Finally, some basketball action! I gotta tell ya, I've been wanting to write this part out for a while.
I took a while to explain the rules, but I had to.
Chapter Ten: “The Qualifiers”
I drive Danny home and then go home to sleep. The following week I have Danny practicing at every opportunity when he didn’t have any extra-curricular activities going on.
Before I know it, Saturday and the round of the opening qualifiers is upon us. I pick Danny up from school and we drive to Galen Center. The parking lot is extremely full.
We get out and head towards the stadium. It’s at this moment I realize how many father and son teams are competing. The line is backed up into the near parking lot, as if there were actually a USC game going on, except of course hardly anyone had USC merchandise on.
We finally get up to the ticket-takers, and I hand them our pass, and they let us in. They tell us to find a seat in the stands anywhere. Danny and I manage to find fourth row seats in the stands, behind where the commentators usually call the game.
“Well, this is it, Danny,” I say.
“Yep,” he replies.
“You nervous?” I ask.
“Yeah… I mean this is the first time anyone besides you will see me play basketball,” he says. “How about you?”
“Danny, I played college basketball in the NCAA tournament. This is nothing compared to that,” I say.
After waiting for about another half hour, the stands are filled and the tournament chairperson takes the microphone.
“Welcome, fathers and sons, to the first ever father-son basketball tournament!” he says, to vast applause. “Before we begin the qualifiers, I must explain the rules. Each game will take place on half-court. The first team to 21 points wins. You do not need to win by two points or more, so, for example, the final score can be 21-20. After a change of possession, the ball must be taken outside of the three point arc. Failure to do so before a shot results in a turnover. To start each possession, we have what’s called a ‘reset,’ where a player on one team passes to a player on the other to start the possession. Resets occur after out-of-bounds, non-shooting fouls, scores, and the failure to bring the ball outside the three point arc before shooting. Resets must only be completed after the referee has blown his whistle. Also, if the referee determines you passed the ball in an unsportsmanlike manner, he will call for a free throw shot to be taken.”
“There is also a new scoring system. Normal three point shots are now worth two points and regular field goals are worth one point. Fouls in the act of shooting from one point range result in one free throw attempt for the player fouled if the basket is missed. If it is made, they still get one shot. Fouls in the act of shooting from the two point range result in two free throw attempts, and only one if the basket is made. Also, the first possession is determined by a coin flip called by the older of the two fathers. Finally, there is no ‘make it take it’ rule here. Each team that was just scored on will receive the ball in a reset.
“Well, that’s pretty much it. The teams that will be playing will be announced and displayed on the giant screen above your heads. When your names are called, please go to either the ‘north court’, here,” he says, pointing at the court to his right. “Or here,” he says, pointing to the court to his left. “Finally, not only will these games determine who will be playing next week, but it will determine your seedings which will be announced this Wednesday. Unfortunately, if you lose a game today, I’m afraid to say it will be pretty hard to be seeded in the tournament. Anyway, without further ado, let the tournament begin!”
Danny and I watch and listen for our names to be called. We’re able to see a few games going on, most of them one-sided. It looks like there are some pretty good teams here.
After about 3/4 of the teams have played their first game, we finally hear “Mike and Danny Hollins” announced and see our names displayed on the screen, telling us to play on the south court against a father son team named “Tom and Timmy Robinson.”
We get on to the court and see our opponents. The father is wearing a headband and an extremely short pair of shorts and looks out of shape. His son, meanwhile, looks about eight years old.
The referee motions us to gather at the top of the three point arc. He then says “Tom, call it in the air.”
“Tails!” Tom says. It turns out to be in fact, tails, so the referees hands the ball to me to complete the reset with Tom.
I complete the reset and we start. I immediately steal the ball from Tom and face him outside the now two point arc. I fake him out with a juke, drive to the rim and lay it in. On the next possession, Danny manages to steal a pass intended for Timmy and he drops back behind the two point arc, drives to the basket and lays a shot in.
Danny and I continue this play for the rest of the game, and we win, 21-0. We congratulate the other team on a solid effort and head back to the stands.
“Great job, Danny. That’s just what I expected from you,” I tell Danny as we finally take our seats, exasperated.
