Chapter 3

That night, as Billy was about to go to sleep, Genie said to him, Master, you have to come to a decision. Just how much do you want me to augment your normal abilities while you are playing on the basketball team? I will do whatever you want, but I do feel that I should point out that you would be, in effect, cheating if I pushed you to your limits. I suggest that you allow me to adjust your capabilities to a level equal to the top 5% of players your age. That should make you good enough to gain a place on the team, but not so good that you would appear to be super human.

The next day, Billy stopped by Coach Hanson's office to tell him the news. "Great, Billy. Come to the gym after your last class and we'll get you a uniform to practice in. You won't be here that long today, but plan on spending two hours after your last class for practice and cleaning up before you go home."

"Right, Coach. I'll see you this afternoon."

Billy was really juiced up all day, and he had trouble sitting still in his classes. The teachers all noticed, but he was not such a disruption to the class that any of them made an issue of his restlessness and lack of attention. At noon, he ate lunch with Ann and told her what he needed to do that afternoon. She said that she would ride her bike home before she did anything else and tell their parents why Billy was running late.

That afternoon after classes, Billy showed up in the gym to draw his practice uniform and get a locker assigned to him. He was greeted by several of the boys who had played basketball with him during the summer, so not everybody was a stranger. They changed clothes and went onto the court to pass a ball around and generally get loose.

At his new level of dexterity and strength, Billy had no trouble keeping up with the rest of the boys. The main thing that Genie had done was to improve his hand-eye coordination. The result was that Billy never fumbled the ball when it was passed to him, and his passes were unerringly accurate. Several of the boys remarked that Billy must have been practicing since the summer games ended, because he was even more skilled than he had been back then. Billy found an excuse by claiming that his time as a shortstop had improved his timing and such. This excuse was accepted and nothing further was said on the subject.

Coach Hanson ran them through some simple plays to see which boys best fit into which positions. Strangely, Billy was one of the only two candidates for point guard, so it looked like he was a shoo-in to make the team unless he screwed up mightily. The team had to have two players for each position to allow for substitutions during the game, so Billy and Jack Osborn pretty much had a lock on making the team. The only question was who was going to be the starter.

It was apparent that first day that Billy had the best physical attributes, but there was still the question of who could do the best job of leading the team. Coach Hanson was overjoyed at having two good prospects for the job, so he did not press the issue at the moment.

This first practice was cut short, as the coach had promised, so the boys showered and dressed to go home. Billy discussed the practice session with Genie as he rode his bike home. They agreed that things had gone well, and the current level of augmentation seemed to be ideal.

Billy bubbled over with enthusiasm when he got home, and his parents were very happy to see how he was acting. He normally never reacted this way to things that happened at school, so they were intent on helping him enjoy the situation.

The next four weeks were devoted to intense practice sessions with all of the new kids learning the plays. The older kids who were veterans of the previous year helped the new "men" learn their jobs. Billy, probably in part due to the influence of the genie, was the better of the two boys trying out for point guard. Jack Osborn was disappointed that Billy was to be the starter, but he did nothing to undermine Billy, so they got along as well as could be expected.

The first regular game of the season was to be an "away game" in the gym of their crosstown rival. That was a short bus ride, so the kids only missed their afternoon classes. The coach wanted to make this a memorable occasion for his team, so he had them march to the bus with the school band (barely) playing a marching tune. The game was well attended by parents and friends of both teams, and the stands were full.

Marshal Middle School, the other guys, got off to a little better start than did King Middle School, Billy's team, mostly because the entire team of starters were returning veterans of the previous year. This was more because of opening-game jitters than an improved level of play, but, for whatever the reason, the score at the end of the first five minutes was 10-6. Both Billy and Jack had been in the game, but both were so nervous that they had screwed up a few of the plays that the coach had called for.

The short break let Coach Hanson give a little pep talk to the team, and that helped to settle them down. With no special influence from Genie, Billy still went wild and had his team up by 22-16 at the half. The visitor's side of the stands were going wild as King MS trotted off the court. This was far beyond the performance that any of even the most ardent King MS supporters had hoped for, and there was a lot of celebrating during the break.

Things didn't go quite so well during the second half of the game, and the experience of the home team began to show. The game ended with Marshal MS winning by 34-31, but the coach smoothed things over, and the kids felt pretty good about themselves by the time they returned to the school grounds and were dismissed to their parents.

Billy was bouncing from elation to despair and back again as they drove home from the school. He was elated that he had played well, but he was sorely disappointed that they had failed to win. Jim, Elsie, and Ann did their best to console him and carried on about how much they had enjoyed the game. Billy's mood had evened out by the time he ate a light supper and went to bed.

Wonder of wonders, Billy's grades were improving. He had been a C student since he had been going to school, but now, his report card showed two Bs and even an A in English. His parents were elated, and the improvement was attributed to the fact that Billy was enjoying school more, especially as it related to the basketball team.

During this first reporting period, Billy had only one serious encounter with the school bullies. This change was probably due, in large part, because he was so late leaving the school after practice. However, Billy had been cornered one day as he was leaving his last class to head to the gym. Three seniors blocked his way at a quiet end of the corridor, so there were no witnesses to what they had in mind. The fact that he was a key member of the basketball team made no difference. If Billy had been part of the football team, it might have slowed them down, but basketball was too minor a sport to concern these three malefactors.

The largest of them said, "Hold it, Pipsqueak. We think that you have been avoiding us, and our feelings are hurt. We intend to make up for that this afternoon."

Genie, I'm in trouble. Please boost me to the max.

I've already done that, Master. They cannot hurt you.

"Look, Guys. I'm gonna be late for basketball practice if you don't move out of my way. The coach is gonna be pissed if I'm late."

"Tough titty, Shit Head. We plan to give you a lesson in how to treat your betters." With that, the spokesman aimed a fist at Billy's stomach. Billy tensed his muscles, and the fist struck him like it had hit a steel plate. The bully screamed in pain and drew back a broken hand.

A second bully tried to hit Billy on the nose. Billy grabbed the incoming fist in his hand and squeezed. The sound of bones cracking could be heard above the bully's scream. The third bully decided at this point that he had an urgent appointment somewhere else, so he turned to run. Billy let him get completely turned around before kicking him in the left buttock. You couldn't hear the bone break this time, but the scream of pain told everyone within earshot that the pelvis was broken.

Billy ran down the hall to the gym and up to Coach Hanson. "Coach, please call 911 for EMS (Emergency Medical Service). Three boys have had a serious accident in the main hall. Please excuse me while I put on my uniform." The three boys were picked up and taken to the hospital where they all insisted that they had fallen, and that was what had broken their bones. None of them would admit that the school punching bag had been the one to hurt them. That ended the bully problem for the rest of the basketball season, but Billy knew that he could expect to hear from more bullies at any time.