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Jimmy’s Big Night
1.
The ball bounced off the rim and back towards the young man. Jimmy Felix threw the ball again and it finally sank through the hoop. He sucked at basketball.
He was so bored. God, didn’t anything ever happen? Hallsville was the most boring pit of nothingness on the face of the Earth. In all of his fourteen years, he hadn’t been so bored as he was at that moment. His new friends were busy with their families, his own family was busy with their lives. His old friends lived over two hundred miles away in Hunter’s Park.
The move was relatively dull; the new town wasn’t any bigger or better than the old one. His dad’s position had transferred him only far enough away to seclude them all from the people they’d known.
He threw the ball again. It sucked. Life sucked. He was tired of Hallsville and he’d only been there a few days. He picked up the ball when it bounced back and walked around the small park. The school was nice enough to allow the community access when school hours were over. He would take advantage and look for something else.
He went to the pull-up bar on the playground. He strained as he lifted. He’d grown tall over the past few years, but his strength was sluggishly catching up. He could, at least, do a pull-up. When his height first kicked in, he couldn’t do that.
“Hey, shrimp.” A loud voice echoed behind him.
He let go of the bar and turned. It was a tall guy. He was abnormally tall. Jimmy was five feet eleven and the other guy had to be a foot taller. “Who are you?”
“Max.”
“Hey, Max. Isn’t there anything to do here?”
“Nope. Not a thing. Boring, huh?”
“You play?” Jimmy picked up the basketball.
“A little. You game?”
“You’re on.”
Jimmy started his youthful competition, thankful that someone wasn’t busy.
“The team should be down in a little while,” Max stole the ball. “They had to go home first.”
“Are they all as big as you?”
“Scared?”
“Nah, just worried. You play fair?”
He stopped dribbling the ball and shot Jimmy a dire look. “Always. You always play fair, Jimmy.”
He wasn’t expecting such a strange look of regret and earnest concern. Max’s expression seemed to disappear as quickly as it came and he ran with the ball. Jimmy headed him off directly below the goal and he whisked around his guard.
“You should play on the school team.” Jimmy studied Max’s skill. “Well, you’re probably already there. It’s the middle of the semester.”
“Yep. I’m already on a team.”
“What’re the sports like here?”
“The usual, nothing really special. It’s a good way to get a slide on the grades, though.” He winked.
“I’ll bet.”
turned and there were seven other guys coming towards them. All were as tall as Max. He felt intimidated by the new situation. Would he have to play against all of them?
“Hey, Max,” a guy with a deep voice charged. “Who’s the kid?”
“That’s Jimmy, he’s cool.”
“I’ll bet. Tell me, Jimmy. How much do you like to play?”
“I love basketball.”
“Ever wager?”
“Sometimes…”
Max jumped in between the two. “No, Val. Jimmy’s fine. He doesn’t have to bet.”
“They all have to. It’s my court.”
“The hell.”
Val stared Max down. Jimmy grew angry that this asshole would start trouble with Max. He was cool.
Val strode over towards Jimmy. He felt sweat break out on his forehead; beads began running down his temples.
“Yeah, you’ll bet. Won’t you, Jim Boy?”
Jimmy hated that name. The leader enjoyed using it.
“Now, come on, Jim Boy. Cat got your tongue? Speak up. You in for a friendly wager? Or you chicken?”
Pompous ass. Jimmy was going to take him up on it. The odds were against him, but so what? It was the principle that mattered. He wasn’t going to a new school to be a loser.
“Sure,” he defiantly stared at Val.
“What would be a good bet for you?” He paced around the adolescent youth. “Money? No, not good enough… Time? Nah… Oh, I know a good one. Your soul.”
“What?” Jimmy laughed. Were they serious? That had to be a joke. “What’ll I get? Your soul?”
“Nope, you get to play on the court.”
Jimmy considered his situation. He backed down and looked like a chicken, or he played and got laughed out of school. He decided to play along, just to see what happened.
“Fine.”