“You know basketball’s not that hard,” he replies. “We could do pretty well in this tournament.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying!” I say.
After a half hour, we are called again to the court. Our next opponents are a father son team named “Carlos and Miguel Lopez.” They are Mexican, with the father having a bunch of tattoos and the son being about twelve years old.
Again, Danny and I play extremely well, and we manage to win 21-2. The two points we allowed late in the game because we were easing up on our effort levels.
We return to the stands again after our victory, and just ten minutes later, we are called again. This time our opponents include an almost seven foot tall father who tells me before the coin toss he played professionally, which I later wonder if that is true or not. His son is about Danny’s age, perhaps a little younger.
Danny and I slack up at the beginning and actually fall behind, 5-3. But we work hard and go on a 16-2 run to finish the game, to win 21-7. We congratulate the other team and are told by the referee that that was our last game today.
Danny and I leave for the car, discussing the games we played.
“Man, we are going to get a great seed in this tournament,” I say.
“Yeah, I think so,” Danny says.
“Do you know what that means?” I ask.
“That we get to play easier teams?” he replies.
“Exactly. Well, at first we do. Anyway, with how well we played, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a number one seed,” I say.
“And we find out Wednesday?” Danny asks.
“Yep at 7:00 pm,” I say.
“Great,” Danny says.
“And we should probably practice even more this upcoming week. I know a lot of other father-son teams will,” I say.
“Okay, I can do that,” Danny says.
“So what do you think of basketball so far, Danny? You liking it?” I ask.
“Yeah, I really am. I mean, it’s fun and I’m pretty good at it. If only I started playing when I was younger,” he replies.
“Eh, so you’d rather be like your mother, big deal,” I say.
Danny laughs.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
One Two Punch - Chapter Nine: "The Fake ID"
Here is Chapter Nine, entitled "The Fake ID". It introduces the character, JT, and it is one of my personal favorite chapters and one of the longer ones. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine: “The Fake ID”
I drove over to the house of where an old friend of mine lives who used to make me and my friends fake ID’s. He is a few years older than me, so he was in college when we needed fake ID’s as seniors in high school. He made them out of his parents’ basement with the help of a lamination machine.
Anyway, I knock on his door. What if he doesn’t live here anymore? An old woman answers the door, and I recognize her as his mother.
“Hi, Mrs. Thomas, does JT still live here?” I ask her.
She gets an angry look on her face. “Why, so he can make you some more fake ID’s?!” she exclaims. “Yes, I know what he was doing for you and your friends. Let me guess, you need one for him?” she asks, referring to Danny.
“Yes,” I say. “But I don’t need it for alcohol, otherwise I could just buy it for him. Listen, to make a long story short, he’s my son and I need a fake ID to change his last name to match mine, since I gave him up for adoption.”
“Oh,” she says. “I see. Well, my son doesn’t live here anymore. He got married, would you believe it? Anyway, I can give you their address, but I must warn you, he’s a changed man now. He won’t be so willing to make you one,” she says.
“That’s okay, I think I can persuade him,” I say as Mrs. Thomas leaves to get a pen and paper. She returns and then writes down the address and hands it to me. “Thank you very much,” I say politely.
“Not at all,” she says. “Goodbye, Michael.”
“Bye,” I say. Danny and I go back to the car and I start driving to the address Mrs. Thomas gave me.
“So, this guy JT made you fake ID’s so you could get beer?” Danny asks.
“Yes, and it was really effective seeing as I was already over six feet tall then. I looked like I was twenty-two, which is what my fake ID said. I would always be the one to buy the beer,” I say.
I pull up to a one story house. Danny and I exit the car and head up to the door and I knock on it.
A man opens the door and I immediately recognize it as JT, but he looked a lot different. He was clean shaven, he had shorter hair, and he was pretty good-looking. “Mike, is that you?” he asks. “What are you doing here?”
“Listen, JT, I need a favor. I need a fake ID,” I say.
JT gets a grimace on his face. “Sorry man, but I don’t do that anymore. Not after the fight I had with my mother.”
“Who is it James?” asks a female voice from inside the house.
