Unfair Advantage ) Adam Banks

ch 12, she knows

After the comprehension of Rick's story, Ripley was still pissed.

She couldn't even think of Adam without rage tearing through her stomach.

She had kept so many things to herself: her paying for the Ducks meal, Rick's outburst in the locker room, and her chummy night spent with Adam.

She was tired of the secrets she held, that's why during fifth period, Ripley had finally decided to spill her guts to one of her most beloved friends, Connie.

As Ripley unleashed all of the things she had been holding in for so long, Connie listened patiently, trying her best to comfort the girl in the process.

The girls were sat in the library once again, as their teacher was out and they were told to work on their assignments quietly.

Julie was also out, the librarian had sent her to do some of her bidding so Ripley thought it was the best opportunity to finally open up to Connie.

It wasn't that Ripley didn't trust Julie, she rather tell the whole story to one person first before having everyone chip in their two cents.

"Wow." Connie stated, after Ripley finally finished telling her everything. "That is definitely a lot to take in, but I am sorry you had to go through all of that. I can assure you that you didn't deserve any of it, Ripley.

Connie embraced her friend in a hug, Ripley accepting it with open arms.

"And, also," Connie started again, "You are way too good for any boy here, even a former Duck. Please try not to think about him too much. I know it might be hard with you two still playing together, but do your best to keep him out of your mind."

Ripley nodded her head, remembering she had one more thing to tell Connie, "Oh, and more thing. I'm coming back to JV."

Connie's eyes widened, a massive smile painting the girls face, "Yay! I can't wait. We were hoping you would come back."

"I still have to talk to Coach Wilson, but I doubt he'll have a problem with it. Me being on the the team was never gonna make or break it, ya know?"

Connie shrugged her shoulders, "You never know, maybe it will. I'm hoping they all come crawling on their hands and knees begging for you back."

She smiled at her friend, a weight being lifted off her shoulders for finally expressing her feelings.

"So..." Connie posited, "What helped you make up your mind? Was it what happened yesterday."

Ripley nodded her head, "Kinda, yeah. It was a mix of things, I guess. The upperclassmen always got on my nerves and I came to the conclusion that if I was gonna play on any team, I wanted it to be a team full of people I actually liked."

Connie smiled again, and the girls returned to their work, making casual conversation about what playing would be like now with Ripley rejoining.

Ripley felt at peace, she felt soft, for the first since all of this spice made its way into her life.

That, until Julie came rushing over to the girl's, almost out of breath.

They both suddenly turned their attention to the stammering girl in front of them, wondering why she looked as if she ran a marathon.

"Whats up, kitty cat." Ripley teased, taking in the girls behavior.

Julie held up her finger, catching her breath before speaking, "I just went to the bathroom...uh... whew I'm tired. I just went to the bathroom and heard some girls talking about you, Ripley."