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SHARIFE DRIBBLED THE BALL IN place alongside his teammates at McEachern High School, sweat dripping down from his hairline and onto his nose. The boys on the team were stationed on the baseline of the gym while their coach, Mike Thompson, was watching on the sideline along with the assistant coach.
When the whistle blew to signal the end of practice, Sharife released a grateful sigh and straightened his back before pulling one arm to its opposite side and then the other to stretch. Practice usually raised Sharife's spirits, the exercise clearing his mind and raising his dopamine levels but not this time. This time, all Sharife wanted to do was sleep off the effects of Saturday.
Seeing Kylah and Devon kiss had soured in Sharife's stomach and jealousy and alcohol wasn't a good mix for anyone.
Knowing they had gotten back together was souring everything else, even the sport he loved.
"Aye, Rife," One of his teammates jogged over to him, a sophomore who had just made it to varsity. The teammate had one hand wrapped around his cell phone and Sharife lifted the top of his shirt to wipe his forehead as he sat down, his back against the white bricked wall, "Yo."
"You were at Kylah's party on Saturday right?" Sharife looked up at the younger boy, his gaze scrutinizing, "You know Ky? How do you know Ky?"
The boy shrugged and replied, "I don't go to Grady, at least not really. I have a couple of friends who go there." Sharife looked up at him for another moment before shifting his gaze toward the sneakers on his feet, "Oh, if you don't go to Grady, then why didn't I see you there?"
The younger boy snickered as he dropped down to sit adjacent to Sharife, "You were busy," The boy gently nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.
Sharife passed his teammate a glance, "Is there something you wanna talk about, bro?"
The boy dug his cell phone out of his basketball shorts pocket, "You missed the craziest shit. These two girls started arguing with the guy who owns the house."
Sharife rolled his eyes at the indirect mention of Devon but stayed silent as the boy pulled up the photos app on his iPhone and tapped on the latest video. The camera work made the video blurry but Sharife could still make out four figures, the tan tiled floor, and Nyree's voice.
The camera stilled and focused. In the video, Nyree was stepping directly into Devon's face, her finger continuously jabbing into his chest, "She doesn't want to be with you, with your dusty-looking ass! You and the word 'no' must be best friends!"
