• The Basketball Story
    By Prongs
    Chapter 1
    Jake
    When Jake got home from basketball practice he went outside and practiced some new moves he learned from his coach. Jake was a natural basketball player. Why do you think he was on the Bulls’ team? He just loved basketball ever since he could remember. He tried out for the school team every year and got on the team every year. He got into college on a basketball scholarship.
    His coach was one of the best basketball players of all time just like Michael Jordan was. Jake’s coach taught them a lot of things. Tomorrow Jake would go back to the court and play the first game of the season with his team.
    The next day when Jake entered the court he went down towards the locker rooms but instead of taking the way everyone else was he went down a secret passage way. There was a long brick wall which everybody just swept past but Jake stopped and searched for the brick in the 42nd column and the 23rd row. This particular brick had a crack just wide enough to stick a small cell phone into it. Jake took out a credit card and stuck in into the crack. He twisted the card, and then pushed the brick into the wall. The entire wall sunk into the ground and a passageway opened up. Jake walked through into the dark and the wall closed again.
    The other people on Jake’s team were going all around twisting and curving hallways but Jake was going straight to the locker rooms. He almost always got there way before his team did so he could change in peace. Jake got to the end of the passageway and opened a little peephole to make sure no one could see him. No one was there so he opened the door. Just about another ten feet to the locker rooms. Once inside he grabbed his uniform and changed. He left the locker rooms and grabbed a ball. Back through the passageway he went.
    Jake new a lot of secret passageways, the only one that knew more than he did was the janitor. Even if Jake had two of his friends one at the entrance of a passageway and the other at the end, the janitor left five minutes after Jake did and got to the end of the tunnel ten minutes before Jake did but didn’t pass him. Jake thought that the janitor should teach him the passageways but unfortunately he didn’t. Not yet.
    In twenty minutes the first game of the season would start. When he got out of the passageway the janitor was waiting for him. Jake jumped startled at the abrupt jump back to Earth.
    “What do you want?” inquired Jake as the janitor motioned to follow him.
    “I want to help you in your game. I learned a trick or a ritual rather. If you take this ball, the first basketball,” Said George (the janitor had a name tag) showing him a really old looking basketball, “ and let the other team get the first dunk, free throw, and three pointer and they won’t score at all afterwards, and you will every time. Oh, and be sure not to tell your team mates what you’re doing because they won’t agree.”
    “Are you sure?” questioned Jake.
    “Positive”


    Chapter 2
    The First Game

    Jake was nervous. Would the janitor’s idea work? It wouldn’t hurt to try, it was only seven points. Jake decided it was worth a try especially if it worked. 5 minutes until the game started. Don’t tell the team. Jake went over what the janitor said in his head again and again. 3 minutes until the game started. Jake grabbed the old ball. 1 minute. Shaking with fear Jake took off his sweatshirt. 20 seconds… 10 seconds… 5...4…3...2...1.

    The game had started after a brief speech, and off Jake went. Running down the court, chasing after the Lakers. Jake had to let the other team score first. Jake had faked stealing the ball and the Lakers scored three points. Then they dunked the ball. And finally they got a free throw. Seven to zero. Then Jake’s team called a time-out. Jake spotted George, and ran up to him.
    “You can use the new ball now,” said George.
    Jake ran out on the court with the new ball bouncing along with him. He was so near the hoop. Jake jumped up and. Swish. Perfect dunk was what the team said in more or less words. The game progressed and the janitor was right. The score seemed to pause on seven for the Lakers and the score for the Bulls seemed to fast forward from zero to two-hundred. The bulls seemed unstoppable.
    The game ended. The cheers in the building were so loud Jake couldn’t believe the ceiling was still attached. After the noise died down, another twenty minutes later, there was a small victory speech from our coach considering it was the first game. When we were done Jake noted the score. 173 for the bulls, and 7 for the Lakers. Maybe the janitor was right. This game was amazing.
    Jake went home and there was his girlfriend Nicole. Nicole had brown eyes, and dark brown hair. She had a beautiful smile. After a small half hour discussion of the game. They went to sleep.
    Jake had a strange but amazing dream. He was still a basketball player but he was dreaming he was playing many games and winning every one of them. Then the janitor was his coach and then the dream seemed to repeat.










