Chapter 22
Riley
“Go bother Evie,” I tell him, irritated that he’s here and that he interrupted what could have been my first kiss with Reid.
“Evie’s in class,” he all but whines.
I shake my head and take Reid’s hand in mine. “Ready?”
“Give me a second.” He turns to the counter and grabs two black containers with clear lids. “Let’s go.”
“Bye, Zane,” I call out over my shoulder.
“Bye. You've got this today, Riley,” he calls out. Just like that, my bad attitude fades. I walk over to him and hug him.
“Thanks.”
He hugs me back before he tugs on my hair, making me lose the good feelings I was having towards him. “And keep your hands and all body parts to yourself.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my word. Like you have any room to talk, Brother.”
“I just don’t want to see my little sister and my best friend—”
I don’t hear any more because I close the door on him and head out to Reid's car. Reid takes my bag from me and puts it in the backseat. “Here. Breakfast.”
I take the container. “Thanks. I don’t know how you had time to cook anything.”
“It’s just an omelet.”
I take the lid off, and my stomach growls when I smell it. “Mmm, that smells so good.”
“Go ahead and eat.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll eat when we get there.”
I practically inhale the omelet. “That was so good. Thank you; I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
Before I’m ready, we have to part ways for the day. “I won’t be able to see you before you start practice.”
“I know. I’ll be fine. Thanks, Reid. For everything.
” Reid and I agreed that we wouldn’t use our pack link to connect during practices and games out of respect for each other.
I know he’s there, but I won’t do that to him.
So we’ll do this the old fashion way. I’ll tell him how it went when I see him tonight after practice.
I lean forward and kiss his cheek before putting my hand on his chest. “Have a good day.”
“You too.”
I hop out of the car and grab my bag before I don’t want to get out at all.
“Riley,” he calls out before I can close the door.
I meet his gaze. “You come alive when you’re on the court.
Just play the way you know how and let your coach see that.
She won’t be able to let you walk away; she’ll demand you play for her. ”
I give him a soft smile, even as confidence floods me.
“Thanks, Reid.” I close the door and make my way to my class.
Even though I skipped my first two classes, the day still drags.
I meet Stephanie and Ashley for lunch, and I force myself to eat because I know I’ll need the energy later, especially if I have to play like I did yesterday.
“You all right, Riley?” Ashley asks, concern in her gaze.
“Yeah. Sorry; I’m just distracted.”
“What’s wrong?” Stephanie asks.
“Oh, just basketball drama. You wouldn’t care.”
Stephanie and Ashley both look at each other and then lean forward with big eyes. “Tell us,” Ashley says.
I laugh and then proceed to tell them my woeful tales of basketball and a coach that hates me. “That’s terrible,” Ashley says when I finally finish.
“Want us to do something?” Stephanie asks with wide eyes.
“Like what?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“I don’t know. We could,” she pauses. “I don’t know; I’ve got nothing.” She looks at Ashley.
Ashley just shakes her head. “Don’t look at me. I don’t have any ideas.”
I laugh. “I’m good. Thank you, though.”
“Well, if you need a commiseration party tonight, let us know,” Stephanie says.
“What in the world is a commiseration party?” I ask.
“It’s when you get together to be sad about something and maybe complain about it.”
I laugh, especially when I realize she’s serious. “That totally sounds like a Tessa thing.”
She nods. “Yeah, she’s the one that told me what it was.”
“That tracks,” I tell her with a smile.
“Well, we will totally be available for that or a celebration party,” Ashley says, enunciating the last two words carefully and looking over at Stephanie. “Because she’s going to make the team.”
Stephanie plasters on a big smile. “Oh yeah. Yeah, you are!”
I grin and push my chair back. “All right. I will keep you updated on whether we’re commiserating or celebrating.”
“Totally celebrating,” Ashley says, lifting her water bottle in a toast to me.
“Thanks,” I tell both of them before I pick up my trash, toss it, and head to my next class.
It’s my last class before I need to head to practice.
I can’t say that I pay any attention in class.
But finally, it’s time to head to practice.
I make my way over to the gymnasium. I head into the locker room and make quick work of getting changed for practice.
When I make it to the gym, I see Star shooting on our side hoop.
I grab a ball and move over to her side. “Hey,” I call out when I get close.
“Hey, Riley.” She keeps shooting. I spend several minutes warming up and stretching before I start my shooting warm-up routine. “You ready for today?” she asks after a little while.
“Yes. Are you?”
She nods. “Yes.”
Both of us are locked in. We both know how important today is.
For me, it’s the last chance I have to prove to Coach that I deserve a place on her team.
For Star, it’s her one shot to show Coach that she deserves a spot as well.
I keep an ear tuned for Coach Parella. As soon as I hear that whistle, I run to the middle of the floor.
Coach Parella and her coaching staff stand at half court, spread out.
Each of them carries a clipboard. I force my nerves aside and keep reminding myself of what Reid said.
I do come alive when I’m on the court. I love basketball; I was born to play the sport.
