Chapter 5
Just before the game started on Wednesday night, Trey peered out of the locker room door. He spotted his father and Pete’s father as they walked into the gym.
The two men talked for a moment at the door. Then, as Trey watched, they went to sit on opposite sides of the court. Trey’s dad went to the Wildcats side, while Pete’s went to the visitors side.
Then the Eastlake team came jogging in to warm up on their end of the court.
Trey spotted his cousin in the front of the Eastlake team as they came in. He was waving and smiling at the crowd.
“What a show-off,” Trey mumbled.
Dwayne Illy came up next to him. “Who?” he said. “The little guy?”
Trey nodded. “My cousin Pete,” he said. “He thinks he’s the best basketball player since Michael Jordan.”
Dwayne laughed. “He’s in sixth grade and he starts?” he asked. “He probably is pretty good, huh?”
The Eastlake team started shooting around. Dwayne and Trey watched Pete. He was doing plenty of fancy dribbling and showing off.
“Yeah, he’s pretty good all right,” Dwayne said.
Then the loudspeaker clicked on. The eighth-grade class president, Tina Hawk, took the microphone. “And now, the Westfield Wildcats!” she announced.
Coach T stood up and clapped as the other four starting Wildcats stood up. Trey groaned and slowly got to his feet.
“Cheer up, Trey,” Dwayne said. “We got this game, easy.”
Trey nodded and jogged with the other starters out to the court. They lined up for some quick layups. Trey made his shot easily. Then the Wildcats and the Eastlake team got ready to play.
The Wildcats got possession first, thanks to PJ Harris, their very tall starting center.
PJ tapped the ball to Isaac Roth. Right away, the Wildcats moved to the basket.
Isaac dribbled at the top of the key. The Eastlake player guarding him waited for him to start the play.
Trey watched Isaac as Pete stuck close to him. Pete was all smiles, but Trey was feeling the pressure of a new game. He didn’t look Pete in the eye.
Isaac raised three fingers, and Trey faked toward the basket. Then he cut back toward Isaac. He thought he had lost Pete.
Isaac thought so too, so he passed to Trey. Just then, Pete ran past, knocking the ball away from Trey. Pete quickly dribbled toward the Eastlake basket. Trey tried to get back on defense in time, but Pete was already at the basket.
Pete made the layup easily for the first two points of the game. The score was two to nothing, Eastlake.
The crowd on the visitor side cheered and hollered. Someone yelled, “Way to go, Smith!”
It was only a few seconds into the game, and Trey’s little cousin had already humiliated him.