K. C. A

THIRTY-ONE

And just like that I was a member of the school basketball team, or was it all a dream? I pinched the back of my palm long and hard and when I didn't wake up on the bed in my room, I was certain that all this was actually happening. 

Claire didn't even have to street herself to find a way to put me on the… or did she? Claire was capable of anything, and everything that had transpired Jake might have been her plan all along. I held this thought in my mind throughout the entire hour of practice. 

“Did you really have an interview with coach Maximus?” I asked Claire as she drove us home after basketball practice. 

Claire glanced at me with a smile and then she winked. Not the type of wink she had given me at other times, but a suspicious one. 

“Did you or did you not?” 

“I did not.” Claire replied. 

“Then why did you make us talk in the gym?”

“To get you on the team.”

“We were not sure it would work though. It was a fifty-fifty chance.” Tyler added. 

I glanced from Claire to Tyler with wide eyes. “So what if my play was terrible?”

“Then you would not be on the school team and you would have acquired an even worse reputation for yourself.”

“Why would you put me in such a risky situation?!”

“Calm down Jason.” Claire said. 

“I  will not calm down!”

“I don't care either way.” Tyler said. “We got you on the team and that is al that matters. Besides we only placed you in the gym, we didn't push you into the trash talking.”

I couldn't argue with that, it was completely true. 

~*~*~*~

As I walked into the school building the next day with Ashley by my side, random boys kept throwing comments at me like, ‘You're good on the court man’, ‘Nice three pointer dude’, ‘I wish you were on the team a long time ago.’ and many more. 

“I don't recall seeing any of these guys at the gym yesterday.” I told Ashley.

“We uploaded the video on the blog.” She replied. 

I was a bit surprised. “They had it on video? How?” 

“I  don't know, I wasn't there.” Ashley shrugged and hurried away to her locker. 

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind me, I yelped as the hand turned me toward the direction from where it had come from. 

“Chill bro, its just me.”

I managed to smile. “Hey Carl, Jade.”

“Why are you so jumpy?” Jade asked. 

“Nothing, I'm cool.” I replied and broadened my smile. 

“It feels is  good to finally see an eleventh grader beat Jake on the court.” Carl said. 

“Yeah. I hope it reduces his cockiness.” Jade added. 

I was about to respond when another hand grabbed my arm and started dragging me in its direction. I turned my head swiftly in its direction and realised that the arm belonged to Claire. 

“Why?!!” I asked, my eyes wide with surprise and a little anger. 

“I need you for something.”