R8+Group+5

**Story Outline for Homecoming Horror**
Point of View: 1st person(with Derek being the narrator) Setting: at Derek's school, on the basketball court, and at Derek's house(particularly his room and bed) Characters: Coach: Mr. Carter Mother: Charlie Shamis Father: Gregg Shamis Team mate: Nick Hannigan Principal: Ms. Arley Main character: Derek Shamis Other players on basketball team:Sam, Drew, Ryan, Matt, Zack, Tyler, Hayden, and David

**Plot:**
-Derek gets into a fight with Nick after practice -Derek goes home, and falls asleep -Derek has a "dream" where he is suspended for his fight and the fact that he has started many other fights without getting into trouble -he must miss the biggest game of the season -learns the lesson that violence is never the answer, and that if he doesn't stop his violent habits, something terrible could happen like missing the homecoming game. 

**Actual Story**
“You loser, get over here and fight me like the wimpy boy you are! Heck, this should be easy! Now get your stupid butt over here!” “ You know what? YOU’RE THE LOSER! Last time I checked I was the star player on this team, and you were just my sidekick. Last time I checked, there are college scouts coming to our next game-the BIGGEST game-for ME!” “Oh yeah? Well, last time I checked I was the one who shot all three-pointers last game! Not to mention every other game this year! You’re such an awful player that you didn’t….uhh, shoot…any…oh my gosh what are going to do? Uhh, okay, why are you coming over here…what you gonna fight me now? Huh? Huh? UGH!!!” “Dude, you crossed the line at awful player. Need I remind you again who is getting the full basketball scholarship to UNC? ME. Need I remind you again who is captain of the team? ME. Need I remind you who broke the 20 year old school record for most points scored in a game? That’s right, ME, Derek Shamis. Also known as...the guy who can kick your-Nick Hannigan's- butt!!” “Hey my name should’ve been up on those record lists too! You know it!” Nick and I fought for quite a while. Then to my displeasure, the rest of the team caught us in the midst of our battle. “Hey Sam, check it out! Derek and Nick are at it again! Should we get Coach this time?” “Nah Drew, let them work out their stupid issues for a little bit. All Coach ever does anyways is tell them to go home that night and think about what they did and how it was wrong. Psh, and it’s all because Coach can’t sit them out in a game ‘cause they’re so good. It obviously doesn’t seem to do them any good, especially Derek.” “Oh I know! He seems to cause every single fight at this school, and he’s only been busted three times! Nick says that every time they get in a fight over who’s the better player, Derek always starts it by bagging on Nick by reminding him that he’s the star player, and Nick is just his sidekick.” “You know, on second thought, let’s go see if Coach will finally catch ‘em.’” “Good idea, c’mon, let’s go get him.” “Oh look! Joseph, Ryan, Matt, Zack, Tyler, Hayden, and David, Derek and Nick are fighting again! “Oh sweet! C’mon you guys, let’s go see!” I was so focused before the boys started their usual chant of “fight, fight, fight!” After I heard those words, once again, I was pummeled to the floor. Luckily, it didn’t hurt too bad and I hadn’t lost-or won-the fight; at least not yet. “Oh no! Are Derek and Nick fighting //again//? I better go see how bad it is…” said the worried Coach Carter. “Oh my word! Boys, STOP THIS FIGHT IMMEDIATELY!!” “Oh, uh, hey Coach! Wow, look at the time! Oh shoot, I was supposed to be on my way home 15 minutes ago! Umm, yeah, good point coach, we should stop, and go…see ya Nick!” I said, for I was in a huge hurry to get off the hook and out of here as quick as possible. “Oh Derek, not so fast. Now you both know the drill. I want you both to go home and think about what you did. I’m positive you know that this fight was wrong, and I will not have this attitude among my players! Plus, I need you two for the big homecoming game this Friday. I hear college scouts are coming! Now go rest up, okay?” “Hah, whatever, see ya later loser, er Nick. Bye coach!” I said to them.

