Boot Camp Read Free

hand.
    â€œWelcome, everybody, to the fifth annual JYD Basketball Boot Camp!” he called out. “My name is Mr. Williams.”
    Mr. Williams? Did that mean he was related to Jerome?
    â€œI want all participants to go directly into the gym, put your things in the bleachers and assemble against the far wall,” he continued. “Parents who haven’t registered their children can do that in the front lobby. Let’s get down to work!”
    He retreated back inside, and the crowd started to filter in through the doors. We were at the very back and were the last three people to enter the building.
    â€œDo you want me to stick around?” my mother asked.
    â€œI think I’d rather you didn’t stay,” I said.
    â€œOkay. I’ll just register you both and then get going.”
    â€œThanks.”
    Mom reached over to give me a hug, and I sidestepped away. I was too big and too old to be hugged by my mother, especially in front of a bunch of strangers at a basketball camp.
    â€œAre you going to be okay today?” I asked my mother.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œIt’s just that you don’t know anybody here.Are you going to be able to find something to do?”
    She laughed. “This is Washington, DC, one of the greatest cities in the world. I can find dozens and dozens of things to do. There are museums, memorials, the White House…I could be here for a month and not run out of things to see.”
    â€œThat’s good. I wouldn’t want you to get bored.”
    â€œNo danger of that.”
    â€œOkay…and thanks…you know, for bringing us down here.”
    â€œYeah, thanks,” Kia said.
    â€œJust go and have fun,” my mother said.
    â€œWe will,” I said as we started to walk away.
    â€œSee you around three!” I yelled over my shoulder.
    By the time we entered the gym most of the kids had already dumped their things in the bleachers and were starting to assemble at the far end against the wall.
    â€œWe better hurry,” Kia suggested and we picked up the pace.
    We dropped our bags and trotted across the gym, passing by some kids who seemed to bemore interested in talking and joking around than rushing. We took up a place against the wall, at the far end by one of the corners.
    â€œI wonder where Jerome is?” I asked.
    â€œDon’t know. I don’t see Johnnie either.”
    Johnnie was Jerome’s big brother—well, his older brother because Jerome was half a head taller.
    â€œI’m sure they’ll all be here soon. Jerome did say they were going to be part of the camp too, right?” Kia asked.
    â€œYeah, he did. It’ll be good to see somebody we know.”
    â€œWe’ll soon know lots of people,” Kia said.
    Kia was good at making small talk and getting to know people. I wasn’t so good.
    â€œHave you noticed something else?” I said to Kia quietly.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThere’s nobody here but boys,” I said, saying the last word barely above a whisper.
    â€œThere’s no need to whisper,” Kia whispered back. “They probably already know that they’re boys.”
    â€œFunny.”
    â€œBesides, not everybody is a boy.”
    I looked around the gym. Everybody that I could see was a boy.
    â€œThere’s me,” she said.
    â€œI meant besides you.”
    â€œYeah…so?”
    â€œSo, I just noticed, that’s all,” I said. It wasn’t that it mattered to me who was there as much as I just felt sort of bad for Kia.
    â€œDid
you
notice that we’re amongst the shortest people in the gym?” Kia asked.
    I looked around. I
hadn’t
noticed, but she was right. Almost every kid and every adult in the room was taller than us.
    â€œI just expected JYD to be here,” I said to Kia.
    â€œYou gotta be kidding,” a kid beside me said. He must have overheard our conversation.
    â€œWhat?” I