Read Online Athlete vs. Mathlete: Double Dribble by W. C. Mack - Free Book Online Page A

“everyone comes to the games.”
    â€œThey make signs, blow horns—”
    â€œAnd dress in team colors,” they both said at once.
    Enough with the surround sound
, I thought.
    But the rest of the guys were leaning in to hear better, like they’d bought tickets to hear those bozos talk.
    I mean,
come on
.
    We dumped our stuff around the visitors’ bench and started to warm up.
    I dribbled a ball over to the free throw line and took a few shots, hearing the sounds of my teammates getting into game mode around me.
    Whenever I checked over my shoulder, the Warriors looked pretty smooth. But who didn’t look smooth during
drills
?
    I glanced back at the Pioneers, who had about a hundred balls in the air at once, all bumping each other out of the basket.
    Well, maybe
we
didn’t look so smooth.
    I noticed Mitch and Marcus weren’t shooting with the rest of the guys and spotted them near center court. They were standing about ten feet apart, bounce-passing two balls between each other at turbo speed.
    They didn’t miss a single catch, and every pass was perfect. And the weird part was, neither one of them was even looking at the balls. They were staring into each other’s eyes instead.
    While I watched, they passed faster and faster, never missing a beat.
    Where did they play last? A freakin’ circus?
    â€œOkay, that is seriously awesome,” Nate said, from next to me.
    Before I had a chance to say anything else, the ref blew his whistle and it was time to huddle up.
    I was hoping Coach Baxter would start me this time, so I wouldn’t have to be embarrassed by spending those first minutes on the bench.
    But he put both of the Matthews brothers in instead.
    After the huddle, I watched the rest of the guys run into their positions.
    That’s when I saw it.
    I was shocked I hadn’t noticed it on the bus.
    Paul and Nate had both parted their hair like the new guys and molded it to their heads with goo.
    Come on
.
    â€œWhat’s with the hair?” I asked Russ.
    He patted his. “Mine?”
    â€œNo, Nate’s and Paul’s. They
styled
theirs just like the Twinvaders’.”
    He glanced at them. “
Hmm
. Maybe it’s to improve their aerodynamics.”
    I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t NASA, Russ. It’s freakin’ middle-school basketball.”
    â€œWell,” he said with a shrug, “you asked.”
    The Warriors took possession at the tip-off, and I realized that I should have seen their smooth drills as a warning.
    Those guys knew what to do, and they did it well.
    â€œNice play,” Russ said when a Warrior practically ran over Nate to make a basket.
    â€œGeez, don’t compliment the other team, Russ.” I couldn’t believe the stuff I still had to tell him about basketball.
    â€œWell, it
was
a good play.”
    â€œSo, wait for us to make a good one.”
    He didn’t have to wait long.
    Paul passed to a Matthews twin, who spun around and passed to his brother, who was in perfect position for a three-pointer.
    â€œYes!” a couple of our fellow benchwarmers shouted, jumping to their feet to cheer.
    I tried to smile but I couldn’t help wishing someone else had scored.
    And I ended up wishing that a lot during the first quarter, when Mitch and Marcus racked up points like it was a video game instead of real life.
    But the Warriors weren’t giving up.
    By the time Russ and I got in the game, the Pioneers were down six points and I was looking forward to closing the gap.
    When I passed the Twinvaders coming off the court, I lifted a hand for a high five, and they both ignored it. I pretended to check my watch, so I wouldn’t look like a total loser, but I didn’t have a watch on.
    Russ must have seen the guys diss me, so he lifted his hand for a high five from me instead.
    Based on experience, I knew I was making a mistake, but I went for it.
    Russ’s hand missed mine and