she howled.
"I'm pretty sure."
Mumbling to herself and shaking her head, Ri
went to her closet and pulled out a short skirt and U of U Utes basketball
jersey.
"Come on, we're going to the
game."
~~~
The huge dome of the Huntsman Center was full
to capacity. The game we'd see tonight was just an exhibition, though, which Rihanna
explained was a practice game against a visiting team that wouldn't count
toward season rankings.
"Ri, you realize I've never seen a
basketball game in my life," I said. I didn't even know what season
rankings were, or how the game was played.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll teach you what to
look for. You'll love it," she stated. I was not so confident, but to my
surprise, I did. It was so fast that often I was still puzzling over whether
the ball had gone through the hoop at one end, while the players were already
at the other end jockeying for position. Ri explained the scoring as it
happened, and showed me how to watch the large screen hanging from the ceiling
if I wanted to see a replay of what I'd missed. The diagrams were helpful, and
I began to detect patterns in how our team, the Utes, moved and circled, trying
to get the ball closer to the basket before attempting a shot. I couldn't
understand Rihanna’s disappointment when the score was so lopsided at halftime,
thinking it was the win that was important.
"We're killing them," she said.
"Coach will bench Drew and put in the second and third string. Come on, we
might as well go."
Disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the
rest of the game, I tagged along reluctantly. At The Pie, Ri explained.
"It's so much more exciting when the
game's close. Besides, I really wanted to see Drew more. I haven't been to
watch practices, and I'd like to know how he's improved his three-point
shooting since last year. He's NBA material if he keeps getting better."
I hated to ask, since she was already
disappointed. "What's…"
"NBA? Lord, why do I bother? You're
like a blank slate, you know? It's going to take years to bring you into the
twenty-first century." As I began to bristle, she relented. "National
Basketball Association. Pro ball. It's a big deal, Janey, trust me. If he got
drafted, he'd be able to get out of Ogden and do something with his life."
I was still a little miffed at the blank
slate remark, so I didn't answer.
When Rihanna judged that the game would be
almost over, we headed back to the stadium, meeting trickles of people heading
away. Since it was near the end of the game, Ri led us to seats that were much
lower than the ones we'd started in. From here, we could see much more clearly
in a way, but in another way, it was more confusing. I couldn't see the
patterns anymore, though I could keep track of the ball better. There were two
minutes left in the game, and we were ahead 88-54.
As Ri had predicted, her friend Drew was
sitting on the sidelines. The only exciting thing that happened after that was
a long three-point shot with 41 seconds to go, and then the other team
basically folded. Ri said they 'hadn't shown up', which I assumed was another
slang phrase, since they were clearly on the court. When the horn sounded, she
grabbed my hand and hustled me over to the players' exit, where Drew would see
us as we passed.
"Drew!" she shouted as he was
about to pass a few feet from us. His head came up and the look on his face
changed from neutral to a big grin when he spotted Rihanna.
"Hey, Ri! Were you here the whole
game?" His long stride had brought him to face us and he gave Ri an
enthusiastic hug.
"Nah, when they took you out, we took
a break. Good game, though," she said.
"Woulda been better if we had an
opponent," he said, looking at me with interest. Rihanna took the
opportunity.
"Janey Nielsen, I'd like you to meet
my bestie, Andrew Craig," she intoned. His big hand reached to engulf
mine.
"Nice to meet you, Janey,"
"Hi! Nice to meet you, too,
Andrew."
"Call me Drew, my friends do," he
invited, smiling. Turning to Janey he
"I'm pretty sure."
Mumbling to herself and shaking her head, Ri
went to her closet and pulled out a short skirt and U of U Utes basketball
jersey.
"Come on, we're going to the
game."
~~~
The huge dome of the Huntsman Center was full
to capacity. The game we'd see tonight was just an exhibition, though, which Rihanna
explained was a practice game against a visiting team that wouldn't count
toward season rankings.
"Ri, you realize I've never seen a
basketball game in my life," I said. I didn't even know what season
rankings were, or how the game was played.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll teach you what to
look for. You'll love it," she stated. I was not so confident, but to my
surprise, I did. It was so fast that often I was still puzzling over whether
the ball had gone through the hoop at one end, while the players were already
at the other end jockeying for position. Ri explained the scoring as it
happened, and showed me how to watch the large screen hanging from the ceiling
if I wanted to see a replay of what I'd missed. The diagrams were helpful, and
I began to detect patterns in how our team, the Utes, moved and circled, trying
to get the ball closer to the basket before attempting a shot. I couldn't
understand Rihanna’s disappointment when the score was so lopsided at halftime,
thinking it was the win that was important.
"We're killing them," she said.
"Coach will bench Drew and put in the second and third string. Come on, we
might as well go."
Disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the
rest of the game, I tagged along reluctantly. At The Pie, Ri explained.
"It's so much more exciting when the
game's close. Besides, I really wanted to see Drew more. I haven't been to
watch practices, and I'd like to know how he's improved his three-point
shooting since last year. He's NBA material if he keeps getting better."
I hated to ask, since she was already
disappointed. "What's…"
"NBA? Lord, why do I bother? You're
like a blank slate, you know? It's going to take years to bring you into the
twenty-first century." As I began to bristle, she relented. "National
Basketball Association. Pro ball. It's a big deal, Janey, trust me. If he got
drafted, he'd be able to get out of Ogden and do something with his life."
I was still a little miffed at the blank
slate remark, so I didn't answer.
When Rihanna judged that the game would be
almost over, we headed back to the stadium, meeting trickles of people heading
away. Since it was near the end of the game, Ri led us to seats that were much
lower than the ones we'd started in. From here, we could see much more clearly
in a way, but in another way, it was more confusing. I couldn't see the
patterns anymore, though I could keep track of the ball better. There were two
minutes left in the game, and we were ahead 88-54.
As Ri had predicted, her friend Drew was
sitting on the sidelines. The only exciting thing that happened after that was
a long three-point shot with 41 seconds to go, and then the other team
basically folded. Ri said they 'hadn't shown up', which I assumed was another
slang phrase, since they were clearly on the court. When the horn sounded, she
grabbed my hand and hustled me over to the players' exit, where Drew would see
us as we passed.
"Drew!" she shouted as he was
about to pass a few feet from us. His head came up and the look on his face
changed from neutral to a big grin when he spotted Rihanna.
"Hey, Ri! Were you here the whole
game?" His long stride had brought him to face us and he gave Ri an
enthusiastic hug.
"Nah, when they took you out, we took
a break. Good game, though," she said.
"Woulda been better if we had an
opponent," he said, looking at me with interest. Rihanna took the
opportunity.
"Janey Nielsen, I'd like you to meet
my bestie, Andrew Craig," she intoned. His big hand reached to engulf
mine.
"Nice to meet you, Janey,"
"Hi! Nice to meet you, too,
Andrew."
"Call me Drew, my friends do," he
invited, smiling. Turning to Janey he
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