Wheel Wizards (2 page)

Danny's smile faded. “
What
do you get? What's with the look when you said ‘wheelchair basketball’?”

Seth blinked. He had the feeling that Danny didn't like what he had said, but couldn't see why. “Well … I only meant … you
know,
wheelchair
basketball. Not
real
basketball.”

Now Seth was sure that Danny was angry “Uhhuh,” Danny said, giving Seth a flat stare. “
Real
basketball, like
you
used to play, I'll bet, before you wound up in that chair.”

“Right,” Seth replied. “I was good, too, but,” he looked at the floor, “that's over for me, now.”

“Yeah, that's a shame.” Danny didn't sound sympathetic. In fact, he sounded sarcastic.

“Hey, you know what I mean,” Seth said, worried
that he'd insulted Danny somehow. “I only got hurt a while ago, so I'm not … When did you have
your
accident?”

The older boy's eyes drilled into Seth's eyes. “I didn't have any accident. I had a birth defect; been using a wheelchair
all my life.”

Seth thought he understood. “Oh. Well, you're used to this, I guess. I mean, you
never
played
real
basketball. You don't know what I've been going through. It's like —”

“If you want a shoulder to cry on,” Danny interrupted roughly, “you better look elsewhere. I'm busy.” He started back onto
the court, then turned back to face Seth.

“Actually, you sound like you're feeling sorry for yourself so you won't need any sympathy from me. By the way, I have a great
life, and I happen to
love
wheelchair basketball. It's a great sport, but it's probably too much for you. See you around.”

As he turned away, Seth left the gym, resentful over Danny's rudeness.
What's his problem
? he wondered. He'd hoped that Danny might turn out to be a new friend with whom he could share his troubles, but it didn't
look like that would happen.

Outside the gym, a voice called, “Yo, Seth!”

It was Lou. Seth sighed. Earlier he had been looking for a way to apologize to his old friend. But after Danny's hostility,
Seth didn't want company. Still, here came Lou anyway.

“Hey, Seth, some guys are coming over on Saturday to watch a game on TV, and I was thinking maybe you'd like to come, too.”

“I don't think so,” Seth replied, wanting the conversation to be over.

Lou frowned. “And that's that, huh? Listen, what's going on? You look like you want me to go away and stop bugging you. If
you do, say the word and I'm gone.”

Seth scowled. “That's what I've been trying to say for weeks.”

“Fine,” Lou said. “Now I understand. I won't bother you anymore. I guess you'd rather mope around than have friends. That's
up to you. So long.” Lou spun on his heel and stormed away.

Seth headed for the school door, his mind in turmoil. He wondered if he'd ever have another friend … or another really happy
day.

T
he next morning, Seth was having breakfast with his family, and he told them about his encounter with Danny.

“Too bad he was such a creep. He looked really tough, and did he have a great outside shot! Anyway, he was going on about
wheelchair basketball and how cool it was.” Seth snorted. “Yeah,
right!
”

His sister took a bite of toast. “That reminds me, I heard something about a wheelchair-basketball league that is going to
play some games here. My Phys. Ed. teacher, Ms. Fabini, mentioned it. She says there are women's
and
men's teams and that it's fun to watch. You should check it out, Seth. It might be something for you to try.”

Seth shot a scornful look at Phyllis. “I don't
think
so.”

“Why not?” asked Mr. Pender. “It sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Come on, Dad! Are you kidding?” Seth waved a hand in disgust. “I played
real
basketball! And I was good! This wheelchair stuff has got to be totally lame.”

“How do you know?” Phyllis demanded. “You've never played it. You've never
seen
it. Come on, bro, it's worth a look, anyway”

Seth stared straight ahead. “
You
look at it, if you want. I've got other things to do.”

“Oh, really?” Phyllis leaned forward. “Like what, exactly? Like lying on your bed and sulking?”

Mrs. Pender put a hand on Phyllis's ann. “Honey, don't —”

Phyllis shook the hand off. “No, Mom, I'm sorry, but we've all been tiptoeing around because we're afraid of hurting Seth's
feelings, which is more than I can say of
him
. But maybe we need to all say what's on our minds, because this other stuff isn't working.

