3.3

{Michael said, "I assume at this point. It has nothing to do with the mirror behind you."

Kathy looked behind her and sighed, but said, "Clean up your mess."}

After dealing with the snoop, Michael faced Lexi and said, "I think you should call your mom." Lexi nodded and called her mother back before she shortened. Her mother then told her that she would pick her up shortly.

While they lived in a small town, it was not so little that a young girl could roam around by herself at night. However, the crime rate was low.

Michael looked at Lexi. (Am I leading her on? Is she, Maria? She has her charms, and I admit I am attracted to her. But, I also might be confusing her with my wife. I want to protect her from whatever caused her that pain so long ago. O, Lexi, you knew who I am, but you never even paused when seeing Dillan. If I did not attend college out of state, would we have ever fallen in love?)

Lexi noticed Michael's gaze and smiled. She was unaware of his thoughts and figured he was a boy in love and made him watch television with her until her mother picked her up.

Once her mother arrived, Lexi waved Michael goodbye and entered her mother's car.

"Michael likes me."

Lexi's mother, Joana, looked at her child and could tell she was crying recently and asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

Lexi shook her head and said, "No."

Joanna lowered the radio and said, "Do you trust him?"

"Of course."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Michael played the best game in his life, but instead of being cocky, he ran toward his sister and me and allowed his sister to lead us away."

"A little odd, but so what?"

Lexi fixed her hair in the car's mirror and said, "Michael played like a professional."

"Are you sure it's not because you're in love with him that you think so?"

Lexi shook her head and said, "I recorded the game when you see it; you can judge for yourself."

Joanna felt her child was being a little silly, but said, "Sure when we get home, I will look. After all, I am a scout for the Lakers."

Lexi sprinted toward the television and played the video of the game for her mother and said, "You should thank Kathy otherwise; I would not have recorded the start of the match."

Joanna felt her child's excitement and sighed until she saw him make the first three-pointer.

"Impossible!"

Joanna grabbed the remote and played back the shot in slow motion.

"Lexi, how in the world did this happen?"

Lexi puffed up her chest and said, "Michael is the best."

"No, from that shot alone, they could place him on an elite college team. That speed and form are one in a million."

Lexi shook her finger at her mother and said, "The best is yet to come."

Joanna expressed doubt but pressed play. "What's with his soft defense?"

"Just enjoy the game."

Joanna paused the game and looked at Michael again. However, this time, she yelled, "No way, he's grinning!"

Lexi faced her mother and said, "What happened?"

"Michael played soft defense and watched the other guard like a hawk. At the cost of three points, he figured the other kid could not shoot well from a distance."

"No way, Michael did that in real time?"

"Yes."

Joanna gazed at the screen and witnessed Michael make a few more shot's and sighed. "Michael might be the best shooter in high school."

Lexi grinned and said, "You should notice it soon."

Joanna kept watching and sighed before saying, "Michael's pick and rolls are too advanced for this level of play. The other guard is decent, but his team is not playing correctly, which leaves Michael open for threes or makes them send an extra defender at him, which gives his team an open shot."

Joanna sighed, "If Michael played on a proper team, most teams would sign or draft him into the NBA right away."

This time, Lexi yelled, "No way, he's that good?"

Joanna shook her head and said, "He would be a top 15 point guard in college from what I have seen in this game."

"Also, he has signs of being even better, but his teammates are lacking. The only one who kept up with him was Dillan, but he is only a strong high school player. Michael is playing like a superstar. Do you see his passes?"

"At the start, Michael was passing better, but his teammates could not keep up, so he lowered his level of play."

Lexi made a fist in anger because she had thought Michael's passes needed improvement because of his high amount of turnovers. (Dam I won't lose faith him in again.)

Joanna pulled Lexi into her arms and said, "Why don't you join Michael's team?"

Lexi tilted her head and said, "As a manager?"

"No, as a coaches aid, but you cannot coach Michael."

"Why not!"

"Because you love him."

Lexi pouted and watched the rest of the game with her mother as fans and not analysts. Once the game ended, Joanna said, "Michael is incredible."

Lexi grinned and said, "Of course."

Joanna said, "No, even without being an analyst. We could see the defense regularly swap players on him, and making him play on both sides of the court, but he held it together. Most of all, he did it casually. He was calm the whole game."

Lexi smiled while asking her mother could he be the next Allen Iverson?

Joanna looked at her child and said, "He could be even better."