“Just an old friend of mine. We won’t be long,” he yells back to her.
“Look, you gotta help me out. You see, this is my son,” I say, referring to Danny.
“You mean the one you gave up for adoption? Wait, aren’t you breaking the law or something?” he asks.
“Well, kind of. His dad doesn’t know I am Danny’s birth father. Anyway, I need the fake ID to enroll him in a basketball tournament, since we don’t have similar last names,” I say. Which reminds me, what time is it? I check my watch and see it is 7:15 PM. We have only forty-five minutes left to sign in.
“What’s so important about this, ‘basketball tournament’, did you say?” he asks.
I nod. “Well, I am in a lot of debt and if I don’t pay it off soon, I am going to be evicted and homeless. The winner of the tournament receives a whopping $25,000,” I say.
JT ponders this for a few seconds. “Gee, y’know, I don’t think I help you out man, I’m sorry,” he says.
“Please JT,” I say, grabbing his arm as he is about to leave and shut the door. “I need this really badly. You know what,” I say, pondering how badly I wanted to get into the tournament. “If we win, I will give you five grand out of twenty five grand,” I say.
He looks intrigued by what I said and says, “All right, I’ll do it. But only because my wife is pregnant, and we could really use the money,” he says. “Come on in.”
“Great, thanks,” I say.
JT goes into the kitchen and I can hear him tell his wife, “Listen, I gotta help this old friend out. He really needs my help. Don’t worry, this will only take five minutes max.”
He comes back and says, “Follow me,” and Danny and I do. He leads us into an office type room, with a desk and computer.
“All right,” JT says, as he gets out a camera. “It’s Danny, right?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Danny says.
“I need you to stand against that wall there. This is for the ID,” JT says. He takes a picture of Danny and then plugs the camera into the computer.
“Let me guess, you want California, right?” he asks, working on his computer.
“Yes,” I say. “Make his name Daniel Hollins.”
“OK, but first Danny, could I see your current ID, so I can match up all the personal info?” JT asks.
“Yeah, sure,” Danny says, pulling out his wallet and handing JT his license.
“OK, great. Wow, looks just like your old one, except for the picture and last name. Well that’s to be expected,” JT says.
“For someone who says they don’t make fake ID’s anymore, you sure can do it quickly,” I say.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say a few of your friends have stopped by again,” JT says. He prints out Danny’s ID and goes to his lamination machine, and laminates it.
“Looks good,” I say, taking it and examining it. I hand it to Danny who puts it in his wallet.
“Could I have my other license back, please?” he asks.
“Sure,” JT says, handing it to him. “Well, I guess that’s it then.”
“Yes, thank you so much, JT,” I say. We head out to the front door and stop.
“Listen, Mike. You’ve gotta win that tournament. If my wife finds out I did this, she’ll get really mad, especially if I don’t get any money out of it,” JT says.
“Don’t worry, you know how good I am at basketball,” I say. “Listen, before I go, the tournament is two weeks from now.”
“Okay. I was thinking ever since we made this deal I should come down and watch it in person. I could bring my wife, but not tell her what it’s for,” he says. “Where is it, by the way?” he asks.
“It’s at Galen Center, where the Trojans basketball team plays,” I say.
“Of course,” JT says.
“One more thing,” I say. “The tournament starts on Saturday, but it isn’t open to the public until Sunday.”
“Okay, I think I can make it,” JT says. “I’ll see you Mike.”
“See ya,” I say.
Danny and I head back to the car and I start to drive back to Galen Center. It is 7:40. I find myself going a bit faster than I normally would.
“I though you said I would get the $5,000,” Danny says, after a few minutes of driving.
“What?” I say, wondering what he was talking about and then finally realizing. “Oh! Well, I promised you $5,000, and you will get $5,000. I’ll take it out of my portion.”
“But I thought you needed almost all of it,” Danny says.
“Well I did, but I think I can manage,” I say.
As I drive a bit further, Danny asks, “What if we get caught?”
“We won’t be. The only people who could rat us out are Jennifer and JT, and I know neither of them will,” I say.