Max was pale and hung his head as he walked closer. Jimmy sighed. He was the referee.
“A clean game,” he glared at Val. “No foul play, let the best man win.”
The two began playing. Jimmy felt more relaxed knowing it was only going to be he and Val. The others stood around the goal and kept watch over the game. It was terrible. Jimmy knew he’d be the laughingstock at school. He was clumsy and awkward with the ball; Val seemed to glide through and nab it whenever he got it.
As the game progressed, Val seemed to grow tired. He was becoming pale and sweaty. Jimmy noticed he was clammy. It was a cold sweat; he grew confident. It would take much to make Val have a cold sweat.
Jimmy couldn’t believe his luck; he was playing like he was a pro, too. He stole the ball from a gigantic player like Val, scored, and dribbled with ease. His feet felt light and energetic against the old blacktop. He whisked around the big guy with agile freedom.
The game was tied and they were waiting for one more score. The crowd didn’t speak as Jimmy snuck up on Val. He grabbed the ball and flew towards the goal with it. He ignored their silence and lifted the ball up. He pushed it away from his body.
It hit the rim and sank into the basket.
A roar erupted from the surrounding group. Jimmy turned and Val walked off the court.
“Way to go, Jimmy,” Max slapped his back. “We got to go. It’s late.”
The sky had darkened and the streetlamps were lighting the court. Jimmy hadn’t noticed the time; the game seemed to stretch out forever.
The guys walked away from the field. Jimmy tagged behind them. He was exhausted.
2.
Monday came and Jimmy dressed for school with a smile. He’d beaten Val. How many students had done that?
He got on the bus and expected one of the guys to say something. Out of eight individuals on the team, one had to have siblings. Surely, it wasn’t a casual event to beat Val at basketball.
No one looked at him any differently. He sat down next to Dan.
“I beat Val at basketball.”
Dan stared at him for a moment. Jimmy recalled seeing a hint of the look on Max’s face. “Bullshit.”
“I did. The night before last, I beat him good.”
“Do you even know about that?”
“What?”
“Bus 760?”
“What’s that?”
“Listen, just don’t mention it to anyone. I think there’s something you should see first.”
Jimmy didn’t speak. Dan’s reaction was abnormal. What the hell was wrong with everyone? What did Val do? Were they afraid to speak his name or something?
The drive was exaggerated by his eagerness to learn what was wrong with Dan. He wanted to tell everyone he beat Val; he’d been so proud. It was his greatest accomplishment.
They went inside the school as the bus arrived. Dan led Jimmy down the main hall. They arrived at a section of trophies inside a glass case. They gleamed under the lights inside the shelving.
“Hey,” Jimmy spotted Max. “There’s Max, I think that’s Mark. Vinnie. Robert. Val, they were all there. What do you know?”
He felt great; he played with the guys like a senior would. Dan’s face never changed from its disastrous expression. He pointed down.
Jimmy studied the faint details of the gold plaque. They wrote the award with cursive lettering, thin and difficult to read. His heart stopped.
“State Champions 1978.”
But they were his age. They’d be old men by now. That couldn’t possibly be them.
“There’s a mistake, they were only a year or two older than we are.”
Dan moved his hand to point at the bottom shelf. Jimmy knelt and had to sit down. An article from the newspaper was encased in a glass frame. It was dated May 5, 1979.
Horrible Wreck Takes Lives of Eight Students
Bus 760 met with an approaching semi-truck Saturday night. The passengers included eight students of Fillmore High and five students of Fillmore Middle. All passengers on the bus were dead before the rescue workers arrived.
We will mourn the loss of these great players for the rest of our lives. Such talent and dedication is difficult to locate among people. On this day, we will remember Vallis Derwin, Max Vaughn, Vincent Pernell, Mark Arlen, Robert Armstrong, Cedric Estepp, Ian Filmore, and Lane Haley. Gone, but never forgotten. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of these greats.
Jimmy didn’t know how to answer the look on Dan’s face. He only wondered what would’ve happened if he’d lost the game.