After the fight I drove home in my car. The entire way I thought about Nick, the CREEP or loser, as I like to call him. I just couldn’t believe that once again, he got away with starting a fight with me. I can’t stand it when I get abused verbally, take it out my own way, and still end up with the blame! Just because I was the first one to hit, doesn’t mean I started the fight. Isn’t verbal a type of abuse too? Whatever. Either way when I feel abused, I fight back, no matter what the punishment may or may not turn out to be. By the time I pulled into the driveway, my hands were tightening on the wheel, practically in fists. My teeth were clenched, and I was flat out irate. I could feel my mom’s eyes boring down my back as I slammed the door and made my way to my safe, comfortable room. “Honey, is something wrong?” //“ Of course something’s wrong, mother. Nick started another fight with me, and didn’t get caught. I’m furious!” I thought. But of course I never told her, I **hate** it when she’s in my business!// “Oh no mom, I’m perfectly fine. I’m just going to go up to my room, maybe do some homework, and probably just rest. Practice was really hard today!” “Okay sweetie. So dinner is going to be either baked ziti or spaghetti, which one do you want tonight?” “Um I don’t care, I’m not even hungry. Gosh, why does everyone have to take his side? Why does everyone think I’m so violent? I don’t think I’m violent! ” I muttered, intentionally to myself. “well honey…” “I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU MOTHER!” I exclaimed as I walked up the stairs. As I was walking up, I accidentally knocked over my mom’s favorite vase. Luckily, it hit the carpet, not the tile in the bathroom, so it didn’t make as much noise. “Okay either you just had one huge voice crack or something broke. Derek? Did you break something? DEREK! Hm, no answer. I’m not going to fight with him, it seems like he had a hard day. Well, I suppose I should start dinner now.” When I finally got to my room, I was still fully angry. As I already took out my anger on the vase, I decided to head for the pillows. I started with one of the smaller pillows on my bed, and hurled it at my closet door. Once it fell to the ground, I tore it open. By then I was fully in the zone, the zone of destruction that is. I grabbed the rest of the pillows and threw them against the door. After the last pillow was thrown as hard as I could possible throw it, I had successfully worked all my anger out. I fell on my bed, and soon realized how tired I was. Man, throwing pillows can be a workout! But something didn’t feel right. I truly meant what I said back on the stairs, why do people think I’m the violent one when Nick starts all the fights? But I didn’t have the energy to think about it too hard. Instead, my eyelids started to become heavy, and I slowly drifted to sleep… When I walked into the school hallway the next morning, I could feel that something was different. It seemed like trouble, Derek trouble. I couldn’t figure out why I would be in trouble, until I saw Coach Carter outside of Principal Arley’s office. Coach motioned for me to come over, so I sulkily walked towards him. “Derek you know why you are here right?” Coach said. “No!” I responded quickly. “Well then let me refresh your memory. Yesterday after practice I found you fighting with Nick. From what he says you started the fight. Now, let me inform you that Nick is in there with Ms. Arley now. You will have your chance to explain your side of the story alone with the principal after Nick is finished, and then if you want, she will have you both come in her office and I DON’T want any fighting.” “Whatever! What happens is what happens and it all depends on what //he// does. It’s called cause and effect.” “I know what it’s called, Derek. I actually passed my language arts class, thank you very much. Now just get your butt into her office, it looks like she’s ready.” “Whatever,” I told him as I waltzed into the office. “Hey hey hey, look who’s gonna get in trouble now!” said Nick as he walked out of Ms.Arley’s office. “How the heck am I going to get in trouble when you started the fight?” I said, furiously. “Trust me, you’re not going to get away for hitting me this time.” “BUT YOU HIT ME TOO!” I exclaimed, “And I’m about this close to hitting you again!” “Mr. Shamis, please come in and sit down.” “Haha, good luck loser!” “Thanks, but I don’t need it Nick. Not after I tell her about how you insulted me. Again!” “Derek, I really need to talk to you about this violence problem that seems to be occurring quite often. According to what I’ve seen and heard, you have caused almost every single fight in this school. However, you have only been punished three times, correct?” questioned Ms. Arley. “Yeah, I guess. Why does it matter? I fight because others make me mad, what’s the big deal?” I told her. “The big deal is that you haven’t been punished in the right way, and so you keep on fighting. And it’s not just fights that are your problem, but your grades are slipping from C’s to D’s and F’s. If you are not already aware, no basketball players are allowed to play if their grades are that low. Now since the season is almost over, I don’t believe it is fair to kick you off the team, and neither does Coach Carter. However, it has come to mind that you do need some real discipline, and as soon as possible. Therefore, you will be suspended for tomorrow.” “But that’s the big game! You CAN’T do this to me! College scouts are coming to watch me play! My whole entire college basketball dream is going to be crushed if I don’t play! Not to mention that we’ll lose if I’m not there.” “This is just the kind of attitude Nick was telling me about. You believe that you’re the only good player on the team; you believe that you are the team. This is a serious problem that I’m shocked Coach Carter wasn’t aware of. Derek, you are not the whole team. You may be good, but there are plenty of other great players on the team, including Nick. Now I don’t care who started the fight in the locker room last night, but it seems like there are plenty of other lessons you need to learn. You will be missing the game tomorrow, college scouts or not. Understand?” “Whatever, but you will regret this when we don’t become the regular season champions because we lose, and therefore are no longer undefeated.” “Oh, I think I have much better things to worry about Derek. Now please go on to your next class.” “Wait, so I get the punishment while Nick gets nothing?” “Well, now he gets more playing time! Now please go to class, first period has just begun.”

