Showdown, original story about a rivalry

This is one of my original stories.. it's not very good .. it's still a rough draft i've got around 10 chapters.. please let me know what you think
it might start out slow.. just bare with me thanks i need some feeback

Chapter I

There's nothing quite like the first day of school. A continuation of hell for the students at Bellevue High. Luckily, I still had my best friends Marc Picconi and Johnny Ruger. We three had been tight since the seventh grade. Walking down the hall to our next class, we turned as we heard a group of guys jeering and laughing.
"Check it outtt! It's tough guy Morrison with his little friends," shouted Parker Mahoney to his buddies. "You ready to get your butt kicked in basketball tryouts next week?" he goaded me.
"Bring it," I replied calmly, undaunted by his remarks. I turned away from him and looked at Michael Jamison, the leader of their gang, who called themselves the Jaysters. "You been practicing all summer, Jamison?" I asked the 6'2 starting guard of the junior varsity basketball team last season. He had led the team in points and assists in a stellar season the year before. I had been the leading point man for the Bellevue Bulldogs before he came.
"Actually, not so much." He said the words loud enough so that almost everyone in the hallway could hear. "I've been too busy answering calls from different colleges about scholarships. They all wanna see me play." I could tell he was enjoying this. He smiled dryly at Marc and Johnny and then sauntered off with the Jaysters.

"I cannot believe you haven't seen her, man!" Johnny tried to say through mouthfuls of his pepperoni calzone.
"Yeah, I gotta tell ya, buddy. She is gorgeous!" Marc said the last three words slowly, nodding enthusiastically. "Her name's Emily Vicardo. Just moved here in August from Miami, Florida." Marc added emphasis to Miami, Florida.
"You have a girlfriend, Marc. Remember? Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes? What was her name? Oh, right. Vanessa Hogart." I said sarcastically.
"Shut up, man. And thanks for bringing up the fact that I have a girlfriend and you don't. Aw, crap. I just remembered that I promised to meet Vanessa in the library during lunch." Marc took a last sip of his milk, gathered his things and headed for the library. "See ya after school, Johnny," he called after his shoulder.
"What're you guys doing after school?" I asked, rummaging through my bag to find my schedule.
"We were planning to go to the courts and practice. Wanna come?" Johnny wiped his mouth and looked up at me.
"Sure. Where should I meet you guys? Great, I got Tolaski next. I hear her dull voice will put you to sleep like that." I pressed my fingers together in a quick, loud snap.
"Don't worry about it, man. Emily's got that class too. Just stare at her the whole time." Johnny quipped, chuckling. The bell rang, signaling the next period was to start in four minutes. People began shuffling out of the cafeteria to their appointed classes. "Meet me and Marc at the courts at 3:30. Bring your ball." Johnny shouted after me.

"Class. I would like to introduce you all to Emily Vicardo." Mrs. Tolaski gestured her hand at the smiling girl standing next to her. "She has relocated here from Miami, Florida." Tolaski monotonously announced, although practically everyone in the room already knew who she was. "Emily, please tell us a little bit about yourself." Mrs. Tolaski plopped down into her comfy chair behind her desk and tried not to look bored as she took a sip of her coffee.
I stared at Emily totally intrigued, trying not to lean forward and drool all over the desk. "?-I love cheerleading, volleyball, surfing, --" Emily was telling the class. She was a beauty just like Johnny and Marc had said. Her straight brown hair accented her green eyes. She had good posture and a great tan - probably from all the surfing and volleyball she had done back in Miami. I peered around at the class and saw that all the guys were entranced by her and the girls looked at Emily a little jealously.
Her seat was diagonally on the left side of my seat. Joe Matthews sat in front of me on the right side of her, while Mike Jamison sat on her left. She walked with great poise and sat down. Mike grinned at her and she smiled politely back.
Mrs. Tolaski went on and on about how important it was to do homework and read the books that were assigned. I could feel myself nodding off already. I decided to take Johnny's advice and stare at Emily. From my angle, I could see her eyes were intently focused upon Mrs. Tolaski. The stuffy room did not help my sleepiness. Five more minutes, please God, make time go faster... I woke with a start as the bell rang and everyone rose, anxious to leave. I gazed over at Emily's seat and saw her giggle at something that Mike had just said. I got out of my chair noisily, hoping to distract Emily from Mike and walked out of the room.

