"That's eighteen to seventeen," announced Aisha from the sidelines, catching the basketball Tory had bounced to her. "One more basket and Team Shirts wins."
"Looks like we're getting free pizza today," said Tory, accepting Mitch's fist-bump on her way back to the center of the asphalt court in the park.
Shaking his head while he wiped sweat from it, Miguel turned to Hawk and told him, "Dude, how many times do I gotta tell you, block Mitch. Can't you see he's got the hot hand? Where's the defense?"
Hawk frowned. It wasn't like he had any practice with basketball outside of Gym. And how was he supposed to know Mitch would be so good at it? But he didn't want to lose any more than Miguel did. "How about you keep Tory from stealing the ball for once?" he retorted defensively.
Miguel rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just stop him from going into the paint."
Accepting the ball from Aisha, Hawk bounced it a couple times while Miguel darted from Tory. Seeing his teammate's opening, Hawk tossed him the ball, avoiding Mitch's attempts to intercept it.
Tory was all over Miguel again, her arms wide as she tried blocking him from advancing past the half-court. His efforts to get around her were for naught. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Hawk near the basket, and his first instinct was to pass him the ball. Then Miguel thought, if he could score a three-pointer, they would win.
So he took his shot where he stood.
And he missed.
Immediately, Mitch stole the ball and took off to the other end of the court. Hawk raced after him, dodging Tory's bid to guard him.
Mitch ran and dribbled, and when Hawk saw him about to step into the paint he shoved him with his shoulder, making the other boy trip and fall to the ground, dropping the ball. "What the hell, man?" exclaimed Mitch, jumping back to his feet. "That was a check!"
"What's the matter, can't take a little full-contact?" goaded Hawk.
"Come on, this isn't karate, it's basketball," Mitch countered.
Picking up the ball, Aisha said, "Mitch is right. Team Shirts gets two penalty shots."
Miguel groaned and threw his hands up in exasperation, knowing what was coming next.
And he was right. Mitch shot and scored both his baskets, winning the victory for his team. He and Tory gave each other a high-five, congratulating themselves.
Hawk walked to where Miguel stood. He had a hard look of disappointment plastered over his sweaty face. "What?" asked Hawk. "Don't give me that look. You said to block him."
"You're not on my team next time," stated Miguel.
"What about you not passing me the ball?" argued Hawk. "Real good teamwork there."
"Hey, you two!" called out Tory, a sharp smile on her face as she, Mitch, and Aisha collected their things. "C'mon, time to cough up the dough for the dough. And it better be a big one, we're famished."