“I have choreographed practically the whole thing!” he told Derek that Thursday. “Don’t have any worries—we are surely going to win first prize!”

Derek wasn’t sure exactly what Vijay had cooked up. But he had to go along with it. There wasn’t time for him to have any input—at least not yet.

All this had made the week fly by. It was Derek’s impatience that made it feel endless. He couldn’t stand waiting any longer—the sooner tryouts started, the sooner he would know whether he’d made the cut.

And now, it was Saturday at last! Here he was, getting out of the car with the basketball that hadn’t left his hands all week, except in bed and in class and while he was studying with Sam. His left hand—his whole left arm—was tired and a little sore from all the dribbling.

Derek went inside the Y, headed for the gym. His dad drove on into the parking lot to find a spot.

In the gym Derek spotted Sam with his mom. She looked anxious, constantly checking her watch. Derek knew she was more concerned about Sam’s grades than his hoop dreams. He wondered whether she was more worried Sam would make the team, or that he wouldn’t.

“Derek! Hi!” Sam called, waving. Derek waved back but didn’t go over there. Instead, he went into the gym, looking for Dave, with whom he’d been practicing for the past three days.

There was a confident look in his eyes, Derek noticed. Dave’s game had come a long way, thanks to their coaching sessions with Derek’s dad.

“You ready?” he asked as they exchanged their usual elaborate handshake.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. You?”

“Now or never.”

“Right. Good luck, man.”

“You too.”

Derek sure hoped they both made it. He knew he would feel bad if he made it and Dave didn’t.

He didn’t even want to think about the opposite result.

Mr. Jeter came into the gym and found a seat in the bleachers just as Coach Nelson blew his whistle for tryouts to get started.

Derek felt an incredible surge of energy course through his body. He kept hopping up and down, eager to get going. Looking around at all the other hopefuls, he saw that Dave was one of the tallest kids there. That would be a big advantage for him.

And what would be his own advantage? His speed? Maybe, but there looked to be plenty of fast-dribbling would-be point guards here.

Derek remembered what his dad had told him. “You might not be the most talented kid trying out. But you can make sure you outwork everybody else.”

From the beginning, it was clear there weren’t many slackers trying out. Everybody knew this was a competitive league, and it seemed like that had kept any so-so players at home.