Page 302 of Ruthless Court

“What happened then?”

“Math and I were enemies.”

Her mouth curves.

“Actual enemies?”

“Blood feud.”

“Interesting.”

“I had trouble with stuff other kids seemed to get without thinking.”

I look down at my hands.

“Tying my shoes took forever.”

Hannah doesn’t laugh.

That makes it easier to keep talking.

“Everybody else in kindergarten had it. I didn’t. Teacher kept telling me to practice. My dad would sit on the floor with me at night and show me again.”

Loop.

Cross.

Pull.

I can still see his work boots beside my sneakers.

“I’d get pissed and throw the shoe.”

“How old were you?”

“Old enough to know everyone else could do it.”

She nods.

“That matters when you’re a kid.”

“Yeah.”

I look toward the lights again.

“Reading came slower. Math worse. Teachers thought I wasn’t applying myself.”

“But you were.”

“Harder than most.”

My jaw shifts.

“Thing is, on a court nobody cared.”

Hannah goes still.

“Street court three blocks from our house. Cracked asphalt. Bent fence. One rim was lower than the other.”