One Last Shot

[46] Abandoned Memories

          Liam

We grab seats in the bleachers, and the lights cut.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the charity basketball tournament!" The budget for this must have been insane if it was town funded, I think as an announcer's voice shakes the gym speakers. Everybody cheers, and I can see a lot of people my age here. "Team #1 competing today, from the post office, the Post-Uppers." I see a group of five men jog out, each introduced, waving to loud cheers. "And the anticipated Team #2, rumored to take the entire tournament, Class of 2019!" Everybody starts cheering significantly louder, but no one comes out.

"First up, a beast on and off the court, the boys team captain, Billy Fray." A big burly guy comes jogging out of the boy's locker room and I hear girls squealing. That was the guy Iris was with in that Instagram photo.

"His assistant captain, Jeremy Thorn!" The next guy comes out, jogging over to Billy and standing next to him, facing the other team.

"The power forward for the girls' team, Lola Hart!" A tall, lean girl with blonde hair comes jogging out of the girl's locker room taking the place next to Jeremy.

"The girls' team captain, Iris Cara!" Everybody erupts in cheering, as does our group. I can tell Iris is a fan favorite. She comes jogging out, she's smiling wide and waving, and my heart melts when I see her smile. Her ponytail swings as she jogs, and she's wearing the t-shirt jerseys Jess had made for them. They honestly look like Senior class shirts, which I'm sure was the intent. Her cheeks are flushed slightly red, probably from a mix of the cold weather and embarrassment from how many people are cheering. She looks so happy, and I love to see that. As long as she's happy, I'm happy.

"And finally, the girls' assistant captain, Jess Roll!" Jess, the girl that invited Iris comes out and she and Iris do a fun handshake.

I see two men from the other team, Billy, and Iris get called over to the referees, and then the tip off starts. The game isn't evenly matched, a bunch of middle aged guys versus college students who were and some still are all stars on the court. I hear Lilly snickering next to me, and turn to look at her.

"Iris' dad is guarding her." She starts laughing, and I see the two tapping on each other and getting slightly physical, more than the other man-to-man pairs. I let out a little chuckle as they stay physical, like a close father-daughter pair. The point guard passes it to her dad, but she steals it before the pass is completed, and I see Jess zip down the court. Iris takes a few dribbles before chucking it to Jess who finishes it in a layup.

"Easy two!" I hear Jess yell. She and Iris do the handshake they did earlier, and I can tell they were probably a dynamic duo in high school. The game continues, and halfway through, while Iris' team is on the defensive, Billy runs behind Iris. He says something while his hand is on her back and the two switch the players they defend. The jealousy in me starts to boil, and I hear Lilly snort next to me.

"No way you're jealous of her freshman year boyfriend."

"They dated?" I groan.

"Briefly. Besides, they're both captains and they used to play two-on-twos together, so their game chemistry is good. That's the only chemistry that's good."

"How do you know that?"

"Because last time Iris was here for holiday break he basically asked her to hook up and she turned him down, and now he has a girlfriend, so completely off the market, even if he was into her." Lilly points to a girl sitting a few rows down from us, eyes completely locked in Billy.

"Iris turned down a hookup?" Violet joins the conversation from the bleachers in the row in front of us. "Damn... She's changing."

"I know, it's nice," Lilly smiles. She looks at me tenderly and whispers, "Thank you."