Friday, November 11, 2016

BOOM BALL

Boom Ball

a middle grades story by Dustin Siegrist © 2016

My team was about to lose the biggest Boomball game in our school’s history!

I was feeling discouraged sitting on the bench, and I wanted to play so badly that my stomach ached! My team had made it all the way to the Boomball championship game. We were down 5 points and only had 2 minutes left on the timer.  

We were down 5 points...
“I wish I could get in.” I muttered to myself. I was the smallest kid on the team and rarely got to play, but I was ready for my chance.

Coach overheard, and looked back at me. “Your wish just got answered, Bam!”

My real name was Graham, but for some reason everyone nicknamed me Bam. I liked it. It sounded aggressive, and besides, it was fun to say.

Coach turned back to the game zone and yelled. ” Time out!”

The referee-bot sounded its electro whistle and my team bounced in from the field, back to our base point.

Our star player, Sam, came off the field last. She raised the visor on her helmet and shook her head. “Sorry, team. I wish I could keep playing but I think I have a malfunction.”  She pointed down at her feet and our whole team looked.

We all saw her problem. The lights on her Boomboots were flashing red, which only meant one thing. Her batteries had just a few seconds of power left. We all knew she couldn't play without power.

Coach said, “We don't have enough time for her boots to get back up to full charge, so we have to make a player substitution.  Bam, it's your time to shine.  If we can get one good Boomblaster bolt in the other team’s goal, we get six points -- and we win the Championship!”

Sam looked at our team and yelled, “Let's do this, team! We can win the game!”

Our team re-entered the Boom Field, and I took a good look at our opponents, only this time up close.

“These guys are huge!” I said to my team through the comsys, our helmet communication system

The voice of Sam from the sideline, crackled through the comsys in reassurance. “Don't worry about them, Bam.  Once you get playing, you will see how slow they are.”

Jolie, our Goalie added, “Bam, you will be our secret weapon. You're small enough to sneak past their defense! Just get up there and I will get you the Boomball.”

A hole suddenly morphed out of the ceiling and the ref-bot lowered into the game zone.

“Power On!” Jolie sternly yelled through the Comsys. “Check your gear!”


"POWER ON!  CHECK YOUR GEAR!"
On cue, our team touched the “On” button of our arm control panels. Our suits lit up with our team colors.  Glowing stripes of blue lit up the sides of our pants and sleeves. We all began to hover above our position in the game zone.

I could hear the pulsing sound of my Boomboot’s whirring to life. They were the most important piece of tech on my suit. They allowed me to run on the ceiling, floor, walls, or any angle in between. They also let me do high flying jumps over my opponents, power back flips, and trick moves during the game.

I checked the Boomblaster attached to my hand and it was showing three green bars. I had a full charge. If I caught the Boomball with my Mag-gloves, I could load it into my Boomblaster and take a shot at goal, or make a lightning pass to a teammate.

The ref-bot blew its electro whistle and a glowing orange sphere of light formed in the ceiling, then suddenly shot out like a ball of lightning toward the floor.  The glowing orange Boomball ricocheted off several surfaces, as players scrambled for it. The game was on!

The whole game zone shot to life as the walls, floors, and ceilings lit up with jump pads, fast forwards, and power boosters. Players flew all over the place, taking chances shooting at the goal or deflecting shots with their power shields. I stood my position on the right wall, waiting to make a move.

Jolie suddenly recovered a poor shot from the other team in her Mag-glove. She then looked at me and nodded. With only 10 seconds left to play, she blasted the Boomball toward our goal. I knew exactly what to do.

She Blasted the Boomall toward our goal.


I took three giant steps and leaped toward the nearest jump pad. The magnetic charge in my boots triggered the repelling force on the pad and I was thrown straight in the direction of the ball.

As I sailed through the air, I watched players from the other team attempt to recover the ball, but it streaked past them in an orange blur, barely missing their fingertips.

I reached out my hand and watched the Boomball connect perfectly with my glove.




I quickly power flipped and lunged off the wall to get a better angle at the goal. A defender dove for the ball, but being small enough to duck under his arms, I escaped.

I slammed the ball into the load chamber of my Boomblaster and triggered the Energize button. The ball went bolting out, toward the six point goal.

It felt like slow motion.  I watched the ball silently sail through the air, right past two defenders and a goalie, completely untouched. The Boomball flew straight into the back of the laser net and instantly exploded into an orange blast of neon fireworks.  Then, a loud siren blared.

There was a sudden explosion of cheering and screaming from the game zone, as my coach, my team, and all my school, ran out to me. They were all chanting, “Bam, slam! He's the man!  Bam, slam! He's the man!”

I looked up at the clock.  I couldn't believe my eyes. Time was out! The game was over! The score was 66 to 65!

I had scored the winning goal in my school’s Championship Boomball game and my team... was victorious!


Watch the video capture here:
https://youtu.be/ptKq_Nlh428

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