    Chapter 3
    One exception

    As soon as Jake got back to the court, the next day, he started looking for George. When Jake found him in his office, he thanked the janitor for his incredible tip. George then picked up a tile on the floor. If you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t be able to find it because of how well it blended. He entered and motioned for Jake to follow.

    When Jake entered he couldn’t see. Once the janitor turned on a gas powered lamp the room lit up and Jake could see. Jake marveled at the amazing room in which he had stepped in. There was an old wooden desk with a swivel chair on one side of the desk. And couch that could probably fit four or five people was on the other side. The janitor asked Jake to sit down so he sat in the middle of the couch. Jake wanted to ask how the janitor knew about so many tunnels, and why did he know about that ritual. But the janitor seemed to read his mind.
    “I learned all the tunnels from my dad and his dad before him and his before him and so on. That ritual also was an old family tradition. We have lived in this castle for many years. Then it became a basketball court. My family line is royalty. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was the king of the world. His sons were the king and queen of land, water, weather, and sky. Their one of their sons was the king of sports, and his son was the king of basketball. Or one of his sons was. There is a king for each sport, and when the king of a sport retires his son will become the new king. As for here, I am the prince of basketball, my son is the coach. The only exception to this rule of father and son is you,” explained George.
    “What do you mean?” inquired Jake.
    “Well the coach can’t seem to get a wife to get a son. Therefore he wanted to adopt you, to continue the tradition.
    “The ritual I told you about yesterday. Most people can only use it once. Sometimes you can do it quite a few times but you have to do it again before each game. Once again the only exception is you. You only have to do it once and it last forever for you and your team. You will win every game you or your team play.”












    Chapter four
    Books

    Jake got home and relayed what the janitor told him. Her expression was just as Jake predicted, shocked.
    “What, you believe him?” inquired Nicole, as Jake nodded.
    When Jake got up he got dressed, ate breakfast, and watched the news. It wasn’t until about 7:30 A.M. that Nicole got up and dressed. Half an hour later Jake left to the castle. When he got there he caught up with George. The janitor said that he would show Jake secret passageways yesterday in more or less words, and the janitor seemed to remember this also. He pushed the desk into the floor and a passage way in the wall appeared. Jake followed George, who led him farther down into the castle than Jake had ever been in. eventually the marble steps stopped and the twosome came to a halt in front of two gigantic oak doors. Jake longed to know what was behind the doors. Jake hardly noticed the four other passageways to his right and left.
    The janitor pushed the doors open and Jake nearly fainted. He walked forward through the doors, and came face to face with one what Jake believed was at least one million books in the most enormous library Jake had ever seen. There were shelves, desks, and lounge chairs in which you can read. Jake hardly cared that he had a game here in a week because he wanted to sit here and read until he died. Jake never knew how long he stayed in there but it must have been a long time considering because the first time he looked up from the book the janitor was gone so he continued reading. Jake didn’t leave on his own free will, but the janitor made him leave the next day.


















