Recognize [c.a]

chapter | 6

How much a dollar really cost?

-

Wednesday
I've been ignoring Chres for the past 3 days. He hasn't even made an attempt to speak to me. And quite frankly I don't give two fucks. I can't blame him though because it was my fault for thinking we had something. As I said before don't get attached. Lately I've been blocking everyone out, but I think it's just because I've been overthinking. I wake up at 3 am and have thoughts on why he left, and who was he on the phone with. It shouldn't matter though because we aren't together. I continued to think of the endless possibilities, like maybe I was boring, or maybe I wasn't good enough, or I just didn't exactly fit his standards. Since I've been blocking everyone out for awhile, I decided to check Twitter and Instagram. I typed in Chresanto's @ name on Twitter which brought me straight to his profile since I followed him. I was lurking on his page and I continuously saw 'Stay Strong bro.'and 'Feel better.' I began to worry about him.

-

I walked to my table at a slow pace, so I wouldn't drop my food. I really needed to eat today because open gym for girls starts after school, and I need as much energy as I can get. Basketball is like a stress reliever for me.

"Hey. Can we talk?" I heard before I could take a bite of my ham sandwich.

"Yea sure. Sit. What's up?" I replied dully taking a bit out of my sandwich chewing it slowly.

"About Saturday I'm sor-"

I cut him off because I didn't need his apology, "It's fine. Forget it. The past is the past."

"Well I'm apologizing anyway, but the pho-"

"I thought I said the past is the past. I don't care for what you have to say or your dumb apology."

"Just listen, fuck. I'm stressed out enough, please stop bitchin'."

"Me bitchin', last time I checked you left me at the restaurant to pay your bill, and God only knows why. Maybe you were with Kennedy, but as I said 'the past is the past.' And I'm trying to forget about what happened."

"But this is an important part of my- well our 'past'. If you listen you'll know why I left."

"Okay Chresanto. Why'd you leave?" I asked trying to give him a chance.

"I left... I left because my brother called me about my grandfather. He's been sick... He's been real sick lately, and he's on the verge of dying. And by on the verge I mean ar-around this week." He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth to relax himself. I only could look at him with sympathetic eyes. I grabbed his hands rubbing them with my thumbs in a circular motion to calm him down. Soon pulling him in to a gentle hug.

"I'm so sorry Chres." I apologized for both his bad news and me jumping to conclusions.

-

"I want you to run to this yellow line and back to that black line twice. Like a suicide, but after that I want you guys to get into a defensive stance and slide back and forth in the paint as fast as you can for 15 seconds. Ready set go." I ran back and forth with ten girls while the rest of the girls waited on the sideline for us to finish. Once we finished the second group started, allowing me and the other girls to have a breather. Our next drill was to dribble the ball down the court in a zig zag. First we did a crossover followed by a dribble behind the back. Next was a dribble between the legs and lastly a spin move. These drills were easy to me because I was in the gym 24/7 last summer. Some of the girls continued to lose their ball, and I could tell that they were getting really frustrated with themselves. Patience is key when it comes to basketball. That's my advice to them.