Grant pointed at Hailey, still at a loss for words.
“That’s right,” Hailey laughed. “You’re looking at the star point guard.”
“But you’re a girl!” Grant exclaimed.
“Yeah, keep that in mind when this girl schools you on the court,” Hailey said as she and Paul shared a high-five. They walked out of the locker room, leaving Grant behind to try to make sense of what had just happened.
When Coach Nelson gathered the team at center court, Grant still hadn’t been able to convince himself that all of this was actually happening. He looked around at the nine man and one girl roster and shook his head. Jack quickly reintroduced everyone to Grant, clapped his hands together once and told Hailey to lead the team in a ten lap warm-up around the court.
Grant and Hailey jogged side by side, and, as one tried to edge out the other, the pace began to increase.
“You’re a chick; you can’t play with the guys,” Grant whispered.
“I’ve done it all my life,” Hailey shrugged.
“How come you kept this from me?” Grant insisted.
“I don’t know,” Hailey laughed, “but I’m glad I did because the look on your face right now is priceless.”
“I can’t play against you,” Grant protested.
“Don’t worry,” Hailey grinned. “I’ll slow down every now and then and give you a chance to catch up.”
“Let’s keep it at a jog you two!” Paul called.
“Hailey,” Joe John yelled, “slow it down!”
Coach Nelson looked up from his chair on the sidelines to see Hailey and Grant practically sprinting around the court as they lapped their teammates.
“Slow it down…I want you guys warmed-up not tired-out!” Jack shouted.
When their ten laps were done, Hailey and Grant stood waiting for the rest of the team to finish.
“I’m pretty fast, huh?” Hailey said grinning up at Grant.
“Yeah…for a girl,” he nodded.
“You know,” Hailey said as she poked Grant in the shoulder, “before you go shooting off that smart mouth of yours, I think you should know I’ve been known to beat up a boy or two in my day. Ask anybody here.”
“I believe it,” Grant said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his grin.
“Out here, I’m just one of the guys,” Hailey shrugged.
“We’re gonna start with a full-court scrimmage,” Jack said as he tossed a basketball to Grant. “Grant, you’ll be captain of one team; Hailey, you’ll be captain of the other.”
As Jack began assigning teams, Grant nudged Hailey with his elbow. “So, shall we do shirts versus skins?”
“You just want an excuse to take your shirt off and show off your six-pack,” Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Actually, I was thinking my team would be shirts,” Grant winked. “Just one of the guys, right, Babe?” Grant shrugged, with an ol’ buddy, ol’ pal punch to the shoulder.
“Gosh, I hate you,” Hailey grumbled as she started to take off her shirt.
Grant quickly tugged her shirttail back down as his eyes darted around at his new teammates.
“Geez, I have on a sports bra, same as I wore on our run this morning,” Hailey rolled her eyes.
Grant swallowed hard and mumbled something under his breath as he pulled his own shirt over his head.
Once the game began, it didn’t take long for anyone to discover Grant’s ability and willingness to show off his skills.
“Hey, Paul,” one of the boys whispered after Grant’s second three pointer, “I guess it’s safe to say you won’t be the high scorer this season.”
“Shut up,” Paul snapped. “He’s a ball hog!”
“No kidding,” another teammate added. “Would it kill him to pass the ball?”
The next time down the court, Grant drove the lane and pulled up for a quick two-pointer.
“Come-on,” Paul screamed, “I was wide open under the basket!”
“See your offence, Grant,” Jack clapped.
“I saw him,” Grant shrugged. “He was in perfect position for the rebound, in the rare instance I missed…nice job.”
“Could you be any more full of yourself?” Hailey groaned as she dribbled the ball.
“Could you score and make this game challenging?” Grant replied as he played defense.
