Cyborg Cat and the Masked Marauder, page 3
“What are we doing here?”
“Spectating,” said Brian.
“Yeah,” said Dexter. “The Newham Rollers Under Fourteens are going to be here in a minute for a practice match. Salim’s refereeing and we thought you might like to watch.”
“But we also thought you might not like to watch,” added Brian.
“Okay,” I said, confused. “Why? You’re not going to get me to do some cheerleading or anything like that are you?”
“Course not,” said Salim. “The others told me that you weren’t going to do the trial, and they thought you’d gone off basketball for good. So Dexter came up with the idea of the blindfold. He thought if you knew where you were coming to, you might not have come.”
“Well, actually,” interrupted Brian. “What Dex said was, you might dig a huge hole in your garden and go and hide in it, and end up liking it so much, you’d live in there forever.”
“Yes,” said Dexter, beaming. “I did think you would come out for supper and to go to the toilet, though. And to go and watch West Ham if you had a ticket.”
“Anyway,” said Salim. “I know you still love basketball, so there’s no reason not to watch a game, is there?”
“Yeah, and I’ll make sure you get home in time for lunch after,” said Shed. “And you don’t even have to wear the blindfold again when we leave.”
“Thank goodness for that,” I said. “When are the players getting here?”
“Right about now,” said Salim.
Sure enough, a few moments later the team arrived and started warming up.
“Whoa!” I gasped, totally mesmerised as the Rollers made their way confidently onto the court, wearing slick red-and-white vests.
I’d never seen so many people in wheelchairs in one place before. They looked so cool. I loved the way their chairs moved effortlessly across the court, and how they all looked like superhuman athletes, their arms so big and muscular. I couldn’t imagine anyone laughing at these guys. A warm glow flowed through me and, as I watched the players stretching and taking a few shots, I felt my chair hum a little, as if it was enjoying watching as much as I was. Were my powers starting to come back?
“They do look good, Ade,” said Melody, who was standing next to me.
“Really good,” Shed agreed, nodding. “I think you definitely made the right decision not to do the trial.”
“No chance!” shouted Dexter. “Ade could run rings round this lot, couldn’t you, Ade?”
I didn’t reply. I just kept looking at the players warming up. They really did look good, but something told me I wouldn’t have been out of place playing with them.
I shook the thought out of my head. I was just there to watch.
By now the players were getting into position for the opening tip-off. I could only count four players on one of the sides – there should be five on a team.
“Where’s Tommy?” I heard Salim ask.
“Dunno,” said one of the players. “He said he was going to be here.”
“Well, he isn’t, so you’ll have to play four against four until he arrives,” said Salim.
“What about your mate?”
I looked round for Salim’s mate but I couldn’t see anyone. When I turned back everyone was staring at me.
They meant me!
“What about it, Ade?” asked Salim.
“Eh?” I said. “But what if Tommy turns up?”
“Yeah,” said Shed. “I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”
“Well, then you can go back to spectating from the sidelines,” Salim replied. “Just help us out while we wait for him.”
“Go on, Ade,” said Brian. “It’s just a training game.”
I could feel excitement surging from me to the chair – or maybe it was from the chair to me. I didn’t want to just watch. I wanted to play. But I was still hesitant.
“Would you like to borrow my giant foam hands?” Dexter said. “I can run home and get them.”
There was no need to answer that.
I thought about what Cyborg Cat would do and felt my chair respond. It pulsated mischievously beneath me, urging me to move forward. That was good enough for me.
“Just until Tommy shows up, right?”
“Of course,” Salim said. “Just till Tommy gets here. Now come on, and don’t forget what I taught you.”
I didn’t need to be asked again. As my friends cheered, I raced out onto the court and introduced myself to the other players.
“Tommy’s rapid,” said a player called Wesley. “He scores lots of points for us on fast breaks and usually defends the quickest guy on the other team. That’ll be your job today, though it might be difficult in that chair. Are you ready for this, rookie?”
As he spoke my chair jerked forward, forcing me into Wesley’s footplate and nudging him backwards.
“What are you doing? Calm down,” I mumbled, hoping nobody would notice I was speaking to my chair.
Wesley gave me a bemused look.
“No problem,” I said, loudly, taking up my position.
I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body. It was mix of excitement and nerves.
“Relax,” I told myself. “It’s just a bit of fun.”
My chair didn’t seem to know that, though. Its wheels were powering up and beginning to glow. I could feel energy surging into my body. Fun or not, I was determined to show everyone just what I could do.
Peeeeep!
Salim blew the whistle and we were off.
I took it easy at first, even though I could feel the energy from my chair pulsing. I prowled around the court like a hungry tiger. Then, with a couple of quick pushes, I managed to lose my defender.
“Over here, I’m open!”
Wesley rocketed a pass in my direction. The ball flew towards my chest like a bullet and I felt a charge of Cyborg Cat energy shoot through me as I caught it.
Quickly placing the ball on my lap I pushed down hard on my wheels and set off towards the basket. I weaved between two defenders, bouncing the ball before putting it back on my lap again.