On my way home that day, I had a lot to think about. First, I knew if I told my parents I was suspended and more importantly, couldn’t play in the game, my dad would kill me. His dream is for me to play for UNC, just like he did. And it’s my dream too. I just couldn’t let us both down, but then again, I wasn’t allowed to play tomorrow. I had to think of a plan to make it seem like I was going to school and my game tomorrow without actually going to either. If I faked I was sick, than I would definitely not be able to convince them I could play in the game. If I told them the truth, I would be grounded for a terribly long time. The only other idea I could think of was to get up when I normally would, pretend to get ready for school, and drive to the nearby starbucks or something until my parents would normally leave for work. My dad usually leaves before me, but my mom leaves about a half hour after me. I figured I could go get some breakfast, come home and chill, and then sneak into the game later that night to watch. My parents wanted to watch my game, but they both have late meetings then. Neither can watch the game, so they told me to play my hardest. As for how I “played,” I’ll just tell them that I did great, but was still under my scoring record. It was the perfect plan, and I couldn’t wait to put it into effect. When I finally got home, I was actually in a good mood, until I saw the note my dad left me on the kitchen counter about the vase I broke the other day. Oddly enough, I wasn’t in trouble. He said that he already cleaned everything up and that my mom hated that vase. But just last week she loved it, so it was a very strange note. All I knew was I needed to go upstairs, take a shower, and then watch some TV. My dad said to just order pizza for dinner, so that’s just what it did. The next morning I found my plan to go along very well. My parents didn’t ask any questions in the morning, and when I got home from starbucks, the house was empty. My parents wouldn’t get home until around 10:00 tonight, so I had all the time in the world to chill. That day, I turned into a couch potato. I ate all the chips and cookies in the pantry, and watched TV up until around 2:00. I then fell asleep while watching a rerun of some old TV show. When I woke up it was 6:45. The homecoming game started at 6:00. I decided that I would head over to see the end of it. I couldn’t decide whether to go against what coach said and put on my uniform and force my way on the bench, or just watch from the bleachers. I was in a hurry to get to the game, so I ran around the room and grabbed my basketball shoes, my jersey, my shorts, and my warm-ups, and left the house. On my way over to the school I couldn’t make up my mind about what I was going to do. Was I going to just sit and watch the game? Or was I going to convince coach that he needed to play me? I got my answer as soon as I pulled up in the parking lot. There was a silver Honda that belonged to Ms. Arley. Now I knew I had to hide myself and watch from the door. When I got to the entrance to the gym, I could see that there wasn’t much time left in the game. I checked my watch, and it was already 7:15. The game ended around 7:30. But to my surprise, we were up 38-25. As the next few minutes passed by, I saw my team playing incredibly good. I didn’t mind that, but I did mind that fact that Nick was getting a little too much glory. He made shot after shot after shot, and my hands started to form into fists. I wanted to hurt him so bad for what he did to me. And then I saw them, the scouts. I saw them watch Nick intently, as if he were God or something. They were writing notes, and even taking some video of him. They seemed a little too pleased considering I was supposed to be the star out on the court that they were looking for. I checked the clock, and there were only 10 seconds left. We were now tied, 56-56. All of a sudden, Nick dashed down to the 3-point line, took a shot, and made it. We won, the buzzer sounded, he scored, and he was the one that the team was lifting up onto their shoulders. The entire gym was now in chants of “Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick!” I couldn’t take it anymore! I just couldn’t!

