DTHIAT

Epilogue

There was a nervous, excited buzz in the air. It was the first game of the season, after all.

Thelonious and the rest of the school were making a huge deal of it. All of the bleachers were full. We even had the marching band come.

I don't even know we had a marching band.

It was all... overwhelming.

I had been cleared by Dr. Park and Jackson, Chaeyoung had been supportive of my three nervous breakdowns since then, and Jisoo was ecstatic to have me actually teach her my hook shot.

The little shit nearly mastered it after ten minutes.

I hadn't heard from a single scout during the remainder of the summer, and Coach Indra started acting oddly since the beginning of this school year, telling me not to worry and that my chances would come as the season started.

"You ready for this, Commander?" Jisoo asked, slinging her arm around my shoulder while I tucked in my dark green GROUNDERS jersey.

"No," I said frankly.

She let out a loud laugh.

"Good." She squeezed me once more before letting go.

"At small forward, number thirteen, Jisoo Birch!" The announcer called, and Jisoo sent me a cheeky smirk and wink before she ran out of the open locker room door into the darkness of the gymnasium.

Why the gym was dark made no sense.

It was a serious hazard.

For me.

And when the hell did we get an announcer?

My heart rate rose when I realized I was the only person left standing in the locker room.

I was nervous.

Incredibly so.

I held a breath in my chest, thinking about the fact that this was the last home opener I would be a part of for my High School.

I had overcome so much just to get here, and here was just my senior year, standing in a smelly locker room of my high school.

I had to overcome the bullying, the insecurity, and my ego.

I had to overcome the constant misunderstanding Jisoo and I were in.

I had to overcome my injury.

I had to overcome my own self-doubt.

I had overcome nearly losing Chaeyoung.

I looked back at my locker, my duct-tape shoes hanging by the laces from the door, and smiled.

I finally let out the breath I was holding.

"Number eight, your Commander, Lisa Manoban!" The announcer yelled, dragging out the vowels of my name to draw out the hype, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

There was a section of the crowd that held my family, and they were significantly louder than the rest.

My heart kick-started at the thought.

Before I could let me eyes wander, Coach Indra began yelling over the noise. The sheer volume of the crowd meant that I had to actually look at Coach Indra while she spoke, unable to divert my attention to the stands to find my favourite group of blondes in the stands.

"Alright ladies! We've put in the work during preseason! We're strong! We're tough! And most importantly, we're a team! Grounders on three!"

After we yelled out our team cheer, Jisoo and I did the handshake we came up with over the summer (it was more along the lines of a forearm grab) and I headed out to the basketball court.