Rivals by Tommy Greenwald (top 100 novels of all time .txt) 📕

“I do know that.”

“I’ve been impressed with the student body for taking this initiative.”

I’m not exactly sure what she’s getting at, but it sounds promising and I don’t want to jinx it by saying the wrong thing, so I just say, “Me too.”

“I know this has been a difficult time for you,” Principal Marshak says. “I know you miss doing what you love. I would like your parents to come in tomorrow to talk with me and Coach Rickson about the situation, and perhaps we can put this incident behind us once and for all.”

I can feel my heart beating. “Are you . . . are you saying I might be able to play?”

She puts her hand gently on my shoulder. “I’m saying, let’s have a conversation and see what happens.”

So that’s how I end up sitting outside Principal Marshak’s office, in between my parents. My mom is looking at her watch because she had to ask for an early lunch hour. My dad is wearing the only tie he owns, and he keeps pulling at it. What I think he really wants to do is yank it off and throw it in the trash.

I realize that parents are just as uncomfortable in the principal’s office as kids are.

Finally, Principal Marshak sticks her head out of her office. “Carter? Mr. and Ms. Haswell?”

My mom smiles and says, “I actually go by my maiden name now. It’s Raines.”

“I see, my apologies. Why don’t you all come on in?”

We file in quietly. Coach Rickson is sitting there, and so is Mr. Rashad, the guidance counselor guy, and my math teacher, Ms. Vallone. Everyone introduces themselves, and then Principal Marshak says, “Mr. Haswell, Ms. Raines, I wanted you to come here today so we could discuss Carter’s situation. As you will recall, we all met after the incident in math class, and it was decided at that time to suspend Carter from the basketball team indefinitely. His infraction was very serious, the most serious a student can commit. But now, as the season is drawing to a close, and after having follow-up conversations with both Ms. Vallone and Mr. Rashad, I thought it might be a good time to revisit that decision.”

My mom raises her hand, like she’s back in class. “May I say something?”

“Of course,” says the principal.

“Thank you.” My mom clears her throat nervously. “I think Carter has definitely learned his lesson.”

Mr. Rashad leans forward. “Can you explain what you mean?”

My mom hesitates, so my dad jumps in. “I can help with that. We’re not a rich family, as I’m sure you know, and I lost my job not too long ago, so I’ve been out of work. And well, I think somewhere along the way, Carter got the idea that he needed to use his god-given ability at basketball to help the family, by getting special treatment, and maybe one day getting a scholarship to play in college and making it all the way to the pros. So, that’s why he was so desperate to pass math. So he could stay on the team.”

Mr. Rashad clears his throat softly. “Do you know how difficult the odds are, in terms of getting a college scholarship, much less making it to the pros?”

“Yes, of course we do,” my mom answers. “That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. Coach Benny thinks he has the talent. He told me himself.”

Principal Marshak takes her glasses off and looks at me. “I think it might be time to hear from Carter about all this.”

I sit up a bit straighter. “I . . . I guess it’s true that I started thinking this year that basketball was more than just something to do for fun. I mean, I realized I was good—I guess really good, some people said—and that it might be a way to get someplace in life. My mom didn’t, like, pressure me or anything, but I knew how much it meant to her. And Coach Benny, I mean, I feel so bad about what happened to him, but when he said that thing about doing whatever it took to pass the test, and thinking about how if I didn’t, then basketball would be taken away from me, and how it would mess everything up, I just . . . I just panicked. And as soon as I did it, I felt horrible and I came back into the room to tell Ms. Vallone everything, but Alfie Jenks was already there and I was too late. And I said it before but I’m really, really sorry.”

Ms. Vallone leans forward in her chair. “Carter, I thought you knew this. Alfie never told me what happened. She did see what you had done, and she was upset about it, but she was confused, and a little scared, and I don’t think she wanted you to get in trouble. So she didn’t say anything. You need to believe me on this.”

I stare at her. “Really?”

She smiles, but it’s a sad smile. “Really.”

I feel something leave my body.

Maybe it’s anger.

“Oh, wow,” I say.

Mr. Rashad says, “Carter, you have learned some valuable lessons here, which is the most important thing going forward. And I want you, and your parents, to know that I am always available to discuss any of these kinds of issues, should they arise in the future.”

“Well!” says Principal Marshak, putting her glasses back on. “There is some good to come out of this situation. Carter, you’ve spoken eloquently and remorsefully here today, and Ms. Vallone has informed me that you have improved your math grade significantly. You have one game left in your middle school career, and I would like for you to be able to participate. Therefore, I am pleased to tell you that you may rejoin the basketball team, effective immediately.”

I had a feeling this might happen, but now that it has, I’m not sure I believe it. “Wait, what? Immediately, like, right now? I can practice with the team, and I can play against North?”

The Principal