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!” I screamed. “Derek, honey, wake up! You were asleep, and I’m pretty sure you were having a nightmare. It’s time for dinner, why don’t you wash up and come on down?” my mom said. “What are you talking about? I was just at my basketball game, the Homecoming game!” “That game is two days from now, Derek, you fell asleep after you came upstairs. Today is Wednesday, the game is on Friday.” “That doesn’t make sense, I was just there! I…I can still see everything so clearly. Here, I guess i’ll be downstairs in a second.” As my mom left, I checked my calendar on the wall, and sure enough, today was Wednesday because it wasn’t marked off yet. All I could think about was how strange that dream was. Ms. Arley said I needed to learn a lesson, but just what lesson was she talking about? She scolded me for fighting, my grades, but there was something else as well. I just couldn’t put my finger on it! I remembered telling her that we would lose if I didn’t play, and then I remembered her getting a little angry. She said that that was the kind of attitude Nick was telling her about. But what attitude? That I was the best player on the team? Well that’s true! But then I remembered our fight, how Nick had said his name should have been on the record lists too. I realized that he was right, he scored as many points as me the game I broke the record, but I had just taken more shots. That was how my name ended up being on the banner, and I could clearly remember Nick’s face that day. It was full of pain, betrayal, and anger. He should have had his name on that banner, and accusing me of being a worse player than him helped him to vent his feelings. I now understood! And I felt terrible about it. The lesson I needed to learn was compassion. I needed to stop being so violent, because I now knew that violence was never the answer. I also needed to acknowledge the fact that just because I was a good player, didn’t mean I had the right to put other players down. Ms. Arley was right as well, I am not the whole team. I then felt much better, and realized that my dream helped me immensely. It showed me that if I didn’t act now and fixed my mistakes, something terrible could happen, something that could crush my dreams. I then walked downstairs to eat dinner, but this time with my head held high and a smile on my face. I had a plan as to how to fix my problem, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my parents.

“Well hey Derek! Now don’t you look happy! Here are the plates, will you please set them on the table?” my mom asked me. “Sure, and by the way, dinner smells great!” Over the dinner table, I reminded my parents of the day I broke the record. “Oh yeah, I remember that! You played great that day! I was so proud of you Derek.” My dad said. “Oh yes, I remember that as well. You were the star out there! But I saw that Nick got just as many points as you in that game, but got no award at all. I always meant to tell you, but every time I tried to bring up his name you just seemed so angry!” my mom told me, and as if she was worried that I would get angry again. “Yes I was hoping you would remember that! I finally remembered that he got as many points as me, and I don’t believe it was fair of me to get the record, and my name put on the banner. I know we don’t get along very well, but that must have been horrible for him. I’ve decided that tomorrow I’m going to ask Coach Carter to put his name on there as well.” “Oh that’s great honey!” my mom exclaimed. “Oh yeah, real great son!” my dad said. “Awesome! I also wanted to take the time to ask you if you think I’m violent, because almost everyone at school thinks I am. Do you?” “Well, I have heard news that you start quite a number of fights, and you always seem so angry at home. Besides, you were quite violent with my vase and your pillows earlier today. Which you will be paying for a new vase, by the way.” My mom told me. “Yeah, I just now realized what a jerk I used to be. I can’t believe I started so many fights! I think my first step into changing this is giving back what Nick really deserved, and then not starting another fight for quite a while.” “That’s great Derek! I think you’re making the right choice, son! Nick is going to be real happy tomorrow! If you’re lucky, maybe you two will someday become friends.” my dad said. “Maybe! Just maybe….”