Just Good Friends

Chapter 69

SAM's POV

~One Month Later~

Today, Wesley High School is formally celebrating a select group of student-athletes who are signing letters of intent to various colleges around the country. And guess what? Ya girl is one of those students being celebrated!! A representative from UCLA's athletic department is here today along with some other representatives from various universities across America to take some press release pictures with student-athletes and meet everyone who are planning to go to their schools. The celebration is in the form of an optional assembly during the last period of the school day, which means that some teachers may allow their class to attend, but if they're busy with special in-class assignments, they won't let their class attend. Sitting at the long table in the middle of the gymnasium between other student-athletes, I was glancing up at the rows of bleachers to check if Becca or my mom and Antonio would be present. I don't see them yet.

I release an excited breath and tap my fingernails on the clothed folding table, slouching a bit in boredom as I wait for the assembly to begin. A few steps away, I spot both basketball coaches Tom and Jerry chatting with some of the university reps while smiling away. They appeared to be super proud that their top basketball players were being acknowledged like this. I can't believe it myself! I mean, I've been playing basketball since elementary school. I became the captain of the Varsity girls' basketball team last year, leading our team to a plethora of victories across our region. I'm confident enough to say I'm the most talented female basketball player at this school, and among anyone, I deserve to go to UCLA. My dream school.

Our entire table was covered in memorabilia and university colors; even the balloons and the backdrop screen behind us advertised each school's logo. Oh, right. Who's 'us', you may be asking... sitting at the long table beside me are seven other student-athletes ready to publicly sign their letters, including Diggy, Chris, and Khalil who have chosen UCLA. The university's colors of blue and yellow were presented on a sign hanging on the table in front of us four. The other four students, two girls and two boys, were signing to Duke University and the University of Kentucky. Their university's colors were also presented on a sign in front of them. In front of us were our letters of intent and some pens along with our name cards and a cap with our respective university's logo on the front. The two other female athletes sat to my right as the males were sitting to my left; Diggy sat directly to my left and next to him was Chris then Khalil.

Impatiently waiting for the ceremony to start, I check the bleachers again where I see Mrs. Justine and Mr. Joe waving from their seats. I casually wave back then make eye contact with my mom and Antonio who have arrived, and take their seats beside Diggy's parents. My toes stop tapping, feeling relieved at their appearance.

Then, Coach Tom walks up to the podium next to our table and begins the ceremony. He welcomes all in attendance and explains the importance of this day. He explains that this signing will include students committed to the sport of basketball, then goes on a tangent about his career as a basketball coach and how each student has made an impact on the school. After his speech that could've been four minutes shorter, Coach Tom began introducing all of the student-athletes, giving our names and the university we're committed to.

"First up is Anna Smith who will be playing basketball at Duke University..." The audience breaks out into short applause as the brown-haired girl at the end of the table smiles and waves to her family and the press before us. "Next up is Shawna Jacks who will be playing basketball at the University of Kentucky..." Everyone applauds the tall girl with box braids and braces for a few seconds, then he moves on. "Next up is the captain of Wesley High's Varsity girls' basketball team, Samantha Goode, who will be playing basketball at UCLA..."