Too Equal For My Taste
Chapter 13: Weekend Two- Basketball
Elliot spent the rest of the week in embarrassment. He wished so much that he had never talked to Jessica now, even though he felt attracted to her. He wished he had never met either of the girls. Or, he just wished that he thought of how Sarah would react, and he might've been more wary of who's watching. But even that wouldn't have worked, because anyone might've told Sarah anyway. Girls always had a way of knowing and finding out truths, and no boy knew how. If he had an opportunity to fix things with him and Jessica as well, he would, because now Jessica was avoiding him, possibly to avoid more problems between Elliot and Sarah.
There was only one alternative. That was to take Connor's advice, and reconcile with Sarah. Elliot really liked Sarah, and wished so much that he was still dating her, with more fun than before, like he was looking forward to when he found out they were moving next to the Bakers. Instead, it turned out Sarah wasn't interested anymore, and for all he knew, could've tried seeing other boys. Had she done that, Elliot certainly wouldn't have done anything. That would've confirmed his suspicions. He watched Sarah, who determinedly avoided him all week long.
On top of everything else, there was another game. Elliot was very reluctant to play against the Bakers, especially Sarah. But, there was nothing he could do. Plus, it was fun and he was good at basketball. His team needed him. So, he decided to put aside his worries and misery, and play a good game to take his mind off everything. That was one thing any good game of Basketball could do for anyone who loved it as much as he did. He rode with his family to the same University as before quite cheerfully, holding the ball in his hands. He felt the ball filled him with the confidence to go on.
Stepping inside the basketball stadium was one of Elliot's favorite parts. Kenneth also looked up at the light above. He smiled in a way that suggested victory was certain. It was a smirking smile that made Jimmy happy to see. Anne just wanted to get the game over with, but like Elliot, Calvin was also looking forward to the game. There was no way the Bakers could possibly win. Victory was certain, and it made Jimmy's insides jump with joy. Tom was going to face his first defeat.
Tom could sense the excitement from the Murtaugh's on the other side of the stadium. He knew what it all meant. All his kids were no good at basketball. How he hoped Mike had thought up some plan for winning. He could see the nine kids a few feet away, heads huddled together and planning tactics. Could any tactics from kids smaller than the opposing team possibly work? Was it even possible? Surely not, Tom thought, but he had to keep spirits up and try as hard as he could.
Again, Serina came to the middle of the stadium. Two opposing players stepped between, Jake and Elliot. The two were to face each other to get the ball first. Mike looked at the team, "Ok everyone, like we said, to your respective positions, NOW!"
Everyone spread out. The Murtaugh's were all in one area of their side, and Serina counted down, "Three… two… one… PLAY!"
Jake jumped up, and hit the ball over to his side. Mike dashed forward, and caught it. Dribbling it to the other side, he was forced to stop as Calvin and Daniel cornered him. He raised his hand and put up his pointer finger up. The sign puzzled the two older boys, but it must've been a signal. As expected, Nigel and Kyle ran into enemy territory. Mike threw the ball over to Kyle, who passed it further to Nigel. Nigel jumped up, and attempted the first shot.
"YES!" Tom yelled happily. Small cheers went off from the small crowd of University students on their break.
"First shot!" Mike yelled, jumping up and fist punching the air. "Whatever you do," he told Sarah and Jake. "Don't let the Murtaugh's get the ball. Remain on the defensive!"
Sarah and Jake took the twin's places as guards for the one with the ball. Calvin was with the ball, and being quite tall, the only one with a chance was Henry, so he rushed forward in vain. Calvin effortlessly made the shot. He laughed, and clapped Daniel's hand as they passed.
"We got the ball again," Mike yelled over the oohs from the crowd as Jake caught it. "Jake, forward. Kim, Jess, take place beside him. Henry, you know what to do."
All obliged. Jake passed it to Kim hopefully. Kim passed it to Jessica, who dribbled it further from the score line. There, Daniel managed to steal the ball from her. He dribbled it over, but not far, because Henry blocked and intercepted the ball himself. He passed it back to Jessica who shot. The supporters of the Bakers who remembered their last soccer game went wild as Jessica made another shot from behind the score line, earning them three points and a small lead.
The rest of the ten minutes of the first half went by with the Murtaugh's making four scores, and the Bakers making three. The Bakers still had their one point lead, and only God knew how they would manage to keep it. It's been a struggle. Tom met Mike and Jake during the break to discuss the game with them.
"We're doing well so far," Tom said to his team. "But they can easily pick up. Mike, what's your standing on this."
"Ok, they know our strategy now, and I doubt it will do much good," Mike said to his father. "But we have to try it still. If they can counter it, we make a plan B."
"Ok, put Mark in," Tom ordered.
Mark got up hopefully. He was playing as defense all this time.
"He's no good," Sarah protested.
"Especially on defense," Tom said back. "Put him on offense, and see what happens."
"Deal." They took drinks, and ran back in.
The Bakers' plan did not work as well as they hoped. As thought, the Murtaugh's countered the Bakers' strategy, and picked up. Within ten minutes, the Bakers made only three scores over the Murtaugh's seven, due to them putting Elliot in the game. The only hope for the Bakers was the addition to the offense, Mark Baker. He was indeed better than they thought.
