Sticky's Last Shot

"Peanut Butter!" Dreadlock Man shouts as he tries to fix the shaky jump shot he has been working on all summer.

Sticky grins. Some things will probably never change. Even though it has been two years since Sticky became a regular at Lincoln Rec, everyone still calls Dreadlock Man by his nickname - Dreadlock Man - instead of Peanut Butter. Even Sticky is still called "Stick" or "Sticky" by all the players at Lincoln Rec.

Dribbling the ball, Sticky pauses to shoot, but instead decides to pass it to Sin, who then decides to go for a slam dunk. "Nice one," Dave comments, as he grabs the ball and passes it to Dallas. Sin and Dave came to the gym after Sticky managed to persuade everyone there that they were good players, capable of keeping up with the fast-paced games at Lincoln Rec. It took a while for them to get used to the environment and players at the gym, but they soon fit in just as well as Sticky did. However, Sin is now called "Spin," after the way he makes the ball spin in the air when he shoots. Old Man Perkins thought it was a sin in itself to call him Sin, and came up with the new name, which stuck. Dave is just called Dave, much to his relief.

Now, the trio were gearing up for the Nike summer camp, an exclusive offer to showcase their talents to college coaches around the nation. But Sin is worried, "You think we're gonna do allright at the camp next week? I'm kinda scared with all the coaches watching us. What if I mess up or something and they all see?"

"Don't worry. You just play ball and nothing else matters once the game starts. Just think of the coaches as ordinary people coming to watch us play, just like in school. Wait, just don't think about them at all," Sticky adds as an afterthought.

"Easy for you to say. You went to the summer camp in UCLA sophomore year and you know what its like playing in front of coaches but I don't," says Sin, who shoots for the basket but misses, causing it to bounce off the rim.

"Just chill. You'll be okay," says Slim, who catches the rebound and passes the ball to New York.

"Well I gotta go now," Sticky says, staring at his watch. "I have this math worksheet to finish due tomorrow and I didn't start it yet."

"Man you didn't start that thing yet? We got that worksheet like a week ago," says Dave. "You know what Coach Bill said – we gotta graduate and get decent grades if we want to go to college. And do our homework early."

"But I thought you said earlier that you didn't do the worksheet either,"adds Sin slyly.

"What?...Haha allright, I just wanted to scare Sticky into doing his homework by thinking that we both already did it. Ok Stick, we're in the same boat as you."

"Don't forget about the SATs. I still gotta start studying for mine in December. And its almost October now! I have no chance of getting that 700. I wish I had a tutor, but I can't afford one," says a stressed out Sin.

"Yeah, I need to find a tutor or something. There's no chance of me getting a 700 either. Well I'll see you guys later. Good luck on the worksheet," says Sticky.

"Hold on there kids. I heard y'all were having some trouble with the SATs. Maybe I can try and find a tutor for you guys," Dante says, having listened in on the conversation from a few feet away.

"You really mean it Dante? You would be a lifesaver! But tutors are expensive..." says Dave.

"That's no problem. I just want to see you guys succeed and be able to say that three guys from Lincoln Rec made it big. Y'all better try hard though. Its tough to get that 700. Trust me, I tried and almost failed," says Dante.

"We won't forget this Dante. And we'll try hard. Its our dream to make it to the NBA," Sticky promises, walking out the doors.