Chapter 9 Flashback - Tenth Grade
Flashback - Tenth Grade
“Fuck them and the rest of the basketball team. I’m sick of those bitches!” Fateema shouted on her way to Lynx’s new-to-him car.
They had recently obtained their driver’s licenses, and Lynx’s father had helped him purchase a used car.
“Dang, Bunny. Your mouth is terrible.”
“Shut up, Lynx! I’m pissed.”
“I can see and hear that. You don’t want to quit the team. You’re just saying that because you’re mad,” he responded as he held the car door open for her.
After ensuring Fateema was securely inside, he went to the driver’s side and slipped behind the wheel. Before he closed his door, she’d continued her rant.
“No, Lynx, I mean it. They’ve been fucking with me since I made the varsity team, and the coach doesn’t do anything.”
“Is it the whole team or just a few girls?”
“Just a few girls, and one of them is Nichole.”
“Nichole?”
“Yes, Nichole. The one who seems to be obsessed with you.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Boys are so oblivious.” She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t noticed how all the girls in your little fan club don’t like me?”
“I guess not.”
“Well, Nichole is one of many. I’ve been keeping my head low and staying out of trouble, but if they keep it up, it’s a wrap.”
“Then you’ll get kicked off the basketball team.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m only on the team to keep in shape for track. This shit ain’t even worth it.”
“Those girls are jealous and would love it if you quit. Don’t give them the satisfaction.”
She released a deep breath and focused her attention out of the window.
Every day this week, three of her teammates were unnecessarily rough.
Fateema knew basketball was an aggressive sport and expected certain things to happen.
However, those girls took turns trying to fuck her up.
The coach turned a blind eye, and Fateema stood her ground, but she was on the verge of snapping if they continued to treat her as if they didn’t want her on the team.
“That’s easier said than done. I haven’t been suspended since sixth grade when we beat up Mitchell and Terry, but that might change before the end of this week.”
Lynx thought about Fateema’s situation for a bit before responding again.
“Maybe standing up to them is what you need to do. Show them they can’t push you around. Coach Ayers might be staying out of it to see how you handle it.”
“If so, they’ll all find out tomorrow that I ain’t no scary bitch.”
When Fateema arrived home, she had the same conversation with her father about her teammates and coach, minus the curse words. He did his best to calm her down and gave her some advice about how to handle it.
“Bunny, you’re an underclassman who is outplaying all the juniors and seniors on the team. It’s not right, but jealousy seems to be getting the best of them.”
“That’s what Lynx said.”
“I would suggest you have a private conversation with your coach about your teammates before you do anything drastic. She may not even realize what’s going on.”
“She’d have to be blind as a bat to miss it, but okay.”
The next day before basketball practice, Fateema hesitantly knocked on her coach’s office door.
“Hey, Fateema. Is everything good?”
Hell no, everything ain’t good, Fateema thought.
“Do you have a minute?” Fateema asked, ignoring her question.
Coach Ayers looked at her watch before saying, “All we have is a minute before you need to be on the court. What’s up?”
“Have you noticed how Lori, Tavita, and Nichole have been acting toward me at practice?”
She shook her head, and Fateema had to fight not to roll her eyes.
“Well, it seems like they have a vendetta against me. They’ve been overly aggressive, making rude comments under their breath, and not passing me the ball when I’m wide open.”
“Really? I haven’t seen or heard any of that. Even if I had, this is basketball, sweetie. It gets aggressive sometimes.”
Fateema took a deep breath and tried not to react angrily.
“Okay. Thank you for your time.”
She turned and left Coach Ayers’s office. When she stepped into the hallway to head to the gym, she ran into Lynx.
“Slow down, Bunny.”
“I knew she wouldn’t care.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“I just talked to Coach Ayers, and she basically said suck it up. I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”
Lynx sighed because he knew no matter what he said, his friend would do what she wanted. He’d make sure he was around to support her after the fact.
“Just be careful, and don’t do anything stupid,” he warned.
She went to practice on a mission. The team began their warmups, and initially, things went well. However, when they did the figure eight, Tavita threw the ball at Fateema so hard that it slipped through her hands and hit her chest.
“Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Tavita said smugly as she jogged past Fateema.
Fateema shook it off. When they did another drill, Lori shoulder-checked her so hard she fell to the floor, and she didn’t attempt to help her up. Without missing a beat, Fateema hopped to her feet.