"So, you woke up after the bell rang and then saw them talking and laughing?" Marc confirmed for the fiftieth time as he grabbed the rebound of Johnny's shot and threw it back to him.
"Yeah, I can't believe she could possibly see something in that guy." I muttered angrily. "He's even got a girlfriend. Brittany…Lerner. Head cheerleader."
"Chill out, Chris. You're right. He does have a girlfriend. Do you really think he'll risk it with Brittany for a chance with Emily?" Johnny tried to reassure me.
"Have you seen Emily?" My cynicism quieted him. I did a crossover, pump-faked, and leaned back for the jumper. Nothing but net. The more I thought about Emily and Mike, the angrier I became.


Chapter II

The first week of school flew by and it was time for basketball tryouts. Emily and Mike really hit it off and rumors started to spread that that was why Mike and Brittany broke up, although they both denied it. I guess Brittany didn't want to hurt her reputation by admitting that another girl had stole her boyfriend and Mike didn't want Emily to think that he would just leave a girl for another, even though everyone else knew the truth.
Marc, Johnny, and I were warming up and stretching on one half of the court while the cheerleaders were having their tryouts on the other side. I could see Brittany, captain of the squad again this year, directing the newcomers (which included, of course, Emily).
Coach Walker whistled us into a huddle and started talking about how the tryouts worked. Every year, just to be fair, Coach had everyone try out, even the starters from last year. Mostly everyone knew though, that they would get chosen again for the team. The tryouts were just to recruit more reserve players, since we did not have a very talented bench and incase of possible injuries. For the starters last year (including Mike and me), it was a showdown to see who could play better and show off more. For the bench (including Marc and Johnny), it was an all-out brawl with the new guys who were trying out. This year there were a lot more guys who were battling for bench positions because of Mike. He had brought the team to the state championship, which we hadn't done in almost 12 years. We lost to the Trinity Tigers in a best of seven match-up. In game 7, we lost our center, Rick Somers, halfway through the first quarter and it went downhill from there. Despite a tremendous effort by Mike, who put up 42 points, we lost. Rick was still slightly injured but would start as center this season.
To warm up some more, Coach made us do lay-ups, a daily exercise in his practices. Next, were the wind sprints. Both Mike and I were pretty matched, with Marc and Johnny close behind.
"Come on, guys. Bring it in." Coach clapped his hands three times. I bent down, with my hands on my knees, panting hard. "My grandmother can run faster than you guys! You guys are gonna have to pick up the slack!" He cleared his throat. "Now, let's see how you do with some 4 on 4. Shall we, ladies?" Coach smiled peering around at the circle of sweaty guys.
"Coleman, Ruger, Morrison, and Somers will be the red team," Assistant Coach Black announced as we lined up on the left side of him. "Matthews, Picconi, Jamison, and Mahoney will be the blue team." Marc and his teammates stood on the right side of him. Mr. Black looked up from his clipboard and nodded at Coach Walker.
"Jamison, call it in the air." Coach tossed the coin high into the air and caught with a thud in his palm.
"Heads." Mike said decisively and glared at me.
"Tails." Coach extended his arm to let Mike see. Mike grinned. "They're gonna need all the help they can get. Let's go blue team!" Mike jogged away with the rest of his team trailing him.
"First team to 11 points wins the game. We'll have the rest of you guys do a 4 on 4 tomorrow and by that time Mr. Black and I will have made some cuts." Coach nodded at us and then at the blue team.
"On 3!" Johnny, Jess, Rick, and I put our hands into a pile. "1, 2, 3! Goooo Red team!" We broke the huddle.
The Blue team, headed by none other than, Mike, was already warming up and taking lay-ups. Coach blew the whistle two times in a quick succession, signaling for the start of the game. Johnny brought the ball up court and then passed it to me. Mike guarded me closely, trying to tap the ball from my hands. "Come on, Morrison. I've been waiting all summer for this."
Saying nothing, I faked to the left and then suddenly changed course to the right. It was too late for Mike. I was already a step ahead and drove in for the dunk. Cheers from the Bellevue Sparks came from the sidelines. I could especially hear Brittany's voice yelling, "Go Chris!"
"You got lucky that time. It won't happen it again." Mike smirked, not paying attention to Brittany's comment. He took the ball and dribbled aggressively, ramming his shoulder into my chest. No foul called by Coach. He did a quick spin and Johnny switched off of Parker to guard Mike who dished it to Parker behind-the-back. Parker then did the same spin move as Mike to get around Coleman and laid it in for one.
"You and Mike make a cute couple with all the moves you're copying off him." I yelled to Parker as he ran past me on his way up court. Johnny and me snickered. Parker just ignored us.