Using all the strength in my arms, I pulled back on both wheels, forcing my chair to stop abruptly. One of the defenders saw this as his opportunity and lunged for the ball.
“Gotcha!” I whispered under my breath.
In one swift movement I flipped the ball into my left hand, just like Salim had taught me, leaving the defender grabbing at thin air. I had a clear lane to the basket now, but the player I’d just beaten wasn’t giving up that easily – he clearly didn’t want to be humiliated by a rookie.
CRAACKK!
I felt a sharp jolt as he rammed into the side of my chair. A spark flew up as his push rim hit mine, leaving the air smelling like fire. Somehow I kept my concentration and shot the ball in the direction of the basket.
SWIISSSH!
The ball flew through the net just as the defender and I tumbled into a crumpled heap of arms and wheelchairs a couple of metres away from the hoop.
“What a shot!” Wesley yelled.
The boy who’d been defending me gave me a fist bump and look of respect as we both got back into our chairs.
“Wooo-hoooo! Go, Cyborg Cat!” shouted Dexter as the others all clapped and cheered.
“Well played,” said Salim as the game restarted.
After that basket, my confidence grew and grew. By half time I’d got another six and my team decided that the tactics for the second half should be ‘get the ball to Ade as much as possible’.
I was buzzing. Our game had clearly turned into something of a spectacle, as quite a few passers-by had stopped to watch from the sidelines.
When the second half started I was straight into the thick of the action. My chair was changing colour as pulses of energy fizzed through it and into me. I was really enjoying myself.
If only Dad could see me, I thought, hearing the gang cheering. Maybe he’d change his mind and realise that this is the sport for me.
With five minutes remaining we were well ahead, but as I raced forward to collect a long pass one of the wheels on the front of my chair jammed into a pothole on the side of the court.
Before I knew it I was catapulted into the air. The strapping across my lap and my knees held me in the chair, but it didn’t stop me from doing a couple of spectacular rolls along the floor.
Wesley and the rest of team started whooping and hollering. My acrobatic tumble had impressed them. Thankfully, apart from feeling a little embarrassed, I was fine.
“Now, that was a proper wipe-out!” Wesley shouted from across the court.
Well, at least they think I’m cool, I thought, lying on the ground and chuckling to myself.
“Are you all right, Ade?”
It was Shed. He’d come racing over as soon as he’d seen what had happened.
“You gotta be tough if you wanna be a serious baller, rookie,” another player said as he rolled past me, smiling.
“I’ll help you up,” Shed said, offering an outstretched hand.
“No need, mate, I’m fine,” I said, heaving myself up before shouting to everyone else, “Come on, let’s get on with the game!”
I charged back to my position as Shed retreated to the sidelines.
A little while later it was all over and my team had won convincingly 56–38.
As I shook hands with the other players, there was plenty of back-slapping and compliments on how well I’d played.
“That was amazing,” said Melody, as my friends gathered round.
“Yeah,” said Brian. “You were easily the MVP.”
“M V what?” said Dexter.
“Most valuable player,” Brian replied. “That’s what they say in basketball. It’s like Man of the Match in football.”
“Yeah, you played well, Ade,” said Shed. “But it was only a friendly. Shall we head off?”
“Nah, not yet. I’m still buzzing and I want to talk through my performance with the prof,” I told him.
“Fine,” said Shed. “Then I’ll see you at school tomorrow. I’ve got to get home.”
“See you,” I said. “Erm, say hi to your mum and dad from me.”
Shed didn’t respond as he headed off. I’d wanted to say something about his situation at home and that’s what came out. I felt foolish and a bit awkward, so I quickly shook the feeling off.
“Hey,” I said, wheeling over to Salim. “Lucky for me that Tommy didn’t turn up, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t think Tommy had much chance of making it from Dublin,” Salim said casually.
“Eh?” I was baffled. “What do you mean?”
“Tommy’s in Dublin this weekend with his family. He won’t be back till this evening.”
“But I thought he was meant to be playing,” I said, confused.
“And that is indeed what you were meant to think,” said Brian.
“Yeah,” Melody explained, “because we knew you’d only play if you thought that you were helping make up the numbers.”
I was confused.
“But why was it important that I played?”
“Because,” said Salim, “there’s someone who wanted to see if you were really as good as I said you were.” Salim pointed to a tall man with dark hair standing on the sidelines. “Carlos our head coach is over there by the bags. And he’d like to have a word with you.”
6
Measuring Up
“SO, you’re the famous Ade?” said Carlos, offering me his hand to shake. As we’d wheeled over, Salim had told me that the coach had once played professional basketball in Spain.
“Erm, I’m Ade, yes,” I said nervously. “But I’m not famous.”
“You wouldn’t know it the way Salim goes on about you.” Carlos laughed. “He talks about how good you are all the time.”
I didn’t know who was more embarrassed, me or Salim. I mean, I knew Salim rated me, but I had no idea he’d been telling his coach about me.
Thankfully, Carlos continued before things became too awkward.
“And you know, from what I’ve just seen, I think Salim might be right.”
