Read an Excerpt
You are Imani Walker. You started dunking small foam balls into hoops when you were a toddler. Then you started competing against your brother, Isiah, older by a year. That’s probably why you’ve grown into such a good basketball player. You’re also tall for your age, 5'10", which helps. This is what fills you with courage as you anticipate basketball practice for the first time at your new school. Your dad moved you and Isiah to Nibi just in time for the season. So you’re able to start practice the same day as everyone else.
Dad drops you and Isiah off at school. Your classes are pretty typical: science, English, social studies, math, Spanish, and metals—with lunch in the middle. In a town this small, you know that everyone you see, all day long, knows that you’re the new girl. It’s awkward, but you keep your mind on basketball, and that helps the day go by quickly.
At practice, you spot your teammates on the bleachers talking. You start toward them, but then a tall woman comes out of the locker room. She appears to be in her twenties, with blond hair that’s partially up in braids. Coach Kaye Harman greets you, as the other players filter onto the court.
“Hi, Imani, welcome to Nibi, and welcome to our team: the Rams.” She smiles. “What position do you play?”
“Center.”
“That’s perfect. Our starter from last year, Melany Haddock, sadly left us for Chicago.”
You notice the buzzing noise of your teammates whispering behind you. It slowly grows louder. You don’t know what they’re saying, but you hope it isn’t about you. Regardless, you’re the new kid, and the fact that they’re whispering—and that none of the players have greeted you or even came to stand by you—already has you feeling a bit excluded.
“Let’s see what you got,” Coach Harman says to you. She blows her whistle. “Stop yapping, ladies, and run a lap. Then pick a drill. We’ll start with rebounding on the north end and shooting on the south. Ready, set, go!”
You ease into a nice pace, although your body is still sore from carrying boxes into your new house yesterday. So many stairs. You slow your pace just a little, and a knot of girls pass you. They don’t say a word. No “hello” and no “welcome to the team.”
You try to blow it off, but you feel the sting of being ignored. You’d never treat a new teammate this way.
When you finish the lap, you see the players splitting off. Some head to one end of the court to work on rebounding. Others go to practice shooting.
What will you choose to do?
