ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ | ᴘᴀɪɢᴇ ʙᴜᴇᴄᴋᴇʀs

1.1

(Just a filler chapter)

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Narrators POV

"Paige! My office, now!"

Paiges happy mood switched to an annoyed one when she heard geno call for her, his loud voice booming across the gym walls. Her teammates turned to look at their coach and they seemed to read his facial expressions, turning back to look at paige.

"damn p, what'd you do?" aaliyah asked.

"shit do you think he found out about us drinking before the game?" azzi whispered. Her voice was loud enough for them to hear but not geno.

"we're grown, geno doesn't give a damn!" aubrey whispered back.

Paige shook her head as she swallowed her own thoughts, looking back at him with her jaw clenched. She seemed to have an idea of what he wanted her in his office for, yet she hoped it wasn't what she was thinking. She passed the ball to ice before jogging over to him and following him to his office.

As she followed behind him, she felt all her emotions building up as she prepared herself for what coach might have to say to her. She figured it was about sevyn and her fist clenched at the thought. She didn't wanna keep bringing up this topic everytime either of them were in each others presence.

They finally reached his office and he sat at his desk, statin at his star player that stood in front of him. Geno's expressed was serious and there was no doubt that this conversation wouldn't go left.

"paige," geno started, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. He paused, contemplating the right words to say. He valued paige's talent, but also cared about her wellbeing and the teams success. "your performance on the court—"

"has been fine" paige cut him off before he could finish. She knew that this would happen. She knew this conversation was a reflection of the travel game they had a few days ago.

Geno sighed before continuing, his gaze not wavering, and fixing his glasses that rested on his nose. "that girl—sevyn. is she your girlfriend?"

Paige scoffed. "why does it matter? what does sevyn have to do with this?"

He sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm not just here as your coach, but also as someone looking out for you. I've seen how happy she makes you, and that's great, but it's also affecting your focus on the game and your performance during practice. She's a distraction"

"she's not a distraction!" paige's tone went from annoyed to defensive.

"paige, your focus is divided. it's either her or basketball," He sighed, leaning in slightly before continuing. "Look, your personal life is yours. I'm not trying to interfere with that. But as your coach, it's my job to make sure you're giving your all to the team and the game. And right now, that's not happening."

Paige stood there as she took in genos words. she didn't see a change in how she was playing. She thought she was doing fine but obviously her coach thought otherwise. She folded her arms against her chest and let out a breath, her eyes glancing up to look at geno. "so what are you saying? that i stop talking to her? because that's not happening. you can't control my life outside of basketball"

Coach paused, taking a moment to process paige's words. "I'm saying, I want you to succeed, and I want this team to win. But to do that, we need you fully present, not mentally juggling between your game and your relationship."

"i am fully present! i come every practice—every game! i work my ass off for this team! i'm present!"

Coach didn't seem to be shocked by paige's sudden outburst. He knew he had pushed her to the edge these past few days so it wasn't a surprise to him.

"You do work hard. But 'being here' isn't just physically being on the court or showing up to practice. It's about your head being in the game. Your focus and mentality matter as much as your skills."

"this is bullshit" paige scoffed and walked out his office, slamming the door behind her. Geno sighed as he watched one of his top players walk out the door.

He wasn't trying to be harsh to either of them, really. He just saw sevyn as a distraction, but that was because he didn't quite understand their dynamic. He could only see the bits and pieces of their relationship and from what he's put together, sevyn was an issue. He felt that paige was being pulled away from the team little by little by involving herself with this girl. He's seen it happen to other athletes—getting led away from their careers and forgetting about their talent. He just didn't want the same for paige.

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End of chapter 11🦋