everyone started arriving at the university building just seconds past 10:30. as the girls rushed through the door and got right to changing in the locker rooms (the ones that didn't get dressed correctly at home) sofia sat down and started stretching. she used to stretch with paige and azzi but everything was messed up since then. sofia and azzi drifted further and further away as the weeks passed. so sofia sat in the corner reaching over her own body to grab her foot, stretching out her back. she looked up once she saw paige and azzi walking through the door.
"but when i woke up it all just disappeared from my memory" azzi was telling paige about her "dream" the night before. paige couldn't help but glance at sofia stretching. good thing sofias eyes were closed because paige was staring for a good 20 seconds. paige for sure still wanted sofia back and was convinced that one day she'd get her back. even though everyone told her that sofia wouldn't even speak to her. paige sat down far away from sofia and started stretching. paige felt like she had a hallway crush on her ex. sofia stood up and walked up to coach geno to talk about her ankle.
"yeah i just don't know if i should take a break or keep it wrapped and still play" i explained that my ankel had been bothering me more than usual but i wasn't able to play for a while earlier these past months so i didn't want to sit out again. "everyone wants you to play but we also don't want your ankle to get worse because your on it. so it's really your choice if you want to risk it and hurt it even more than go ahead and play but i recommend that you wait it out for a little" sometimes geno would go on and on about stuff that i really couldn't listen to without zoning out three seconds in and this was definitely one of them. i just wanted a simple answer and i did not get that. my eyes started to wander around the room, stopping occasionally at some of the girls running around practicing guarding and passes to start off the day. "sofia? sofia?" geno said to get my attention back to him. i turn around quickly realizing that i had totally been zoning out on a guy walking by the window. "what? sorry sorry uh yeah i'll just uh- wait it out this time" i give him a shove to the shoulder and thank him before walking back to the benches and sitting down. i run my finger against the veins on my hands trying to distract myself from paige's voice. i looked up to see nika standing in front of me. the brunette looked down at me with a concerned type of look. "you ok?" she gave a gentle shove to my shoulder. i let out a simple 'mhm' without looking back up at her. "yeah because that's so believable" she said sarcastically before lifting my chin up with her hand. my lips perk up slightly and i scoff. "i just. i don't know. i don't want to say it around everyone" i looked around seeing that everyone was glancing at me with concern. "ok just talk to me after practice ok?"
nika was one of the girls that cared for sofia in an actual meaningful way. sofia could tell that nika truly was worried. sofia continued to sit down as the girls played against eachother. she started twiddling with the drawstring of her pants and twisted a strand of her hair in between her index finger and thumb. occasionally she would look up at the girls and would try to look out the window but still, she couldn't keep her eyes off of one specific blonde.
paige on the other hand was having a hard time looking at sofia. she couldn't stand to see her in pain (ironic since she broke up with her). she noticed sofia massaging her own ankle while her eyes got glossier as a couple tears built up. it ripping paige to shreds. paige started to miss passes and dunks because of how much she was thinking of sofia. what if she didn't get to play all season? what if her ankle won't heal fully and she'll always miss weeks of practice and games. what if she falls inlove with someone els- what.
paiges point of view
"ughh" i said under my breath after i missed probably my fifth shot in a row. geno walked up to me and pulled me to the side. "what is going on bueckers? your not focusing at all" i avoid eye contact with geno and mumble. "i know i'm sorry" i could tell that he was catching on. i couldn't get sofia out of my head. if i had her back. if i got her back i wouldn't be this messed up. i usually try not to let things get to my head but i worry too much when it comes to her. i swayed my body side to side as geno lectured me and sent me back on the court.
after two more hours of practice it was already one and the girls were headed to their classes. sofia got up from the bench and picked up her duffel bag before leaving the gym. nika followed behind her and put an arm around her shoulder. sofia could tell that there was a question coming up. "so. you wanna tell me what's wrong and why you were only looking at paige during practice?" sofias eyes widened and her head snapped to look at nika. she began to stutter trying to think of an answer. "what? what are you talking about?" nika scoffed and gave sofia the kind of 'really sofs?' look. nika rolled her eyes and laughed as the both of them walked to sofias car. neither of them had classes that day so they went back to the house and stayed in bed for the rest of the day.
