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CHAPTER TWO imessage and narrative
june 2, 2023: iowa city, iowa
modern family dupe kai, jess, sawyer, diego, wes
kai guys im terrified help
sawyer don't tell me you still haven't gone into carver
jess you've been gone for like twenty minutes
kai what? do i just walk in and talk to bluder or something? kai SCARY
diego bluder is not that bad just go inside and introduce yourself
kai none of you are on my side
wes tbf i don't know bluder wes but she seems nice
kai not helping!
jess kai my love, you are a grown woman it's not that hard. jess i will text kate right now to come get you if you don't go in yourself
kai wait!! i didn't tell her i was doing this for the team kai what if they're in the middle of something and i just like crash it
sawyer kai, you're there for a job sawyer if they're doing something, stay off to the side until they're done
kai okay okay im going
diego thank god
kai nope never mind
jess i'm texting kate
wes sis coming in with a power move!!
kai no jessie please 😭 kai im actually going in now kai bye
I step into Carver, my heart racing. I hadn't told Kate I was going to be working with the team, I sort of wanted it to be a surprise to her, as well as Jada Gyamfi and Caitlin Clark, two who I had gotten particular close with already.
Almost immediately, I spot Coach Bluder and the assistant coach, Jan Jensen, talking in the hall.
I paste on a smile as I approach them. "Hey, I'm Cairo Pierce," I say and Lisa is already reaching for my hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you, kid," Bluder says. "Are you excited?"
I nod. "Yes, of course. I can't wait to meet all of the girls."
I shake Jan's hand as they both grin at me. "Well, let's go meet them. They're currently in the gym, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting a little bit of a break."
A soft chuckle escapes my lips as I follow both of the coaches toward the gym. Stepping in, I spot Kate lifting weights immediately.
"Cairo!" I hear someone say, making me rip my eyes away from Kate. I turn my head in the direction of the voice to see Jada Gyamfi barreling toward me.
I smile as she wraps her arms around my neck. "Hi, Jades," I say, hugging her back.
"You've already met?" Bluder asks with a smirk.
I nod. "Yeah. Kate is best friends with my brother's girlfriend, so I've met her, Jada, and Caitlin."
They nod and Bluder turns toward the group of girls.
"Hawks, this is Cairo Pierce, to those of you who have not met her yet. She is going to be helping us out with media this year, photography and videography," Bluder explains.
I nod as she stares at me. Does she want me to speak now?
"Yeah, so as Coach said, I'm going to be sticking around and helping out with media. I helped with the Stanford women's basketball team for two and a half year before I transferred, so I know what I'm doing," I tell them.
My eyes land on Kate. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, her face red and body sweaty. She wears a smirk as she looks at me.
"I expect everyone to treat her with respect and welcome her," Bluder says, but I'm too busy staring at the dirty blonde to pay too much attention. "All right, back to work!"
I tear my eyes away from Kate's and turn back to Bluder and Jan. "We weren't expecting you to shoot anything today, just wanted you to meet the girls. Hang around if you'd like."
"Thank you," I say gratefully, squeezing Lisa and Jan's hands before they step out of the gym.
Jada leaves my side to go back to spotting Gabbie. Kate steps toward me and she tilts her head when she reaches me. "You didn't tell me you were gonna be working for the team."
"Surprise, Martin."
authors note something exciting coming next chapter :) also diego and wes are jess's brothers!
