Lauren had been in the gym with her team for about an hour or so before her game, trying to warm herself up. The brief warm up drills they always practiced before the games never suited her, and she had to do her own regimen to be successful during the game. Much like her last game, she continuously scanned the bleachers for Camila. The said girl had a late arrival, being unable to show her unwavering support due to traveling with her own team. Today, she couldn't slip away and walk to the gym in solitude. She had her own commitments.
As much as Lauren would've liked to have her there, to see her perform, she was alright with her absence. It was unlike the time before, she had the comfort of knowing why she wasn't there and that she wished she could've been. She wasn't fretting over it or jumping to conclusions this time, wondering what she had done wrong to discourage her appearance. Camila was in her thoughts and that was enough for her today. Lauren played to her fullest potential knowing that Camila would be proud of her either way.
Camila didn't get to watch until well into the first quarter. It took her a while to separate from the team without Coach Sylvester's scrutiny. When they vacated the bus and slowly filed into the gym, Camila lead the line a little too eagerly. While her team collectively occupied an area near the top, Camila made her way towards the bottom so Lauren was sure to see her. Those green eyes found her own after she'd shot a quarter three. She acknowledged her with a small smile, then disregarded her until the next timeout call. Her good luck charm was here, and now she was invincible. That was, only if she focused.
Lauren played hard and Camila admired her for that. She was such a strong player and an even stronger asset to the game. One player had gotten her attention because she seemed to have it out for Lauren specifically. Number 22. The girl was an awful brute, she had to have been 6'2 and at least 250. Clearly playing center for the opposing team, she made use of her massive size. She knew it was custom to pick a player to man, but to Camila, it seemed that she was almost bullying Lauren. She kept running into her specifically and elbowing her on the sly, doing whatever she could to hinder Lauren's offensive tactics. Lauren eventually learned to back off.
When she barreled directly into Lauren's defensive stance to make a shot, she knocked her onto her back with unnecessary force. The attack was unnecessary, just to attempt to hit an elbow jumper - one that she missed, at that. Lauren, not anticipating the blow, took the hit hard and skidded a few feet across the court. Camila was outraged. Although she'd gotten the wind knocked out of her, she was aware of the pain in her arm. It was on fire, and she knew she'd skinned it. Nervously from the stands, she saw the way Lauren clutched her elbow as she winced in pain on the floor, for a moment. And much to Camila's frustration, the game continued. None of the referees called a flagrant foul, or anything at all. The players on the court merely ran around her to resume.
"Hey! Where's the fucking foul, ref?" Camila hollered from her place in the stands and had an abundance of eyes on her at once. Lauren looked up at her and chuckled at the outburst, then shrugged it off. Camila made contact with her on the court, and she looked so tiny from that perspective. Poor baby. Nevertheless, Lauren offered her a meager thumbs-up to assure her that she was alright, although it stung like a bitch.
A girl Camila wasn't familiar with, Zara, stopped by Lauren to help her up. Lauren side-eyed number 22 and brushed it off when she got up.
"That's my girl," Camila said quietly and clapped for her when she got up.
The game continued just as intensely as it had been. Florida State was trailing Texas A&M and couldn't seem to catch up. Every time they scored, so did Texas A&M. The gap never truly closed for more than a few seconds on the clock. Camila had no idea what had gone on in the locker room during half time, but Florida State reemerged with a different attitude. Even from the stands, Camila could see that they were getting discouraged as the first half went on. But in the third quarter, they'd switched gears completely. Suddenly, they started making their shots and caught up, then pulled ahead. The team's focus was back up to par and Texas A&M wasn't ready for it, thinking they'd already had this game in the bag. Camila was strangely proud of Lauren's team for managing to take the lead when it seemed so unlikely.
