The Basketball Fundraiser

Some say that during high school, you only get a few chances to make an impact or leave your mark with a definite memory. You only get one chance to do something you never though before. In my case, none of these apply.

Our class was holding a basketball tournament as a fundraiser (if the title didn’t give it away, I don’t know what did) so we could have enough funds for graduation. While everyone was quite anxious about the event, my friends and I weren’t all that into the idea. We were still submerged playing card games in the physics lab. Why the lab? It’s the only place geeks can be safe from public humiliation at the hands of bullies.

One day, during one of the class meetings, the group was deciding the order of which groups would play which and to make sure all the slots were filled. But be it Murphy’s Law to always ruin even other people’s plans, there was one empty space left. Now, here’s the problem. Hugo (my bully at the time) was organizing the teams, considering he was going to lead his all-star group of jocks/bullies to what seemed victory for them. So what did he do? Simple. He looked at my general area where I was playing a card game with Buddy and Charles (the only student lower than me on the food chain. He was teased a lot more than I was, but that still didn't save me).

“I think I found a way to fill that last empty void,” he said. The smile on his face was as evil as there could be. Without a doubt, he was going to find a way to humiliate us even more. But how, we did not know yet.

“What do you want to do?” asked the class president.

“I say we have one team from this class fill the void for the tournament. A team that will go up against us in the first round, and they don’t even have to win. How about…” he said as he slowly gazed at our general area. “The three of you will do. Lets see if you can do more than just play a simple game of cards.”

We all looked at each other, wondering what they had just gotten us into.

“I think I’m going to pass,” I said.

Hugo grinned menacingly, “too late,” he said. “I already added you and your friends to the empty slot. Now you have to face us in two weeks, and in front of the entire school.”

Just like in Space Jam, the odds were not in our favor.

Now, the idea of having some of the geeks face the jocks in a basketball game would be possibly the most outmatched game ever thought, but we had a surprise. We had something they didn’t have. We had a sure way of knowing the outcome of the game. We would blend with the crowd to escape the game and forfeit. Either that, or we would try to do our best in this game.

Although, we did find a problem once we all decided to practice for the game. Besides the fact that all of us had the same chance of victory as a drunken horse running the Kentucky Derby in reverse while wearing a blindfold, we had a little problem in the group that was going to make us look like fools. Charles had a way of throwing the basketball that would make even a pansy laugh. Let me see if I can explain it. Did you ever watch those romantic comedies where during the scene of the first kiss, the girl lifts her left leg backwards? Well, every time he would throw the damn ball, he would lift his leg backwards as such. Now, this was going to be a tough one. Besides the fact that we all sucked, now we had to deal with someone who not only throws badly, but looks like a scene out of a bad romantic comedy while doing so.

“We are screwed, man,” I quietly said.

“But hey,” said Buddy, “at least we can play an average game. We can just play the best we can so they don’t humiliate us, rather than try to win.”

“Eso es! We can make them put up a fight! Maybe then, they can see we aren’t so easily pushed around.”

“Well, you got that problem more than I do. They just leave me alone, you know that.”

I looked back with an annoyed look on my face. He was right. He was the only one in the group that was at a normal standing in the academic food chain. Yet, why was he dragged along with us? I forget the reason, but I’m sure it was either pointless or a very simple matter.

Time was certainly not in our favor, and neither were our skills. We had only one choice, wait for the fated day. So while we prepared for the public display of annoying basketball skill, we would strategize while we played our card games.

“We now know our weaknesses and strengths,” said Buddy.

“Yeah. I can’t guard anyone even if my life depended on it. So speed is definitely not my strength. But I can throw pretty far,” I said.

“Yes, but your aim sucks!”

“True. But I can pass the ball a lot, so I can be the distraction.”

“You can pass it to me. I can run fast, so you don’t have to worry.”

Charles quickly interrupted the conversation, “what about me?” he said. We looked at each other in slight confusion and in great agreement. “Don’t lift your leg when you throw the ball, that is all,” he said.

“So that’s that. I think we are set to play. By the way, when was the game?” I quickly asked.

“Should be in a few days,” said Buddy.

We tried to relax shortly after, but were interrupted by the noise of a large crowd. Upon hearing that, we all looked at each other in complete disbelief. Did we forget the date of the tournament? Was it possible that they told us the wrong day so we would be unprepared? Were we going to have to play in our uncomfortable school uniforms?

The answer to all of the above is quite obvious.

We stepped out the door, looking at the huge crowd that had built in anticipation of the first game. It seems that word got out that the first game was going to be quite a show. And who could blame them? It was basically a bunch of geeks going up against pros. We were unprepared, unfocused, unwilling, and all the other words that start with ‘un’ there can be.

“Ea madre, we are screwed!” I said.

“Bueno, if you say so,” said Buddy.

What did we get ourselves into?

Next thing we knew, we were out there playing ball in the biggest disadvantage game I had ever witnessed. Hugo and the others were fully equipped with their gear, while we had a school uniform. Lucky we didn’t play with our backpacks. The game itself went by so fast we could barely see it go by.

We annoyed the other team so much, the crowd was even cheering for us (or so I believe, but I choose to believe it was cheering). We even managed to score a few points at the start, thanks to Charles and his “romantic comedy leg-lifting throw.” Who knew that strange throw actually got us the only lead we had.

But where there’s anything that can go wrong, it will. And with blinding speed, Murphy’s Law swooped in and killed our momentum. How? Well, once they figured out our pattern, they quickly took to our weaknesses and defeated us in a 6-2 game.

Our goal was met. We weren’t humiliated. We annoyed the hell out of them, and we even put up quite the show. Honestly, I can’t understand why I don’t remember more of that game.