Page 255 of The Locker Room

Chris would have wanted to, and screamed triumph into the stands.

If he"d wanted to, he was sure he could fly. Anyone looking at the

tape to see him cut a swath down the court would have sworn he already

had.

WHEN the press of his screaming, hugging, sweating, shouting, delirious

teammates had faded, he suddenly found himself facing his first reporter,

one of ESPN"s finest, and he wondered if the woman—a strong,

beautiful black woman in her early thirties who had won Olympic track

medals in her youth—was ready for the sports scoop of her life.

He turned around and spotted Chris on the sidelines (where his

retinue was taking care to make sure he wasn"t jostled too much by the

crowd) and waved, a little shyly.

The Locker Room 221

Chris grimaced—shy? In front of twenty-gazunga people? After a

game like that? But he winked and waved back.

And Xander turned to the reporter and made history.

“So, I"m talking to Xander Karcek, the undisputed MVP of

tonight"s game. Mr. Karcek—you"ve said before this series that you

were playing all your games for your best friend, Christian Edwards,

who was injured earlier this year in an automobile accident. Was that

true tonight?”

Xander shook his head. “Chris kept asking me to play one for

myself. Tonight I played for myself. I figured, you know, the guy was

my heart anyway. If I played to make myself happy, he"d feel it.”

The reporter looked a little disconcerted. “So, Christian Edwards,

your best friend….”

Xander looked at her, looked at the camera, and then looked past

both of them to where Mandy was pushing Chris so he could hear the

interview. He winked at Chris, saw Chris"s dawning comprehension and

surprise, and said, “He"s more than my friend, Ms. Robinson, and if the