His Number One : The Sequel to Chemistry

Chapter 17

It was fifty minutes after five on a Tuesday evening, and Kaylin and her teammates were huddled in the girls' locker room. Coach Meyers stood inside the circle, quickly going over the first play of the game. Once everyone thoroughly understood it, she began to speak words of encouragement; telling everyone to stay strong and to keep there head in the game and their eyes on the ball. Every player in the circle nodded in compliance as Coach Meyers finished her motivational speech, and the girls were as hype as ever. It was the first game of the season and Kaylin was more than ready to annihilate.

They were scheduled to play against a high school that had just transitioned from a classical school, to a traditional one. They're basketball team had just been established two years ago. And from what their records show, they weren't that good.

Kaylin walked out of the locker room more excited than she's been in a long time. She had been preparing for this day all weekend.

After Saturday, Kaylin had started acting normally around Tyler again. Who in turn, did the same, but was still distraught about Lauren's failure to confide in him about whatever was upsetting her. Monday during lunch, Lauren sat with some of her other friends, and Kaylin sat with Nathan. Tyler sat at their usual table by himself. When she looked over to the lower part of the atrium and saw Tyler alone at an eight-person table, she couldn't stop herself from feeling bad. She left to go sit with him, and when she told Nathan where she was going, a look of disappointment flashed across his face but he didn't object. Nathan had other friends to sit with. Tyler didn't. She sat with him earlier that day too. But a part of her wished she hadn't cause all he could talk about was Lauren. The question, "why did she leave dinner?" popped out of his mouth every five minutes. And every time it did, Kaylin shrugged.

But it was as if all of her problems had gone away when she finally set foot on the court and the sports announcer announced their arrival and the crowd erupted in crazy applause. She looked over to the side of the gym where everybody who was there to support Jackson Hew High sat, and smiled when she spotted her mother sitting in the middle section of the bleachers. And two rows above her, sat Nathan. She was actually surprised to see him there. Usually when her friends said they'd come to her games, they never actually did. Her dad wasn't there. But that was something she had gotten used to. He was never able to show up until a little after the last quarter had began. And Jordan and Jacob only ever came to basketball games on Fridays. Partially to support Kaylin and Tyler, but more so because everyone else came to the game on Friday.

Once both teams were on the court, the five players that would start off the game were allowed five minutes to practice their shooting and passing and whatever else they felt like they had to practice. Kaylin would play point guard the first half of the game, and Ariyana would take over the second. This plan upset Kaylin because her dad wouldn't be able to see her play, and it made her feel like Ariyana would have to step in and be the hero of the team. But none of that mattered as the clock on the wall went from 00.01 to 00.00 and the buzzer sounded throughout the gym. The referee took the basketball that the away team was using and ordered a player from each team to meet him in the jump circle. The tallest girl on each team walked up to the circle and stood at the sides of the referee. He looked at both girls, making sure that they were both ready. The gym grew still as anticipation instantaneously filled it. The referee lowered the ball he held in his hands, then tossed it up in the air, all in a fluid motion. Both girls reached for it but only one team ended up getting possession of it and that was the away team. And the game began.

It went extremely well for the JHH team. The opposing team hadn't even scored until the end of the third quarter. And everyone in the gym couldn't tell if JHH's womens basketball team had a really good defense, or if the other team just couldn't play. But despite what the reasoning was, the score ended up being 34-8. JHH had won their first game by twenty-six points.