Hughes - Kings of the Court

T he noise in the gym was so loud, Sameer could feel it rumbling up through his chair and thrumming in his chest. It shook the scorers table where he was sitting and jittered the pen beside the score sheet. The few adults in the gym had their hands over their ears, shaking their heads in alarm and giving each other pained smiles. Some kids in the crowd were doing the wave, and the non-waving sections were drumming their feet in a deafening frenzy on the bleachers as the seconds ticked down on the halftime break. Even during this pause in the basketball game, the Gladys Spinoza Junior High gym was a riot of cheering chaos.

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 halftime shooting. Every guy on the team swung by the scorers table to slap Sameers hand.

Great job, guysKeep it upShots, shots, shots, RochonNikho, theyre playing close on Dburn around them and go to the hoopYou can take that number 3, easyBoards, man, boardsYou 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 wasnt anywhere near as much fun as 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.

Were 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! Sameers 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.

Whoops, Sameer said into the mic, you guys are such a great crowd that I almost forgot Im supposed to call this thing! Thanks, Gracie. Okay, well, the Bobcats blew that shot, so we havent missed any scoring. Its 4239 at the half, and the Gladiators are close, so close, to their first win of the whole season, after losingwell, 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 wasnt 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 Bosss scream ripped through the gym, louder than Sameer with 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 thats only Big Nates second foul, folks, which is really excellent for a big man in a tight game. Hes 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, buddydont 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 Kenneths first appearance this game, so lets give him a big Gladiator salute!

The people in the crowd jumped to their feet, raised their fists above their heads and roared, Charge!

Yeah, thats what Im talking about! Sameer grinned and stood, raising his fists along with the crowd.

Play continued, and the Gladiators best shooter, Rochon, started to get hot.

Rochon, the Rockin Roch-Man, raining down threes! Burying them! Shooting the lights out! Sameer whipped the crowd into a frenzy, Shooting three for seven from downtown! Better outside shooting percentage than Kobe Bryant last night! Well take it! Oh yes, well take that three, thank you very much! Oh, wait, whats this? The Bobcats coach has just wisely called a time-out. Yes, sir, smart plan. Sameer nodded at the other coach, who ignored him. Hes gotta stop the bleeding! Because these Gladiators,