    Chapter Five
    The Season
    Jake’s team played brilliantly throughout the season. His team hadn’t lost yet. Jake spent much of his free time in the gargantuan library. He spent countless hours in the sports books. Especially the basketball ones. The library he first saw was not even close to the size of the whole thing. There were several floors. About ten floors and the parts of the castle Jake previously explored went only up four floors. That means that a good six floors were dedicated only to the library.
    When Jake wasn’t in here, he was either at home, practice, or in a game. But aside from that, he hardly left the library. He learned that every room was the same or at least similar. Each was about thirty feet tall, there were shelves along the wall stretching close to the ceiling. Throughout the shelves along the wall were several sliding ladders so you could reach those books way up there. Though that alone seemed to be enough books to last you a lifetime, there were those shelves you see in public libraries, you know the ones about seven feet tall scattered all throughout the room. This was common with all floors. There were those gigantic doors that Jake first entered the library through upon every floor leading outside to a good twenty by twenty feet balcony made out of a light grey stone like the most of the castle was made up of. The inside was also decorated with what looked like a huge symbol upon banners. The crest was mainly a huge wolf with those funny swords that pirates used, forming an X shape just beneath the wolf’s neck. The background was green. Also the floor was covered in a thin red carpet like they have in those movies with kings and queens.
    Now you’re probably wondering ‘why is this guy going on and on about a library when the chapter is named The Season’. I am doing this because I thought you might like to have some understanding of the place that Jake spent most of his time and how the place affected the season. The basketball books he read had some tips about basketball. It helped him with his dunks, free-throws, and now he could make a full court shot. (He could throw a basketball from one end of the court to the other and make a basket.) It’s only three points, but it is still pretty cool. Jake shared these tips with his team. They were getting better every game. So were the teams he was facing. But they were still way better than the other teams.
    Jake’s team got point after point in the game. Their shots went mainly like dunk, three-pointer, three-pointer, two-pointer, dunk, two-pointer, and so on, but I was just making sure you got the point, Jake’s team was ‘da bomb’. (‘Da bomb’ is a phrase meaning really good.) Jake’s team was on a rampage. They dominated the scoreboard every game. Win, win, win was Jake’s teams chat but now it was a way of life. Jake’s team only had three more games and it seemed that his team was the favorite to win. For the first time Jake wasn’t losing every game, but was winning every game. Everyone else on his team seemed to feel the same way as well. Their attitude was way more positive all around now, and that seemed to improve their game even more.
    While waiting for the next game, Jake went back to the library, but this time not alone. No, the janitor didn’t go with him, nor did he bring any teammates. Instead he walked through the big oak doors yet again with the only person he trusted to keep this secret, for this was a big one. Nicole was walking at his side when he opened the doors. He trusted her with other big secrets before. And no one knows them.
    Chapter Six
    Flashback
    Her expression was a mirror of his expression when she walked in. her jaw dropped and eyes widened so much, he feared her eyebrows might float up to the ceiling. After what seemed an eternity (only ten minutes) she finally decided she wasn’t in another one of her fantasy dreams. Her first reaction was to explore this marvelous place. She sped over to the closest shelf closely followed by Jake, who offered to give her a tour of that fantastic place in which she entered. She had sort of a graceful smile. It was just a polite, casual kind of smile. It made him think back upon the time he first started going out with her.
    It was in sixth grade when she first asked him out, although it was on a dare. He said yes, but she seemed mad so he broke up with her. But after a few days he asked her out again, and surprisingly, she said yes. She broke up with him on the last day of school. Jake left Mr. McKown’s class the same way he entered, through the door. And he was also without a girlfriend when he left. The next year, he went out with a girl named Jennifer who he came to hate. Therefore he broke up with her. (She ended up going out with Jake’s best friend Jordan.) A few days passed while Jake was without a girlfriend in middle school until Nicole asked him out and Jake said yes. He later asked her why she broke up with him just three months earlier and her reply was that she didn’t like summer boyfriends and also from peer pressure.
    A soft tapping on Jake’s shoulder brought him back down to Earth, along with a quiet voice.
    “Jake, what are you doing,” inquired Nicole with a quizzical look upon her face. Jake looked around him and noticed a strange thing. It seemed while he was having a flashback, his legs kept walking forward, not noticing the staircase or ladder. Jake was hanging about fifteen feet in the air. His right arm grabbing the bookshelf, his left clutching the side of the ladder his feet wrapped around the stone railing upon the staircase, and the rest of his body dangling freely in mid air.
    Realizing how pain would shoot through his body as fast as a bullet if he fell, he moved his right hand above his left, removed his feet from the railing, and let gravity handle the rest. Jake’s feet dropped just as Nicole gasped. Because he was holding on to the ladder, his feet swung to the ladder. His feet finally rested upon the rung he was aiming for. Jake went down the ladder, looking as if nothing had happened. Nicole ran down the steps (for they were going upstairs when Jake fell into his situation) and embraced him in a hug. Although she was silent, Jake knew what this hug meant. What if you fell? I’m so glad you’re okay. Jake silently responded with a hug from himself. They stood there hugging for about a minute when Jake sensed someone staring at him. Jake looked up and realized that George showed up silently and was gazing at the couple. Nicole, who thought George was a stalker or homeless man, attempted to attack him but Jake held her back and introduced her to the Janitor, George.
    “I only came to get a book about secret passageways in the castle. I forgot several that I need to use right now and I seemed to have misplaced my copy at my house,” responded George to their silent question. Jake nodded.
    George left as quickly as he came. Jake and Nicole didn’t notice owing to the fact that Jake continued the tour. Jake didn’t have any other flashbacks but throughout the whole tour he kept thinking about the one he had. He thought most about the hug that Nicole had given him. It made him good inside. It made him feel warm. He wished he could feel that way forever.















