The Crossover: First Quarter Summary & Analysis

JB and I. Josh and JB are identical twins and they're almost thirteen. They're easy to tell apart though; Josh is taller, has locks and wants to go to Duke, while JB's head is shaved and he wants to play at the University of North Carolina. Josh says that if they didn't love each other, they'd hate each other. They both play basketball and they each have their own skillset. Josh went to three basketball camps over the summer, while JB only went to one basketball camp and then Bible school. Josh isn't fooled, though--JB is only so religious now because at Bible camp, he gets to hang out with girls.

At the End of Warm-Ups, My Brother Tries to Dunk. JB tries to dunk the ball and fails. Josh laughs, makes fun of JB, and dunks the ball to show off. Dad cheers and Josh explains that he's the only kid on the team who can dunk. The gym is loud and filled with parents watching their children. Mom is talking to teachers as Coach calls the team in. He talks to them about love and Vondie bursts out laughing. Then, the game starts.

The Sportscaster. Josh explains that JB likes to tease and trash talk other players during games, which is what Dad used to do. Josh, on the other hand, is silent, as it allows him to react to what's going on better. He talks to himself and sometimes narrates his own play-by-plays in his head.

Josh's Play-by-Play. As Vondie grabs the ball, the Reggie Lewis Wildcats—Josh's team—are ready to win. They've already won one game and won't stop until they win the championship trophy. Vondie passes the ball to Josh and Josh passes to JB. Josh notes that JB is special, and that JB's dad (Dad) is Chuck "Da Man" Bell. JB passes the ball back to Josh, who performs a skillful crossover.

cross-o-ver. Josh defines a crossover as a basketball move where a player dribbles the ball from one hand to the other. It can throw off an opponent, and basketball greats have used it to great effect. Dad taught Josh to perform a crossover slowly at first, to test one's opponent, and then go for it quickly.

The Show. As Josh narrates, the text grows, shrinks, and moves diagonally across the page. He has the ball and is trying to evade Number 28 on the other team. 28 follows Josh closely, but Josh feints and avoids him. Number 14 joins in and Josh feels like he's a chef in control of his kitchen. He passes to Vondie, who makes a basket.

The Bet, Part One. At halftime, the Wildcats are down by seven. Coach isn't worried; he starts blasting his favorite dance music. Josh, JB, and Vondie join in and dance the Cha-Cha Slide. JB gives Josh a look and Josh asks if he wants to bet. JB touches Josh's hair as he says he does.

Ode to My Hair. Josh loves his hair. He says he'd love to "enshrine" it, treat it like gold, and then he'd mine it. He cares for it meticulously every day, and this is why he declines JB's bet.

The Bet, Part Two. JB's bet is convoluted: if the score is tied and it comes down to the last shot, and if he gets the ball and doesn't miss the basket, he wants to cut off Josh's hair. Josh agrees to the bet but says that if he wins, JB has to walk around without pants during lunch tomorrow. Everyone else laughs, so JB revises the bet. He says that he'd like to cut just one of Josh's locks, and if Josh wins, JB will moon the nerdy sixth graders that sit near them at lunch. Josh agrees to the bet, even though he loves his hair and used to be one of the nerdy sixth graders. He believes he'll win because the bet is so specific.

The game is tied. The score is tied and clock ticks as JB makes his free throw. The crowd is silent until the ball goes through, right at the last second. The crowd explodes and Josh's head starts to ache.

In the locker room. After the game, in the locker room, JB cackles and approaches Josh, holding Coach's red scissors. Josh thinks that he loves this game from the bottom of his heart, even though he was benched all through the first quarter, JB played spectacularly, they won the game, and he lost the bet.

Cut. JB laughs and waves the scissors around. The boys' teammates start chanting "Filthy" over and over again as JB grabs Josh's hair. He doesn't hear his lock hit the ground, but he knows something is wrong when Vondie shouts, "OH, SNAP!"

ca-lam-i-ty. Josh defines a calamity as an unexpected bad event that often results in injuries. As an example, he says that if JB had taken cutting Josh's lock seriously, he would've only cut one. Instead, however, JB created a calamity: he cut five locks and now, there's a bald spot on the side of Josh's head. After the game, Mom is very upset to see Josh's hair and calls it a calamity. She tells Dad to take Josh to the barber over the weekend to cut off the rest of his locks.

Mom doesn't like us eating out. Even though Mom doesn't like it when the family eats out, she lets them choose a restaurant once per month. Dad chooses Chinese, even though Mom won't let him eat most of what's on the buffet. Josh knows that he would've chosen Pollard's Chicken and BBQ if Mom hadn't banned them from the restaurant. At dinner, Mom is still upset about Josh's hair and makes JB apologize. JB's apology isn't sincere, so Josh gives him a noogie. Dad breaks the boys up by telling one of his famously bad jokes.

As Josh fills his plate, JB asks Dad for insight on how they played. Dad says they did okay, but deems Josh's crossover lazy. Mom takes the salt off the table and JB goes to the buffet. He gives three packages of duck sauce and some wonton soup to Josh. Mom thinks this action was random, but JB asks if that's what Josh wanted. Josh thanks JB--even though he never said anything, he actually did want that food.