We finally get there, and as we’re running to the doors I check my watch again: 7:57. We run in and see there are only a couple of tables still set up and no families inside. I run up to the nearest one.
“Sorry, we’re late, got caught in traffic. Here’s the form, our ID’s, and the birth certificate,” I say to the man behind the desk, handing him everything I said.
“Okay, everything looks good. You will abide by all the tournament’s rules and regulations?” he asks.
“Yes, sir,” I say.
“Ok, great. The first qualifying game for the tournament is next Saturday at 10:00 AM, a week from today here at Galen Center. Tournament games only take place on weekends to accommodate the fathers’ jobs and their sons’ schoolwork. And here’s your pass to the tournament, show this at the ticket window as you come in,” he says.
“Ok, great,” I say, taking the pass. Danny and I leave Galen Center and head back to my car.
“There’s going to be a qualifying game?” Danny asks.
“Yes, and if I’m not mistaken, more than one. I’m pretty sure they need to whittle down the teams to a power of 2, so no one gets to play fewer games than anyone else, unless they win more,” I say.
“Ok, how many people do you think entered?” he asks.
“My best guess would be a couple hundred, so the qualifier will eliminate people down to 128 or 256 teams. I know, it’s a big tournament, but we can win, Danny. You’ve improved ten times better over practice and I know I still have what I had in college! We’re almost perfect for this competition, because neither the son nor the father can currently be a part of any professional basketball league, and neither of us is!” I say.
“Okay,” Danny says. “You know what? I think we can win too!”
“That’s the spirit!”
Chapter Nine: “The Fake ID”
I drove over to the house of where an old friend of mine lives who used to make me and my friends fake ID’s. He is a few years older than me, so he was in college when we needed fake ID’s as seniors in high school. He made them out of his parents’ basement with the help of a lamination machine.
Anyway, I knock on his door. What if he doesn’t live here anymore? An old woman answers the door, and I recognize her as his mother.
“Hi, Mrs. Thomas, does JT still live here?” I ask her.
She gets an angry look on her face. “Why, so he can make you some more fake ID’s?!” she exclaims. “Yes, I know what he was doing for you and your friends. Let me guess, you need one for him?” she asks, referring to Danny.
“Yes,” I say. “But I don’t need it for alcohol, otherwise I could just buy it for him. Listen, to make a long story short, he’s my son and I need a fake ID to change his last name to match mine, since I gave him up for adoption.”
“Oh,” she says. “I see. Well, my son doesn’t live here anymore. He got married, would you believe it? Anyway, I can give you their address, but I must warn you, he’s a changed man now. He won’t be so willing to make you one,” she says.
“That’s okay, I think I can persuade him,” I say as Mrs. Thomas leaves to get a pen and paper. She returns and then writes down the address and hands it to me. “Thank you very much,” I say politely.
“Not at all,” she says. “Goodbye, Michael.”
“Bye,” I say. Danny and I go back to the car and I start driving to the address Mrs. Thomas gave me.
“So, this guy JT made you fake ID’s so you could get beer?” Danny asks.
“Yes, and it was really effective seeing as I was already over six feet tall then. I looked like I was twenty-two, which is what my fake ID said. I would always be the one to buy the beer,” I say.
I pull up to a one story house. Danny and I exit the car and head up to the door and I knock on it.
A man opens the door and I immediately recognize it as JT, but he looked a lot different. He was clean shaven, he had shorter hair, and he was pretty good-looking. “Mike, is that you?” he asks. “What are you doing here?”
“Listen, JT, I need a favor. I need a fake ID,” I say.
JT gets a grimace on his face. “Sorry man, but I don’t do that anymore. Not after the fight I had with my mother.”
“Who is it James?” asks a female voice from inside the house.
“Just an old friend of mine. We won’t be long,” he yells back to her.
“Look, you gotta help me out. You see, this is my son,” I say, referring to Danny.
“You mean the one you gave up for adoption? Wait, aren’t you breaking the law or something?” he asks.
“Well, kind of. His dad doesn’t know I am Danny’s birth father. Anyway, I need the fake ID to enroll him in a basketball tournament, since we don’t have similar last names,” I say. Which reminds me, what time is it? I check my watch and see it is 7:15 PM. We have only forty-five minutes left to sign in.
