New Beginning 697

Daren sped across the basketball court as Carson High's bulky players charged in his direction. He hesitated, his head spinning from the series of leaps and turns he'd employed to lead them across the court, and loosened his grip on the ball, as if defeated. Then he jumped.

The ball soared through the air. The crowd rose. Every breath stilled, lingering on the border between lungs and lips, as the seconds on the stop-clock flipped from two to one. Hitting the side of the rim, the ball bounced ...