“We’re going to do good, you and I,” Trey Lyles mumbled, holding a tattered cardboard box in his hands. He put his face next to the opening and laughed happily, as if something inside it had replied. “That’s right. We’ll be unstoppable.”
Jeff Withey had wandered over. “Do you have to give yourself a pep talk with that thing before every game? It smells like it has AIDS,” he said, taking an exaggerated whiff of the musty air surrounding the box.
“You don’t understand, Jeff. Nobody understands,” Trey replied. “This is my jumpshot box. It has my jumpshot in it. As long as I have it with me before the game, I’ll make my jumpshots.”
Now Joe Johnson had entered the locker-room conversation. “That doesn’t make sense. Your ability to make a jumpshot isn’t a physical object that you can place in a box. It is an abstract concept that resides within you. Not to brag or anything, but I, of all people, would know the true nature of a jumpshot.”
Trey scowled. “Don’t let them say mean things about you,” he whispered to the box. “Even if everybody doubts us, I know the real bond that we share.”
“Man, this guy’s nuts,” Joe said, shaking his head and walking away. But Jeff stayed. “Do you mind if I see what your jumpshot looks like?” he asked.
Immediately becoming defensive, Trey clutched the falling-apart container to his chest. “No. Nobody sees inside the jumpshot box. It is not meant for others’ eyes.”
“I wanna see,” Jeff persisted, reaching out to grab the box from his teammate.
“NOOOOOOO!” Trey screeched, jumping up from his seat and running to the far corner of the locker room before clambering on top of a filing cabinet in a perched position. “Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! Nobody touches it. Not the jumpshot box. Not the jumpshot box. No touching.”
“Okay, okay, chill,” Jeff said, confused by Trey’s reaction. “I won’t touch the box.”
“No touching,” Trey repeated. He looked inside the box as if to verify that its contents were still intact. “Isn’t that right?” he said to it.
To Jeff’s disconcertion, the box in Trey’s hands seemed to rattle and make a light gibbering noise in response to its owner.