Shot Clock [Nayeon x Sana]

Shot Clock

The stars shine brightly above a bustling high school campus, their presence offering light and a hint of warmth to an otherwise frigid March night. The parking lot below is filled with students and parents and basketball fans leaving the gymnasium after an exciting finale to the inter-high school girls' championship. Nayeon, the star and captain of the home team, should be somewhere in the crowd below, chatting with her teammates or cleaning out her locker after this final game of her high school career. But instead, Nayeon stands by her lonesome on top of the school roof, her eyes fixed on the darkened sky above.

The last moments of the game still weigh heavily on Nayeon's mind. She can see the final shot she took perfectly in her mind's eye. The glare of the gymnasium lights, the roar of the crowd, the slow countdown of the shot clock's bright red digits, somehow perfectly in sync with the final seconds of the game; everything was etched into her brain with painful clarity. It makes Nayeon want to relive that moment just one more time, to take the last shot just one more time, and perhaps change the final outcome.

It was a close game. Twice High was down by one point in the fourth quarter, nine seconds left with the ball in their possession. Coach Park used the final timeout of the game and the action came to a halt for the next sixty seconds. Nayeon jogged over to her team's bench, stomach already in knots for what was about to come.

"We've got nine seconds," the coach said gruffly, pulling out his clipboard and showing the hastily drawn X's and O's to the huddle of girls awaiting his directions. He looked right at Nayeon. "Jeongyeon in-bounds to you. Momo drops a screen here and you roll in for a lay up. If the lane is blocked, go towards the left for a screen from Tzuyu and take the shot. No one can do this but you, Nayeon. Got it?"

Nayeon had heard this final play dozens of times throughout the season, throughout these past four years of high school basketball. It wasn't exactly the same every time, but it all boiled down to a single concept: "Nayeon, it's up to you."

Nayeon sighs into the cool night air. It's chilly enough that standing on the roof without a coat is far from advisable, but Nayeon doesn't move to put on her prized letterman jacket that sits by her feet in a crumpled heap. She's just lost in her own little world of thought, deaf to the noise from the crowded parking lot below, and from the sound of the rooftop door softly creaking open and signaling someone's arrival.

This is how Sana finds Nayeon, wistfully leaning against the roof's railing and gazing up at the night sky as though all of the answers to life's questions are hidden among the stars. Sana breathes a soft sigh of relief, her twenty minute journey to find Nayeon finally coming to a happy end. She quietly makes her way across the roof towards Nayeon, silently observing the older girl so as to not disturb her train of thought. It makes Sana's heart twinge to see Nayeon hiding away as Nayeon so often does when her mind is swirling with thoughts. But it also makes Sana smile, because anything that has to do with Nayeon is often a catalyst for Sana's smile.

Sana tries to be light with her steps as she approaches, but it's a fruitless endeavor for Sana given her clumsy nature. Somehow Sana, the cheerleading team's captain and #1 flyer, is always flawless during cheer performances. But when asked to walk a straight line, Sana manages to trip over her own feet. This is how Nayeon discovers Sana, sprawled on the ground behind her with a pitiful wail of frustration at her own clumsiness. Nayeon is startled by the sudden appearance of another person on the usually-deserted roof, but a smile replaces her surprise as soon as she recognizes Sana.

"Is this a reenactment of me tripping on the sidelines earlier?" Nayeon asks mischievously yet affectionately, gently offering a hand to pull the younger girl to her feet. Sana is all pink cheeks and bashful smiles as she takes Nayeon's hand, much like Nayeon had been just moments ago on the court.