“I
know
Seth loves sports and that he misses them a lot. And now we hear about something that he could actually play, and he just
sits there and puts
it down without even knowing anything about it. That's crazy to me.”

Seth wheeled away from the table. “Everyone around here thinks they know what's best for me, but —”

“I don't say I know what's best for you,” Phyllis interrupted, grabbing hold of his chair so he couldn't leave. “But I don't
think
you
know what's best for. you, either. Not the way you've been lately. Being rude and nasty to us when all we do is try to help.
Turning your friends into enemies. Moping around like your life is over —”

“It
is
over!” Seth shouted. “Half of me doesn't work anymore and it never will again!”

Phyllis grabbed her brother's hand. “Your
brain
still works, if you'll let it! People can have wonderful lives even when they have a disability! You just won't let it happen,
and it's … Let us help you, please! And start helping yourself, too.” She let go of his hand and his chair to pound her fists
against her knees in frustration.

Seth hung his head, staring silently at the floor. Deep down, he knew that Phyllis was right, but
didn't have a clue about what to do or say, or how to begin to make something good out of his life.

He decided to start out small. That afternoon at school, he caught Lou's eye. Lou started to walk away, head down, but Seth
called after him.

“Lou, wait a second!”

The other boy stopped and waited. His face was expressionless. “What do you want?”

Seth licked his lips, suddenly not sure of what he wanted to say. “Listen, if you never want to talk to me or have anything
to do with me, after the way I've been acting lately, well, that's the way it has to be. I know I've been a total creep.”

A small smile flickered over Lou's mouth. “Maybe not
total
, but pretty near.”

“Well, I'm sorry,” Seth said. “You've always been a good friend, and I know you still want to be.…”

“You got
that
right,” Lou replied. “But you sure make it hard.”

“I know,” Seth mumbled, feeling miserable. Suddenly, the words just started pouring out of him. “I don't even know why I'm
acting like this. I should feel so lucky to have friends like you and a family
that wants to help, but I look at myself, and I feel like I'm trapped in this chair forever, and I get so
down
. And I say bad things, and I know I'm hurting people, but I can't stop myself.”

Seth sighed. “The thing is, I still want to be friends. I'll try to act more like it from now on. I don't know for sure if
it'll work, but I promise I'll try to treat you like a friend. If it's not too late, that is.”

Lou studied Seth for a moment. “It's not too late. Let's take it from here and see how it goes, all right?” He stretched out
a hand, and Seth grabbed it, hard. “All
right!
” Seth said.

Lou looked past Seth, and said, “There's Phyllis. She's headed this way, like she wants to talk to you.”

Seth groaned and closed his eyes. “She probably wants to yell at me about this morning. I was acting like a jerk at breakfast.”

Lou's eyes popped open in a cartoonish look of amazement. “
You
? Impossible!”

“I thought I saw you,” said Seth's sister as she came up to them.

“Listen, Phyl,” Seth began, “about this morning —”

Phyllis held up a hand. “I know. I guess I shot my mouth off way too much.”

Seth shook his head. “No, you were right. It was me who —”

“Okay,” Phyllis cut in again. “We've apologized to each other. Now come on. There's a poster I want you to see. Follow me.”

As the boys went with Phyllis, Lou and Seth exchanged a look, and Seth shrugged. They stopped in front of a bulletin board
by the gym door.

“What do you think?” Phyllis asked.

The poster read:

Game
Sunday
Night!!!

The Junior Wheelchair-Basketball League presents

The Rollin’ Rebels vs.

The Wheel Wizards

Sunday
, 8:00
PM

“Ta-da!” sang Phyllis. “Just like we were talking about! I think you should go.”

“Hey, yeah,” Lou agreed. “It sounds cool. What do you say, Seth?”

Seth made a face. “I don't know. Maybe another time.”

Phyllis put her fists on her hips and stared at her
brother. “Another time? You have big plans for Sunday night?”

Seth shook his head. “No, but …”

“Come on, let's go,” Lou urged. “I want to see what it's like. If it's dumb, we'll leave.”

Seth raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, all right. But don't blame me if you're bored out of your gourd.”

