After playing at the arcade, we all went back home to enjoy Mrs . Atkins home cooked Sunday dinner . None of the boys went in specifics about our day or about me talking more than normal . I'm slightly glad since I'm sure it would be blown up into a bigger deal than it should be .
After dinner, showers, and homework, I started to go through the notes I took over the weekend . I wanted to review before tomorrow's practice so I wouldn't be unprepared if Zeke wanted to quiz me again .
Noah came back to our room as I was looking at my notes on the floor . He laid down on his bed . "Are you nervous?"
I nodded . Extremely nervous . This tournament will hold my first game memory . I don't want it to be a bad one . If I make a mistake, we could lose and drop out just after game one .
Advertisement"Is it because of this upcoming weekend?" Noah read my mind . I nodded, giving him my full attention now . "What about it makes you nervous?"
"Losing . " I mumbled under my breath .
"Oh . That's not a big deal . It's normal for teams to lose . No one wins all the time . Don't get me wrong, it's not enjoyable . Think of it as a learning experience . "
"But then we can't play anymore . " I whispered, bowing my head .
Noah laughed outright . "That's not entirely true . At least, we still have the season . " He moved to the floor so we were eye level . "I told you I would explain How league play works, right?" I vaguely remembered him saying something about it before . "So this tournament is considered a single game elimination format . Which means you lose and you're out . That's normal for tournaments . League play is different . "
I grabbed my notebook and flipped to an empty page, jotting down what he was saying .
"I know you didn't really play in middle school, but you knew they had games against other middle schools, right? High school is similar . We're in a league with seven other schools . Throughout the season, you'll play each team twice . At the end of the season you'll compare conference records, and the best one will be crown as league champs for that season . That's when losing starts to matter because every league champ from other leagues will play in C . I . F . "
What's that? I paused a moment from taking notes to look up at Noah . His eyes were shining and he seemed excited .
"CIF stands for California Interscholastic Federation . All California schools are a part of CIF, but within the CIF is different sections, and within them different divisions . Each division will collect a group of league champions and then find a division champion . " He sighed . "But this is all far off . The season doesn't even start till next week after the tournament . Just know we want to win conference games in order to become league champs . " He said with enthusiasm .
I wrote down the basics: win games . That seemed to be the theme with everything he said . If we win, we get to play more games .
Noah peeked over and then burst out laughing . He rolled to his side and started to laugh so hard, he was wheezing .
Mrs . Atkins stepped in the doorframe . "What's going on in here? We can hear Noah's laugh from down the hall . "
I shrugged . I have no idea what set him off .
"Mom . His notes!" He kept on laughing, holding his stomach . I looked at my notes, trying to see what was so funny . My handwriting was neat and I didn't think I had any misspellings .
Mrs . Atkins looked on as her son rolled around the floor . "Noah . It's almost bed time . Please stop causing a ruckus . "
Noah snatched my notebook and stood up . He showed her whatever made him laugh . "I was explaining to Jake what the season looks like and how it's supposed to go . This is all he wrote in the end . "
Mrs . Atkins cracked a smile . "I hope you boys can win as much as you can then . It'll be the only time all my boys play together on the same team . Win it all!" She cheered and then left .
I stood up and looked at my notes in Noah's hand, trying to find the humor .
Noah saw my confusion and started laughing once more . "You wrote win games . That's all . You're so simple-minded that it's hilarious . You don't even know how we stack against other teams and you're all set on winning everything . "
I guess it sounded naive once it's said aloud . Noah did say that it's normal for teams and not everyone can be unbeaten .
Chapter end
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