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.

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. 

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 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.