Making Stars

to blue to brown

[ COMPLETED: 11/07/22 ]

Prompt: Reenacting the prom scene from "Love & Basketball" w/ some changes (obviously)

~

Working media marketing for athletics was exhausting at times, but there was some benefit to it. Jhene was proud to say she was the reason for her friends' free floor seats. The exclusive student merch also came in bundles without charge.

One of the really cool parts was getting to know the athletes she designed for. Jhene wouldn't necessarily say she was friends with all of them (nor did she really want to be), but there were the few tolerable enough to be around.

Like Rocky. A tall, pretty faced man with an accent that made him sound like a walking ASMR audio clip. Ironically, he wasn't a big talker, yet a firm presence sat on his shoulders. Jhene could see why her best friend was constantly chattering about him.

Mikey was another athlete bearable enough to be near. She remembered upon her first meet with him, they initially discussed media posts and basketball before mindlessly comparing tattoos. It didn't take long for Mikey to get comfortable with her, but he could be a handful at times. Nothing extreme, but still, not something you'd expect at first glance.

Then there was Issac. A shaggy haired ginger who was always filming his teammates' childish antics and cracking a laugh. It was interesting talking to him the first time around as he was pretty quiet. It wasn't until she heard him playing a familiar song and commented on it that they became comfortable with one another.

Aside from loving basketball, the pair learned they both had a love for movie-watching and early 2000's music. Jhene found that she enjoyed Issac's company a little more than anyone else's on the team, and she was completely fine with that. At least until Mikey brought it up one day.

"You and ole boy seem a little close," he said when they were going over his digital poster layouts. Thankfully, Mikey was mindful enough to not taunt Jhene out in the open.

The girl rolled her eyes while continuing to click and drag about on the screen. "What are you talking about?"

"Y'know what I'm talkin' about, Jhene." She could see the growing smile from her peripheral, but she cursed feeling the corners of her own lips quirking upward. "Ooh, look at you big cheesin'."

"Stop it," she hissed under her breath as one of his teammates passed by.

Mikey muffled his laugh. "Why don't you talk to him?"

"I do talk to him."

Jhene heard the boy beside her smack his lips. "Like talk talk to him. Go with him to that winter formal comin' up in a few weeks."

"I'll see if I'm even available to go."

"Whatever you wanna tell yourself." Just as the boy was getting ready to walk away, he stopped. "Oh! Speakin' of dances, hook me up with one of yo friends. Y'know I'm gon need me someone to take to this thing."

Jhene made a face. "Michael Carter, absolutely not."

"What? Why not?"

"Because I don't need you usin' ho antics with any of them."

"Mannnn, you're trippin. I don't use ho antics."

"Mhm, okay, still not hookin' you up with any of my friends."

"That's cold as hell, Jhene," Mikey called over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Jhene merely chuckled to herself. As she continued to work through the remaining athletes and their digital posters, her mind lingered on Mikey's words.