Short Stories for Human Beings (not aliens, sorry)

1 | hopes for u | 1

It was going to be a waste of time. Basketball was never my thing. I'm a netballer, for goodness sake! I came here to visit my friend, not travel for hours for a stupid game!

The siren wailed, and it all began. I found my back straightening, my eyes searching.

He was short. Really short, compared to the other players. But as he maneuvered and ducked under the defenders, I smiled.

bro why you smiling u hate basketball

He continued to move closer to the ring, readying himself.

SHOT! The crowd erupted. I guess they didn't expect much from him. Given his height, and the fact that they had never heard of him before now, it makes sense. But still, there's a reason he's playing today, and I'm proud of him for that.

Not so much proud that Lizzie made me come here.

The game continued, each team scoring evenly, numbers breaking away, then coming back together. It wasn't the greatest of games, but he was there, and that's all that mattered.

brUH IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE YOU LAST SAW HIM I-

The quarter-time siren went off, and the scores were level. I was proud of him. He had scored the second-most points in that quarter.

Commentary buzzed in my ears. They talked about the gameplays the teams were undertaking, and I wondered why they'd bother to talk about such things.

"...Let's talk about the new player for the Blues. What do you think?" "Bro, he's great! I mean, he might not be the best with three-pointers, but who knows?" I jolted.

"Who knows... that's the question everyone's asking. We all thought this game would be a sure loss for the Blues, what with the majority of the usual players being injured." "Yeah, and it seems we were all proven wrong! I like this new guy, I think he'll be a real challenge for the teams to overcome." "Sure thing. Also, we should look at how his appearance has really changed the Blues' gameplay for this quarter..." Great. Gameplays again.

seeeeeeee you gotta leeeeeeeeeeeeeeave

A siren sounded, and the players came back onto the court. He was nowhere to be seen.

"...Well, we won't see more of our newbie for this quarter!" The Blues proceeded to fall far behind the Yelnuts that quarter.

---

The siren blared once again, and my head was in my hands. My throat was hoarse from yelling, and tears were beginning to well in my eyes.

You're going to cry? Dude, I thought you didn't give a crap about basketball! I didn't care about the game. Well I did-

I cared about him. I wanted him to think that he would succeed.

Today might not be a good day for him after all.

You need a breather.

I stood up, and silently excused myself from my row to find the bathroom. Somewhere I could think in silence.

Weaving through the rows of talking spectators, I found myself in a hallway. A sign indicating the women's bathrooms was down the very end, and I made my way down.

"Hey, you okay?" I turned.

effin hell-

Silence stood, as his eyes widened with realization.

"D- Do I know you?" I didn't know what to say. What would he think of me? I had to stay anonymous. But I wanted to tell him it was me just the same...

"You knew me. As the smart one in class. The one who'd 'accidentally' sit near your table all the time. The one who helped you that one time with the money game. The one who shouted when you said the answer before I did." He stayed silent, eyes narrowing, eyes darkening.