“Really? Wow. I mean, thank you. I, er … well, I’m pretty new to the game and I know have a lot to learn, but I love it. It just feels great playing.”
“Good,” said Carlos. “Then I’ll see you here for training on Tuesday evening.”
“What?”
“Seven o’clock. Don’t be late. You played really well in that chair, but it’s not right. It’s way too big and the footplate is too low. That’s probably why you took a tumble earlier. The league won’t allow you to play in that; it’s dangerous. We’ll get you measured up for a sports chair.”
“Are … are you offering me a place in the team?” I spluttered.
“Well, in the squad, yes. From what I’ve seen this morning, you’re definitely good enough. So, what do you say?”
I looked at my friends, who were looking at me with wide-eyed expectation.
I really, really wanted to say yes – but what would Mum and Dad say when they found out? Now that I knew I was good enough, if they stopped me from playing I might never forgive them.
As I felt the conflict raging inside me, instinctively I shut my eyes and put my hands on the chair. Its energy instantly entered me.
I was Cyborg Cat and I could do anything.
“Yes,” I blurted out. “Yes! I’ll be there.”
“Boom! The Parsons Road Gang do it again!” cheered my friends, jumping around with excitement.
I looked at them and shook my head. They’d planned the whole thing. They knew Tommy was away. They also knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist playing when asked to fill in for him, and they knew Carlos was going to be there.
“Thanks,” I said to them. “But that’s the last time you lot blindfold me and take me anywhere! I thought you were going to wheel me to a rubbish dump and leave me.”
We headed home, laughing about all the places Melody could have taken me when I’d been blindfolded – the giraffe enclosure at the zoo (Brian’s suggestion), a cell at the police station (Salim’s idea) and the pocket of a giant who loved toffees and kept a big sticky bag of them in there (Dexter’s idea, of course, which got the biggest laughs). At home, after a much-needed shower, I felt exhausted, but at the same time really excited. I couldn’t wait for the training session on Tuesday. Fine, I didn’t quite know how I was going to deal with my parents, but I felt more determined than ever to show them what I could achieve. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I wanted them to know that playing wheelchair basketball was not going to hold me back.
Monday and Tuesday at school seemed to go on forever. I kept wishing time would speed up, but it didn’t listen to me and plodded along like a miserable donkey with a bad leg. The weather didn’t help either. It rained both days, which meant wet play. At one point I thought Dexter might actually explode if he didn’t go outside and run around. Brian tried to cheer us up by inventing a football quiz, but Melody and Shed got into an argument about one of the answers, and Shed went off in a huff on Monday lunchtime that he still hadn’t shaken off on Tuesday.
After school I told Mum and Dad that I was going to hang out with the gang in the park, so they weren’t surprised when the doorbell went. Dexter and Brian were standing on the doorstep.
“I know Melody’s at football training, but where’s Shed?” I asked in surprise. “I thought he was coming. He hasn’t gone to live in a big hole in his garden, has he?”
Dexter chuckled.
“No,” said Brian. “He said he couldn’t come cos his auntie was coming for tea.”
I knew we were all thinking the same thing: Shed was still in a huff.
When we arrived at the park Carlos called me over.
“Good to see you, Ade,” he said. “Right, five times round the outside of the court as fast as you can. Go!”
“He doesn’t mess about,” Wesley said, wheeling up beside me. “Chat comes later. We get straight down to it. That’s why we’re one of the best teams around.”
I didn’t mind that. If I was going to be the best, I’d need to play for the best – after all, it was a team game.
After another ten minutes of fitness training, we split into groups of three for a sort of piggy in the middle game, where one person had to get the ball off the other two, who weren’t allowed to hold onto it for more than two seconds.
It was tough. I was really sweating at the end and mightily relieved when Carlos said we could have a short break. I started to head over to Brian and Dexter, when a voice stopped me.
“Don’t think you’ll be getting my place in the team so easily again, mate,” it said.
I immediately got a bad feeling. My chair wheels glowed an angry, dark red.
I turned round to see a broad-shouldered boy with green eyes, glaring at me.
“Lucky for you I was in Dublin,” he said. “Otherwise there’s no way you’d be here.”
“You must be Tommy,” I said.
“That’s me,” he replied, bringing his wheelchair right up to me so that we were practically eyeballing each other. “I’m the power forward on this team, and don’t you forget it.”
“I –” I started to say, but he’d gone without waiting for me to speak.
Part of me wanted to go after him, because I didn’t like the idea of any of my new teammates having a problem with me, but obviously Tommy wasn’t in the mood to sort things out right at that moment.
I felt certain Tommy and I would be able to sort it out and become friends in the future. I understood where he was coming from. A new player coming in meant more competition for places. That could be a good thing and a bad thing – makes you try harder, but there’s a greater chance of not making the team.
The rest of training was great. Carlos pushed us hard, but the advice he gave was fantastic and I found that little adjustments to my game could make a big difference.
“You did well, Ade,” Carlos said when we’d finished. “How did you find it?”
“Awesome!” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait for the next one. Or to play in a real match. If I get picked, of course.”
