𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍 . . . 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥

17. 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞

17. not the audi

season one, episode seven: tape 4, side a

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"Maybe you think you deserve everything you get, and more. Maybe you're just used to hearing the cheers of the crowd."

Nessa sat in the bleachers at yet another basketball game, Alex's arm wrapped around her as they sat next to Montgomery and Bryce. Truthfully, Nessa hated basketball. She thought it was the most boring sport, and she didn't understand any of the rules. But, it was her duty to go and support, as Justin was her best friend, and Zach was her brother. And, her mom forced her to go.

She looked onto the court, her eyes dancing between the players when she saw Clay Jensen walking in a zombie-like state onto the basketball court.

"Um, guys?" Nessa said as she tapped on Bryce and Montgomery and pointed to the spectacle.

"Clay, what are you doing?" Zach asked. "Get off the court."

But Clay kept walking, right up to Zach. Nessa had a feeling she knew why, and it all had to do with the Walkman sitting in her backpack that she hadn't told Zach she had yet.

"Hey skinny kid, get the hell off the court!" one of the referees yelled, and Clay walked off the court, and into the bleachers.

"You can't imagine why a little piece of paper could mean so much.

The game continued, and Nessa continued gossipping with Alex and the boys, not paying a bit of attention to the game in front of her. She cheered when everyone else did, and booed when everyone else booed. That was the extent of her participation in basketball.

Suddenly, the game stopped and all of the players were staring up into the stands, at Clay who was holding the game basketball.

"Jensen, come on. Throw the damn ball." Zach yelled into the stands, but he just kept holding it. Various students in the gymnasium were yelling at him, but he was frozen. Finally, Tyler Down grabbed it from his hands and weakly chucked it onto the court, earning a series of laughter from the audience.

"Damn, I almost feel bad for him." Nessa said to Alex, who just chuckled as he looked at her. To this day, Alex Standall still had no idea how he had gotten so damn lucky.

Nessa looked over on the sidelines and saw Jessica Davis rushing into the game in uniform, and after what looked like a harsh conversation with the cheerleading coach, she went to leave.

"Yo, Jess." Bryce called for her attention. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"I'm benched for the game. Or did the entire gym just hear that." Jessica said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Well, if you're benched, take a seat." Bryce said, scooting himself to make room for her. It took some persuasion, and a show of the flask the group was all sipping from, but Jessica finally made her way up into the stands and sat beside Nessa, who was so grateful for the presence of some damn estrogen.

"Maybe you don't know what it's like to need a lifeline, Zach.

The day after you insulted me in the cafeteria, my complement bag was empty. Not even a cute bunny. By the end of the second week, I knew something was up. Maybe I should have let it go, but I didn't. I wrote you a letter. I poured my heart out, opening up about personal things I hadn't had the courage to admit to anyone.