We're Still Human

Chapter 36: Game On

I squat by the wall, taking in the crowds for the last day. We lost game 2, and now the final 3 of 3 is about to be played in a few minutes.

Nadia's confession about two nights ago still lingers on my mind. I never thought I'd get real answers to her actions ever, and I guess to some extent, I expected half of her confession to be her feelings towards me. I'll be honest, I did like her at some point, but that chapter has long been closed, and somehow...I feel like there will always still be more to the story than she will ever let on.

But that's okay; we're okay.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A familiar voice graces my ears.

"I can give you a couple," I respond, looking at Nadia, who seems...scared. "Hey, looks like I should be asking you instead."

She chuckles, looking down at her feet briefly before her eyes find mine again. "Just a bit worried, I guess. I didn't expect us to go to game 3."

Speaking truthfully, neither did I; the other team had two subs in game 2, and even though I played in the last quarter, nothing could save us from the crushing 16 point loss we were about to endure. They had Stacy and I locked down, and Nadia kept trying to battle it out with I'm guessing, the captain, and that didn't really end well. She almost lost her damn ankle trying to jumpshot, and after she caught a nasty foul, we knew it was over by then. It seems to be their strategy; force us to get fouls or techs in order to win free throws.

Luckily for you, I'm not going to let that happen today.

"That'stheir playbook," I comment. "Get us to fuck up then swoop in."

"I don't understand how they even got that far. As if 6 free shots weren't enough, they made stupid calls throughout." Nadia sighs. "They're doing everything in their power to win."

"If it makes you feel any better, we have something they don't," I mumble, staring at one of the girls. "We have integrity. If we're going to win or lose—"

"We won't lose, Yasmina," Nadia interrupts me. "Losing isn't in my DNA."

I shake my head. "And what happened in game 2?"

She shuts up, looking off into the crowd. She chuckles before nudging me. "There goes your lucky charm."

I stare in the direction of her finger, seeing Kendall with who appears to be my brother and mother. Kendall and my mom are separated by Sanele, but even without that, they seem to be friendly, which brings a smile to my face. Kennie notices me staring, and she mouths three little words, which I have no problem mouthing back.

"Show out then," Nadia says as the whistle blows. "For your girl...and for mama."

I nod, giving her a high five, and lining myself behind Stacy, who will be our headstart today. As established, Stacy is fast, and if there's anyone that can get us to the trophy, it's her.

The whistle blows again, and Stacy taps the ball over to me, which I catch swiftly. I dodge the girl guarding me, passing the ball to Nadia, who stands by the half court line, preparing to take a shot. Unexpectedly, the girl guarding me leaves to swarm Nadia with her teammates, and Nadia looks at me, dribbling a bit harder before passing it to Stacy, who gets a three straight away. We run back as the crowd goes insane for us, and as the girl that guarded me last time reaches for the ball, Nadia steals it, shooting from the half court like she intended the first time. 6-0 easy, but now defending is what we have to do.

I give Nadia a high five as we get closer to our side of the court, forming a three point guard as the girls try to shoot. The girl with a long red ponytail shoots real close to the rim, which ends up landing.