open | practice.makes.perfect

[Mike Payne]

Mike Payne stood on the foul line holding a basketball. He bent his knees and sent it up to the hoop. Swish He jogged up and retrieved the ball. He repeated this series. Swish...Swish...Swish... The fact that he was making each shot didn't bring a grin to his face. In fact, he kept up a stoic front for the duration of his self-imposed practice. He kept shooting foul shots for about 45 minutes before declaring the excersize over. He held the ball between his arm and his hip and walked over to his gym bag. He pulled out a bottle of water and took a swig. He looked at the hoop. With one hand, he chucked the ball towards the net from his position on the sidelines. Swish. The ball bounced off towards the door of the gym, and before Mike could make a move to get it, it was picked up by someone standing just outside the door. They walked in carrying it...

[Sawyer Collins]

Drops of sweat trickled down Sawyer's face, as stepped inside the sportplex, a towel draped around his neck. His grey t-shirt was soaked, clinging on to his torso like a second skin. A pair of black basketball shorts sat on his waist. He had slipped on a pair of black Nike Shox, comfortable for working out. Before pushing the door of the gym open, the boy pressed his ear against it. Someone was inside already, playing. The boy wondered who it was.

Pushing the door open, he was greeted by the sight of a basketball bouncing towards him. With one foot, he stopped it, and bent down to pick the ball of synthetic leather up. For a moment, he merely looked at it, tossing it from hand to hand. Finally he stepped forward. The familiar face of Michael Payne greeted Sawyer as he walked towards the court.

"Mike," he casually greeted, nodding his head once. "I think you lost this." The boy passed the basketball back. Oddly enough, Sawyer didn't have his own basketball with him. He assumed that there'd be a pickup game going on, and that he'd just go and join one.

Both of the boys were in the basketball team, so it was no wonder why Sawyer Collins knew Michael Payne. Of course, like with almost everyone else in the basketball team, he wasn't too close to him. Sawyer kept almost everyone at an acquaintance type of relationship, save for his two sisters, and a few best friends.

"Practicing, huh," he half-asked, tossing his towel to the baseline of the court. "Mind if I join?"

[Mike Payne]

Mike nodded back at Sawyer. "Hey, man." He easily caught the ball as it was passed back to him.
Mike liked Sawyer well enough. They had similar standoffish attitudes when it came to friends, but they were both dedicated to their team. Mike put his water bottle down next to his gym bag. He absentmindedly dribbled the ball as he wiped the sweat off his own forehead. He tilted his head when Sawyer asked if he could join him. Mike had just been about to call it a day, but would never pass up the opportunity to do more.
"Sure. Half-court one-on-one sound good to you?"
Mike bounce passed the ball to Sawyer and walked out to the middle of the court.

[Sawyer Collins]

Sure. Half-court one-on-one sound good to you?

"Yeah," he answered, catching the ball as he walked to the free throw line. He dribbled the ball a few times, between his legs, behind him, in front. The boy didn't need any more warm-ups than that-- one hour at the gym was already a full workout. All his muscles were worked up by now. Sawyer passed the ball back to Mike, checking it.

He knew this was going to be a challenge. The height difference between them was one inch. It wouldn't have made much of a difference if they weren't basketball players, but they were. Payne's arms were probably a tad bit longer than his. Some blocked shots might definitely happen. Of course, the harder part was defending the guy. Sawyer stepped forward a little, bringing his butt down, putting his hands out. Defensive position. He nodded once, telling Mike he was set to go.

[Mike Payne]

Mike dribbled the ball, getting himself ready for the game. He watched Sawyer get into his defensive position. The junior started for the school football game and he was pretty tough. Mike hoped he wouldn't end up getting tackled today. He bent his knees slightly to give himself more push and took a few preliminary steps to the left before running to the right.
Mike showed off, dribbling around himself and making an easy basket. He shot over Sawyer's head from the side of the court. He caught the rebound and passed it to Sawyer.
"What should we play up to?"
He asked as he squatted into his own defensive stance.