Category: “Technical Foul”

Jailhouse Catwalk

Eutie LornandezLeave a comment

*Scene background music: https://youtu.be/A4Rr4IhTKwQ (0:00 until 1:08)*

I spoke too soon, again.

I thought I had been careful enough to whack Nadine when no one was looking, but somehow word got out that the local Priss was dead… and I was the prime suspect. 

The cops came to the house this morning and cuffed me in front of Chuck. I couldn’t look at him as they escorted me to the car. I couldn’t look at my neighbors peering from their windows and snooping from their front lawns. 

I was tempted to fight and tell the police officer I didn’t do it, but I didn’t have the energy. So, into the car and behind bars I went. Even dead, Nadine won. But little does everyone back home know that I’m working on a project. A story, if you will. The truth. Let’s just say I’ve got some dirt on the coach, and I’m itching to dig it up. Am I turning into Nadine? Perhaps. Only time will tell.

Caught Green-Handed

Eutie LornandezLeave a comment

I spoke too soon.

In the midst of celebration, someone behind me rushes down the stairs and onto the court. It’s a girl and she looks vaguely familiar. Wait, is that the team booster? Nadine? She turns around slowly, as if she were performing an act, and she’s holding something in her hand. Oh. My. God. Is that my f***ing check?! She must have gotten it from the coach’s office somehow.

She looks me dead in the eye with a smirk on her face before opening her big mouth. Don’t you dare, my stare replies. She makes the packed gym go instantly silent as she screams the one thing I was afraid of the whole night: the truth. 

“If only you actually had real talent and not mommy’s money, maybe then you would get to play all the time.” Game over. Fury curdles in the pit of my stomach and fumes up my throat—I almost thought smoke was going to come out of my ears. Look at her, the local Priss Princess nosying her way into yet another person’s business. My son’s business. MY business. And she thinks she’s just going to get away with that? Negative.

Despite my boiling anger, one look at Chuck shatters me into pieces. He looks so defeated. Confused. Embarrassed. No, I think. I never meant to hurt you, honey. I just wanted you to have your chance to play. But before I can tell him this, he storms out the gym doors and I quickly follow. The silent packed gym is suddenly eerie and gives me goosebumps. 

I chase Chuck out to the parking lot and he screams at me to leave him alone. I let him down. I let my son down. At that moment, as Chuck turns his back on me and begins walking home, I decide to seek revenge on that little priss if it’s the last thing I do.

***

*Scene background music: https://youtu.be/cpbbuaIA3Ds?t=229 (3:49 until end)*

I wait in an alley behind the back gymnasium doors and the sky starts to turn purple. Am I really about to do this? I ask myself. But the second I see Nadine walk out those doors, the fury returns and I reassure myself: Positive.

I let her gain some distance before I race toward her. She hears me behind her and tries to escape, but she doesn’t have enough time to make a run for it. I swing my purse in the air and whack her as hard as I can on the back of her head. She goes limp and falls to the sidewalk. Blood pools under her forehead and she doesn’t move. 

“Game over,” I say to the corpse as I walk away.

Proud Money Bag

Eutie LornandezLeave a comment

*Scene background music: https://youtu.be/gO4eF7oBZnE?t=124 (2:04 until end)*

As the boys wrap up warmup, the coach holds out his clipboard and starts reading off the names of starting players. I know deep down he’ll call Chuck’s name, but I can’t help but feel a tad bit nervous. With just seconds before the game starts and only one player left to take the court, the coach quickly glances my way—which is enough to make my heart stop—then nods his head at Chuck. His teammates and nearly everyone in the crowd gasp as they watch my son take his position on the court. He looks so happy to finally play, and I couldn’t be prouder to be his mom.

Then, to show everyone what he’s got, Chuck scores a three-pointer within the first minute of the game! See? Money can’t buy that, I smirk at the coach left in awe. Chuck finally has his chance to prove his spot on the team. I clap and cheer at every point he scores, which, I may add, is a lot for his first game.

