Arthur comes to the next Masters of the Mind meeting, talking down to everyone and making their team sound like it isn’t worthwhile. In addition, the school will only pay half the entrance fee for the upcoming competition, and Arthur haughtily informs them his family can write them a check because they’re rich. The kids refuse.

For the second part of practice, the kids meet up with a winning team from another school whose members know all about Russell’s team. While everyone brings their game, Russell is dismayed that “for the first time since I’d joined Masters of the Mind, I was struggling” (74). Instead, he’s amazed to find he’s daydreaming about basketball.

The morning of tryouts, Owen is excited until he starts thinking how much cooler Russell’s Nikes are than his own shoes. At school, his friends go on about all the advanced shots they are supposed to be able to do now that they’re in seventh grade, and Owen panics because he can’t do any of them. In the afternoon, he overhears some kids wishing Russell luck. Still afraid Russell will embarrass him, Owen offers to get in some more practice before tryouts, but Russell isn’t interested.