talking.
“All week?” the coach said. “That means you’ll miss our game against Killcreek!”
“I know, Coach T,” Dwayne replied. “But I can’t do anything about it. The whole family is going to visit my aunt in Arlington. It’s the annual Illy family reunion.”
The coach sighed loudly. “I don’t like this at all, Dwayne. Can’t your whole family wait until school vacation, like everyone else?” Coach T said.
“Last year, my cousins missed school, but our school was on break,” Dwayne explained. “This year, it’s my turn. Our school schedules are different.”
The coach’s chair creaked. “Well, it can’t be helped, I guess,” Coach Turnbull said. “I guess we can survive one week without the great Dwayne Illy.”
Dwayne laughed. “I don’t know about that,” he said.
Daniel heard the coach’s door close. He pulled on his shirt and acted like he hadn’t been listening. When Dwayne walked by, Daniel didn’t even look at him.
Once Dwayne was out of earshot, Daniel dropped back onto the bench. “Well,” he muttered, “maybe I’ll get to start at small forward after all.”
He grabbed his jeans from his locker. “Of course, with the way I drove today,” he added, “I’m not so sure I want to.”