“What’s so important about this, ‘basketball tournament’, did you say?” he asks.
I nod. “Well, I am in a lot of debt and if I don’t pay it off soon, I am going to be evicted and homeless. The winner of the tournament receives a whopping $25,000,” I say.
JT ponders this for a few seconds. “Gee, y’know, I don’t think I help you out man, I’m sorry,” he says.
“Please JT,” I say, grabbing his arm as he is about to leave and shut the door. “I need this really badly. You know what,” I say, pondering how badly I wanted to get into the tournament. “If we win, I will give you five grand out of twenty five grand,” I say.
He looks intrigued by what I said and says, “All right, I’ll do it. But only because my wife is pregnant, and we could really use the money,” he says. “Come on in.”
“Great, thanks,” I say.
JT goes into the kitchen and I can hear him tell his wife, “Listen, I gotta help this old friend out. He really needs my help. Don’t worry, this will only take five minutes max.”
He comes back and says, “Follow me,” and Danny and I do. He leads us into an office type room, with a desk and computer.
“All right,” JT says, as he gets out a camera. “It’s Danny, right?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Danny says.
“I need you to stand against that wall there. This is for the ID,” JT says. He takes a picture of Danny and then plugs the camera into the computer.
“Let me guess, you want California, right?” he asks, working on his computer.
“Yes,” I say. “Make his name Daniel Hollins.”
“OK, but first Danny, could I see your current ID, so I can match up all the personal info?” JT asks.
“Yeah, sure,” Danny says, pulling out his wallet and handing JT his license.
“OK, great. Wow, looks just like your old one, except for the picture and last name. Well that’s to be expected,” JT says.
“For someone who says they don’t make fake ID’s anymore, you sure can do it quickly,” I say.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say a few of your friends have stopped by again,” JT says. He prints out Danny’s ID and goes to his lamination machine, and laminates it.
“Looks good,” I say, taking it and examining it. I hand it to Danny who puts it in his wallet.
“Could I have my other license back, please?” he asks.
“Sure,” JT says, handing it to him. “Well, I guess that’s it then.”
“Yes, thank you so much, JT,” I say. We head out to the front door and stop.
“Listen, Mike. You’ve gotta win that tournament. If my wife finds out I did this, she’ll get really mad, especially if I don’t get any money out of it,” JT says.
“Don’t worry, you know how good I am at basketball,” I say. “Listen, before I go, the tournament is two weeks from now.”
“Okay. I was thinking ever since we made this deal I should come down and watch it in person. I could bring my wife, but not tell her what it’s for,” he says. “Where is it, by the way?” he asks.
“It’s at Galen Center, where the Trojans basketball team plays,” I say.
“Of course,” JT says.
“One more thing,” I say. “The tournament starts on Saturday, but it isn’t open to the public until Sunday.”
“Okay, I think I can make it,” JT says. “I’ll see you Mike.”
“See ya,” I say.
Danny and I head back to the car and I start to drive back to Galen Center. It is 7:40. I find myself going a bit faster than I normally would.
“I though you said I would get the $5,000,” Danny says, after a few minutes of driving.
“What?” I say, wondering what he was talking about and then finally realizing. “Oh! Well, I promised you $5,000, and you will get $5,000. I’ll take it out of my portion.”
“But I thought you needed almost all of it,” Danny says.
“Well I did, but I think I can manage,” I say.
As I drive a bit further, Danny asks, “What if we get caught?”
“We won’t be. The only people who could rat us out are Jennifer and JT, and I know neither of them will,” I say.
We finally get there, and as we’re running to the doors I check my watch again: 7:57. We run in and see there are only a couple of tables still set up and no families inside. I run up to the nearest one.
“Sorry, we’re late, got caught in traffic. Here’s the form, our ID’s, and the birth certificate,” I say to the man behind the desk, handing him everything I said.
“Okay, everything looks good. You will abide by all the tournament’s rules and regulations?” he asks.
“Yes, sir,” I say.
