Double Team by Amar'e Stoudemire Read Free Book Online Page A

little man,” I said.
    We talked a little, and I told him about the tournament.
    â€œIs the trophy really as tall as me?” he said.
    Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a little.
    â€œNah, not really,” I said. “But the next one will be. I’ll send you a picture, okay?”
    â€œOkay!” he said.
    â€œIs Mom there?”
    â€œYeah, she’s right here.”
    â€œPut her on, all right? Talk to you later, little big man.”
    I heard that weird bumping, rustling sound you always get when people are handing off the phone.
    â€œAmar’e?” said Mom. “Hey, baby, it’s good to hear your voice. How was the trip back?”
    â€œFine,” I said. “Had a tournament today.”
    â€œHow’d you do?” she said. “You have fun?”
    â€œI had, um, some fun,” I said.
    â€œMmm-hmmm,” she said. She read me like a book.
    â€œYeah, not as much as the last one,” I admitted. “But we won second place. Got a trophy.”
    â€œThat’s great!” she said. “And you know I’m not surprised. You know you’re my superstar.”
    â€œYeah,” I said, looking down at my feet. I always felt a little awkward when she said stuff like that, even if she was, like, a thousand miles away. “And there’s something else, too.”
    â€œOh, yeah?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œYou gonna tell me, or do I have to guess?”
    â€œYou know who Overtime Tanner is?”
    â€œOh, sure,” she said. “He’s a legend.”
    â€œI met him! He was really nice.”
    â€œThat’s great, baby! Were you at the superstars club together?”
    â€œAw, come on, Mom,” I said, but I had to smile. “He invited me to his tournament.”

    â€œThat’s so great, Amar’e!”
    â€œIt’s invitation-only. It says so right on the, well, the invitation.”
    â€œIt is the superstars club!”
    We laughed. I laughed maybe a little extra, because I was trying to figure out how to bring up the next part. I was trying to figure out how to tell her about the other tournament on the same day, about my friends.
    â€œIs there something else, baby?” she said.
    How did she know? She had magic mom powers or something. I wanted to tell her, but I still wasn’t sure how to start. I hadn’t even really had time to think it through myself.
    â€œNah,” I said. “Just, I don’t know, it’s nice to talk to you.”
    â€œAll right, baby. You know I’m always right here if you need to talk, right?”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œAll right, then, I better go. That little brother of yours is up to something in the other room. I can hear him out there.”
    â€œOkay,” I said.
    We said our I love you ’s and hung up. And then it was just me in the kitchen again. I put the dishes in the sink and looked around. The house was as empty and quiet as it had ever been.
    Until the next day anyway. Sundays were always a little extra sleepy. I didn’t think Junior was working, but I knew he wasn’t around. I’d even checked out back. Now I was just poking around the house. After all the excitement the day before, it was a big adjustment. I sort of felt like a microwave lasagna left out on the counter to cool.
    I checked the freezer: no lasagna. Then I wandered into the living room. I was thinking maybe I’d watch some TV. When I went to pick up the remote, I saw something cool right next to it. It was a brand-new video game: MechaNoize III: Cyborg Invasion .
    â€œNice!” I said.
    I didn’t even realize this one was out yet. I turned over the brightly colored case to read the full description on the back and saw a little note stuck there. It was from Junior: Let’s do this!
    Cool! I put the game in and got right to it. It took me a few tries, but I finally cleared level 1. It was tough going, but I made those cyborgs pay for the