Saying Goodbye

chapter 35

EARLY CHAPTER: i'm going out of town and i won't have much reception so i'm publishing early. enjoy mf.
kiara pov
there's 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. score is 87-83. mikey's been doing good so far. he's mostly passed the ball since he's been back in the game. he did score a couple threes but he hasn't crashed the basket since he's been back, but that's justified.

mikey brings the ball down the court.

"carolina!" he yells. his teammates move across the court. mikey passes to zeke on the right wing then jogs down the left side. tom jogs to the top of the key as leo flashes at the free throw line. zeke passes to jason down the sideline. leo jogs back below the basket. jason passes to leo. mikey flashes below the basket. leo bounce passes to mikey. mikey lays it up in the basket. he jogs back down the court limping just a little. i sigh and look up at the scoreboard.

1:35, 1:34, 1:33, 1:32.

i look back onto the court. mikey guards one of wakeland's shooting guards. he watches as zeke steals the ball from wakeland's guard for the sixth time today. leo runs behind zeke. zeke lobs the ball in the air. leo grabs the ball and dunks with two hands. the score jumps to 91.

the clock winds down as wakeland's guard dribbles the ball near half court. he looks up at the clock. i follow his gaze.

:59, :58, :57, :56.

my gaze moves to mikey. he stands by number 17. the point guard passes to number 17. mikey puts his hand out in front of him. the ref starts counting. he dribbles between his legs, then behind his back. mikey shuffles to keep up with him.

he switches the ball to his left hand and drives to the basket. mikey keeps up with him. number 17 tries to lay the ball up into the hoop but it's blocked by mikey. tom grabs the ball and runs to the other side of the court. mikey stabilizes himself as he lands on his feet. he sighs and jogs back down the court. tom passes to zeke at the three point line. zeke shoots for three. the ball bounces off the rim. mikey leaps into the air and dunks the ball into the hoop. cheers erupt from around the gym.

mikey cheers as his feet land on the ground. i let out a breath i didn't know i was holding. he jogs back to the other side of the court. i look up at the scoreboard once more.

:21, :20, :19, :18.

the score is 93-83. liberty is up by 10.

wakeland's point guard dribbles to the basket. he scores, adding another 2 points to their score. jason inbounds the ball to mikey. mikey dribbles up the court. he gets past half court. the guy guarding mikey fouls him. a ref blows his whistle. clapping starts in the gym as mikey walks to the free throw line; 8 seconds left on the clock. most of the gym is on their feet, including me.

mikey shoots the first free throw. he makes it. the ref below the goal passes the ball to mikey. mikey takes a few seconds, then shoots the ball. he makes it. he jogs down the court. the clock winds down. in a few seconds, the buzzer sounds. i sigh as cheers emerge from the stands. the rest of mikey's team storms the court. liberty heights is going to the championship.

i sit down in a sigh of relief. a tear escapes my eye. i wipe it away quickly. will pulls me to my feet as mikey walks up the bleachers. he quickly pulls me into a hug. i squeeze him tightly.