“Ok, great. The first qualifying game for the tournament is next Saturday at 10:00 AM, a week from today here at Galen Center. Tournament games only take place on weekends to accommodate the fathers’ jobs and their sons’ schoolwork. And here’s your pass to the tournament, show this at the ticket window as you come in,” he says.
“Ok, great,” I say, taking the pass. Danny and I leave Galen Center and head back to my car.
“There’s going to be a qualifying game?” Danny asks.
“Yes, and if I’m not mistaken, more than one. I’m pretty sure they need to whittle down the teams to a power of 2, so no one gets to play fewer games than anyone else, unless they win more,” I say.
“Ok, how many people do you think entered?” he asks.
“My best guess would be a couple hundred, so the qualifier will eliminate people down to 128 or 256 teams. I know, it’s a big tournament, but we can win, Danny. You’ve improved ten times better over practice and I know I still have what I had in college! We’re almost perfect for this competition, because neither the son nor the father can currently be a part of any professional basketball league, and neither of us is!” I say.
“Okay,” Danny says. “You know what? I think we can win too!”
“That’s the spirit!”
Thursday, July 3, 2008
One Two Punch - Chapter Eight: "Trouble Signing In"
I know it's been a while... but I've been on vacation. That link I had up was just to test something....
Anyway, here is chapter eight entitled "Trouble Signing In". It's one of the shorter chapters, BTW:
Chapter Eight: “Trouble Signing In”
On Monday, I pull Danny aside after class to talk to him.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“Listen, signing up for the tournament is today, I only just realized. Are you available today after school?”
“Yeah, but I have band practice, but I can be done by 4:00,” he says.
I think about it. “Okay, that’ll work. So come to my class at four, ok?”
“Ok, I’ll do that,” he says.
“Oh, wait! You don’t have your birth certificate with you, do you?” I ask.
“No, but I could drive home and get it real quick,” he says.
“So where would that put you on getting back here?” I ask.
“About 4:15,” he says.
“Ok, that’ll still work. See you then, Danny,” I say.
“See ya,” he says.
So after I let my last class go at 2:30, I patiently wait at the school for 4:15. After I’ve finished grading my papers, I just surf the internet. I lose track of time and just as I’m thinking of checking the clock, I hear a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I say. It’s Danny.
“Hey, ready to go?” he asks.
“Yep. You got your birth certificate and ID?” I ask him.
“Yep. My dad wondered why I was in such a hurry so I made up I left my mouthpiece at home” he says.
“Great cover up,” I tell him. “All right, let’s go.”
We go to my car, talking about strategy for the tournament. I drive down to the Galen Center, home of the Trojans basketball team, where the signups are beginning. I never played in the arena as it was built in 2006.
We get out of the car and head in the doors. As we get in, a man asks if we’re here to sign up for the tournament. I say yes, and he hands us some forms and tells us to fill them out. We enter the arena and it is jam-packed with fathers, sons, and even some other family members here and there, lining up to sign up for the tournament. There had to be 20 tables, each with two people at them.
We stand in line and fill out our forms. And then we wait. We waited for what seemed like eons. After about an hour, we finally get to the front of the line.
“Here’s our forms,” I say, handing them to the woman behind the desk.
“OK, do you have a birth certificate and ID for both of you?” She asks.
“Yes,” I say, handing her my and Danny’s ID’s and his birth certificate. “Hmmm….” she says. “Why are your last names different?”
“Because he lives with another family… I gave him up for adoption,” I say. I regretted the words as soon as I spoke them.
“Well, the eligibility requirements clearly state you must be his legal guardian and father who appears on the birth certificate and I’m sorry you only fulfill one of those requirements,” she informs us.
Shoot! “Are you serious? Damn, I must have read over that! Excuse us, please,” I tell her. I take Danny’s arm and pull him to the side.
“What do we do?” he asks me.
“I’m thinking…” I tell him. “Ok, we got two options… both of which are not that appealing, but they’re our only options,”
“Ok,” he responds.
“Option number one, your dad plays in this tournament for me and we hope for the best,” I say.
“Are you kidding? Have you seen my dad?” he says.
“I know. Option number two, we go to another desk and say I am your legal guardian.”
“But my ID has a different last name than yours,” Danny says.
