VALERIE RIVERA and PAIGE BUECKERS, best friends since they learned how to dribble. They had the same dreams of being basketball stars, even having a promise to go to UCONN together. They were inseparable leading Hopkins to an undefeated season their...
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"so tell me what you're looking for, is it a picture perfect girl for you?"
valerie
past- January 3rd 2020 ; narrative
Game 12. We were still undefeated but today would be our hardest matchup yet, another undefeated team the Blugolds. It was a scary game to think about, especially since we were fighting so hard to win this year. If we lose this game we lose all our chances of playing out of state. I was even more stressed because Coach wanted me to guard Donarski, the leader of the Blugolds. I had watched her game before and she was good, it honestly came as a shock to me when he wanted me to be on her and not Paige.
"Embrace the pressure. Welcome the moment. You guys are prepared for this, understand? You are prepared for this, embrace the pressure, you are prepared for this. No one has worked harder than you guys." I was broken out of my scared and stressed daze by Coach's repetitive speech.
We knew it was going to be a high pressure game, two undefeated teams playing against each other. This game completely determined a lot for either team. It was eat or get eaten. I looked to Paige on my left who was tying her shoe, still doing it with the two bunny ears. She always sat on my left before games, to her it was a way we would connect on the court. By sitting on my left she was closer to my heart. Paige knew about my nerves coming into this game, tying her shoe and then placing her hand on my thigh.
She looked at me, communicating through our eyes. It was one of the perks of being best friends our whole lives. She didn't think I had anything to be worried about, in Paige's mind I was the best guard she'd ever seen. I knew she only said that to make me feel better but it worked regardless. She squeezed my thigh tightly before standing up, extending her hand to me so I could get up too.
We were all in our gray Nike sweaters and blue shorts, one thing I loved about our uniforms was the bright color. I hated boring school colors, thankfully Hopkins repped the blue very proudly. Paige had her hair in a ponytail, being too lazy to do her signature braids today even though I offered to do them for her, opting for a headband instead.
"Ay last thing, stay off the officials." Coach stuck his finger up, we all turned to look at Paige. She was the only one who got into heated arguments with the refs, it drove Coach insane but it made the rest of us laugh. Paige stepped back, putting her hands out like she was innocent and we walked out of the room.
The second we walked into the gym Drew and Paige's dad were there. Paige and Drew did their handshake and I went straight to Bob. My dad was never there and my mom was a nurse, Bob basically became my parent, always showing up for me as much as he did for Paige. He hugged me, patting my back hard and pushing me away. I did my own handshake with Drew before following his sister to our bench.
Paige wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her side. I tried to do deep breaths but it felt pretty impossible. The stands started to fill up and the other team arrived, both of the teams doing warm ups on separate sides of the gym.
