Derek turned to see Sam approaching him as he stood at his locker, taking books out of his backpack before heading to class.

“Oh, hey, Sam. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to thank you for yesterday,” said Sam. “It was… well, thank you.”

“Aw, that was nothing,” Derek said, waving a hand. “Gary acts like such a jerk sometimes. Just ignore him.”

“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say. You always get As and Bs. But me, well… ” His voice trailed off, and Sam looked down at his shoes.

“Come on, Sam, don’t let it get you down. Gary’s the one with the problem here.”

“It’s not him, really—it’s me,” said Sam. “Gary’s right. I’m just dumb.”

“That’s a bunch of crud,” Derek told him. “You’re not dumb—you pass almost every test in class!”

“Barely. And I’m going to totally flunk this big practice test, you watch.”

“No way, man—we learned all that stuff last year—you knew it back then, right?”

“I totally forgot everything the minute summer came,” said Sam. “I’ve been trying to go over that stupid booklet. But it just makes my eyes cross!”

“Well, don’t give up.” Derek didn’t know what else to say.

“Actually, I was thinking of getting sick on the twentieth,” Sam confessed. “Stomach virus or something. It wouldn’t be a lie—I’m already half-sick just thinking about it.”

“But Ms. Terrapin said the marks don’t count on our grades,” Derek pointed out.

“Extra tutoring? Extra study time? She said that, too, Derek.”

“Just give it your best shot. You can’t be afraid to fail.”

“Speaking of my best shot—I was thinking… would you maybe be willing to study with me, like, after school one day?” Sam lived just two buildings over from the Jeters’ in Mount Royal Townhouses. “I could walk over to your house, or you could come to mine.”

He looked at Derek pleadingly. “Please? I need to pass this test—my mom and dad said if I need extra tutoring or after-school study time, I can’t play under-twelve basketball!”

“You’re trying out?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Me too! What position?”

“Point guard. You?”

“Uh… point guard.”

“Oh. Well… good luck. I’m sure you’ll get on the team.”

“You too,” Derek replied.

Sam was definitely the best under-12 player Derek knew. They’d gone one-on-one lots of times, and Sam was more than a little better. His shot was more consistent, he was an outstanding ball handler, and he was a total pain on defense. Derek knew he would be tough competition for the point guard position. And now he was asking Derek’s help in passing the test so that he would be allowed to play on the team!

“So… what do you say?”