Just Good Friends

Chapter 20

Author's POV

~Saturday, Winter Break~

The school gymnasium was filled with fans of the Wesley High Bumblebees. All of the seats on the bleachers were taken; no way the community would miss the winners of the boys basketball regional championship play a game of scrimmage. The Varsity boys basketball team is highly admired in the city of Manhattan and in other New Yorkian cities as well.

The game of scrimmage planned for today is supposed to be a fundraiser for the school, but half of the money raised will go to a 'deserving high school student' as advertised on the posters and on the local news. The cheer squad decided to have a bake sale as well as have snacks provided by the school in the cafeteria, which wasn't too far from the gymnasium. To add to the fun (and the fundraising money), the cheer squad also organized different games in the hallways of the school, like Dance Dance Revolution, Wii, bean bag toss, musical chairs, cake walks, and more! The fun began at 10am and the scrimmage game wasn't scheduled to start until noon. 

All of the community members and fans of Wesley High were enjoying their afternoon. There were news cameras filming the events as well as interviewing the principal, basketball coaches, students, and Julie. As a matter of fact, as Sam was passing by the media area with her friend Becca, she overheard Julie say that she came up with the whole idea. Sam couldn't believe that she had took all of the credit. Well, as long as Julie fulfills her end of the deal, guess it really doesn't matter. 

This whole thing was to help Jake with his college expenses so he can go to UCLA next fall. Julie agreed to help but told Sam that in return, she had to break up with Chris. Though the initial reason they acted like a couple was to get Diggy jealous and eventually break up with Julie in the first place, now Julie wants to ditch Diggy to get Chris "back". As if she ever had him. It's a confusing ball of drama that will not end unless Sam breaks up with Chris. Speaking of the tall, handsome captain of the boys basketball team...

"Hey, babe!" Chris ran up to Sam and planted a big kiss on her lips. In shock, she pushed him back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Chris laughed.

"Aww, adorable," Becca remarked while eating a cookie from the bake sale.

"So, what's up? You didn't answer my calls or texts last night. I was worried."

"I was busy last night," Sam said.

"Busy?" Chris crossed his arms.

"Yeah... I have a life you know. And friends other than you," Sam retorts.

"Well, excuuuuuusssee me, smarty pants." He laughs again and looks between Sam and Becca.

"I'm gonna go warm up with the squad," Becca says, "See you in the gym." 

She leaves Sam and Chris alone in the corner of the hallway.

"Isn't this whole fundraising thing tight? I can't believe Julie came up with this all on her own," Chris said while glancing around at the festivities.

"Me neither," Sam says.

"Why you seem distant today?" Chris tried to rub her arm, but she moves away from him. He frowns.

"I'm not in the mood."

"You were a few nights ago--"

"Look, I'm done pretending to be your girlfriend. You never liked me to begin with, so let's just end it before more drama starts," Sam yells.

"Whoa... why?"

"You want to be with Julie and she wants to be with you. So what are we doing? Just go up to her and tell her how you feel!"

"I can't... she's still with Diggy."

"They broke up," Sam says quickly.

"How do you know?"

"Julie told me. They broke up so... y'all can be together now. It's over. No more pretending." Sam tries to force a smile to convince Chris that things are alright.

"Forreal?"

Sam nods her head. Chris smiles and hugs her tight, then says, "Thank you, Sam. You're pretty cool after all." He then walks down the hall to find Julie and they start talking. Sam lets out a sigh. She walks down the hall past Julie and Chris. Julie winks at her and gives her a small smile.

Heading into the gym for the girls' scrimmage game, Sam bumps into Diggy. With no remorse, he keeps walking. Now that everything is back to normal, can friendships be rekindled?