Missing. Josh admits he's not a mathematician, but he usually does okay with math. However, he keeps counting his locks under his pillow. He has 37 locks and one tear, and he thinks they never add up.

The inside of Mom and Dad's bedroom closet. Mom and Dad's closet is off limits. JB often asks Josh to go in there and snoop through Dad's things, but Josh always says no. Today, however, Josh asks Mom for a box for his locks and she tells him to take one of her Sunday hatboxes out of the closet. Dad's small secret box sits next to Mom's boxes. Just as Josh opens Dad's box, JB appears in the doorway. He apologizes again for cutting off Josh's locks and promises to make up for it by doing some of Josh's chores for the rest of the year.

JB notices that Josh has Dad's box open, so they rummage through it. They find newspaper clippings and old memorabilia, as well as Dad's championship ring. JB slides it onto his finger and ignores Josh, who tries to look like he wants a turn. JB finds more articles about Dad's time in a European league. Then, JB finds a manila envelope with "private" on the front. Josh decides to put it back, but JB opens it. There are two letters inside. The first is from the Los Angeles Lakers inviting Dad to their free-agent tryouts. The second reads that because Dad decided not to have surgery for patella tendinitis, he might not be able to play again.

pa-tel-lar ten-di-ni-tis. Josh defines patellar tendinitis as a condition where the muscle connecting the kneecap to the shin becomes inflamed. It's an overuse injury that often happens when a person jumps a lot. Josh uses it in a sentence and says that in Mom and Dad's closet, he and JB discovered that Dad has patellar tendinitis, which is known as jumper's knee. He offers another sentence: Dad led his team in Europe to the championships, but because of patellar tendinitis, he now has no career. Josh wonders why Dad never had surgery.

Sundays After Church. Every Sunday after church, Josh and his family participate in a pick-up game of basketball at the recreation center. They listen to hip-hop and, once all the teasing dies down, the game begins. Dad passes to Josh, Josh passes to JB, and JB shoots the ball.

Basketball Rule #2. In a random text, Dad tells Josh to hustle, run quickly, pivot and chase, aim and shoot. He tells Josh to work smart but to live smarter, and to play hard but not forget to practice.

Girls. Josh and JB walk into the lunchroom together. Even though Josh isn't bald, his hair looks enough like JB's that people do double takes. When they sit down, their friends start asking how they'll be able to tell the boys apart. JB offers that he's cool and can make free throws, while Josh yells that he can dunk. A girl they've never seen before (Miss Sweet Tea) walks up to their table. The way JB looks at her is embarrassing. When the girl asks if it's true that twins know what each other are thinking, Josh points out that a person doesn't need to be JB's twin to know what he's thinking about.

While Vondie and JB. Josh does his and JB's vocabulary homework while Vondie and JB debate whether Miss Sweet Tea is hot or cute. Josh doesn't mind doing JB's homework; he loves English and owes JB since JB did the dishes last week. Josh is having a hard time concentrating though, so when Vondie and JB ask Josh's opinion on the new girl, Josh says she's pulchritudinous.

pul-chri-tu-di-nous. Josh defines pulchritudinous as having great beauty and appeal. He says that every guy in the cafeteria is trying to flirt with Miss Sweet Tea because she's pulchritudinous. He says that though he's never had a girlfriend, if he did, she'd also be pulchritudinous. To use it in another sentence, he wonders why pulchritudinous Miss Sweet Tea is talking to JB.

Practice. To start practice, Coach reads to the team from The Art of War. He reads that a winning strategy isn't about planning; instead, it's about responding quickly. He leads them in footwork drills and then wind sprints. During the wind sprints Coach announces that the winner doesn't have to practice. Vondie runs hard, but Josh is faster. He takes the lead but then lets Vondie win so he can practice.

Walking Home. As the boys walk home from practice, Josh peppers JB with questions. He asks if JB thinks they can win the county championship, why Dad never had knee surgery, and why Dad can't have salt. JB responds that he doesn't know until, finally, he bursts out that they'll win if Josh starts making free throws, nobody likes doctors, and Mom told Dad he can't eat foods with salt. Josh asks JB if he wants to play to 21 when they get home, and JB turns it into a bet.

Man to Man. Josh taunts JB as he dribbles. He suggests that JB should've gone to the mall with his girlfriend. Josh finally dribbles all the way to the top of the court, but before he can shoot, Mom yells for Josh to come clean his room.

After dinner. After dinner, Dad takes Josh and JB to the rec center to practice free throws. While the boys shoot, Dad stands in front of them and gets in their faces so they learn to focus. Three guys from the local college ask Dad for autographs. JB ignores them, but Josh challenges them to a game. The guys jokingly taunt Josh and make fun of Dad's age, but the game begins. JB screams that the loser owes the winner $20.

After we win. After the game, Josh notices Miss Sweet Tea shooting baskets at the other court. He wonders if she actually plays. JB goes over to her and Josh can tell he likes her. When Miss Sweet Tea tries to shoot, JB doesn't get in her way. Instead, he stands there and smiles at her. Josh thinks he looks silly.