Time flies by. The two teams are neck and neck, and the coach calls a timeout to draw their final play. The crowd dies down, then comes back to life when the players return to their positions. I bite my nails as the ball is passed to every player but Chuck before my son steals the ball mid-air and makes the winning shot!

“Unbelievable!” I hear multiple people scream in the crowd.

Chuck’s grin gets wider by the second, and his teammates smother him with high-fives and pats on the back. It was all worth it. This moment was exactly what Chuck needed.

The Worst Weekend

hubertalman1 Comment

Well, my great night of game-winning shots quickly turned into the worst few days of my LIFE. I didn’t tell anybody about the murder, but the cops found out somehow that my mom was the one who murdered Nadine. She was quickly taken from our house and put behind bars. I can visit her, but she’s not getting out of JAIL for a long time.

As for my basketball career, it’s over. After the town found out what my mom did, my coach wants nothing to do with me. So he, of course, kicked me off the team. All I wanted to do was play basketball, and you know what? My mom AND Nadine ruined that for me, and I am going to find a way to make everybody’s lives miserable because of it.

Now, I’m just the tall, lanky, creepy kid with a murderer for a mother, and I still don’t get to play basketball. NICE.

Background music until 0:56.

Ouch.

hubertalman4 Comments

The happiness that I felt was gone in two seconds when I took one look at Nadine. She was fuming and strolled out onto the court and looked at me, then whipped out a check signed by my mother. She looked me dead in the eye and said, “If only you actually had real talent and not mommy’s money, maybe then you would get to play all the time.”

I was so pissed that my mom actually did this, so now not only am I the creepy kid, but also I’m the creepy kid who gets mom to pay my way into things. I got so angry that I went up to Nadine and told her to shut her big, FAT mouth and that she will regret showing everyone the check. I ran out of the gym and to the parking lot. My awesome day slowly turned into a nightmare. My mom followed me out of the gym and rants to me, telling me that Nadine will never do that to me again. I’m so mad that she signed that stupid check that I don’t even look at her when she’s talking to me.

Some background on my mom: she’s scary. Like, VERY scary. After her rant, she told me that she needed to take a walk to get some fresh air, which was conveniently right after Nadine left the gym. Knowing my mom, I followed her. 

After following my mom for a couple of blocks, I see that she is trailing Nadine. What is she going to do? Then I saw it. My mom swung her huge, heavy purse at Nadine, and it knocked her out cold. She stopped breathing. Holy SHIT, she stopped breathing.  I saw Nadine murdered right in front of me. I can’t believe my mom is capable of doing this… That damn Gucci purse. I hid behind a tree on the sidewalk and waited to see if my mom passed me. 

I knew I had to get out of there. Do I tell somebody? Call the police? Talk to my coach? I had so many questions and it was making me go insane. Once I couldn’t see my mom any longer, I bolted. I made my way to my house and paced my floor. This couldn’t be happening. After spending a lot of time thinking, though, I knew I couldn’t tell anybody. 

Nadine, You’re Stupid.

hubertalmanLeave a comment

After warming up and checking out the crowd, there were a couple of minutes left before we started… and my dream finally came true. My coach took a quick glance at my mom then called my name. I was going to be STARTING in one of the biggest games in school history. ME! I threw my warmup off and got onto the court and man did the crowd look shocked… I think there were a couple of gasps. Everyone is just stunned that the CREEPY freshman is actually going to play. Then, something amazing happened. I actually scored. My jaw dropped as the ball went into the hoop. My teammates looked surprised but then gave me high fives and patted me on the back, which is incredibly weird because they don’t even like me.

Throughout the game, we are neck and neck with the other team. With the last couple of seconds left on the clock, my coach calls a timeout. He draws out a play that will have us winning with a second left… my only job? To stay out of the way.

We run the play and, somehow, the ball ends up in my hands and I shoot. I made the game-winning shot! I have never heard the crowd so loud in my life. My mom was clapping and actually looked happy for once. Unfortunately, that look quickly faded, and it’s all because of STUPID Nadine.

I’m Not Stupid

hubertalman1 Comment

I know I’m not a good basketball player. TRUST me, I’m not stupid. My coach has made it clear to me from the very start that I was a bench warmer and nothing else.

