caitlin c. 22

:3:

as soon as i get back to my apartment, i take a shower and start finishing up some last minute homework.

after that's done i crash into my bed and i'm drifted into a deep sleep.

i wake up, barely keeping my eyes open as i check the time. 5:45. okay. 5 more minutes. i close my eyes and mentally go through todays agenda.

-run until 8
-class from 9:30- 2
-homework
-free time
-pre-workout
-basketball practice

i stand up and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready to hop on the treadmill. one of the best investments i made so far is to have a treadmill in my apartment. it beats having to walk down to the recreation center, and i'm more likely to use it.

i start with a walk gradually gaining speed to a run. while running, my mind is filled with all the new people i have been meeting. monika, gabbie, kate, and caitlin are the ones i've talked to the most. i have a feeling the five of us will have a close bond by the end of the week.

i check the time and see it is finally 8am. i walk a little more as a cool down before hopping off to get ready for the rest of my day.

~•~•~•~•~•~

i am currently working on a paper for my psychology class. we have to find a connection between 2 people from a tv series or movie and analyze that connection. my brain hurts after pulling study after study.

my phone dings, and i see a notification come across my lock screen. i pick it up and see the instagram logo.
@ monika_czinano started following you
i smile and follow her back before putting my phone down to finish up this paper.

i put my hair up and get my things, ready to head out. i walk through the gym doors and take my spot next to kate, monika, and caitlin. "hello hello" i say while getting my court shoes out and start undoing the knots.
i notice they are all looking at monika's phone before shooting there attention at me. i'm tying my laces when monika says "um y/n why didn't you have a warning on your instagram, you are so cute!"
"literally, you're so pretty" caitlin says right after. kate is nodding her head in agreement as i am frozen.
"what?" i ask in disbelief. monika shows me her phone as i lean into the center of the circle. i see that they are looking at my insta profile.
"oh my gosh you guys, stop." i say getting flustered. "you guys are sweet, but have you seen yourselves. you could be models." i try to take the attention off of me before they scroll too far. i see caitlin pull out her phone and say, "wait what's her username?" monika shows caitlin her phone as caitlin typed in my username and hits follow.

i pull out my phone and follow her back, along with kate and a few other girls. "caitlin your whole feed is basketball." i say with a small laugh.
"so is yours" she defends herself as i realize she's right. i make a face of realization and they all laugh. i'm laughing along when coach announces we will start conditioning in five minutes.

we make our way to the court and start our laps. then we move onto the same exercises we did last time. by the time we are finished, we have 2 hours left of practice. we start to practice drills of passes, free throws, and defense.

coach bluder calls a water break and comes up to our group. "hey ladies, how are you feeling?"
kate takes a sip of her water before replying "good, i think i could do better in my defense though. i keep freezing up."
"i see, i'll work with you one-on-one once we get started again." bluder says. kate nods in thanks before returning to her water.
"caitlin, y/n i think i want you guys to pair up again. i'm starting to think you guys could make a huge impact in our games. you guys work well together. i want to see how it plays out in a real game. so practice together in prep for this weekend." she says. "okay" "sounds good" we say in reply. i would have to agree with coach on this one. i mean caitlin has amazing abilities; she's scoring threes left and right. i know that in order to keep that going, someone has to be out there for her.

once again we are on the court with eachother. we have a strategy going, where i start from left, dribble forward, pass to caitlin, and she scores. we alternate until neither of us fail. which is hard because we were doing good at first until my shots started to miss. it would hit the rim or bounce off the board a little too hard.
we do it again. caitlin dribbles left to forward, passes to me, and i shoot. again, missing by a hair. im tired and frustrated. i squat down, elbows on knees, and head low. i never get discouraged like this, but i guess im just stressing about the fact that coach wants to put us in this weekend. i don't want to let her down.

"alright ladies, finish up and you're free to go." i hear coach say. i cant leave. not until i get it right. i hear footsteps approaching and i look up to see caitlin. i thought she was going to come over to scold me or whatever like my dad would do after games, so i start to stand and say "i know i'm sor-" she cuts me off and her face changes to a smile. "what? no, stop" she places a hand on my shoulder. "i think your alignment is just off. your body is still facing a little towards the left when you shoot." she explains.
oh
"oh, okay thank you. i hadn't noticed" we laughed it off a bit "no worries, here try it again and realign before you shoot." she flashes a smile and goes to fetch the ball.
we try again and i take her advice and when i receive the ball i take a second to realign my hips and take my shot. it was like slow motion, watching the ball swish through the net, my hands still in the air.
"atta girl! see you got it." she exclaims from the other side of the court. her cheering me on like that made me so happy inside. i just let myself smile in response.
next thing i know, we are at the gym an hour later, still practicing until both of us rarely miss. we change our shoes and pack up.
"thank you caitlin, seriously, you didn't have to do this." i say, feeling bad that she stayed an hour after practice. i wonder if she had plans or something better to do.
"are you crazy, i don't mind at all. i get the same way you know. cant leave until i get it right." she explains. it was silent for a moment as we started to grab our bags and head outside.
"you know if you want to practice outside of team practices, im down." she suggests. i'm taken aback by her kindness towards me. i look at her, "yeah, that would be great. here, i'll give you my number. i don't really look at my dms from insta." i say. she hands me her phone, and i put in my number with my name y/n :) attached to it. i give it back to her and we are both smiling.
"let me guess, too many guys trying to talk to you or scam you?" she laughs and i say "oh please, as if." we laugh again. i wish i could spend more time with her, she's fun to be around. we part ways, saying good night.

i head back to my apartment and repeat my night time routine before hitting my pillow.

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hello! i'm so glad people are enjoying this story. i'm working hard to get updates to y'all🌙