Found

CHAPTER 13

Brandon caught up to me when I reached the door. “Cold,” he said.

“It’s like sixty degrees out,” I said.

“Ha, ha. I meant the way you just dissed Troy.”

“You’re joking, right? You were there when he whipped the ball at my face. How long ago was that? Oh, that’s right. Last practice.”

“He was jealous. He explained that to you. Don’t you get that at all? You’ve spent your life traveling around. You don’t know what it’s like when you’re in a town like this. Things are just expected of you. And for Troy, well, he’s been the best basketball player in town. His dad’s the chief of police. He had this great girlfriend-and yeah, yeah, I know, you didn’t take her away-but suddenly someone comes in and threatens everything he’s worked for. Don’t you have any compassion at all?”

I thought about that. “He was mean to my friends.”

“Because they’re an extension of you.”

Again with the justifying. “And seriously, Brandon, what can I do anyway? His dad should help him.”

“Troy’s dad can’t help.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Brandon said, “his dad doesn’t believe him.”

That surprised me. “What?”

“That’s right. Even his own father has abandoned him on this. He thinks his son cheated. Chief Taylor wants to see if Troy can get back on the team in other ways, you know, come clean, say it’s a first offense. But Troy doesn’t want that. He wants his name cleared. He wants the truth to come out.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“There’s something else you should consider too,” Brandon said.

“What?”

“Your teammates, like it or not, think you had something to do with Troy’s suspension.”

“But even Troy said he knew I had nothing to do with it.”

“And maybe he’ll tell the other guys that. Or maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll wonder why you rejected his peace offering and slapped his hand away. Maybe he’ll start to think the rest of the guys are right about you.”

I said nothing.

“You see what I’m saying?”

“I think so. It sounds like blackmail. Help Troy or look like the guy who set him up.”

“That’s putting it too strongly,” Brandon said. “More like, help Troy and look like the kind of teammate other guys want to play with. Look like the kind of teammate other guys respect and look up to and want to be around. Look like the kind of teammate who stands up for his captain, even when it’s hard.”

“Wow,” I said.

“What?”

“No wonder you’re always elected class president.”

Brandon smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. “Help him, Mickey. Help yourself. Help your team.”

And because I’m a complete idiot, I told him that I would.