Phyllis beamed at Lou as she took off. Lou cocked his head. “Sounds like someone's playing he cps right now.” He opened the
door a crack. “It's a guy shooting from a wheelchair!”

Seth looked past Lou. “It's this guy I met yesterday. His name is Danny, and I don't think he likes me much.”

Suddenly Danny looked their way, He saw Seth and nodded in recognition. “How are you doing?

“Okay,” Seth said. “Can we come in?”

Danny smiled. “It's your gym.”

Once inside, Seth introduced Danny and Lou to each other.

“You know anything about this game Sunday night?” asked Lou.

Danny bounced the basketball. “Sure. I'll be
playing. I'm with the Wheel Wizards, and it's the first game of the season.”

“Hey, cool,” Lou said. “We're going to the game, right, Seth?”

Danny looked at Seth. “That so? You coming? I hope you don't get bored, seeing that you used to play
real
basketball and all.”

Seth felt his face turn red. “Uh, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I was dumb.”

“Forget it,” Danny replied. “Listen, the rest of the team is due soon for practice, so I can't talk now. But come early Sunday
and watch the warmups and meet the rest of the team. I bet you change your mind about this game. It's pretty awesome.”

“Cool!” Lou said.

“Sure, that'd be great,” Seth agreed. They left the gym and beaded out of the school.

It was a warm day and Seth wheeled himself home, with Lou walking beside him.

“I don't know why you thought Danny doesn't like you,” Lou said after a while. “He seems to get along with you all right.
And he's a nice guy, I think.”

Seth laughed. “Yeah, he is. It was my fault. I
basically said that I thought wheelchair basketball wasn't real basketball, and he didn't like that at all.”

Lou nodded. “I guess he wouldn't. Hey, he looks like a strong guy. Maybe this game is going to be better than you think.”

“I doubt it,” said Seth. “I mean, here's the thing: Danny has been in a wheelchair all his life, and it figures he'd think
wheelchair basketball is neat. But I used to play
real
basketball.”

“Maybe you shouldn't call it
real
basketball,” Lou suggested. “I mean, there must be a way to put it that isn't so … well, insulting to a guy like Danny. And
by the way, Danny looks to me like someone who feels good about his life, even if he's in a wheelchair. You might want to
think about that.”

Seth frowned. “Maybe. But I still think that it's different when someone has never been able to walk or run. It's less of
a problem.”

Lou replied, “And
I
still think your life will get a lot better, sooner than you think.”

“You could be right,” Seth said.

But he didn't think so.

O
n Sunday evening, Seth and Lou got to the gym an hour before the game was due to start. Nobody was there yet, except for a
bunch of guys who were clearly players. Seth spotted Danny on the court at one free-throw line, practicing free throws, while
several teammates tossed up shots from all around the basket. There was a similar grouping of players at the other end of
the floor.

Lou pointed to Danny, saying, “Nobody's wearing uniforms yet, but I think these must be the Wheel Wizards, and those guys
have to be the Rollin’ Rebels.”

Seth nodded, looking around curiously. In addition to the boys who were practicing shots, several others were scattered around
the sidelines, doing things with their chairs. One boy sitting on a bench
appeared to be putting on a wheel; another sat in a wheelchair like Seth's and was adjusting some kind of cushion on another
chair with cambered wheels. Lou nudged Seth and gestured to one of the Rollin’ Rebels who had a bumper sticker on the back
of his chair that said
Eat My Dust
.

When the guy with the bumper sticker turned their way, Seth saw that he had a burly upper body, but that his legs only extended
to his knees. Seth became aware that the athletes on the court had a wide range of disabilities. Some had only one leg, some
had no legs at all. He was startled to see one player get out of his wheelchair, stand up, and walk slowly toward the sidelines
to get a towel. He had heavy braces on both knees.

A few minutes later, Danny saw Seth and Lou, waved to them, and came over.

“You made it,” he said, shaking hands with both boys. “Good to see you.”

“There are some awesomely muscular dudes out there,” Lou observed.

Danny nodded. “You got
that
right. When you use your arms and upper body like we do, even if you
don't
work out, you get pretty buffed.” He looked at
Seth. “I bet your upper body is stronger than it used to be. Am I right?”