Ghost Whispers |-/ Joshler

dis·sim·u·la·tion

/dəˌsimyəˈlāSH(ə)n/
noun
concealment of one's thoughts, feelings, or character; pretense.

"Hey Tyler, you gonna come to basketball tryouts today?" Jay asked. Both Tyler and Joshua looked up, but only Tyler could answer.

"I might."

"Come on, you're an awesome player. We could win the championship this year."

"I don't know."

"Yeah, come on, Tyler. I haven't seen you play yet." Josh urged. He was sitting cross-legged on the lunch table that the Joseph siblings had claimed as theirs today. His left foot was in Madison's French fries and his right hand was occupying Jay's juice box. It was like some weird form of food Twister. "Please?"

"I said I don't know!" Tyler blurted. His two brothers and sister jumped back in surprise. Seeing their reactions, he sighed.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

Joshua, seeing how quickly he calmed himself down, smiled. "It's okay, buddy."

"That was a little weird," Madison observed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just hungry."

"Eat, then. If you are going to try out, you need all the energy you can get." Zach said.

"Yeah, I guess."

He picked up the spork and started eating the school mandated two servings of fruit. Joshua watched as he did so, which he himself thought was a little creepy, but ignored that.

Basketballs shoes squeaked on the court as dozens of pairs of feet ran around. Multiple balls bounced, flew through the air, and collided with bodies. Tyler, Zach, Jay, and Madison walked into the gym, sports bags slung over the boys' shoulders. The coaches in charge of picking weren't there yet, but they would be soon. They had to hurry.

"Okay Madison, we'll be done in an hour. You can do your homework or something in the bleachers." Zach instructed.

"Come on, why can't I just go home?" She complained.

"Because. You're a young woman in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It's for your own safety, trust me."

"But I'm surrounded by horny teens here!"

Zach paused. "Well...we're here, so... Look, we'll try and be done as soon as we can."

Madison groaned and tromped up the bleachers. Joshua followed, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, come on, Tyler!" He cheered, thrusting his arms up in the air.

Dumping their bags, the Joseph brothers joined the rest of the boys on the court.

The coaches came in, all dressed in black track suits with clipboards in their arms. One of them, a portly man with an obvious toupee, wrapped his sausage lips around a silver whistle and blew it. The shrill cry alerted the teens of their presence and they stood at attention.

"Come up to Coach Mathis here and sign in," the tallest one jerked a thumb towards the whistle blower, "then pair up."

Immediately, Tyler, Zack, and Jay looked between each other. One of them was going to have to be the odd men out.

They signed their names and jogged back to the half court line, still wondering who would have to be paired with a stranger.

"I'll just go with someone else," Zack volunteered. Tyler internally sighed in relief. The idea of having to be with some kid who would probably underestimate his talent due to his height wasn't all that appealing to him.