Dunked!

Some rough play has Jamshed fired up.

- Rich Wallace

Jamshed broke through the surface of the pool, sputtering water. Who had dunked him?

Seconds before, he’d been rushing toward the goal, trying to get open to receive a pass. Now the ball was gone.

Worse yet, Jagan Rabindra was just a few yards from the Minnows’ goal, raising the ball to shoot. Jamshed’s teammate Daksh swam toward Jagan, but Jagan threw the ball toward the net.

Goal!

Jamshed sighed. His water polo team, the Minnows, trailed the Turtles, 4–2, and time was running out. The Minnows’ hopes for a playoff rested on winning this game. Only four teams would qualify.

“Who put me underwater?” Jamshed asked Daksh.

“Jaideep did,” Daksh said. “He sneaked up behind you. I yelled for you to watch out.”

Jamshed glared at Jaideep. Dunking a player was against the rules in this league. Apparently, the referee didn’t see it happen, because he hadn’t called a foul.

Twins Jagan and Jaideep Rabindra were quick and strong.

They were the best players in the summer water-polo league, and Jamshed was friends with both of them. But that illegal dunk had given the Turtles an unfair advantage.

“I should’ve gotten a penalty shot,” Jamshed said.

“Forget it,” Daksh replied. “Let’s score!”

Jamshed was fired up. He scored on the Minnows’ next possession, sending a quick shot into the upper corner of the goal.

Swimming back, he looked at the clock. Two minutes left.

“Keep up the pressure!” Jamshed said to his teammates. “Let’s tie this.”

Jamshed had played the entire game, which meant he’d been swimming and treading water for nearly half an hour. The league was low-key, but Jamshed took every sport seriously. He knew the Minnows had a chance to win the title if they could just make the playoffs.