In An Instant

Chapter 11: Better Than Fiction

It's crazy how much life can change like the seasons. It was currently fall, which seemed to currently match my life. Everything around me, including relationships, was dying away, like the grass and leaves on the trees. The only difference was that Mother Nature was lucky enough to have a rebirth in the Spring, while my life would most likely remain dead and dormant, forever winter.

Bri had been busy with basketball, and Trey had started dating someone else, which left me the odd man out, spending my days at school, at work, or asleep, only to repeat it all the next day. Occasionally, I would be able to make it to one of Bri's games, but I usually ended up either listening to it on the local radio station or hearing the highlights when it was over.

I don't know the exact moment it happened, or how, but at some point, my life had become rather pathetic. My only comfort seemed to be my books, and even then, I barely had time to enjoy them. I had become way too busy for a sixteen-year-old. Old people, like my mom, had busy lives like this, not teenagers. I was supposed to be living it up, enjoying the best years of my life, but instead, I'd fallen into a boring routine that kept me too busy to live. Maybe it was for the best, at least until basketball season was over and Spring arrived.

"Are you gonna be able to come?" Bri asked, excited about her upcoming game.

"Yes, Nancy let me off, so I'll be there."

"Yay!" I'm sure if I could see her right now, she'd be jumping up and down. "You know, they say some college scouts are gonna be there."

"Really? This soon? I thought they only looked at seniors."

"Nope, not anymore. I'm just glad you'll be there."

It was one of the biggest games of the year when we played our biggest rival, the only other high school in our town—East versus West. "I wouldn't miss it. I think Mom's coming, too."

I was almost as excited about it as Bri was, since it would be the first time I'd gone out in a while, even if it was with my mom. When Trey started seeing someone else, it had been totally awkward at first, but I knew it would happen at some point, it just happened sooner than I thought it would.

He'd asked me first, afraid I'd be mad and that it would ruin our friendship, but I told him if the opportunity was there for him to be happy with someone that he should take it. I was glad for him, actually. At least one of us had someone.

I told Bri to look for us before I hung up so I could get ready. It had been so long since I'd been out, aside from going to work, that I was looking forward to primping a bit, since makeup and hair usually weren't high on my priority list. Once I was dressed and looked in the mirror, however, it made me question my priorities. Maybe I needed to do this a little more often.

"You look great," Mom said, checking me out when I walked into the kitchen. "Maybe I should've brushed my hair."

I shook my head. "You never know who you might meet." I could tell she had, in fact, brushed her hair, but that was about it. "Want me to make you a little more presentable? Maybe we can go eat afterward. I'm sure we'll be hungry, and to be honest, we deserve it."

She put her hands on her hips. "Yes, we do. Come on," she said as she walked out, "work your magic on me."

By the time we were ready and left, we both looked and smelled better than we had in a while. She looked more like my older sister than she did my mom. Hopefully, she had handed those genes down to me.

Once we were finally ready and made it to the school, there was barely anywhere to sit. "I knew we should've came early, since it's a rival game." I looked around for a seat on our side that didn't involve having to climb over people, but they were few and far between. "There's two up there, but we'll be in the corner." I heard whistles coming from beside us, only to find a group of boys—fellow classmates—ogling us. Not just me, but my Mom, too. "Ew." Mom, unlike me, found it more amusing, smiling back at them.