The game continued that way for a while, both teams trading points, with Mike pretty much dominating for the blue team. Marc wasn't getting any touches with Parker and Mike on the team. Johnny and me were picking up the slack on our end, since Somers was still injured and Coleman wasn't much of a player. Coach blew his whistle and announced the score: 9-10, in favor of the blue team.
"We can win this one, guys. On 3." I put my hand out and looked at Johnny, who nodded. "1, 2, 3! Win!" I saw that Mike had been watching our huddle. He sneered at me and then turned back to his team as Coach's whistle told us to get back onto the court. Coleman cautiously dribbled to half court and then quickly made a pass to Johnny. He threw the rock to Somers, who towered over the shorter Matthews. Mike quickly raced over to help Matthews. Somers saw him coming and passed it over Mike's head to me. I caught it and jumped at the same time. I let it go and heard the swish as I saw Mike's unbelieving face.
"Yeah!" Johnny cried and raced over to jump on me. "Awesome shot, dude."
The blue team regrouped and took the offense. Marc stared at me and gave me a grim smile. Coach informed us now that we had to win by two points - a deuce.
"I'm gonna end this here and now." Mike did not give me a smirk this time. He did a couple of crossovers and looked straight into my eyes.
"Bring it." I hunched down, ready for anything Mike was about to pull.
Mike drove swiftly to his left, unusually, and then suddenly stopped. He heaved it over to the other side of the court to Parker. I turned to see Johnny leaning in on Parker, who did not dribble. Mike bolted to the middle of the court at the three-point line. I reacted quickly, on his tail. As he received the pass from Parker, he started to jump. I leaped, knowing that he would make the shot if I did not foul him. Mike yelled out as I hit him on his forearm. "What the hell, man? You didn't have to hit me that hard!" His shot bounced off the rim as Coach called a foul. I gave him a look and walked to the line in between Parker and Marc.
"Two shots, Jamison, to put it away. Good foul, Morrison." Coach handed Mike the ball and clapped his hands together again.
Mike stepped to the charity stripe and wiped the sweat from his brow. He raised his arms in the movements of his shot. He bounced the ball twice, squatted, and released the ball. It sailed through the air and touched nothing but net. The blue team, except Marc, shouted in encouragement and high-fives went around. Mike dribbled twice again. He seemed calmer now that he had sunk the first shot. I heard the swish and looked down. The blue team surrounded their hero.
"Alright, gather around everyone. That was a very intense game and very well played by both teams. Report back to the gym tomorrow at 3:00. Hit the showers, you guys smell like pigs." Coach gathered his clipboard and walked off in the direction of his office. "Jamison, I need to see you." Mike followed him to his small, beat-down office.
After showering, Johnny, Marc, and I headed to Robert's Eatery for something to eat.
"Jamison and Parker would rather turn the ball over then pass to me! I didn't score any points. Now, I'm screwed." Marc was still fuming over the game.
"You're team won, that's gotta count for something." Johnny tried to cheer him up.
"Yeah, all thanks to Jamison, the star." Marc looked at me dismally.
"Look, Marc. You're gonna make the team. You averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds last season, which is very impressive. You were on the team before last season. You were there working your ass off way before the championship run. Coach will remember that." I tried to reassure him.
"Easy for you to say, you were the star of the team before Jamison came. You still are a big part of the team," Marc said bitterly. "Just forget it. Whatever." He pushed his plate away and stood up. "I gotta go. Later."
"Later, man." Johnny bid him goodbye. "Geez, I wonder what got into him," Johnny speculated as Marc left. He took a huge bite of his meatball sub.
"I don't know. I gotta get going too - homework." Johnny nodded and grabbed his coat. We headed for the door when it was opened by Emily Vicardo followed by Mike Jamison.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Morrison and Ruger." Mike had a big smile on his face. "Good game today, huh Chris? Ruger." He tilted his head up slightly in recognition of Johnny and then turned back to me.
"Yeah, nice free throws. Been practicing I can tell." I stole a glance over at Emily. She looked adorable. "Aren't you gonna introduce us, Mike?" I motioned toward Emily, even though Johnny and I both already knew who she was.
"Oh, yeah, right. This is Emily Vicardo, my girlfriend. She's new to Bellevue High." I shook her hand, as did Johnny. "Emily, this is Chris Morrison and Johnny Ruger."
"Nice to meet you, Emily." I gave her a slight smile and Johnny nodded at her.
"So, what did Coach want, Jamison?" Johnny asked. I continued to stare at Emily.
"Oh, yeah. He just wanted to tell me that some college scouts, old friends of his, were coming to check me out," he responded and grinned at Johnny maliciously.
"That's great for you." Johnny said a bit caustically.
"We gotta get going, Jamison. See ya at tryouts. Emily." Johnny and I walked in silence to the train station.
"Can you believe it?" Johnny spoke up after a few minutes. "He's so cocky and arrogant."
"Yeah, well, that's Mike for ya." I waited for the train is consternation.




