My team has a game tonight, and I have been practicing non-stop trying to get a chance to play, and maybe it will finally be the night. I’m hoping that once I play, people will like me more and see me as a hero – instead of the tall, lanky, CREEPY kid. Not that I care what people think of me.

After school, I put some shots up in our backyard. I may sit the bench, but I’m the BEST bench warmer anyone has ever seen. Today is finally game day, and I am determined to play. After what felt like hours of getting my own shots up, I drive to the high school. This game is huge for us, and everybody is going to be watching: my mom, my teachers, and even the town gossip and team booster Nadine will be there. 

In the locker room, we get into a huddle and talk about strategy for the game. We finally head out onto the court to start warming up, and holy SHIT. The place is PACKED.

Gucci Bag

charlaalbardi2 Comments

And here we go, the coach is walking up to me and I know this can’t be good. He says to me, “Nadine, what on earth makes you think that you can cause a scene like this at a school event?” He keeps going, but I tune out. I then feel like now is time to finally explain to people why I do what I do. I reply, “I absolutely CANNOT stand people who buy their way into life. It only sets yourself up to be a failure, like me.” What I’m about to tell him next, I have never told anyone in my whole life. I feel butterflies in my stomach and my legs suddenly become weak. I shakily explain to him that growing up, I never had true friends because I grew up in a rich household. Because of this, I resorted to gossiping and digging into people’s business, which closed the door to potential friendships. I couldn’t be a trustworthy friend. Wow, I can’t believe that I just said that out loud, let alone to the head coach of our basketball team. It honestly feels like a big weight has lifted off my shoulders… I decide that it’s time to go home, as tonight was a roller coaster of emotions. I leave the school and start to walk home. When I’m about a block away, I hear a weird noise coming from the wooded area. I don’t really think anything of it and continue on my way home. All of a sudden, I hear footsteps getting closer and closer to me. I turn around and to my surprise, it’s Karen charging my way. I panic and start running as fast as I could, but my efforts are not enough. She hits me over the head with her brand new Gucci bag and, shit, whatever she had in there, knocked me out cold. I hit the cement, taking my last breaths, with Karen standing over me. I think, I would rather die right here right now, than to EVER have to look at that ugly ass haircut ever again. And I did. RIP me.

Mic Drop

charlaalbardi2 Comments

I jump up from my seat, run down the stairs to the court, and pull the check out from my purse and waive it above my head. I notice that all eyes are on me while I explain the only reason Chuck is playing is because of the check his mom wrote out to the coach. I catch a glimpse of Chuck, and he oddly looks confused as if he isn’t in on this with his mom, which I don’t believe for a second. He then tells me that I’m going to regret ever opening my, in his words, “big fat mouth.” Blah blah blah, whatever, he doesn’t scare me. His mom, on the other hand, can’t trust anyone with that haircut. I see Karen in the stands, and she’s as pissed as you’re imagining, if not more… lol. A few seconds later, the two of them storm out of the gym, both red in the face. Once they leave, I notice how quiet it gets and how everyone is still staring at me… awkward. I don’t know what to do, so I do a pretend mic drop and that is the end of that. Or so I thought.

Mommy’s Money

charlaalbardiLeave a comment

Now that I am on the booster club for the basketball team, I guess I should actually go to a game for once. I head to the gym, and I can already tell that the gymnasium is packed before even entering. I find a seat, relatively near a mom with the “Can I talk to your manager” hair cut. I’m thinking, this has GOT to be Karen. So, I slide down a few rows so I can eavesdrop on her conversation with another mom from the team. A minute before the game begins, the starting five hit the floor and to my surprise, this mom gets way too excited that her boy was chosen to start. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but as the game continued, I wondered why he was even still on the court. Chuck is not good, and I know there are other boys on the bench who are much better. Now, I’m getting a little more suspicious. There’s like five seconds left in this tied game, and guess who freaking scores the winning basket… Karen’s son, Chuck. I’m FUMING. The only reason that he’s even on the court is because of his mommy’s money. Looks like it’s finally exposing time.