Because of one Boy

Chapter 2

Thump, thump, swishh. I was practicing for next week, when I played against Cole. I have a mini basketball court in my backyard, one that my dad built for me. He smartly placed lawn chairs around so that I could sit and relax at any time. I had just sat down when Lana came out and plunked down next to me. I smiled, but said nothing. The game last night really tired me out. I glanced at Lana. She was holding a small bag. I knew exactly what was in it.

Lana is an amazing dancer. She is short and skinny, and extremely flexible. She's always showing me what her dance teacher shows her, and she makes me do splits, pirouettes, grande jete's and more. And she makes them look easy. In return, I taught her how to do layups and made her arms stronger so that she could shoot from farther away. Were still working on not doing underhand throws... I moaned. "What are you teaching me today, Madame Lana?" Lana shrugged. "We can go to my house and use the barre, or we can work on proper grande jete's." I thought for a moment. Whenever I do grande jete's, my back leg goes back, but my instincts tell me not to put my front leg forward so that I can land easier. I sighed deeply. "Grande jete's." For the next hour or so, she showed me exercises that her dance teachers showed her. She once had the same problem as me. When she was four. After the torture was done, we practiced shooting hoops. Lana has gotten a lot better. My muscles instantly relaxed hearing the swish sounds. Lana and I use our favourite sports to calm our nerves. Dancing for Lana is like letting go of whatever happens. Playing basketball relaxes me, especially when I'm playing with friends. I sighed. The weekend seemed to be going by too quickly. I wanted it to be Monday, so that I could go to school and see all of my friends. And oh, how badly I wanted to see Cole! I sat down again. Lana was still shooting hoops. Under the beating sun, I began to daydream about Cole.

"Jessie!" an impatient voice snapped. I jumped, instantly awake. I glanced at my watch. I must have fallen asleep around 2:00. Now its 5:30. Shoot. "Coming mom!" I mumbled. I put my basketball away and sprinted into the house. "What were you doing out there?" my mother asked. I rubbed my eyes. "What did it look like? I accidentally fell asleep. Where's Lana?" my mom sighed. "She left around 3:00. It was getting boring, hanging around with you asleep on a lawn chair." I sighed and waited for the scolding to come. Sometimes, I think that my mother hates me. We get along sometimes though. "Why did you sleep out there! You could have caught a cold! Or heck, pneumonia or something like that!" I sighed. Forget about me saying that my mother hates me. She loves me wayyyy too much. "Are you even listening to me, Jessie?" I nodded slowly. "Then what was I saying to you?" I blinked. "Um... Uh..." I was tuning her out a bit. "Thats it! You are not going to that basketball game Friday night!" I moaned. "No, mom, please! Anything but that! Take away my iPod! Or my computer! But I HAVE to go to this game!" My mother shook her head. "Go to your room, Jessie. Call Lana and tell her that you cant go to the game." I stomped upstairs angrily. I'm glad I didn't tell her that I was actually playing against Cole. She wouldn't approve. Something about being alone with a boy, probably. But hey- I have to show Cole how good I am! I cant bail or else I'l be looked at as chicken. Ba-CAWK! I set down the phone. I'm not bailing.