School of Dubs: A Short Story

While FanPosts are usually littered with interesting and insightful articles and opinions, I wanted to break that trend just for a second and give you a break from NBA articles.

I enjoy writing short stories, and as a teacher, I often enjoy picturing NBA players as school kids. Both basketball players and students have to face a lot of drama and pressure daily, albeit with immensely different circumstances for each.

I've combined my two interests in writing a short story about the Warriors as if they were kids in school, just like all of us have been. I'm fascinated with the drama, the relationships, and the storylines in the NBA, and I think it'd be pretty neat to try to picture those storylines in a school setting.

This is brand new, and is also my first time trying anything like this. So give me feedback on whether the following short story makes you never want to read anything ever again, or if you'd want to see more of something like this in the future. Thanks for reading!

School of Dubs

The hallways, empty and silent for the past 4 months, now rumbled with the shouts and cries of a new school year. Fresh feelings of renewal and hope infiltrated the corridors.

Along one hallway on the top floor of the 3-story school, Dray was showing his new friend DeMarcus around.

"Hey man, I got assigned to be your buddy," Dray declared happily. "We've got the same schedule this year, so you can follow me and I'll show you the place."

DeMarcus nodded. "Sure thing. I was excited to be transferred up here, and I want to know the in's and out's of this place as soon as I can. Lead the way."

They first wandered into a classroom with a myriad of charts and tables on the walls. "That's Mr. Adams." Dray told him, pointing at the man with glasses behind the desk. "He teaches history."

DeMarcus leaned over and whispered, "He teaches history? Is it because he's, you know... old?"

"What? No. That's disrespectful, man. Never disrespect Mr. Adams. You'll learn. He's a very critical guy. Good teacher, but really hard to pass his class. Very critical. I once named all the world capitals on a test except for 2, and he pointed it out the next day and got on my case about it. He's the kind of teacher who'll review every little piece of work you do until it's perfect."

DeMarcus shuddered as they continued down the hallway and popped their heads into another room. "This is general math," Dray told him. "And it's taught by Mr. Brown over there. He's hopped around a bit, teaching on the ground floor and the 2nd floor in previous years, but these past couple school years were his first time teaching on the top floor."

"Wait a second," DeMarcus said. "Didn't Mr. Brown teach on the top floor back in ‘07?"

"Oh yeah, good memory," Dray replied. "But no one remembers that anymore though. It's funny how the school puts the elite classes up top and the not-so-great classes down at the bottom, isn't it?"

DeMarcus nodded as they walked further down the hall. All of a sudden, Dray nudged him. "Hey look, new kids. Don't make eye contact," Dray commanded as a few bright-eyed kids walked past, glaring at Dray the whole time.

"What was that all about?" DeMarcus questioned as they walked past.

"Lonzo and Kyle and Brandon. They think just because the school put them on the top floor that they're all that. Their class isn't that great. They think they're in the same league as us now."

"I can help with that," DeMarcus reassured him.

"Lookin' forward to it, man. Your solid grades and your presence in our class will mean a lot from the start," Dray said with a smile.

"Oh and you know that my grades won't actually start counting until the middle of the year, right?"

"Oh yeah, transfer issues. I heard. Hey, as long as you're around for the 2nd semester, you should be fine."

They continued into their last room. "And this," Dray said with a smile, "is chemistry class with Mr. Kerr."

"Oh, uh, usually I haven't done so well with that in the past," DeMarcus said hesitantly. "Do you think chemistry will be an issue here too?"

Dray shook his head. "Mr. Kerr is one of the best. He had a student before that everyone made fun of because how bad he was in the class. But Mr. Kerr helped him reach his true potential, and now he's a great student. No one makes fun of him anymore. Left the class though. But hey, that's why you're here, man."

DeMarcus nodded in approval.

"Alright, let's go eat," Dray said. "I see Steph and Kevin in the lunch room waiting for us."

As they walked into the crowded lunch hall, DeMarcus pointed to the corner. "Who's that guy sitting by himself? And why is he just staring at his food?"

"Oh, that's Klay," Dray responded. "He probably just thinking about his dog or something. Interesting guy. Great student though, so we just kind of let him do his own thing."

"All right, you go on ahead. I'm gonna go sit with him," DeMarcus said, walking over to Klay's bench. Dray agreed and then ran over to Steph and Kevin's bench, shouting something about stopping Russell from giving Kevin a cupcake.

"Hey there," DeMarcus said, sitting down across from Klay. "I'm DeMarcus. Just transferred. Looking forward to being in the same class with you. I heard you're a star student. Got any pointers on how to do well in these classes? I don't want to ask some of these other guys. They seem nice and all, but I don't know if I'm welcome yet into their group, you know? But you seem chill. So how ‘bout it--wanna help me out?"

Klay looked up for the first time. "Wait, what now?"

DeMarcus smiled. "I'm new. Any pointers you got for me to succeed?"

Klay nodded. "Yeah, I got 3 pointers for you. One, don't take a picture of Dray when he's sleeping. Two, don't study abroad in China and embarrass yourself. And three, don't distract me from studying. I still want to get my good grades even with you here."

DeMarcus smiled. "I think you and I are gonna get along just fine."

The End.