It was phys. ed. class, and his teacher, Mr. Barton, had organized a series of three-on-three basketball games. Charlie, Zachary and Scott formed a team, and they were well on their way to winning their third straight game. The score was 8–0. All they needed was one more basket. Scott delivered the ball to Charlie at the top of the key. Charlie faked left, then with a crossover dribble cut to the right and drove to the basket. Two defenders shifted across to stop him. Charlie jumped up, which got the two defenders off their feet, and shovelled a bounce pass to Zachary, who was charging hard down the left lane. Zachary took the pass and calmly took it to the hoop for an easy layup. The three teammates congratulated themselves on the win. Charlie was an avid player, and had been selected to play for the city all-star team last year for his age group. He was about to ask where they had learned to play when Mr. Barton blew his whistle. “We only have about seven minutes left,” he bellowed.