Dad Takes Us to Krispy Kreme and Tells Us His Favorite Story (Again). Dad bites into his third donut and, when JB asks if it's true that Mom banned donuts, Dad says that Mom will never know. He praises the boys' performance in the game with the college guys and explains that they didn't let the guys pay up because they were just kids.

Dad reminisces about how, when Josh and JB were two, he taught them to play. Mom thought he was crazy. Then, when the boys were three, he took them to the park to shoot free throws. A maintenance guy insisted that the basket was too high for three-year-olds. Dad asked the man if a deaf person could write music as the man started to lower the hoop. The boys interrupt and say that Beethoven was deaf, and they've heard this story too many times. Dad threatens that if they interrupt again, he'll start over. Picking up the story again, he says he handed each boy a ball and positioned them to shoot. The boys each made a basket and the maintenance guy was shocked.

Basketball Rule #3. The third rule of basketball is to never let someone else lower your goals. Other people expect out of you what they expect out of their own lives. Dad encourages Josh and JB to shoot for the sun.

Josh's Play-by-Play. The visiting team brings their entire school to cheer, and they're winning. Josh is at the free-throw line, and he has to make two shots for them to win. He misses both, but Vondie grabs the ball on the second rebound. The ball goes back and forth and Josh feels like he and JB will be stars. With ten seconds left, Josh and JB pass the ball until Josh is able to dunk the ball.

The new girl. After the game, Miss Sweet Tea approaches Josh and compliments him on his dunk. She asks if he'll be at the gym over Thanksgiving break and why he cut his "cute" locks. Vondie giggles. As JB walks up, Miss Sweet Tea offers him some sweet iced tea.

I Missed Three Free Throws Tonight. Josh explains that every night after dinner, Dad insists that he and JB shoot free throws until they get ten in a row. Tonight, he asks Josh to make fifteen.

Basketball Rule #4. Josh says that if a person misses enough of life's free throws, they'll pay for it eventually.

Having a mother. Josh is grateful when Mom rescues him from free-throw practice. His arms feel heavy by then, as he's attempted 36 free throws. However, he's not grateful for the fact that Mom is a principal. Rather than just letting the boys go to bed, Mom makes them read. JB listens to his iPod while he reads, so he doesn't hear Josh ask if Miss Sweet Tea is his girlfriend. JB insists he's listening to classical music, but Josh thinks it sounds more like Jay-Z. JB also doesn't hear Mom and Dad arguing.

Mom shouts. Josh listens to his parents fight. Mom wants Dad to see the doctor for hypertension since it's genetic. Dad insists he doesn't need a doctor and brushes off Mom's remark that Dad's dad didn't need a doctor either. Mom asks Dad about his fainting spell, but he asks for a kiss and tells Mom he loves her. Mom says if he loves her, he'll see the doctor. They go silent after this, so Josh pulls a pillow over his head. He knows what's going on and thinks it's gross.

hy-per-ten-sion. Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure. Josh uses it in a sentence and says that Mom tries to keep Dad from eating salt, as too much salt can cause hypertension. In another sentence, he notes that lots of people can get hypertension, but a person is at a higher risk if someone in their family also has it. Josh thinks his grandfather might've died of hypertension.

To fall asleep. As Josh tries to fall asleep, he counts his locks over and over again. He feels like they're "strands of his past."

Why We Only Ate Salad for Thanksgiving. Josh explains that every year, Grandma cooks dinner, but this year, she fell and couldn't cook. Mom's brother, Uncle Bob, fancies himself a chef since he watches Food TV. He decides to cook, but the food is bad: he makes macaroni with no cheese, hard cornbread, and a ham that was green. Mom asks Bob if there are eggs to go with the ham, and Grandma laughs so hard she falls out of her wheelchair.

How Do You Spell Trouble? Josh is busy taking his vocabulary test when JB passes Josh a note to pass along to Miss Sweet Tea, who sits in front. The window is cracked, so Josh watches the wind blow Miss Sweet Tea's hair. He forgets about the test until JB hits him with his pencil. Just as Josh taps Miss Sweet Tea on the shoulder, the teacher notices Josh and the note. Josh wonders whether he should give the teacher the note and embarrass JB, or hide it and take the blame. JB sweats and Miss Sweet Tea smiles. Josh decides to keep the note.

Bad News. Josh sits in Mom's office and reads about the Air Force and the Marines. Mom is busy for an hour dealing with parents, substitute teachers, and broken windows. Finally, she sits next to Josh and says she's not going to suspend him, but Josh won't be able to get into college if he cheats. She suggests he look into the Air Force or the Marines. Josh starts to tell her the truth, but then a pipe bursts in the girls' bathroom. He apologizes and leaves for class.

Gym class. As far as Josh is concerned, gym is supposed to be about balls. Today, however, the teacher leads a course on CPR. Josh doesn't pay any attention to his teacher or the dummy and instead he watches JB and Miss Sweet Tea pass notes. He wonders what's in them, but is interrupted when the teacher invites Josh to assist him. As Josh practices his chest compressions, he thinks that if life is fair, he'll eventually be the one passing notes with a girl while JB practices mouth-to-mouth on a dummy.