Play with fire-Cazzie

Chapter 18

The next day, all the students greeted us excited for the nice game we'd had.

"It was amazing, ace! It's good that you're playing well again." A guy said as I walked to my next class, and I just smirked. This was more similar to my routine after every game at Newton.

"Gardner." Sharice yelled, scaring me, and I just looked at her blankly. "Rest day, today. Coach thought it would be a great idea to have a day to clear our minds. It might help you see your girl, too." She said with a teasing smile, hitting my abdomen gently, making me laugh.

After our kiss the day before, no one had said anything to us. The coach didn't even get mad when he saw Izzie getting on our part of the bus. At first, my companions wanted to laugh, but they quickly fell silent. Perhaps because of a serious look from Sharice. Thanks to this we were able to spend a quiet trip.

"You are incredible." A girl interrupted, snapping me out of my thoughts. I just nodded with a smile and kept walking.

"Wow. This is great. Since I've been on the team, no one has ever welcomed us like this." Sharice commented.

"If this surprises you, you should have seen what it was like at Newton. Hopefully, you were on time for your classes."

I was going to continue talking, but the sound of my cell phone interrupted me.

"Mom?" I asked, reading her message so early. Apparently, my father wanted to talk to me tonight after training. Terror settled in my body quickly. Would he be mad at me for not being a starter?

"Is something wrong, Gardner?" I simply shook my head and decided to say goodbye before walking to campus. I didn't really want to go to class after seeing that message.

I spent some time just walking around the institution, trying to clear my mind. Then without realizing it, my feet guided me towards the court. I knew I wasn't going to be able to train today, but I didn't want to miss a day. I had to show my father that my performance hadn't dropped.

As soon as I walked in, Coach Briggs spoke from the stands, scaring me.

"Why am I not surprised, Gardner? Rest. You were amazing yesterday. You deserve a day to yourself." I simply shook my head with a smirk.

"You don't understand, Coach. I have to."

"Who are you looking to impress, Case?" he asked carefully. "Your teammates, friends, your girlfriend?"

"I don't need to impress anyone." I said seriously. "This is who I am. I've been playing basketball since I was a kid. I don't know anything else. I don't know a day off." Briggs smiled sadly and tossed me the keys to the cabinet where we keep our gear.

"Someday, you'll discover that you can lose everything, just for not knowing more than a sport, Gardner. See you."

He just said that and walked off the field. I snorted once more at his suggestion and headed for the closet. At first, I decided to start with something light, like half-court shots from different directions. Then, when I felt more prepared, I started to imagine different plays and shoot from all distances.

I didn't know how much time had passed or how many times I made the basket. I just felt like someone cheered from the stands when I hit another 3-pointer. I turned my face to meet Izzie, who was smiling gently at me. For the first time that day, I let a totally happy smile spread across my face.

"Are you practising so you can beat me in the rematch, Newton?" she asked egocentrically. And I slowly approached her, noticing how she came down from the stands to meet me more quickly. When we were a short distance away, she spoke again. "Hey."