𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫.

033.

cindy sat on the sidelines with jeremiah beside her, her eyes fixed on belly and taylor as they played their rounds.

belly would play the first two rounds, then her and cindy would switch for the final.

jeremiah stared at the girl next to him, completely uninterested in the game.

taylor hit the sand with a thud, a whine escaping her lips as she grabbed her ankle in pain. belly crouched down beside her, concern etched on her face. "i can't play," taylor confessed, signaling for jeremiah to take her place.

"good luck," cindy smiled at jeremiah, her voice filled with genuine support.

jeremiah slid past her, making his way onto the sand. bumping the ball with his hands, he slapped it down, scoring a point.

however, his victory would be short-lived as he began to miss hits. belly pressed her hands to her head in frustration, lunging forward in front of jeremiah. with a forceful fist bump, she sent the ball flying over the net, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

conrad stood beside cindy, his presence dampening her mood.

"they make quite a team, don't they?" conrad gestured towards belly and jeremiah, watching them yell at one another after another missed hit.

cindy chuckled under her breath, "yeah, jeremiah's amazing."

"he's hopeless." conrad laughed.

after another victory, belly stormed off the sand, crossing her arms and kicking up sand in frustration. "cindy!" she called out through the gate separating them. "you're up, and clearly jeremiah's not cut out for this. get conrad in."

belly directed jeremiah to take off his shirt, the long sleeve clinging to his body. he held it, his face filled with slight embarrassment.

"conrad, you're subbing in with cindy. it's the final, guys. you can't let us lose to steven. we'll never hear the end of it," belly pleaded, throwing the shirt at conrad's chest. without hesitation, he put it on.

cindy didn't argue with belly's decision. instead, she and conrad walked into the sandbox. the final match awaited them, and they had to give it their all.

"where do you want me?" conrad asked, his gaze fixed on her.

cindy glanced around, pointing her finger towards the outside, positioning him as the outside hitter.

steven walked up to the net with a sly smirk on his lips, shayla by his side, radiating confidence. the referee blew the whistle, signaling the start of the match. steven bumped the ball up, sending it over the net effortlessly. cindy slid across the sand, hitting it up, and conrad jumped up to slap it down. shayla whined as the ball sailed over her head and hit the ground, scoring a point for cindy and conrad.

conrad helped cindy up, the two doing their handshake.

the score was now tied, three for three.

the noise of the crowd was fading away as cindy focused on the game. she watched intently as the ball came right to her. using her clenched fists, she hit it up, and conrad ran forward to make his move. his body hit the ground as he hit the ball, sending it into the air. with a burst of determination, cindy dove for the ball, her body colliding with the sand as she gave it everything she had. as the crowd held its breath, she felt the satisfying contact between her hand and the volleyball, propelling it over the net.

cheers erupted as the ball landed behind steven, who cursed loudly at himself. shayla rushed to comfort him, but the damage was done. conrad jumped up, grabbing cindy by the waist as he swung them around. laughter bubbled from their lips as they celebrated their victory, their shared joy infectious.

susannah held a trophy, holding a mic to her lips as she spoke loudly, "and the winners are cindy kimberly and conrad fisher!"

cindy held the trophy between her and conrad, the two whooping in victory.

susannah hurried over to them, clapping her hands together, an excited expression on her face. "oh, my gosh. you guys were incredible. oh, you make such a great team."

"thank you," cindy smiled at susannah.

"did you ask her yet?" susannah asked, her eyes darting between the two.

conrad's face immediately fell.

cindy furrowed her brows, her confusion deepening. "ask me what?"

"to be your escort," susannah chuckled. "i told him he had to ask you since, you know, it was taking you so long to decide."

cindy stared at susannah as her brows knitted together. she didn't dare look at conrad, unable to face the reality.

"you were amazing!" belly cheered, joining them with an embrace that cindy soon slipped away from, not wanting to be near conrad any longer.

while any other boy would jump at the chance to accompany her to the ball, conrad was forced by his mother.

"hey, cindy." nicole greeted.

"hi, nicole." she spoke, cindy just wanted to go home right now.

nicole crossed her arms. "um, so my dad's boat just came up from anguilla. um, so what do you guys think about a pizza and rosé in a few hours? just something fun to end the day. and you're more than welcome to bring taylor and belly."

"yeah, we'll be there." cindy forced a smile, it quickly fading as the girl walked away.

author's note, i like to think that this was anastasia's kook life (she's my obx character and the book will be republished when i finish completely with the tsitp season 2 book)