The All-Stars

Chapter Twenty-Four

Class ends early for the athletes and we are dismissed to change into our team regalia. Natalia, Emma and I skip down the halls, deliberately walking closer to the doors of the normal classes as we head to our lockers. The students notice us through the windows and some stare adoringly while others just roll their eyes.

I get my duffle from my locker and so do Emma and Natalia. Then we head to the girls' bathroom to change.

Inside, a couple of popular girls skip class, typing away on their phones. They roll their eyes as they register our presence.

"What are you doing here?" The blonde one snaps.

"This is our hideaway." Adds the brunette.

Emma brandishes her cheer uniform like a shield and they quiet down. I shrug and step into one of the stalls.

I pull off my sun dress and denim jacket, exchanging it for my swim shirt, track pants and team jacket. Smiling at the two girls, I touch up my make-up in the mirror, lending my eyeliner to Natalia when she emerges in her leotard and gym shorts. Emma ties up her hair quickly and we head to the hall.

The swim team cheers when I enter the decorated school hall. I hug a few of them quickly before moving towards the seats where the potential All-Star awardees are supposed to sit.

Asher is already waiting, looking good in his Under Amour jersey and tights. I step into his embrace, smiling into his chest.

"We're finally here." He breathes.

My grin widens as I say, "We actually made it."

"To the best competitor?"

I nod and shake his hand. Connor comes over, throwing his arms around both of our shoulders.

"Hey lovebirds." His baseball cap leaves a tuff of his blonde hair peeking out.

"Hey yourself, you look fantastic." I offer.

"Thanks, Ellie." Connor ruffles my hair.

We take our places as the students file in, bored and disinterested. Asher reads through the program booklet as I scan the crowd for my parents.

Mrs Moretti finishes her speech quickly, sensing the unrest of the audience. Without further ado, she motions for the All-Stars to be brought out. One of the girls passes her a cue card.

"The fifth All-Star goes to Jason Rogers, captain of the rugby team." She announces.

Asher high-fives Jason when he jogs past us with his helmet tucked under his arm. The crowd claps politely.

"The fourth All-Star belongs to Taylor Lewis, co-captain of the swim team."

I cheer as my partner in crime receives her trophy.

"The third, Emma Lenton."

Emma tries to rile up the crowd as she makes her way to the stage. Some of the students actually respond to her. The cheerleaders do a quick cheer and I clap along.

"It was a hard decision between the first and second place," Mrs Moretti stalls, pushing me to the verge of gnawing my nails to stubs. "But eventually, we came to a conclusion."

She looks around as she says, "The second All-Star goes to Asher Scott Cooper, captain of the ice hockey team."

I push the bloke to stand and he sprints up onto the stage, tripping on the last step. The ice hockey team shouts loudly, sparking off a chain reaction throughout the hall.

"And the final All-Star is Eleanor Victoria Riley's for the taking."

My heart swells as the clapping starts. I make my way to the stage, waving at random people. Mrs Moretti hands me the trophy and steps away from the mike, leaving me to make my speech.

"Hello everybody, thanks for coming out today. Well, it's been a gruesome fight to get this award these past few months, but it's not really all I thought it would be." The silence that fell upon the hall shocks me. "This All-Star scheme takes away the true meaning of sport. We don't give out time just to win, we give it because we want to; because we care about serving the community. We go out there to battle our hearts out on the courts not to win this meaningless award. No – we go out there because we love what we do. Our sports are our lives and the reason why we hold on. When people deserted us, our sports were what kept us going. This is why we do what we do."

Turning back, I walk towards Mrs Moretti, passing the trophy to her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Moretti, but I have no need for this."

She nods in reply, still stunned by my speech.

With that, I walk back down the aisle, not caring about the chaos that ensued. Asher joins me by my side and so does the rest of the captains and co-captains. None of them are holding their All-Stars.

"That was reckless." Comments Ash as he pulls out of the lot.

I shrug, "Had to be done. When I get back to school on Monday, I'm going to make some big changes around here."

"You know what this means, right?" Asher smiles.

I raise a brow, lowering my book.

"We're going to get ice-cream." He takes a left turn.

///

Asher's lips brush across my knuckles in a fleeting kiss.

"What was that for?" I continue walking through the park.

"Just reminding myself that you actually exist and I'm not dreaming about all this."

"You've dreamt about this before?"

"Where do you think I get my brilliant date ideas from? Yes, I've dreamt about you and me being together – it's all I've ever wanted."

I smile and he pulls me to sit on the swings. Gently, he starts me off, waiting until I got enough momentum before going to the other one and joining me.

"You know," I start, getting his attention. "In life, you start off not being able to swing on your own, then you learn and you don't need any more help, but once you grow up, you go back to being pushed on the swings."

"Good theory, anything else that may help you in life later on?" Mocks Asher.

I huff, pouting. Ash gets off his swing and moves to stand in front of me. I kick him in the gut and he doubles over.

Slowing myself down, I kneel beside him, pushing the hair away from my face as I scrutinise his agonised expression.

"Okay," He wheezes, "I got the memo, don't ever do that again."

"Good boy." I mess up his hair and skip over to the climbing structure.