Jake Maddox: Playing Forward

Jake Maddox: Playing Forward — page 3 — But that's not why the fans cheered Eli was at his best when he drove hard to the hoop It was already the fourth quarter Westfield High was up by fifteen points and everyone knew they'd win Still when the point guard passed to Eli the place went crazy Eli Eli the crowd chanted Isaac's brother faked a shot from the top of the key then dribbled low past his defender down the lane and to the basket He faked out the opposing center and leaped at the hoop A hush fell over the crowd SLAM The crowd exploded with cheers as Eli's slam dunk hit home Eli's size thirteen sneakers hit the wood with a thud

Jake Maddox: Playing Forward — page 4

Jake Maddox: Playing Forward — page 5 — He smiled as he pumped his fist Isaac and his dad jumped to their feet and cheered with everyone else Hey Dad Isaac said over the roar of the crowd Look at that He pointed across the court at a small group of girls His dad squinted across the court Those girls he said What about them Wait a second Isaac said A moment later as the girls jumped and cheered they turned around and faced the crowd screaming and shouting Then Dad saw the backs of their shirts Each shirt had one word across the top of their backs just like Eli's jersey ROTH Dad laughed Well now I've seen everything he said My son has his own cheerleaders Isaac laughed too He didn't want to admit that he was jealous He loved basketball too and was even pretty good

Jake Maddox: Playing Forward — page 6 — But at only five feet and four inches tall he couldn't make impressive shots and dunks like his brother could Do you think I'll ever be as good as Eli he asked his dad You're a great basketball player Isaac Dad replied Thanks Isaac said But I'm so short especially compared to Eli I'll never be able to do the things he does Dad put an arm around his younger son's shoulders You're only thirteen Isaac Dad said gently You'll get taller After all Eli wasn't always as tall as he is now Isaac didn't say anything but he thought Yeah but he was always way taller than me Before long the game was over Eli had scored a total of 34 points more than any other player

5

PAGE 5 OF 58

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.