It was incredibly silent before she opened her mouth to sing. No one in the crowd said a word, no children hollered, not even a whisper could be heard throughout the crowd. The American people were incredibly passionate about their National Anthem. She was placed right where everyone could see her. Right under the flag, dressed in a baby blue crop top and high-waisted jeans. She needn't think about the words or how she sounded, she was confident in her ability to not mess up the National Anthem and stay in the right key.
Her eyes were trained on the wall, avoiding the audience's eyes, but soon she found herself looking at the court. More specifically Elisa on the court. She didn't really know Elisa's name at the time but she soon learned during the game. Elisa was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful girls Cameron had gotten the chance to look at. And she looked at Elisa often. It seemed that whenever Elisa left the dining hall, Cameron was entering it, and that always led to a quick glance and sometimes a smile. People were incredibly friendly and close-knit at their tiny school.
Cameron had finished singing, nothing special had gone into her performance. She didn't think her voice was Beyoncé or Christina Aguilera good, it was just Cameron Murphy good, and that was good enough for her. The crowd clapped and some whistled and hollered but the only thing Cameron noticed was Elisa Andersson clapping for her and smiling so beautifully. That seemed to make everything worthwhile. She gave the microphone to the Sports Director and made her way across the gym and into the stands. Her friends greeted her with the roar of twenty girls standing in line for a One Direction concert.
"That was so good Cammie!!! Holy shit!" Mallory was extremely loud in her ear, but there was never a moment when Laura wasn't being loud. It was extremely rare. Almost as rare as a unicorn.
Cammie shushed them and sat down next to Meili at the end of the bleacher. "Oh we're staying?" Divya questioned from her seat next to Laura.
"Yeah, I said I wanted to stay and watch the game." Cameron trained her eyes on the court and watched as Elisa took a sip of her water and jogged to pick up a ball.
Divya began twirling the ends of her hair and then leaned forward to grab Cameron's hand. "You don't like basketball Cammie. We've talked about this."
Cameron smiled warmly and closed her hand around Divya's. "I don't dislike basketball. I just don't like sports. But I really like basketball players."
Divya leaned back and smiled smugly. "I see why we're here now."
"I think it's important to support our school, so let's just sit through this. I'm sure it won't be that bad." Meili was probably the most rational and grounded in their friend group. Cameron was described as the dreamer and the over thinker, Laura could be described as irrational and compulsive, Divya was often too consumed in her own life and her own schedule,Mallory was a bit more reserved and she kept to herself , and Joanna was just incredibly sassy.
Meili lifted her phone and turned it so that they could take a picture. "It'll be fun." They all smiled and Cameron put her fingers up because she couldn't take pictures without those two fingers being involved.
Laura lifted her phone and pulled them in closer, "I want one too." They all smiled again, but this time Elisa was looking at them, specifically Cameron.
The music playing was definitely played to get the team performance ready. It was loud and the bass of the song was definitely meant to get the team hype. The girls from Mountain Ridge University were running around on the court dribbling basketballs and making shots up close and very far away. Some were dancing along to the music. Elisa was on the court. She bounced the ball twice on the glossy wooden floor and bent her knees to shoot the ball and lead it into the hoop. She made it in and Cameron almost cheered but then she remembered that the game hadn't actually begun.
"So who are we here for? Besides Evie and Charlie. The mean looking one? The one with blue hair? The slightly androgynous looking one? The red head? I can go on forever so you might as well just get on with her name."
"I don't know her name. But you described her as the slightly androgynous looking one. I hope I'm using her right pronouns though." The buzzer for the game to begin sounded and they picked up the balls and put them back on the rack. They exited the gym and when both teams returned their Jerseys were on full display. Cameron watched as they huddled around the Coach and his staff, and then they separated. Five girls were on the court, a tall blonde girl, Evie, the girl with red hair, and two of Cameron's old hall mates Izzy and Josie. The girls were talking throughout the game, something about cheerleading and how loud the coach was yelling but Cameron was focused on the game. She hadn't grown up in a football obsessed household like most girls, it was basketball 24/7 and the occasional sprinkle of every other sport possible. Her two older brothers were basketball players, and she played for a few years before she decided that she preferred dance and the Arts. The game moved very quickly, the first quarter ended with Mountain Ridge at 14 points and Dayton with two points. Elisa was placed in the game because the tall blonde got too many fouls playing point guard. Elisa seemed to fall a lot more than any girl playing. It became almost comical watching her. She would bump into someone and raise her hands up to to her ears while she fell back on her bottom, just so she wouldn't be accused of pushing or tripping the girls. Cameron hoped that her bottom wasn't bruised.
"That was such a good game. I can't believe we pulled through in those last five seconds." Meili climbed over me and pulled me up before she continued down the stairs of the bleachers. They waited for a good twenty minutes before the players came out. Josie was the first through the door.
"This is your chance, are you going to go for it?" Divya was behind Cameron, poking at her sides and Cameron shook her head.
"I'm not going to say anything, she might not be gay and she might be dating someone." Cameron's voice was shy and softer than usual.
"What? She looks pretty gay to me." The girls kept entering the gym one by one and Cameron turned to face Divya.
"Not all gay looking girls are gay. You can't base things off of stereotypes." The red headed girl on the team approached her with a small smile and wild eyes.
"You did a really good job! What's your name again?" She glanced about the gym and connected eyes with someone for a brief moment and turned her attention back on Cameron.
"I'm Cameron Murphy. You guys were amazing. Great game!" She smiled again and rested her hand on my shoulder.
"Thank you very much Cameron, I'm Nicole Brooks by the way. It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too, Nicole."
Cameron watched Nicole head back to the double doors and wait around a bit. Elisa soon came out. She had pulled a sweatshirt over her jersey and sweatpants were rolled against her hips. She looked great, in Cameron's opinion. Meili and Laura were both talking to Evie and Charlie while Divya stood behind Cameron. Tapping away at her phone, possibly planning the rest of her day.
Nicole met Elisa and they began walking. Nicole glanced at Cameron once and then Elisa looked at her, bright blue eyes and perky smile. Cameron swore she saw her name dance along Nicole's lips before Elisa glanced at her and she wanted desperately to hear her name in Elisa's voice.
"You have an amazing voice." Elisa gave Cameron a smirk and continued walking with her hands in her pockets.
Cameron almost died that day.