A few minutes later, she paired up with Nichole. Surprisingly, they got through the drill smoothly, but Nichole had something to say before they moved on to the next drill.
“You ain’t as good as you think you are. Just because Lynx has you on a pedestal doesn’t mean everyone else will.”
“You’re mad Lynx won’t give you the time of day, so you’re taking it out on me?”
“Nope, but somebody needs to knock you down a notch. Besides, everyone knows Lynx is gay.”
“Whatever, girl. You wish he was gay because then you wouldn’t feel so bad about him ignoring your desperate ass. Maybe if you hadn’t fucked the whole boys’ basketball team, he’d give you the attention you’re so desperately trying to get.”
“Bitch!” Nichole shouted as she swung her fist and connected with the side of Fateema’s face.
Fateema made sure that was the last time Nichole’s fist connected and whupped her ass like she’d stolen her last dollar.
“Break it up! That’s enough!” Coach Ayers yelled.
She and some of the girls on the team pulled Fateema and Nichole apart, and Nichole’s face was bruised and battered, whereas Fateema’s barely looked touched.
“We do not tolerate this kind of behavior on the team. In my office, now! And I dare you to start up again,” she shouted.
Fateema snatched away from whoever was holding her and stomped to her coach’s office, still fuming. Coach Ayers and Nichole weren’t far behind. Once inside the coach’s office, the girls sat in the chairs in front of her desk. Fateema folded her arms across her chest, already in defense mode.
“What’s the problem here?” Coach Ayers asked.
When Nichole didn’t say anything, Fateema spoke up.
“I don’t have a problem, but I told you this bitch—”
“Wait a minute! Watch your mouth!” yelled Coach Ayers.
“I tried to tell you that her and her friends have a problem with me.”
“Is that true, Nichole?”
“She’s not a team player,” Nichole whined.
“Girl, I have more assists right now than you’ve had your whole career. You’re just mad my best friend won’t let you suck his dick and—”
Coach Ayers sprang out of her chair and slammed her fists on the desk, shouting, “That’s enough! Clean out your locker! You’re off the team!”
“Are you serious? She hit me first!”
“I don’t care who hit who first. Your mouth is reckless, and you don’t respect your elders.”
“That’s not true. I respect my elders. I just don’t respect you.”
Fateema got up and calmly walked out of Coach Ayers’s office. She stripped out her practice uniform on her way to the locker room and dropped the jersey and shorts on the gym floor as the assistant coach and her former teammates watched.
In the locker room, she angrily shoved all her belongings in her gym bag and called Lynx.
“You should still be in practice. What did you do?” he answered.
“Are you still at the school?”
Although Lynx wasn’t an athlete, he was involved in several clubs and stayed after school for something, more days than not.
“Yes, I’m in a meeting. Are you okay?”
“Can you take me home?”
“You know where I’m parked.”
He’d drop almost anything he was doing to come to Fateema’s aid.
A few minutes later, Lynx approached her as she leaned against the passenger side door of his car.
He pulled her into a hug and allowed her to release her frustrated tears on his shoulder.
Even though she claimed not to care about the basketball team, Lynx knew that wasn’t true.
Once she’d gotten her tears out, he took her gym bag and backpack, put it in the trunk, and helped her into the car.
“She hit me first,” she blurted out once they were both inside. “And she said you were gay.”
He sighed as he shook his head. “You know I don’t care what anyone says about me. If I was gay, I sure wouldn’t be embarrassed or hiding it.”
“I know, but it still pissed me off. I won’t let anyone say things about you that aren’t true.”
“I appreciate you defending me, Bunny. I’d do the same for you. Tell me what happened.”
The following day, the truth about what happened was revealed because Fateema’s father went to the school and forced them to view the video footage from the gym. When it was proven that Fateema was defending herself, Nichole was kicked off the team, and Fateema was suspended for two games.
However, she had no interest in playing for a woman like Coach Ayers, so she didn’t return to the team that season.
Her father and Lynx tried to convince her to reconsider, but her mind was made up.
Much to Fateema’s delight, the basketball team lost every game after her exit from the team, and Coach Ayers was fired.
The bond between Fateema and Lynx grew with every obstacle they faced. Although they had other friends, their comfort zone remained with each other.