Her and the Basketball Champion

chapter 8

I sit at the piano, grazing my fingertips over the keys, enjoying the peace that reigns over me as all the other kids are outside enjoying their break time.

I hear a door open and footsteps walk into my peripheral vision. The familiar figure makes me smile as I turn on the piano stool to look at the person standing behind me.

Sarah squeals, pulling me into a hug whilst still managing to hold her coffee cup in her hand.

Me and Sarah both wear hijab and are both equally strict on the rules of it, making sure to cover every inch of our hair when outside in public. We have a similar outlook on modesty and always try to maintain a halal reputation. It's really not that hard when you've grown up with open thinking parents like minewho make sure to educate you in the right way. I'm thankful for that, and wouldn't change it for the world.

I pull back, laughing at her excited expression.

"I'v missed you. Where have you been. God it has started to get boring around here."I say, slumping back onto the stool and pulling my right leg up to lean my chin with my foot resting on the seat of the stool as I look up to her.

"I'v been ill and my mum took away my phone after the last message I sent you guys a few days ago. She thinks that too much screen time when I'm ill will somehow affect my body temperature which is not true, but I survived." She shrugs and pulls up a chair from the stack in the corner sliding it over in front of me so she's at eye level.

"God this room is messy." She exclaims, turning to look around the cramped room stuffed with musical instruments.

"It's a music room Sarah, what did you expect, a fancy pansy hall?" I joke, squeezing her cheeks as she rolls her eyes at me. She was the baby of the group, and she had finally come to terms with it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm still a patient remember, so be nice." She feigns a sniff and we both double over in a fit of laughter at her attempt of trying to earn empathy from me. We both know that's not a common occurrence.

We both calm down and just when I think things are going back to normal again, she smirks.

I groan, facepalming myself, scrubbing my hand over my face to try and hide my own smile.

"I swear, everyone keeps making that face at me recently. What is up with that." I complain, lifting my head from my hand to look back at Sarah with a frown on my face.

She just continues to smirk at me without saying a word, and then pulls out her phone, avoiding my questioning eyes with ease.

"C'mon, I said to Lily I would get you out of this stuffy room and out in the fresh air. She said you ditched her in the morning for this place and havn't come out since. What's up? Everything alright?" She questions with a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm okay I just felt like being alone today that's all. You know how I get. I'm probably just going to start my period soon." I reply, nodding to myself as we make our way out of the music department and through the halls of block four.

I usually get really moody and grumpy when I'm about to come on, so I avoid my friends as much as I can incase I accidentally say something mean or rude.

We continue on through the halls and a comfortable silence settles around us.

It's been raining cats and dogs today, nonstop. The whole school looks haunted and yet there are still crazy year sevens running about in the courtyard. I honestly don't get how these little kids have so much energy in them, especially today when the weather is how it is.

I hunch my shoulders as we step outside, crossing the bricked ground to get to the Sixth Form centre.

"So, I'm going to join you guys at the Cafe today. My mum has finally decided to let me out of the house, and I'm not going to hesitate on taking that opportunity because I feel like I'v been so cooped up inside lately. It's so depressing." Sarah says, looking up to me with anticipation in her eyes.