“You’re goin’ down, Squirt,” he growled.

“Come on, Steph!” Bethany yelled from the sidelines. “Girl power!”

I feinted a throw to make him flinch, then rolled on the springy surface and bounced up to nail two quick throws from up close to the line. Mark did an amazing bounce flip to dodge them both and hit me twice in the leg before he landed.

“Oh yeah!” Joe yelled as the rest of the players who had been eliminated came running back in the arena.

Mark bounced over to me and offered a hand to help me up. “Good game.”

I squeezed his hand and gave him my best gonna get...