Hoops and Dreams

[8] Tuesday Blues

Tuesday hits me like a figurative ton of bricks. The first part of my day passes by in a blur of homework submissions and deadlines and foreign topics. My fault for trying to take on more classes, sports, and community service. When I meet up with Anika for lunch, she's just as annoyed with the school system as I am.

"Then I ask him with the workload, upcoming finals, and Sat prep, how do they expect us to get anything done?" She narrates as pulls open a pack of hot Cheetos.

"And then what did he say?" I ask managing to grab a few from the bag before

she smacks my hand away.

"He goes: 'Why don't you take those questions to the administrator and take that sass into detention.' "

Nice, I think to myself.

"Was he serious?"

"Dead serious." She says laughing. "I have the pink slip to prove it."

She hands me the piece of paper and I certify that she will in fact be in detention on the Friday of this week.

We're sitting by the pool, at the bottom of the bleachers watching the swim team taking their laps around the pool.

While we talk I'm trying to work up the courage to ask Anika about the video. And the phone calls and texts Joshua told me about. It's hard to give her the benefit of doubt when I don't even know her side of the story. It's even harder to ask her about it. My friendship with Anika is built on a foundation of anime, a shared high-school experience, and one-liners. We haven't created a space where I can call her out on anything and nor she with me.

I didn't ask about her relationship with Joshua or even about how it ended. I kept all my questions shallow and surface-level. The last time I went deeper than that in a friendship it didn't end well. So I don't. I stay away from the subject entirely.

"You look nice today," I say instead.

She grins, "Don't try to flatter me, you know it works too well."

It's true regardless. She is wearing a short dress with the Japanese cherry blossoms on it dyed purple and a plain white t-shirt underneath. It makes for a Pinterest worthy photo. She is a Pinterest worthy photo. And so in blatant disregard for the school's strict rules about using phones on campus, I snap a few unfiltered photos.

"Hey, this one could go on Instagram," I add as I swipe through them.

"No, no it's too purple. My feed is all white now. But send them to me anyway." Anika says looking down at the screen over my shoulder.

Note to self, like her recents.

I open my container and shake the instant noodles I packed in that morning. The quality of my lunches always dropped the more harried I got with my workload. And because I didn't buy lunch in the cafeteria and Andrea was gone way too early to help, whatever I ate at school was left to my discretion.

We don't eat next to the pool just for the scenic overlook. Although that's just the PR approved reason. On top of being a stellar student Aaliyah is also one of the swim teams strongest swimmers. Every once in a while Anika drags me done here and we watch her train. Not creepy at all.

She breaks the surface with elegance, pulling herself up and yanking her goggles off. We both watched as Aaliyah grabbed her duffle bag and headed for the changing rooms.

I look at the timer at my phone and shake my head.

"That was nearly her best time yet." I muse.

Anika rolls her eyes. "Who cares? Isn't it crazy that I was dress coded for a spaghetti strap last week and she gets to walk around campus in a one piece?"