Basketball, Home for a Holiday, and An Unexpected Call

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Break ankles. Check. Let it fly. Check. Swish. You bet. Awesomeness. Triple check. If you thought Mackenzie was good at touch you should see him play basketball. He was a living bucket. Legend was that other teams called him Mack and Cheese, one because of his name and also because his crossover would turn you into a noodle and his jump shot was straight cheese. As normal, Mackenzie didn't buy into the hype. He just liked playing basketball.

He couldn't forget being a student though. It was late but he needed to study for the math test. And he would need to pack the next day for his upcoming holiday.

Studying worked out with Mackenzie getting a 97 on the test and now he could focus on his trip. His family was returning to New Zealand to go to the beach for a week. He'd miss his friends...obviously, but he wouldn't miss school and his new found popularity.

At the beach, the water was incredible. It was that perfect shade of blue that reminded Mackenzie of Blu. In fact, Mackenzie would just stand out on the porch and stare at the water. Unusual due to his highly active nature. But once out on the beach he was more like himself running around, playing and engaging with various sports and beach activities. He made some friends playing beach volleyball and beach cricket. He also, of course, dug a huge hole in the sand. After a long day, he would return to the hotel to take a dip at the pool. There he met a Boston Terrier and a Great Dane.

Boston Terrier: "Hi, what's your name?"

Mackenzie: "Mackenzie. Mackenzie Collie"

Great Dane: "Oh, so you're a girl. For a second I thought you were a boy"

Mackenzie: "I'm sorry and no offense but do I look or sound like a girl?"

Great Dane: "Sorry, it's just that Mackenzie sounds like a girl name"

Mackenzie: "I know everyone always says that"

Boston Terrier: "Are you from here?"

Mackenzie: "Yes and no. I'm a Kiwi but I live in Brisbane"

Boston Terrier: "Queensland?"

Mackenzie: "Yep"

Great Dane: "We should move there"

Boston Terrier: "Agreed"

Mackenzie: "Why?"

Great Dane: "Because there will be a bunch of hot people like you there"

Mackenzie didn't know how to respond. These girls seemed friendly but he didn't feel like flirting with them. So he lied and said...

Mackenzie: "Oh, well I'm not single. I've gotta go call my girlfriend. She'll be upset if she finds out about this. Cheers!"

Boston Terrier: "Come back later! We'll be waiting"

Mackenzie went back to the room. They were nice but he just wanted to be friendly and not do any of the flirty stuff. To get his mind off it he stood on the porch and felt the ocean breeze. Then his favourite which was the water. Besides the incident Mackenzie had a good day.

Over the next few days, Mackenzie continued to enjoy the beach. He would serf, get a tan, eat tons of junk, not worry about school, build the greatest sandcastle ever (who cares if he's about to turn 14?), win a junior beach volleyball tournament, avoid the girls at the pool, and most importantly relax. A pretty good holiday.

Then the worst part. Going home. Mackenzie hated this. Having to pack and then going to the airport and having to wait for ages to get back where he would then have to unpack. The most boring thing in the world. At least he would have basketball and seeing his friends to look forward to. Speaking of which Mackenzie had to find a way to make it up to Lucky who had calmed down a bit but he was still salty about the game.

Mackenzie wanted to help Lucky so he did a lot of the project. It took long and boring hours of hard work but Mackenzie felt that he did a good job and that maybe it would make them better. It helped as Lucky started being nicer but every now and then he would bring up the championship he would never get. Trying to be a good friend Mackenzie reassured him that they were just sophomores and that they would have two more chances at a championship.

Back again at basketball, Mackenzie once again was playing his heart out. He had felt that with all the points he was scoring, he was being selfish so he made it a point to pass more and things were still going the team's way. The other team was pretty good though and the game stayed close throughout. Despite their best efforts they were down 64-61. Mackenzie took the ball out and passed it around. He wanted the team to take the best shot possible. With the shot clock winding down Mackenzie found himself with the ball against a good defender. He faked a pass sending the defender flying. Mackenzie had a wide open shot! And it went right in. 64-64. On the next possession though, the other team scored to make it 66-64 with 2.6 seconds left. All hope seemed lost. The coach gave Mackenzie freedom with the ball as it would take a miracle but Mackenzie believed. He took the ball out sprinting using all of his Collie speed. He would make it to half court. His heart was pounding. Sweat poured off of his face. It was a one in a million shot. He launched it and it was perfect. The shot could have gone from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. It of course went in. And what felt like everyone in the entire school was rushing the court, it was a big time celebration. 67-66.

Mackenzie kinda wished that he had missed the shot. It was chaos after the game and he never thought that he would be able to leave the court. But then he got a call that changed everything.

Mackenzie: "Hello who is this?"

Captain: "Captain. Captain Hound. Is this Mackenzie Collie?"

Mackenzie: "Captain? My old buddy?"

Captain: "So I take it that you're Mackenzie. How have you been dude?"

Mackenzie: "Good I guess but how did you get this number?"

Captain: "I have connections. Nice shot tonight. You were amazing"

Mackenzie: "You know about that"

Captain: "Yep"

Mackenzie: "Wow I thought I'd never talk to you again"

Captain: "Me neither. I missed you buddy"

Mackenzie: "Guess what? I had my own buddy. His name was Ace"

Captain: "That's great!"

Mackenzie: "I tried to be like you"

Captain: "Well that's not good. *Laughing I ran away from you!"

Mackenzie: "Well instead of running away, I got "married" so yeah"

Captain: "Speaking of which..."

Mackenzie: "Don't tell me"

Captain: "Yeah"

Mackenzie: "Married, engaged, or dating?"

Captain: "Dating for now"

Mackenzie: "Good for you man"

Captain: "Yep doing good"

Mackenzie: "Hey can I ask you a quick question?"

Captain: "Go ahead"

TBC

Authors Note: Next chapter will likely be the last in this book

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