i wish i hated you, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴

chapter three

2006

RICHIE AND Love Sumners, decided that taking a season off would be their best bet. After experiencing slight tendinitis in her SITS muscles (the muscles attached to her rotator cuff), Love ultimately decided she'd sit her senior season out. The girl missed out on playing international opens and important tournaments, but she mostly cared about college. Her mother played in college and she would follow in her footsteps. Besides, she was confident her talent would allow her to walk on at any university. Tashi had promised her she'd play for the both of them, and Love believed that would be just fine. The two girls were the best of the best. Hailing from their small town, they were two sides of the same coin, crowned beasts of the court.

But, the slight discomfort in her dominant arm had forced her to be the one in the stands that day, rather than on the court. Which is why she sat front row, with her father beside her at arm's length. He had taken the weekend off, clients calling every now and then, and was helping both her and Tashi with the tournament. Love was dressed head to toe in Nike gear, courtesy of Tashi's brand deal. Richie had quietly grumbled about how that was supposed to have been his daughter's deal, remembering how Nike withdrew their offer, upon learning about the Sumners girl's untimely, but temporary career demise.

Together, the father and daughter took turns sipping on a blue Gatorade in attempts to keep their bodies hydrated. The heat from the sun was sweltering, but the tension in the air was much stronger.

Love swore she could hear a pair of voices whisper her name. They sounded masculine and their tones were intertwined with shock and sympathy. Suddenly, heads turned once the announcer began to burst with excitement. The match was about to begin, and its players were being announced.

The announcer's boisterous voice floated over the stands. Tashi's opponent walked onto the court. The blonde girl was also another tennis prodigy from a nearby state. However, from the way she carried herself, Love immediately knew she would not to be crowned the victor that day. Tashi was going to win, not only because she was scrappy and relentless, but because she obsessively found a way to choke out her opponents. Like a boa constrictor suffocating their prey.

"And now entering the court, the Girls' Singles  World Number One and winner of the Junior Australian Open..." The energy the crowd radiated was palpable, but Love was anxious.

"Tashi Duncan!" With that, her best friend of eight years strut onto the court. She was almost matching Love's new Nike getup and her eyes held a fierce sense of determination in them.

"Fuck," she heard behind her. It was said as if it were a realization. A conclusion almost for such a harsh word. She turned her head to look at the culprit. And it turned out to be two culprits, young teenage boys. A blonde and a brunette. They hadn't noticed her staring, their eyes trained on the match before them. More specifically, her friend. If she hadn't said that their mouths were wide enough to catch an army of flies, she would have been lying.

The match was going smoothly for Tashi, as Love had established earlier, Tashi was leaving her no room to make a mistake. Every serve, every smack of the racket, was a calculated move for Tashi. Boa constrictor. Anna, Tashi's opponent, was growing even more frustrated by the second. She screamed to her box and even destroyed one of her rackets after a set.

At match point, Anna served, the green ball bouncing effectively into place. Tashi was there hitting it softly, faking a hard swing.

Better to improvise sometimes, it's fun, Love had told her, in between belly laughs over their shared dinner. If you improvise you throw them off. Oldest trick in the book I swear! Everyone hated my mom when she pulled that in college, they called her childish! But that was just because they couldn't beat 'er!