And that gave Derek a great idea.

“Well, actually, if you wanted to thank me… I’ve got a way.”

“Yeah? Okay, name it!”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with me playing on the team.”

“No, no, nothing like that. In fact, you’ll be done with this by Friday night.”

“Cool!” said Sam. “Count me in. What do I have to do?”

“Just come on by my house after school,” said Derek, a sly grin spreading over his face, “and I’ll show you.”

Chapter Fifteen ON WITH THE SHOW!

Vijay looked shocked when Sam rang the bell at Derek’s house. “What are you doing here, Sam?” he asked.

Sam shrugged. “Derek said to be here, so I’m here.”

“Welcome!” Vijay said, ushering Sam inside. “You are most, most welcome!”

Sam took a seat on the couch, and Derek proceeded to explain why he was there.

“Oh. Wow,” said Sam, his good mood fading in a hurry. “Aw, guys, I don’t know. It’s kind of… last-minute, isn’t it? I would need a lot of practice to do something like that.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Derek assured him. “Sam, I’ve seen your moves—on the basketball court. All you have to do is put on some monster makeup and a cape and pretend you’re driving the lane—in slow motion!”

“Huh?”

“Hey, if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else,” said Derek. “But at least you’ll be doing something you’re used to.”

They tried it out—and it kind of worked okay. But then Sam said, “You know, it might be better if I had an actual basketball.”

“I don’t think so,” Vijay said. “The audience wouldn’t get it. Just pretend you do.”

“It’ll look pretty weird,” said Sam.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Vijay assured him. “In this case, weird is good! You’re a monster, remember? Monsters are supposed to be weird.”

“Oh. Well, okay, then. Let’s try it one more time.”

He wasn’t Gary—but Sam seemed to get the general idea. After the first couple of times, he even got into it a little bit.

After half an hour, it was time for Sam to leave. But as he was going, he had one more thing to say. “Just so you guys know—I mean, so you’re not surprised when I mess up—I’ve never been in front of an audience before, other than in a basketball game.”

After he left, Derek and Vijay looked at each other. “Well, you know what they say,” Derek offered. “Ninety percent of life is just showing up. He’s got Gary beat there!”

The school parking lot was mobbed. Derek stared out through the drops of rain that coated the car windows. It was going to be a full house tonight.