Three On Three Read Free Page A

pockets for an hour after that. And I
still
think my jacket smells like squashed bananas.”
    â€œSo,” Kia said, “Marcus not only knows you, but he even helped you. Come on, let’s go and ask him before he joins up with somebody else.”
    Kia set off across the playground toward the basketball court and I reluctantly trailed after her. I didn’t think there was much point in asking him, but I knew there was absolutely no point in trying to talk her out of it. Once Kia got an idea in her head, she didn’t like being confused with the facts.
    When we arrived, there were two games going on. At one hoop there were a few people playing. Around the other net a small crowd had gathered to watch, and I figured that would be where Marcus was playing. Kia and I took a spot at the edge of the semicircle of kids observing the action.
    Marcus was on the court along with a bunch of grade five kids. They were playing a game of four-on-four. Aside from Marcus, who was clearly the best, a couple of the other players were pretty good. The rest were just big, stumbling and bumping into each other. It looked more like they were playing football or hockey.
    I took my eyes off the game and looked at the crowd. Without exception, every kid standing around us was in grade five. And almost all of them were from the complex.
    The complex was a gigantic apartment building a few blocks away from the school. The kids from there were different from the rest of us who lived in the homes surrounding the school. Most of those kidswere tougher and didn’t seem to mind getting in trouble, or at least had more practice at it.
    I leaned in close to Kia. “Let’s get out of here,” I said under my breath. “This isn’t a safe place for a grade three to be. These guys are all in grade five, and most of them are from the complex.”
    She shrugged and nodded her head. Even Kia had lost her nerve.
    We began to walk away when the ball clanked noisily off the ring, bounced wildly and landed right in my hands. Everybody was looking right at me. It was too late to pretend to be invisible.
    â€œGive me the ball!” demanded one of the kids, as he walked toward me menacingly.
    I looked at the ball, then I looked at him. Just as he reached out for the ball, I did a cross-over dribble, sidestepped him, jumped into the air and launched the ball for the net.

Chapter 4
Swoosh!

    The ball floated through the air in a perfect arch … up, up, up and then down, down, down and …
    SWOOSH! Right into the hoop, nothing but net.
    â€œNice shot!” Kia yelled.
    â€œLucky shot, don’t you mean?” the kid I’d sidestepped said. He walked past me and back towards the action.
    â€œNope,” I corrected him. “You’d have been lucky to stop me.”
    He turned around and glared at me. Instantly I knew I should have kept my mouth buttoned. Trash talk could get a guy put in a garbage can.
    â€œWhat did you say?” he demanded.
    â€œNothing,” I mumbled.
    A kid on the sidelines chipped in, “He said you’d have been lucky to stop him.”
    â€œGive the little punk the ball! I wasn’t ready. I’d like to see him do it again.”
    â€œCome on, Roy,” Marcus called out, “we haven’t got time for this.” He was holding the basketball.
    I’d heard about Roy. He’d just transferred to the school last week and already he’d been in trouble a lot, including a fight. This was getting worse by the second.
    â€œRecess is more than half over and I’m still not sure who’s good enough to be on my team,” Marcus continued.
    So that’s what this is, I thought. A tryout to see who got to be on Marcus’ team for the tournament.
    â€œThis will only take a second,” Roy said. “Besides, this can be part of my tryout.”
    Marcus bounced the ball a few times and looked at me. Then, without saying another word, he