Logan stood gracefully, his weight balanced on his left foot as he spun the basketball on the tip of his index finger. He was about three inches shorter than Jack, the boy he faced in the concrete driveway.
“Ready?” he asked.
Jack nodded, a look of determination on his face.
He tossed the ball high into the air and simultaneously both boys leapt skyward. Victorious, Logan clutched the ball to his broad chest and coming down, spun towards the basketball goal hung over the garage door. Two steps ahead of Jack, he executed a perfect layup and the scuffed orange ball dropped through a net ravaged by time and the elements.
“Hell yeah!” he shouted while pounding his chest. His wide grin revealed oversized white teeth and exposed gums. He had a definite gleam in his hazel eyes as he tossed the ball to Jack.
Logan’s shout attracted the attention of the nearest neighbors, Milo and Destiny. Having nothing better to do, they ambled over to the barbed wire fence which separated the two properties and proceeded to check out the game.
The lean, fair-skinned boy with shaggy blond hair dribbled the ball straight toward the goal, then suddenly faked left. Logan stayed with him by shuffling backwards, his muscular legs framed by baggy denim shorts. The sleeveless olive green t-shirt he wore featured the YAGA logo in black letters. He raised his arms to block the shot. The coarse hair of his armpits was several shades darker than the light brown, close-cropped hair peeking out from beneath his baseball cap. The purple and green Scottish tartan cap looked like it would be uncomfortably hot on the warm fall day.
He missed the block. The ball hit the rim and bounced wide over both their heads. They scrambled wildly for it. Logan tripped over one of Jack’s legs and went down hard. The ball rolled off the driveway onto the freshly mowed lawn. Logan, holding his right arm, slowly sat up. There was a wide bloody scrape on his elbow.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure,” Logan replied, wincing. “It’s nothing.” He wiped the blood off with the front of his shirt.
Jack offered him a hand and he grabbed it, grunting as he bounced up. He trotted over to the ball, stuck the toe of his black high-top sneaker under it and flipped it up into his hands.
He turned and shouted, “Heads up, Jack!” He brought the ball to his chest and hurled it at the other boy.
“Thanks, but I think it’s probably your ball,” Jack said as he tossed it back.
Logan dribbled towards the street with the graceful lope of a jungle cat. He turned back to the goal and attempted to maneuver past Jack. Finding no way around, he jumped straight up into the air. His calves tightened with his vertical leap and he released the ball with a gentle flick of his wrist. The ball sailed over Jack’s outstretched arms. It swished through the tattered net and Jack recovered it.
Sweat glistened on Logan’s bronze colored arms and face. He mopped his face with the front of his shirt and panted, “I’m going to get us something to drink.”
Logan strode quickly into the house, the screen door slamming behind him. He returned carrying two cold bottles of water which both the thirsty boys gulped down before continuing the game.
“That earlier play was an obvious flagrant foul. Perhaps even a technical foul,” snorted Milo as he looked down at the calico barn cat rubbing her head against his right front leg.
“Indubitably,” purred Destiny as she looked up at the massive Angus bull.
About the Creator
Kat Nove
I'm a native Texan who would rather pour a colony of fire ants down my ear canal than listen to country & western music. Willie Nelson is the exception to this rule.
My website is https://babblethenbite.com/
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