My parents have always told me. Now, I just have to prove it.
Coach Parella looks at her clipboard. “Sasha, Brene, Angie, Jaida, and You.” She points to me, and I'm ready. “Let’s go. Same positions as yesterday.” I take that in stride.
It’s what I prepared for. I mentally do a checklist of all the moves Zane and Reid made me do over and over again.
The coach for the guys’ practice squad sends out his players. Cameron comes over to stand next to me.
“Riley,” he says as he takes his spot.
“Cameron,” I return. That’s all we get before we start.
Brene brings the ball down the court. She’s one of the returning players this year, a senior.
And just like that, we’re in the game. I post up, pretending Cameron is Zane.
I push against him and give Jaida a target to hit.
She doesn't even look at me but passes it back to Brene. The ball swings around to the other side of the court, and I cut through the middle and set a pick for Sasha’s defender. She rolls right around and lays it up.
“Nice one,” I call out to her as we run down to the other end.
“Thanks for the pick,” she calls back. And then we find our places for defense.
We’re starting with a zone offense, so Sasha takes the center.
I stay on the left side, down low. It’s my job to block any shots coming from this lower left side.
I also have to help when somebody comes through the middle.
Their point guard ends up shooting a three from the top of the key.
Coach Parella yells at Angeline and Jaida for not getting there in time to stop it.
And then, we head to the other end for offense.
Once again, I post up and give Jaida a target.
She doesn’t even look at me. She ends up taking a shot, misses, and Sasha gets the rebound.
She tries to go back up with it, but she’s stopped and the ball goes out of bounds.
It’s the guys’ ball, so we head to the other end.
On our end, Cameron gets the ball down low and uses one of the moves Reid drilled into me.
I know exactly what he’s trying to do, but he still gets it in.
Coach yells at me for that, and I vow to stop his next one no matter what.
At the other end, I post up, but Jaida never even looks at me.
We miss again, and the guys get the rebound.
They send it down court fast. I race after them, but their point guard had too much of a head start.
He lays it up easily. Frustration burns through me, and I run past Jaida.
“Hit me with the ball down low.” She doesn’t respond in any way.
I post up. The ball goes to the other side, and I cut through the middle.
Sasha looks my way but can’t get a clean pass.
I run back over to my side and post up as the ball swings that way.
“Here!” I shout, giving Jaida a clear target.
She dribbles forward and takes the shot.
It circles the rim and bounces out. I go up for the rebound, but the center for the guys’ team pulls it down.
The whistle blows, shutting down the play.
“Is there a reason you’re not passing it down low?
” Coach demands of Jaida. She doesn’t wait for an answer.
She turns to look at the line of girls on the sidelines.
“You!” She points at Star. “Take Jaida’s spot.
” Star runs out on the court, and Coach blows her whistle again. “Girls’ ball. Let’s go.”
Brene takes it to the top of the court and passes to her right.
The ball swings down to Sasha. Star cuts through the middle but nothing comes of it.
She goes back to her spot above me. The ball swings to our side.
I post up, pushing into Cameron with my body, and give Star a target.
She passes hard and fast. I don’t let myself think.
I fake to my right and then go left, power dribble, and go in for the layup.
It goes in, and I’m running towards the other end before it really hits me. I find Star as I run past. “Good one.”
“You too.”
On the next play, I set a pick for Star and she gets a nice jumper.
The next play, Sasha goes up for a shot.
The ball bounces off the backboard, and I outjump Cameron to bring it down.
I go back up a second later and put it back in.
Adrenaline courses through me as we run to the other end.
Star slaps my hand as I pass. On our next chance at offense, I see the pass coming and intercept it before their center can.
I run hard, pushing the ball in front of me.
I look down the court and see Star ahead of me.
I give her a clean pass, and she lays it up beautifully.
I grin and slap her hand as we run back for defense.
The whistle blows, stopping the play. “Can somebody tell me why only the freshman are capable of scoring?” Coach’s words are sharp, and I don’t dare look at the other three girls playing offense.
I don’t look at Star either, even though I’m really proud of her.
Playing with her is a dream. Coach Parella sends three new players in to take Sasha’s, Angeline’s, and Brene’s spots.
I don’t miss the death glares Angeline and Jaida shoot me, but I don’t focus on it because I’m playing my heart out.
This is the one chance I’ve got. I feel bad about the other girls, but they’ll make the team.
They’ve played for Coach before. They’re all returning players.
Star and I are not; we have to do everything in our power to prove ourselves.
And prove ourselves is what we do. We run harder than everyone else, put up more shots, pull down more rebounds, give more assists, and outrun everyone else on that court because we want it.
We want it, and we will do anything it takes to make sure we both get a spot on this year’s team.
I’m not even fighting just for myself anymore; I’m fighting for her too.
I set her up for as many shots as I can, making sure to rebound every shot she takes.
Together, we score more points than I can keep track of.
We don’t stop. When Coach finally blows her whistle, I know we’ve done everything in our power to make this year’s team.