He dribbled it, maneuvering around the taller players, and passing it to Mike. Mike couldn't move with the ball, because Elliot already blocked him. Mark ran further ahead, and caught the ball again. He threw, but the ball missed.
Elliot went off with the ball again. Henry had to intercept him again, throw it to Mark, and give another chance. Mark attempted another shot, this time to triumph. Daniel caught the ball again, but Henry once again intercepted him. Daniel passed to Robin this time, giving Mike a chance to steal. Mark and Mike ran together to stop Robin.
"Cover Elliot," Mike ordered Mark immediately.
Mark obliged. As thought, Robin had passed to Elliot, and the gamble paid off. Mark jumped up, and the tips of his fingers managed to hit the ball the other way. Henry jumped up and caught it. He passed it to Mike. Mike passed to Jake. Jake passed to Mark. Mark dribbled behind the line to make more points. Again, the gamble paid off, and Mark scored.
Cheers erupted. This time, the crowd was bigger. Students who heard of the last game came to watch this one. Mark jumped up to clap Henry's hands. The Murtaugh's were in the lead now twenty-six to twenty-three.
With one minute left, Kenneth dribbled with the ball into Baker territory. Mike had decided to confront the Murtaugh, and ran right into Kenneth. Kenneth fell forward, ball rolling out. Ken turned around, and threw a punch at whoever knocked him down. Mike felt fist collide with face, and he doubled over. Foul was declared on both sides, and both were kicked out. Mike was getting yelled at.
"We might as well kick you off the team!" Jake said angrily.
"You're one to talk," Mike said defensively.
Elliot attempted two penalty shots. Both went in, and Mark was given the ball to score. This didn't go as well. Only one went in, giving the Murtaugh's a twenty-eight to twenty-three lead. The rest of the game was played in defense on both sides, and the Murtaugh's seized victory...
"What an idiot!" Jake yelled at Mike. "Don't let personal problems get in the"-
"You can't talk!" Mike said angrily. "Mr. Purposely-Hit-Calvin-Out-Of-The-Game!"
"Don't play rough, Jake," Kate said warningly. "We don't want the Murtaugh's protesting you being in the games at all. Keep it safe."
Jake shook his head angrily, and Tom pat them all on the backs, "We did very well, and held surprises for the Murtaugh's. We were leading after the first half. They were bound to figure our strategy, but we held strong against players taller than us. Well done."
Sarah ignored them. At some point in the game, she had noticed Elliot had, if she wasn't mistaken, purposely let her have the ball. She was very deep in thought until Elliot approached her immediately after the game.
"Uh, Sarah," Elliot said nervously.
Sarah turned around to face Elliot. "What?"
"I know we got off on a bad start this year," Elliot said nervously, staring at his shoes.
"You completely ignored me! Now, you think I'm just gonna forget about it?"
"Probably," Elliot said weakly. "I thought you weren't interested, and it made me shy and- I dunno… I thought you"-
"I was interested!"
"Then why didn't you come down to see me?" Elliot asked. "I was waiting for you, and hanging instead with Jake and Mike. C'mon, do you think just because few moths separated us, I wouldn't be interested?"
"Probably," Sarah said angrily. "We had few minutes together, and you still talked so awkwardly, like you didn't know how to tell me anything. If you really liked me, you would've"-
"I'm sorry," Elliot interrupted. "Just don't jump down my throat."
"Jump down your throat?" Sarah repeated. "There you were flirting with another girl. If you wanna go out with someone else, make the break-up official."
"I thought you weren't interested anymore," Elliot repeated again. "Give it a few more days you would've done the same thing. What would I have done? Nothing! Just confirm my suspicions that you didn't care anymore; that you wanted to see other people. So, I talked with Jess a bit."
"No!" Sarah said, talking a bit more loudly. "That's not how it goes. I was waiting for you. Otherwise, I would've come up to you myself, and make it official." Elliot looked down. If that was the truth, he was a bit mistaken. "Besides, she's a complete nerd," Sarah said, now a bit more calmly. "God knows why Jake hangs out with her."
"She's the tag-along type," Elliot said, now also talking a bit more calmly, and relieved Sarah was finished being angry. At least she didn't yell this time.
"Oh yeah, you'd know," Sarah rolled her eyes.
"What do you say?" Elliot said. "Wanna go out again, and forget this whole thing ever happened. So I can spend another week on damage control."
"Damage control?"
"My reputation. I'd better get to work if I'm gonna survive."
"Oh, sorry about that," Sarah apologized. "Yeah, ok, I'll go out with you again. But this time, let's be more honest with each other."
"Deal," Elliot said happily, and shook her hand on it.
"Oh and by the way, the school usually forgets these kinds of things," Sarah said reassuringly. "So it shouldn't be too hard. Just good luck."
Elliot leaned forward and gave her a hug. Sarah kissed him on the lips. The kiss turned into a long one signaling bad news for Tom and Jimmy. Jake then ran in, "Hey, if you two love birds are finished? Save it for the next weekend!"