    Chapter Seven
    The castle’s secret passageways
    Jake spent more time in the library than he did at his own house. But now he wasn’t looking through basketball books. Instead he was scouring the library for any books about the castle’s secret passageways. He had already flipped through countless books. His main problem was that he had no idea where to begin. The library was enormous. The janitor could have gone to any floor. There might only be a few books about the passageways.
    Jake started his search on the seventh floor for seven was his favorite number. There wasn’t a speck of hope and Jake was planning on quitting and going home but a book caught Jake’s eye. He grabbed one last book. The title was what made him open the book. ‘Secret Passageways of the Marauder’s Castle’ was the title. Marauders, wasn’t that the name of the castle. Yes, that was it. He opened the book and saw that on every page there was a picture or map with a caption about how to get into the passageway. There were a few passageways he recognized. He closed the book, thinking he should go home soon when one of the pages caught his eye. He went back to the page and saw a map of the passageways leading outside the castle. One to favorite store where he bought soda one to the train station, and there were quite a few more. The one that his eye was drawn to was the one leading right to his house. On the map it was labeled ‘Pirate Get Away House’.
    So that was why it was called Marauder’s Castle, it was home to pirates. No doubt, nearly all pirates came here to combine their treasure and hide from people looking for them. Good or bad people, who would expect pirates to have a castle. That also explains why there are so many places labeled ‘Pirate Get Away Spot’ scattered all across North America and South America.
    Jake, not wanting to take a book from the library, hid the book in a secret cubby hole in which there was a fake stone piece covering it up. Before doing so he memorized how to get into the passageway. He hurled himself down the stairs until he reached the second floor. He then changed direction completely heading towards the fourth bookshelf in the row. He removed the books blocking the passageway, lifted up the wood section on the bottom and sank down the hole. He grabbed the torch to his right and reached for the matches to his left and a second later the tunnel was alive with the shadows dancing upon the wall like the flames danced on the torch. He placed the wood section back in his place and started down the path.
    “shana te homa nish to palock shoonka la poe,” Jake whispered, speaking to the fire. Jake, who loved fire, could also speak to it and it could speak to him. As soon as Jake spoke these words, the fire sprang up making it tremendously brighter.
    Jake continued until his feet ached but he kept walking forward. Thud. Jake’s head collided upon wood. The tunnel was at an end. He removed the piece of Jake’s floor and he entered the small room. Rubbing his forehead, he replaced the wood panel. He looked around and noticed a mirror, a two-way mirror. He recognized what lay beyond the mirror as his bathroom. He placed his hand in the crack in his mirror and turned like you would with a doorknob. He pushed and the mirror door opened. He entered the bathroom and closed the mirror. He quietly stole into his hallway and slipped out the backdoor. He wove his way through the trees around his house (for Jake lived in a forest). He ran to the front door and strolled in casually.
    Nicole was stunned that he didn’t stay at the library again. After deciding that it was a good thing he was home she hugged him. The hug was like the one in the library. Except this one was uninterrupted.
    Jake walked to the living room followed by Nicole. He was deciding the best way to tell Nicole about the events that had only recently taken place.
    “Nicole, you know how the basketball court is in a castle. Marauder’s Castle to be exact,” he began. “Well, it was once home to pirates across the world. There are some tunnels inside the castle but some go outside the castle. I saw it in a book. The places are scattered across North and South America, and are labeled ‘Pirate Get Away Spots’ and one leads right to this house. Behind the mirror, there is a secret room with a tunnel underneath it, go down the tunnel and you will be in the library. Free admission to my games,” he wisecracked.
    “So that’s how you got here without a car,” she examined the driveway while saying this. “It’s cold in here,” said Nicole, shivering.
    “Napala te snokov phsnah fa tumpa,” said Jake to the fireplace where a fire burst out of nowhere. Nicole was used to this type of stuff. Fire bursting out of nowhere, fire suddenly going out, or getting brighter, or hotter, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t shocking when it happened.