College Baller 🏀✔️

Chapter 0

The sequel for Cause She's Greater than the Game

Contains some mature content. Reader discretion advised.

(POV: JAY)

I feel invincible knowing that the hard work paid off. I was finally where I wanted to be in my career. Shit, number 1 High School player in the nation. This was the real beginning for me...

It's been about a month now since school started and they still hadn't gotten used to me yet. The upperclassmen have been looking down on me like I was nothing.

"Let's get going!" Coach started us off with high knees for our warmup.

I did those with ease making sure to raise my knee to my chest not missing a step. After high knees, we sat in random positions on the floor doing some stretches. Stretching hamstrings, quads, you name it. After the stretches, we went straight into drills. A lot of people were breathing heavily. We stopped for a quick water break and then went back to it. Rebounding drills were next.

Kayla's absence distracted me cause I had not seen her in a minute. She has been busy with dance and other things at the new school. Auditions were coming up for the college dance team and she was thinking about joining. It would be good to see her doing what she loves, especially during the game.

"Keep pushing! Tired isn't in our vocabulary!" Coach said walking the span of the court.

We've been practicing day in and day out. The life of a college athlete was no joke. I woke up at 6 am most mornings, got some breakfast which was usually oats or something carb-rich, then I'd jog over to the stadium to start weight room with the new team. Every-single-morning.

I was sore and tired most of the time in the beginning, but I've been getting used to it. After training in the morning, we had a class at 8 am. Shit is tough to stay awake for.

"Alright, you guys can break for some water before we run plays for the game tomorrow," Coach Tame said.

He was a 6'1 older white man with greying dark hair, a clean shaved face.

"Shit," this other freshman player said breathing hard as hell.

I squeezed some red Gatorade into my mouth. Same.

"Josh, why the hell you breathing so hard?" Dre asked. They both were freshmen too.

"Bro that was nothing."

"What n*gga? My ass tired mayne," Josh said, but not loud enough for Coach to hear.

"I just want to play tomorrow, that's it."

"Your tired ass probably gonna be on the bench whole game. Fish ass nigga," one of the upperclassmen butted in.

The rest of the team started laughing.

"All y'all bout to be warming the bench."

We were at the bottom of the food chain, but I was gonna show them. Ain't nobody underestimating me like that.

"Get up! Let's start these plays!" Coach blew his burnt orange whistle.

It was time for some shooting drills and intensive skill work.

One of the upperclassmen knocked his shoulder against mine.

"Let's see what you got number 1," he said, then jogged to the middle of the court.

I bent down and tightened the laces on my shoes. I followed suit. Bet.

"Good session Moses," Coach Tame said patting me on the back.

It was a tough session, but the practice during the summertime paid off.

"Thanks, Coach."

I wiped the sweat off my forehead. The upperclassmen said nothing to us after practice today, but I was expecting to have a tough time with them honestly.

"So what y'all niggas finna do tomorrow since we don't got class?" Josh asked.

We stepped out of the stadium.

He was about 6'7 and dark with a taper fade with a little hair on top. Muscular built.

The other athletes passed us on their hoverboards. They were laughing. Josh pretended to laugh mockingly after they had gotten some distance between us. Josh was goofy as hell and talkative too.

"Sleep," Dre said. "Might go sixth street, but imma see."

Sixth Street was like the Bourbon Street of Texas.

We crossed the street to head to our dorm cafeteria.

Josh and Dre were cool folks, and even though the upperclassmen were giving us a tough time on the court, we just ignored it cause the three of us were a threat, to be honest. That's probably why they pushing us like that.

Dre came from a magnet school in California where he was ranking in the state and the top 20 for the nation. Josh came from a public school in Louisiana and he was frequently talked about by ESPN for his wingspan.

They both looked at me waiting for a response.

"I'm going to hang with my girl," I said proudly.

We entered the cafe and Dre grabbed an apple from the basket. Josh and I ordered food while Dre decided on what he wanted to eat.

He had his hair low, with brown skin, and super white teeth, which was something I noticed randomly. Dre was 6'5 and slightly muscular too.

"Who's your girl again man?" Josh asked confused.

The team hadn't seen Kay yet. I didn't want them around her like that just yet, but that wasn't the reason. It just cause we've both been busy...

"She goes here. Her name is Kayla Payne."

Josh scrunched his forehead trying to think about if he knew her.

"Nah, doesn't ring a bell. Bring her to practice one day."

My name got called and I went to collect my fries and burger at the counter.

"Maybe," I said laughing. "She ain't want to meet y'all."

But for real, they'll probably see her sometime soon...