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

Chase Crawford doesn’t even go to our school. He goes to Walthorne Academy, but he’s friends with a lot of kids on the team. He also has an indoor basketball court, which is pretty sweet. As for PJ, that’s my nickname. It’s a dumb nickname, but there’s a story behind it. My dad travels a lot for his job, but he always makes it home for my games. I think if he missed one, he might literally jump off a bridge or something. Anyway, there was this one time he was halfway across the country and his flight was delayed and I had a big game, so he hired a private jet and made it back for the second half. I was really psyched that he made it, but ever since then, my friends and teammates have called me PJ—for private jet.

I actually don’t mind it as a nickname, even though I think they’re kind of making fun of me and my family and my dad for being the kind of guy who would rent a plane, but whatever.

I decide not to text Clay back. Then, ten minutes later, I change my mind.

ICE THE LEG. LAST PRACTICE TOMORROW BEFORE THE GAME.

WWMS

WALTHORNE SOUTH RADIO

ALFIE:

Hello everyone, my name is Alfie Jenks, sports reporter for WWMS News. Welcome to the very exciting first game of the year between Walthorne South Middle School and Walthorne North Middle School! We’re just about ready to get underway, with South’s Amir Watkins getting set to tip against North’s Clay Elkind . . .

. . . Just underway in the second quarter, with North leading 14–10, and Carter Haswell takes the ball upcourt. Carter is for sure the best player on floor, the captain of the South team, but he is off to a somewhat slow start tonight, with only four points on 2-for-6 shooting. Ooh, but there he goes, puts a spin move on North defender Austin Chambers that leaves Chambers stumbling! Carter passes to Eddy Dixon on the wing, Eddy dumps the ball into Lucas Burdeen, Lucas is defended well by North Center Clay Elkind, who is the tallest player on either team. Lucas sends the ball back out to Carter at the top of the key, Carter takes two dribbles between his legs, then launches a three-pointer . . . perfect form as usual . . . It’s good, nothing but net! The crowd roars! Carter Haswell now has seven points as South closes to 14–13 . . .

. . . South calls timeout. With 4:15 left to play in the third quarter, South leads 36–34. This game has more than lived up to the hype! So far, if you ask me, the story of the game has been two performances. Carter Haswell is playing his usual amazing game; after a quiet first quarter, he has started to pour it on, and by my calculations he has exactly half of South’s points, with 18 points, 3 assists, and 7 rebounds. But I would have to say that the surprise of the game is North center Clay Elkind, who has used his size and skill to lead his team with 13 points and 8 rebounds, even though he appears to be limping slightly. North captain Austin Chambers is right behind him with 9 points and is doing a nice job handling the pressure at point guard. There’s the horn, the players are coming back onto the court . . .

. . . Well basketball fans, it all comes down to this: just twenty-two seconds left in this game, and North is leading 52–51. South Coach Benny Walters just used his last time-out to draw up a play, and no doubt the ball is going to superstar Carter Haswell, who has been a one-man wrecking crew out there. Eddy Dixon inbounds the ball to Carter, who takes it across the half-court line . . . he’s being guarded by Austin Chambers, who is not as quick as Carter but is a very tough player . . . Kevin Booker comes over from the wing to double-team Carter, they are determined not to let him get a shot off . . . Oh, Carter slips between them and now he’s got a clear lane to the basket! Carter takes one last dribble . . . goes up for the layup . . . and oh my goodness what a block by Clay Elkind! Clay comes out of nowhere and leaps way up into the air to swat the shot away! The clock expires and North wins! North wins by one point! It must be sweet revenge after such a painful loss in the finals last year! But wait a minute . . . Clay is down. Clay is down on the court, grabbing his knee and crying out in pain. The North team is celebrating, but one of their players, their star player, is down. Now they see him. A few of the coaches help him up. Oh, it looks like he can’t put any pressure on his left leg. Clay Elkind looks badly hurt. What a terrible way to end a magnificent game. Clay was the MVP out there for his team, but now it looks like it could come at a terrible price! Stand by, I will try to get more information for you, as North wins this opening game thriller!

AUSTIN

It’s incredible how fast you can go from being happy to being not happy.

When I see Clay block that kid Carter’s shot, I start to freak out celebrating. I mean, I’m jumping all over the place, yelling in my teammates’ faces, just totally going nuts. We won! We got revenge and beat South!

And then somebody says, “Clay’s not getting up.”

I run over and see Clay on the ground, thrashing around, like one of those bluefish on the deck of my dad’s boat. His mouth is open like he wants to scream, but no sound is coming out.

“Clay!” I say. “Buddy! You okay, man?”

He looks at me but doesn’t say anything. He blinks a few times, and I see a tear falling down his cheek.

I