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

Jenks is right behind them. We’re still pushing and shoving and yelling, but the guy I was jawing with ducks away and disappears.

“COWARD!” I yell, even though I have no idea where he is.

Mr. Rashad gets to our row and starts yelling, “Enough! Enough!” while Principal Marshak talks into a walkie-talkie. The pile starts moving itself backward, away from Mr. Rashad and Principal Marshak. I’m at the end of the row, and I realize I’m getting pushed closer and closer to the railing that’s supposed to protect people from falling off the edge of the bleachers.

That’s when I notice Janeece, on the bench, staring up at me with her mouth wide open.

AUSTIN

I can tell that Carter is trying to keep his balance as the crowd starts pushing, away from the adults. The pile is moving him backward, toward the end of the row, but no one seems to notice. I start shoving my way toward him. He’s getting closer and closer to the edge, and I’m almost there. Finally, I reach out and try to grab him, but instead I trip and fall into Clay, who is between me and Carter. Clays trips, too, and falls backward, into Carter. It’s like a horrible game of dominoes, and Carter is the last domino.

There’s no place for him to go.

He starts to stumble backward.

And suddenly, I know exactly what’s going to happen before it happens.

CARTER

Seriously?

After all this?

I feel myself lose my balance, and at first I think the railing is going to save me, but then I realize it’s too low—I think it’s meant to protect people who are sitting down, not people who are standing up and shoving people and screaming swear words.

My back goes over first. I reach out for the railing with my hands but miss.

And then, I feel nothing but air.

I’m falling.

And that’s when I realize, when you’re falling through the air, about to crash into a hard wooden floor and get really badly hurt or possibly die, you have a lot of time to think.

Which is good, because I have a ton of stuff to think about as I fall.

The first thing I think is, this isn’t as scary as I thought. I mean, it’s definitely scary, but it’s also calm.

And silent.

Like, the world stops.

I keep falling.

I think about everything that happened that led up to this moment.

I think about my mom and dad.

I think about not wanting to die.

I think about how much it’s going to hurt when I land, if I don’t die.

I think about what kind of injuries I’m going to have and how long it will take for me to get better.

I think about how the injuries might be so bad, I won’t be able to play basketball again for a long time. Or ever again.

Or maybe I’ll be able to play, but I won’t ever be as good as I am right now.

And I think about how that might not be the worst thing in the world.

And then, I run out of time to think.

I hit the floor.

I hear a SLAM! Then a CRACK!

And everything goes dark.

WALTHORNENEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 10:27 AM

Final Middle School Basketball Game Canceled

It was announced this morning that the boys basketball game scheduled for tonight between Walthorne South Middle School and Walthorne North Middle School has been canceled.

In a joint press release, the Central Youth Athletic Conference (CYAC) and the Walthorne Board of Education stated, “In light of last night’s events at the girls basketball game between the same two schools, we have decided that it is in the best interests of all parties involved to cancel this game. We hope to sort out the various unfortunate issues that have complicated what should have been an annual highlight for these schools, as well as the players and our community. In the near future, we hope to be back cheering for our wonderful student athletes.”

The statement is referring to an incident last night in which students from both schools got into an altercation at the end of the girls game that led to one student-athlete falling off the bleachers and getting severely injured.

“It’s a real shame,” said Walthorne South Principal Valerie Marshak, in a phone interview. “The terrific kids at our school and at W-North work hard for this all year, and now it’s been taken away from them. But at this point, I think the decision is the right one. The last thing anyone wants is for tonight’s game to be marred by another incident that we all regret. It’s only a game, after all.”

No one at the CYAC or Board of Education was available for comment.

OVERTIME

CARTER

So yeah, I didn’t die, just FYI.

I ended up with a concussion, a chipped bone in my left elbow, torn ligaments in my left ankle, four broken ribs, and a badly sprained lower back.

I should make a full recovery. “For life, and for basketball,” the doctor said, “and not necessarily in that order!” Everyone laughed. I tried to laugh, too.

At the hospital, the nurses were all so nice. The food was horrible. I got a lot of cards and flowers and stuffed animals, but I told my parents I didn’t want any visitors.

Coach Benny came anyway.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “How ya holding up?”

“A little tired, to be honest, Coach,” I told him. “But I guess I’m pretty lucky, all things considered.”

“I guess that’s true.” His voice was smaller than usual. “I owe you an apology, son.”

“No, you don’t. It was my fault. I’m the one who cheated.”

“Yes, I do.” He sat down in the chair next to the bed. “I look back at what I said to you that day in the cafeteria, and when I think about it honestly, I realize that maybe I did want you to cheat on that test. Maybe I did want to win that badly, and have a great season, and I knew those things couldn’t happen without you. I can tell myself I didn’t, but I wouldn’t