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in the air, at least,” Logan said breathlessly.
    They slapped a high-five with their gloved hands. Ben grabbed the toboggan rope. “Want to do it again?”
    “Nah,” Logan said. “Let’s go try the ninth hole.”
    “I thought you liked this one.”
    “I did. I don’t want to push our luck, that’s all.” Logan grinned. “And anyway, you’ve got to talk to Hud, and you can’t do that if you kill yourself on the toboggan.”
    Ben sighed. “I guess I do have to say something, huh?”
    Logan nodded. “Yeah, you do.
Captain
.”
    “Fine. I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Ben said. “After practice.”

Chapter 10
    B en spun and shot a fadeaway jumper. The ball swished through the net and he hustled back on defense.
    “Okay, tie score, 8–8,” Coach George called out. “Remember, it’s ten baskets to win. The losers run wind sprints.”
    “Come on!” Ben shouted to his teammates. “Let’s beat these guys.” He couldn’t believe Roosevelt’s first stringers were having so much trouble beating the second stringers.
If we had Hud instead of Levon at point guard, we’d be killing them
, he thought.
    Hud brought the ball downcourt. He faked right and, with a quick crossover, drove past Levon to the basket. Then he tried to slip a wraparound pass to Sam, thesecond-string center. But the ball bounced through Sam’s hands, off Logan’s leg, and out of bounds.
    “Yellow ball,” Coach George said, pointing in the second team’s direction. “Hudson, make sure the person’s ready for the pass!”
    As the scrimmage resumed, Hud tried to dribble by Levon again. But this time, Ben stepped in to stop him. Thinking quickly, Hud flicked a pass to Marcus Belanger, the second team’s shooting guard, for an open jumper.
    Swish!
    “Yellow team leads, 9–8,” Coach George said.
    “Come on, we need a good shot,” Ben told his teammates as they ran up the floor.
    But Hud surprised everyone. Instead of running to play defense upcourt, he spun quickly and played tight defense against Levon in the backcourt, forcing him to stop his dribble.
    “Help!” Levon called, desperately shifting the ball from side to side as Hud waved his arms all around him.
    Ben darted back toward Levon, but Hud got a hand on the ball before Levon could make a pass. The ball bounced along the open floor and all three players scrambled after it.
    Hud was the quickest. He grabbed the ball, leaped up with a half-twist, and tossed it to Marcus, who laid the ball into the basket for the winning score.
    Coach George blew his whistle. Loud. “All right, Logan, Jordan, Andrew, Ben, and Levon. Give me five wind sprints. I want everything you got. Make sure you touch the walls at each end of the gym.”
    Ben walked to the back of the gym with Logan.
    “How did we lose to those guys?” Logan asked, shaking his head.
    “Easy,” Ben said. “Hud.”
    Logan looked around and lowered his voice. “Did you talk to him about Westwood?”
    Ben shook his head. “Not yet. I figured I’d talk to him after practice.” He stopped as he reached the back wall. “And practice isn’t over yet. At least, not for us.”
    Coach George blew his whistle again and the five tired Roosevelt first stringers began their sprints.
    Minutes later, Ben and Logan walked down the stairs to the locker room, towels draped around their necks. Ben could hear the hiss of showers from inside.
    Hud stepped out of the locker room just as Ben and Logan reached the bottom of the steps. His hair was still wet from his shower.
    “Hey, what’s the hurry?” Logan asked him in a teasing voice. “I thought you’d want to hang around and trash talk us about losing to you guys.”
    “Nah, I just got to go someplace,” Hud said.
    “Westwood?” Ben asked.
    Hud just looked at him, seeming a bit surprised.
    Logan reached for the locker room door. “I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got to shower.”
    Ben eyed Hud. “So
are
you going to the rec center?”
    “Maybe later.” Hud