Kings of the Court

Kings of the Court — page 3 — Alison Hughes Sameer smiled and pushed up his glasses The atmosphere in the gym was exactly how he liked it He swung his short legs happily turned to Gracie and yelled Great crowd eh She shrugged The usual she shouted back smiling and shaking her head Sameer jumped as the buzzer sounded scrambled off his chair and stood to high-five the team members as they ran back from their half time shooting Every guy on the team swung by the scorers table to slap Sameer’s hand Great job guys Keep it up Shots shots shots Rochon Nikho they’re playing close on D burn around them and go to the hoop You can take that number 3 easy Boards man boards You are getting up there Nate Whatcha been eating Hey great support from the bench Sameer had a quick word of encouragement for every one of them Sameer Gracie tugged at his arm and pointed at the refs who were at the center circle looking impatient to start the half Sameer and Gracie switched places at the table and Gracie snatched up the pen and smoothed the score sheet The scoring wasn’t anywhere near as much fun as 2

Kings of the Court — page 4 — kings of the court the announcing so he and Gracie had agreed to call one half score the next Sameer adjusted the microphone and pulled a paper with cryptic stats on it from his pocket Then he settled his elbows on the table put his chin on his fists closed his eyes and savored the moment Gracie had done a great job calling the first half She had a knack for description a quick lively delivery and great give-and-take with the crowd It was a tough act to follow Sameer took a deep breath reminded himself how much he loved basketball and this team opened his eyes and flicked on the mic We’re back you pounding maniacs he thundered The crowd roared its approval You guys are amazing No school has spirit like Gladys Spinoza school spirit We are most definitely in GLADIATOR COUNTRY Sameer’s friend Vijay the Gladiators mascot brandished a silver garbage-can-lid shield and dollar-store sword in a menacing and bloodthirsty manner racing back and forth and baying at the appreciative crowd Gracie elbowed Sameer and pointed to the players on the court her eyebrows raised 3

Kings of the Court — page 5 — Alison Hughes Whoops Sameer said into the mic you guys are such a great crowd that I almost forgot I’m supposed to call this thing Thanks Gracie Okay well the Bobcats blew that shot so we haven’t missed any scoring It’s 42 39 at the half and the Gladiators are close so close to their first win of the whole season after losing well after losing a lot From the sidelines on his left Coach Bosetti threw Sameer a dirty look Coach Boss had his game face on and it wasn’t pretty He was packed tightly into a gray Gladiators sweatshirt and he looked as usual red-faced and angry He paced the sidelines swinging his clipboard and bellowing at his team Boards Boards Do you understand BOARDS REBOUND Speak English You guys are PATHETIC Sameer ignored him Bobcats sit at second to-last place in the league so Gladiators this may be our game Block out BLOCK OUT NATE WHAT ARE YOU DOING Coach Boss’s scream ripped through the gym louder than Sameer with 4

Kings of the Court — page 6 — kings of the court the mic Nate a sensitive awkward redhead glanced nervously over at Coach Boss then flushed and skittered into the key like a young giraffe one of his long legs accidentally tripping a player from the other team who was driving in for a layup The ref blew a short blast on the whistle Nate had the misfortune of already being six foot five and not entirely in control of his arms and legs Foul on number 12 Nathan Schneider Sameer said quietly into the mic He glanced down at the score sheet and added quickly But that’s only Big Nate’s second foul folks which is really excellent for a big man in a tight game He’s been putting up monster rebounds this game too Sub SUB roared Coach Boss As Nate came back to the bench his face white and anxious Sameer gave him a thumbs-up and a quick closed-eyes headshake that meant Shake it off buddy don’t let him get you down Substitution Number 16 Kenneth Otombo coming in for Nate He may be their spark off the bench Sameer reported to the crowd This is Kenneth’s first appearance this game so let’s give him a big Gladiator salute 5

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