Chapter III

"We've decided on a 12-man roster this season. In the event of an injury, we will add more players. Today, the 4 on 4 will be between: Daniels, Pells, Riviera, and Johnson, the red team. The blue team will consist of: Walters, Bruvero, Simmons, and Edwards. I will post who has made the team outside my office at the end of the game. Coach Black and I would like to thank everyone for coming out and trying. Let's get this game started." Coach Walker sat down on the bleachers next to Mr. Black.
The game continued for what seemed like hours. Halfway through watching the most-likely-to-be bench players, Johnny nudged me. "Look who's coming over here," he whispered as he stared at Brittany Lerner. I saw Mike look intently at her also for a second.
"Hey, Chris. Can I talk to you alone for a second?" she asked a little shyly. I looked over at Mike, who had a confused look on his face, and then back at Brittany.
"Sure," I said and jerked my head over to the top of the bleachers where no one was sitting.
"So, you know about the dance coming up tomorrow right?" I nodded. "I was wondering if you had a date yet?" Her bright, blue eyes were piercing into mine, questioning.
"Actually, I don't." I licked my lips and tried to make sense of her face. "Good…cause you're going with me," she said as more of a command than a request. I smiled. "Pick you up at 7:00?"
"It's a date then. I'll call you." She leaned over and gave me a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck, and then kissed me on the cheek. She bounded down the bleachers and then continued to walk right past Mike and Parker to the sidelines with Emily and the other cheerleaders. I hopped down the steps two at a time to where Johnny and Marc were sitting.
"What did ?'perky' want and what was she doing hugging and kissing you?" Johnny asked in a disgusted tone.
"She wanted to ask me out to the dance tomorrow," I said matter-of-factly. I checked their faces - filled with shock.
"What?! And you said…?" Johnny's face was replete with surprise and anticipation.
"Yes...Why wouldn't I?" I asked, a bit baffled.
"She was Mike Jamison's ex-girlfriend, for crying out loud. He's gonna kill you when he finds out!" Marc explained to me slowly as if I was too dumb to understand.
"What? No…wait a minute. Ex-girlfriend is right. He's over her and has moved on." I argued. "Never mind, look who's coming over now." I twitched my head towards Parker who was walking over casually with a little swagger.
"Yo, Morrison! What did Blondie want with you?" Parker spat out.
"What? Did Jamison send you?" I asked, diverting the question.
"Yeah. So what if he did?" Parker replied blatantly.
"If Jamison wants to talk with me, tell him to come over and do it himself," I answered coolly. Coach's whistle broke up our conversation. Apparently, the red team (Daniels, Pells, Riviera, and Johnson) had won.
"The guys that just played hit the showers. The guys who didn't, wait in the locker room," Coach ordered us. He then proceeded to his office again, with Mr. Black trailing. I pushed past Parker and went into the locker room. Mike and Parker came in afterwards. I could hear the cheerleaders file into the girls' locker room next door. Johnny and Marc were tense and didn't say anything because it was likely that one of them could get cut from the team, since so many guys had tried out. Usually, there were only 1 or 2 new guys that had to be cut from the team. The guys were finished showering and put on clean clothes. Mr. Black opened the door with a thud. "List is posted." He smacked his bubblegum. Marc and Johnny rushed to see if they had made the team, while Mike and Parker stayed behind. I followed Marc and Johnny outside to Coach's office. The list posted said in Coach's impeccable handwriting:

