Technological Transformations

Chapter 26- Go Beavers!

Contrary to popular belief, manipulating existence itself to make yourself naturally very well gifted at basketball, as all of us are known to do from time to time, does indeed make you extremely talented at basketball. Luckily for me, I had already happened to go ahead and do just that- and boy did it pay off. The first half of our game was a testament to the intensity of my Charles-given skills, as I seemed relatively unstoppable on the court. Having scored 29 points in the first half just on my own, it was pretty clear that I was quite the dominating force for our team. Considering the score so far was 37-9, it was safe to say that we were crushing the Barracudas pretty decisively come halftime. Having been bombarded with the commendations and admiration from my fellow teammates right at the buzzer, I managed to make my escape from the commotion, my bottle of water in tow. Slipping off to a deserted side of the court, as most of the gathered spectators vacated the area to gather refreshments of their own, I crouched down under the closest bleacher and took a well-needed seat. I had only managed to twist the cap off my bottle, when my serenity was once again interrupted.

"God damn girl, you are fucking ANNIHILATING out there!" Caitlyn exclaims, ducking down under the bleachers to join me. I smiled up at her, taking a long swig from my bottle- as far as peace-disruption goes, it could've been worse.

"Thanks." I offer through a deep breath, taking another extended drink from my bottle, before continuing. "You enjoying the show?"

"With a cutie like you playing, how could I not?" Caitlyn teases, leaning back against the wall behind us. "Seriously, you are insanely good, Chelsea. I mean, I don't really have much to compare you to, but everyone else seems really impressed, so it's gotta be something."

"I have been doing pretty good." I admit with a small smile, feeling a slight bit of shame at exactly *how* I got this good. Maybe I'd see about taking my pre-ordained skills down a bit, if the Multi-Stream would even let me.

"Seems just a tad bit better than "pretty good" to me." Caitlyn scoffs, leaning over to look out past the bleachers. "Hell, even Faith was getting in on how good you were doing." That perked my attention.

"What did she say?" I ask, a smile tugging at the corner of Caitlyn's mouth as she looks back at me.

"She mostly just agreed with what Ally and Mia were saying." She clarifies, my attention drifting to where the five of them, with Hayden and Emma gathered as well, were sitting and talking. "Mia is *weirdly* into this. Like, for her, I mean. She's breaking down entire plays and moves you guys do." She laughs briskly to herself, "I'm not even sure Emma knows the rules." I smile with her, my gaze lingering on Faith with the others. She was in her jersey, which she looked *so* god damn good in, and was currently brightening up the entire court with a laugh, seemingly from something Hayden had cracked. It was good to see that she had listened to my advice- or, at least decided of her own merit- to play in the game. She had been doing pretty well herself, considering I was kinda hogging the ball most of the first half. She had nabbed a couple of the baskets that weren't mine, her offense clearly her strong suit. It was nice to see her relaxing more into the game and getting into the sport of things- everyone had really started to settle in as a team.

It would probably help if I let some of them play the game a bit more, huh?

"How are things?" I ask her, after a moment of comfortable silence. Caitlyn glances at me, a look of understanding- perhaps even a brief glint of pity dances across her eyes- before she speaks.

"Not much different, to be honest. They don't really like to even talk about you, let alone any mention of talking *to* you. The others try every now and then to bring things up, or attempt to plant a seed of opportunity for things to change, but it's all just kinda... stagnant." She updates with a sigh. "At least they're generally in better spirits, most of the time." She points out, the both of us watching our group of girls as they goof off with, what appeared to be Snapchat filters, on eachother's phones.