free throw ✧ DISCONTINUED

19 | savage

They were now an official couple. Thankfully, Brooklyn's "girlfriend" Peyton Walker was already over him, and let Brooklyn and Mackenzie be. Somehow Mackenzie meddled her way back onto the basketball team, just in time for playoffs.

"Ziegler! I didn't let you back onto the team for you to miss all your shots!" Coach Martin called from off-court, and Mackenzie wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead. "Let's go!"

She glanced at Brooklyn, who was sitting on the bench. He gave her a nod, as she dribbled down the court, and passed the ball to Finn Anderson, who  then bounce passed it to Anthony Baldwin, who took a shot.

It was down to the 3rd period, and Mackenzie hadn't made a single basket. It was 44 to 37, and the Weaver High School Jaguars were losing.

"Listen here, Baldwin. I understand you like to show off for your cheerleader girlfriend, but take another half-court shot and I'll pull you out of the game faster than you can roll those pretty blue eyes at me." Anthony gulped, giving Coach a nod. Mackenzie clenched her jaw, her short legs near trembling.

"Relax." Brooklyn whispered, and Mackenzie looked down at her legs, and struggled to keep them straight.

"And Ziegler, you have to score some points! You're point guard for god's sake! Get your head in the game, come on!" Before Coach Martin could continue, the score board blared, and the game was due to continue.

"You're gonna be okay." Brooklyn said to Mackenzie, as she gave him a high five, and jogged back onto the court.

Minutes flew by, and the score was now 61 to 59, and Weaver was continuing to lose.

"Let's go Fell! Stop being a ball hog!" Mikey shouted, pushing passed a giant on the other team, and nearly tripping over his own shoelaces. "Kyle! Pass the ball!"

Kyle ignored Mikey, dribbling past his own teammate, and passing the ball to Mackenzie, with only seconds left. She gripped the basketball with both hands, faking out a red-head on the opposing team. She made it a little past half-court, before the very same red-head slammed into her side, stealing the ball from her hands.

The whistle sounded from the referee, and was marked as a foul. This allowed Mackenzie to take two foul shots, after she recovered from falling.

"You okay, 3?" The ref called, as Mikey helped Mackenzie up. She nodded, brushing herself off. She was passed the ball, and lined herself up with the basket.

She seemed dazed, and her footwork was quite wobbly.

"You sure you're good, Ziegler?" Kyle asked Mackenzie, and she nodded.

"I'm fine. That ginger kid is a savage." She scoffed, and watched as he rolled his eyes. Kyle laughed, giving Mackenzie a pat on the back.

"Get us some points."

Her shoulders were squared towards the basket, and she bent her knees. As she released the ball from her grip, her feet left the ground and the ball sailed through the air.

The first shot bounced off the backboard, hit the rim, and hit the floor, without going through the net.

She gulped, as the ball was passed back to her. She remembered Nathan telling her she had incorrect form, and that just upped her anxiousness.

"I can still make a perfect free throw can't I?"

She shut her eyes. Inhaled, exhaled, and shot the ball. In the complete silence, she heard the ball fall through the net, followed by the sound of squeaking sneakers.

Mikey grabbed the rebound, passing the ball to Anthony, who struggled to pass it to Kyle, who got intercepted by a tall and lanky boy.

It was down to the wire.

61 to 60, down by two points, 37 seconds left in the game, and the KallerHill Hawks were in custody of the ball.

"Hannigan, go in for Scott!"

Mikey threw his arms up in the air. "Are you kidding me? There's half a minute left!"

"Do you want to win a playoff game? Or do you want to stand here and argue?" Coach said, and Mikey jogged off the court as Logan Hannigan took his place.

Logan quickly snatched the ball off the other team's point guard, and jogged down the court to dunk the ball in.

The crowd roared as the buzzer blared, leaving the score at a 62 to 61, the Weaver Jaguars moving on to the second round of the playoffs.

All the boys toppled onto Logan, screaming about how "he's the man" and "he's number one." Mackenzie ran into Brooklyn's embrace, a huge smile on her face.

"We did it! I really think we have a chance at the championships now!" She said excitedly, giving him a kiss of the cheek.

"Maybe I'll actually play longer than 2 minutes." He scoffed, as the two walked over towards the rest of the team and Coach.

"Alright, who's up for pizza?"

x

nice fun cool!!!!

ok so if u haven't noticed i basically unpublished all my ugly stories but don't worry i will bring them back upon popular request
but anyway im writing a new story so hit that up bye

EDIT: y'all I forgot how long this book is this is taking forever to republish