“That is where we get a fake ID,” I tell him.
“Isn’t that illegal?” he asks.
I hesitate and say, “Yes… but if we don’t get caught, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. So let’s see… signing in to the tournaments ends at 8:00 PM tonight... but that’s no problem. I know a guy I went to college with who used to get us fake ID’s all the time. He helped us get a lot of beer, I tell ya.”
“Ok, great,” Danny says.
“So, you’re all right with this?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I guess,” he says. “Let’s just do this and get it over with.”
“We gotta hurry though, let’s go,” I tell Danny, as we head out the doors of Galen Center.
Anyway, here is chapter eight entitled "Trouble Signing In". It's one of the shorter chapters, BTW:
Chapter Eight: “Trouble Signing In”
On Monday, I pull Danny aside after class to talk to him.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“Listen, signing up for the tournament is today, I only just realized. Are you available today after school?”
“Yeah, but I have band practice, but I can be done by 4:00,” he says.
I think about it. “Okay, that’ll work. So come to my class at four, ok?”
“Ok, I’ll do that,” he says.
“Oh, wait! You don’t have your birth certificate with you, do you?” I ask.
“No, but I could drive home and get it real quick,” he says.
“So where would that put you on getting back here?” I ask.
“About 4:15,” he says.
“Ok, that’ll still work. See you then, Danny,” I say.
“See ya,” he says.
So after I let my last class go at 2:30, I patiently wait at the school for 4:15. After I’ve finished grading my papers, I just surf the internet. I lose track of time and just as I’m thinking of checking the clock, I hear a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I say. It’s Danny.
“Hey, ready to go?” he asks.
“Yep. You got your birth certificate and ID?” I ask him.
“Yep. My dad wondered why I was in such a hurry so I made up I left my mouthpiece at home” he says.
“Great cover up,” I tell him. “All right, let’s go.”
We go to my car, talking about strategy for the tournament. I drive down to the Galen Center, home of the Trojans basketball team, where the signups are beginning. I never played in the arena as it was built in 2006.
We get out of the car and head in the doors. As we get in, a man asks if we’re here to sign up for the tournament. I say yes, and he hands us some forms and tells us to fill them out. We enter the arena and it is jam-packed with fathers, sons, and even some other family members here and there, lining up to sign up for the tournament. There had to be 20 tables, each with two people at them.
We stand in line and fill out our forms. And then we wait. We waited for what seemed like eons. After about an hour, we finally get to the front of the line.
“Here’s our forms,” I say, handing them to the woman behind the desk.
“OK, do you have a birth certificate and ID for both of you?” She asks.
“Yes,” I say, handing her my and Danny’s ID’s and his birth certificate. “Hmmm….” she says. “Why are your last names different?”
“Because he lives with another family… I gave him up for adoption,” I say. I regretted the words as soon as I spoke them.
“Well, the eligibility requirements clearly state you must be his legal guardian and father who appears on the birth certificate and I’m sorry you only fulfill one of those requirements,” she informs us.
Shoot! “Are you serious? Damn, I must have read over that! Excuse us, please,” I tell her. I take Danny’s arm and pull him to the side.
“What do we do?” he asks me.
“I’m thinking…” I tell him. “Ok, we got two options… both of which are not that appealing, but they’re our only options,”
“Ok,” he responds.
“Option number one, your dad plays in this tournament for me and we hope for the best,” I say.
“Are you kidding? Have you seen my dad?” he says.
“I know. Option number two, we go to another desk and say I am your legal guardian.”
“But my ID has a different last name than yours,” Danny says.
“That is where we get a fake ID,” I tell him.
“Isn’t that illegal?” he asks.
I hesitate and say, “Yes… but if we don’t get caught, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. So let’s see… signing in to the tournaments ends at 8:00 PM tonight... but that’s no problem. I know a guy I went to college with who used to get us fake ID’s all the time. He helped us get a lot of beer, I tell ya.”
“Ok, great,” Danny says.
“So, you’re all right with this?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I guess,” he says. “Let’s just do this and get it over with.”
“We gotta hurry though, let’s go,” I tell Danny, as we head out the doors of Galen Center.
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