Boys' Varsity Basketball Team

Michael Jamison
Christopher Morrison
Rick Somers
Parker Mahoney
Johnny Ruger
Marc Picconi
James Riviera
Jack Simmons
Rob Edwards
Desmond Walters
Adrian Johnson
Alexander Daniels

"Alright! I told you you'd make it, Marc," cheered Johnny. I patted him on the back.
"People who have made the team will meet back in the gym Monday for practice at 3:00," Coach's voice boomed through the hallway. "The rest of you guys, thanks for coming." Coach then went into his office and closed the door behind him.
"There you are, Mike." I turned and saw Emily Vicardo in her stunning cheerleading outfit wrap her arms around Mike. Mike gave her a little kiss on the lips and then closed his arms around her waist.
"Did you make the team?" Emily questioned, even though I was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
"Of course, baby." He looked a bit offended.
"Congratulations!" Another kiss. I was feeling sick to my stomach, so I looked away.
They walked off together. "So, Morrison," Parker said as soon as Mike and Emily were out of earshot. "You gonna tell me what's going on with you and Brittany or am I gonna have to beat it out of ya?" He looked pretty serious, but I wasn't taunted.
"You'll see, Parker, in due time. Why does Mike care that much anyways?" I retorted and ambled off after Johnny and Marc who had left already.

"So, tell me you made the team, superstar." Mom smiled after taking a bite of lasagna.
I tried to act forlorn as if I hadn't, but I couldn't help but smile after a second. "I made the team, so did Johnny and Marc."
"I bet Michael Jamison did too. He's only like the best player ever," my vexing, little brother piped up.
"Yeah." I played with the lasagna on my plate. "He did. Hey, Mom, can I borrow the car Friday night?"
"Oh, sure, I guess. What do you need it for?" Mom inquired. I knew it was coming, but I still didn't want to explain to her about going out with Mike Jamison's ex, when Matt thought he was the greatest basketball player ever.
"I'm going to a school dance with this girl. I'm picking her up at her house." I looked down and played with my lasagna some more.
"Oh. That's nice. Do I know the girl?" Mom prodded ingenuously.
I sighed softly. "Her name's Brittany Lerner. She's captain of the cheerleading squad."
"Wait a minute. Brittany Lerner?" Matt asked as if the name was familiar to him.
I stared at him, puzzled, since he was only in the 6th grade. "Yeah. Why?"
"Wow, you're going out with Mike Jamison's ex-girlfriend?" Astonishment filled his face.
"Yeah, so what?"
"Well…" he started to say but was truncated by my glare.
"What are you? Some sort of Michael Jamison groupie?" I wasn't so much upset that he knew so much about Mike's life; but that he acted as if he didn't even care I was on the basketball team or anything related to me. I mean, after all, I was his big brother.
"No, I just follow high school basketball closely. That's all." He appeared to be sorry and scared at the same time.
"Whatever. I'm done, Mom. Thanks. Excuse me." I pushed the chair from the table and climbed the stairs to my bedroom.
I flopped out to my bed and checked the clock on the nightstand: 6:41. I wasn't in the mood for homework. While contemplating whether or not to call Johnny or Marc, the phone rang and I picked it up.
"Hello?" I ran my hand through my dirty blond hair, suddenly feeling exhausted.
I heard a soft, feminine voice and I immediately thought of Emily. Then, realizing that Emily had never even talked to me, I felt stupid. "Hi, this is Brittany. Is Chris there?"
"Hey, Brittany. What's up?" I said.
"Hey, I just wanted to talk about the dance. It starts at seven 'o clock. So, I thought you could pick me up at around 6 so we could get something to eat and then arrive fashionably late? Does that sound alright to you?" Brittany said this in a very quick, jumbled manner.
"Yeah, sure, sounds great. Give me your address and number. Let me get a pen." I searched my bag for one and got a piece of notebook paper also. "Go ahead."
"1782 Riverdale St. My number's 827-9561. Okay, gotta go, Chris. See you tomorrow." Click. She did not wait for me to say anything.