Drowning

Basketball Bros

Monday marked the end of their first week of school, the start of the second week, and 3 weeks since Miguel had been kicked off the balcony. Hawk had texted her over the weekend that Miguel was finally out of the ICU and allowed to have visitors. However the timing wasn't great, and Finley probably wouldn't be able to go and see him until the next weekend. She had texted Miguel a few times, but she knew it wasn't the same as being there for him in person, especially when he was cooped up in a hospital bed 24/7. Not to mention the fact that he had a concussion, so he was barely ever on his phone considering it gave him a headache.

Monday also marked the start of official tournament play for their 3 vs 3 basketball games. Her nerves were spiking just thinking about it as she changed into her gym uniform. She knew how much both Hawk and Mikey wanted to win, and she didn't want to let either of them down. It was true, each team had to have a girl as a way to keep things fair, but it didn't stop Finley from feeling like she was holding them back.

Last night at youth group she had been telling Anna and Belle about the situation and they had both laughed in her face. When Finley sent them a look, they both stopped.

"Wait, you're serious?" Anna asked, looking at her in disbelief.

Finley gave them a look that said 'yeah, duh'. Anna snorted and Belle just smiled, shaking her head.

"We've seen you play." Belle looked earnestly at her friend. "It doesn't matter if it's knockout or you're hopping in for those games after youth group with the guys, you're good."

Anna nodded. "Seriously. You're almost always like top 5 in knockout, and heck you've won a few times."

"Yeah, but that's different."

Anna raised her eyebrows. "It's basketball. Ball goes into basket. Not really seeing the difference."

"Well there's-" She let out a heavy sigh. "There's no pressure here, it's just a game. It doesn't matter if I mess up and miss a shot."

"Well I hate to break it to you Finley," Belle gave her a look. "But it's just a game no matter who you're playing with."

"Besides, those guys should be happy they got you as the girl. Even when you suck, you're still trying."

"Gee, thanks." Finley rolled her eyes.

"Seriously." Anna looked intensely at her. "Tomorrow, just focus on making one basket. Once you make that basket, just relax and have fun cause you know you can make it."

"And if you miss one, who cares, no one makes all the shots they take." Belle added.

"I swear if you say you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, I'm gonna punch you."

Both of the girls grinned at her before saying that exact statement in synch, causing Finley to roll her eyes before she slugged them both on the leg.

Finley redid her ponytail and let out a breath of air. It's just a game. She walked out to the gym and quickly sat on her spot on the floor. She noticed that her shoelace was a little loose and decided she might as well kill some time and retie it. Her fingers were just pulling the loop tight when a boy slid up next to her. He had sat down directly beside her, but flipped the opposite direction so that he was facing her. His legs were pulled up, knees bent in front of him with his feet flat on the ground, and he leaned backwards on his hands.

"Hi?" Finley raised her eyebrows at him.

Hawk smiled at her. "So are you going to see Miguel this week?"

"Oh, uh," Finley shook her head, her eyes falling. "No. My mom's really busy with work this week and stuff, so she probably won't be able to take me until this weekend."