hold some AAU tournaments here."
"What's that?" I said without thinking.
"AAU?" Tyrona frowned at me. "You don't know AAU? How do you play in the summer?"
"I, uh, I don't play in the summer."
Tyrona turned me around, studying my face like she was a teacher and I was a student she didn't quite get. "You don't play summer ball."
"We have to farm."
"You have to farm."
"I know I should—I will next summer ... Um, how bad is it? That I don't play."
"It's no big deal. Coach found you without it, so it can't be that bad."
But—obviously—it was.
And then the game started and I found out why. Because those girls were
good.
They talked back to the refs just like on TV and two girls got in a fight right on the court—not that that's good, but at least it shows how tough they are, aggressive in a way that I'll never be. It was pretty intimidating, I have to say. Although it helped that Tyrona pointed out how the coach kept yelling at one girl to pass but she kept trying these three-pointers that kept getting intercepted. Finally he benched her. That perked me up a bit, because whatever I am in basketball, it's certainly not that dumb.
Plus Tyrona kept telling me how great it would be if I played for the U of M—even though she's never seen me play! But she said Bill brags about me all the time, and so does Aaron, his roommate, which made my ears go bright pink I'm sure. And it was awesome to talk hoops with her, especially because there wasn't any of the "that's good for a girl" garbage you get sometimes when you try to talk hoops with guys.
Speaking of which, we even got on the subject of guys, and I told her about Beaner, how much fun he is and how good at one-on-one, how he can steal but I can shoot so we're pretty evenly matched. She said she was totally jealous and that I needed to bring a bunch of guys like him with me when I came. Then she asked about the other guy—I had told her about Brian when I met her last time—and I shrugged and said we weren't really talking anymore.
"Sounds like you got something a lot better now," she said. "Guys like Brian, they need a lot of time to grow up. Too much time, sometimes."
So all in all, it was a pretty fantastic afternoon. And then that night Kathy and I watched Tyrona and the rest of them play Wisconsin, which is a big rivalry and of course Wisconsin was also on my list, so this was a chance to see them too.
College players are so amazing! My jaw was on the floor at how fast they moved, and how
much.
It's like they never stop even for a second, like a bunch of gnats that always know where they're going and are all my size. And the arena was so large—the Barn, they call it, although I can't imagine keeping anything in a barn that size except maybe dinosaurs—and so loud you could barely hear yourself think. Tyrona was playing really well—they all were—and I have to admit that it was a rush to think about
me
out there in front of ten thousand screaming people, a million more watching on TV, and my picture in a nice shiny book. Not that I'm a fan of having my picture taken, but the U of M folks do a really nice job of it. Tyrona looks even prettier there than she does in real life. Being at that game was like realizing I might have a winning lottery ticket after all.
Which shows how good Win is at brainwashing. I actually spent the game thinking I could play Big Ten ball. I was a hard worker, after all. I could play almost as well as some of the girls on the court, even though I was four or five years younger and didn't practice twenty hours a week like you do in D-I. With that sort of experience, I could really be something...
Except. Except I'd forgotten to factor in one thing while I was sitting there making a big stuck-up list of all the stuff I was good at. I forgot to factor in
me.
And when I said that I watched that whole game feeling good about myself, I forgot to add "until the end."
Because in the last twenty seconds they were tied. Then Wisconsin
"What's that?" I said without thinking.
"AAU?" Tyrona frowned at me. "You don't know AAU? How do you play in the summer?"
"I, uh, I don't play in the summer."
Tyrona turned me around, studying my face like she was a teacher and I was a student she didn't quite get. "You don't play summer ball."
"We have to farm."
"You have to farm."
"I know I should—I will next summer ... Um, how bad is it? That I don't play."
"It's no big deal. Coach found you without it, so it can't be that bad."
But—obviously—it was.
And then the game started and I found out why. Because those girls were
good.
They talked back to the refs just like on TV and two girls got in a fight right on the court—not that that's good, but at least it shows how tough they are, aggressive in a way that I'll never be. It was pretty intimidating, I have to say. Although it helped that Tyrona pointed out how the coach kept yelling at one girl to pass but she kept trying these three-pointers that kept getting intercepted. Finally he benched her. That perked me up a bit, because whatever I am in basketball, it's certainly not that dumb.
Plus Tyrona kept telling me how great it would be if I played for the U of M—even though she's never seen me play! But she said Bill brags about me all the time, and so does Aaron, his roommate, which made my ears go bright pink I'm sure. And it was awesome to talk hoops with her, especially because there wasn't any of the "that's good for a girl" garbage you get sometimes when you try to talk hoops with guys.
Speaking of which, we even got on the subject of guys, and I told her about Beaner, how much fun he is and how good at one-on-one, how he can steal but I can shoot so we're pretty evenly matched. She said she was totally jealous and that I needed to bring a bunch of guys like him with me when I came. Then she asked about the other guy—I had told her about Brian when I met her last time—and I shrugged and said we weren't really talking anymore.
"Sounds like you got something a lot better now," she said. "Guys like Brian, they need a lot of time to grow up. Too much time, sometimes."
So all in all, it was a pretty fantastic afternoon. And then that night Kathy and I watched Tyrona and the rest of them play Wisconsin, which is a big rivalry and of course Wisconsin was also on my list, so this was a chance to see them too.
College players are so amazing! My jaw was on the floor at how fast they moved, and how
much.
It's like they never stop even for a second, like a bunch of gnats that always know where they're going and are all my size. And the arena was so large—the Barn, they call it, although I can't imagine keeping anything in a barn that size except maybe dinosaurs—and so loud you could barely hear yourself think. Tyrona was playing really well—they all were—and I have to admit that it was a rush to think about
me
out there in front of ten thousand screaming people, a million more watching on TV, and my picture in a nice shiny book. Not that I'm a fan of having my picture taken, but the U of M folks do a really nice job of it. Tyrona looks even prettier there than she does in real life. Being at that game was like realizing I might have a winning lottery ticket after all.
Which shows how good Win is at brainwashing. I actually spent the game thinking I could play Big Ten ball. I was a hard worker, after all. I could play almost as well as some of the girls on the court, even though I was four or five years younger and didn't practice twenty hours a week like you do in D-I. With that sort of experience, I could really be something...
Except. Except I'd forgotten to factor in one thing while I was sitting there making a big stuck-up list of all the stuff I was good at. I forgot to factor in
me.
And when I said that I watched that whole game feeling good about myself, I forgot to add "until the end."
Because in the last twenty seconds they were tied. Then Wisconsin
Similar Books
