Admiring the Light

Episode 1

"Natalie, three pointer-" Olivia grunted, clenching her teeth as she thrust the ball across the court to the tallest player of the team, seeing that she was open to receive. Her expression tightened in anticipation as she watched a defender aggressively try to swipe at the ball. But she sighed in relief when she heard the satisfying bounce of rubber on the wood, sprinting to get back into an open position.

Natalie stood at a towering height of seven feet; her stocky brink of a build absorbed the impact of receiving without a flinch. As she felt the rough rubber of the ball on her hands, she thought, I'm further behind than I would like, but it's fine!, noting how far behind the three-point line she actually was. The scent of the sweaty defender in front of her reached her nose. "Y'all are a bunch of tryhards." Her jump easily cleared the defender by many inches. She launched the ball towards the hoop, but her eyebrows furrowed when she saw that the ball was headed for the top of the backboard.

Her face settled once more into a calm smile as she watched their center, Alexandra, launch herself from the wooden floor. The 6'10 teen caught the ball and hurled it down into the net, sending the crowd into a roar. "Definitely intentional, all part of my plan." Natalie chuckled with playful sarcasm.

Her team regrouped with little regard for the encouragement and cheering of the fans. And she maintained that same, warm smile on her face, despite the serious, neutral expressions of the others.

"Plan is-" Lola, the point guard, began to explain, but was frantically interrupted by Natalie. "We're up 23 points!" She laughed, her expression giddy with excitement.

"Indeed we are." Lola nodded and returned the smile, glancing over at the navy blue scoreboard. "We'll just do our usual defense. 5 seconds on the clock anyway."

Why don't these tryhards just give up now, they're being super defensive. Natalie playfully studied the other team with her mint colored eyes as she got into position, noticing their top-dollar sneakers as they squeaked on the wood. Those jerseys were pristine, this team had to be from a city.

"All the more reason to beat them." She jokingly whispered to herself, watching carefully as the other team entered their side of the court. Her sneakers squealed on the wood as she bolted into action towards the offensive players. But she came to a screeching halt when she heard the noisy ringing of the school bell, doubling as the buzzer.

"And, with a 23 point lead, the Gryphons' winstreak goes undefeated, 6 continuous victories to their name." The announcer's voice rung through Natalie's ears, an expression of joy flowing onto her face as the win was proclaimed.

"Hey, gal, good game! Y'all played well!" Natalie grinned and shook an opponent's hand, no boast in her voice. "Good game! Loved that aggressive offense!" She waved to another opposing player.

Natalie could barely see where she was going through the crowd of fans as they noisily exited the gym, the indiscernible chatting filling her ears like mere white noise. Her confusion leaked into her expression, and she accidentally backed into Lola. "Sorry! Sorry."

She turned to see who it was, and relief washed over her face as she recognized the scent of her girlfriend's forest-like perfume. Lola met her green gaze with her own deep blue eyes, a restrained smile on her face as she visibly held back laughter. "Well well, if it isn't the best shooting guard in the league, bumping into her girlfriend. That was quite the game, huh Nat?"

"And that makes you the best strategist, point guard." Natalie joked, putting her arm over Lola's slender-built shoulders. "Get off me, you big galumph- you know I mean statistically." The other chuckled awkwardly, trying to shake off her girlfriend with a playful glint in her eyes.