Love in the Court

The Game

 I watched from the sidelines, filled with pride. "My Little chipmunk did so well up there,"Mom said, her voice tinged with admiration. "I'm sure Dad would be proud of you."

"Lil chipmunk?" I thought incredulously. I'm fifteen, for crying out loud. Who does she think she's calling chipmunk? But I couldn't say that to her face, so I just smiled.

Then Paul's turn came. "Go to the front and make sure you get a good spot for a shot," Mom instructed.

Being on the cheerleading team, I knew the drill. I hurried to the front for a clear view. Despite my average height, I had to ensure I captured Paul's game-winning moments. It was then that I spotted Alex.

Holy shit. fuck. How can someone be so fine? Oh no, he's looking. He's looking. He's looking.

"How do I look?" I silently pleaded with the heavens. "What the fudge is happening to me? Please, I hope I'm not being totally oblivious."

And then he started walking towards me. The eye contact was intense, if "eye contacting" was even a word. Suddenly, I realized my hand was blocking the camera just as my brother made a spectacular dunk.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit," I cursed inwardly. I'm dead.

Mom was heading my way, glowing with happiness, assuming I'd captured the perfect shot. My mind raced for an excuse, but no plausible lie surfaced.

"Darling, did you see that amazing dunk your brother just made?" she beamed.

"Yeah, it was incredible," I managed to reply, hoping my panic wasn't too obvious.

"Let me see, where's my phone?" Mom asked, oblivious to my predicament.

To my surprise, Alex was standing right in front of me

"You're on the cheer team, right?" he asked, holding the ball casually at his side. He looked effortlessly cool, like a god among men. It was surreal.

Caught between my mom and my newfound crush, I hesitated, unsure whom to respond to first. If I answered my mom, I'd be in for a lecture, and embarrassment in front of this guy was the last thing I needed. But if I answered him now, it would likely mean being dragged away for a while, hoping that by the time I return, she'll have forgotten about it.

"Yeah, I am. Is there a problem?" I replied, trying to sound casual.

"The coach needs you," he said.

"Alright, Mum, I'll catch up with you later. This is really urgent," I said quickly, flashing the most fake smile imaginable. "I'll meet you after the game."

With that, I hurried off, hoping my excuse would hold up and that I hadn't made things awkward with either of them.

We walked side by side, not saying a word to each other. I didn't know what to say, and it seemed like he didn't either.

"I'm Alex," he finally broke the silence.

"Serena," I replied quietly.

"Nice name. Coach is right ahead, I need to get back. I'll see you around," Alex said, giving me a quick hug before jogging back to the court.

Oh my God, THE Alex Williams just hugged me. It wasn't intimate or anything, but still, he hugged me.

I think I might faint right now.

"Serena, I need you guys to come up with a new routine for the game tomorrow," Coach said, breaking into my thoughts.

As head of the cheer group, this wasn't new to me. Frustrated, I blurted out, "Tomorrow?" We'd been practicing all term for today's routine, which went well. Everyone was tired and needed rest. How could I tell them we had less than 12 hours to learn a new routine? This was insane.

"That's what you all signed up for in this contract. Any day, any time, you'll always be available for any routine whatsoever," Coach reminded me firmly.

I sighed in frustration. "Arghhhhhhhh."

"If we want to perfect it by tomorrow, we need to start practicing now," I decided, picking up my phone to call all the girls to meet me at the back of the stadium for an urgent announcement.

Twenty minutes later, all seven of the girls were gathered, waiting for me to speak.

"We have a session tomorrow and we need to master a whole new routine for it," I informed them.

I expected the reaction. Everyone sighed. Brenda, the youngest among us, almost started crying. The others complained bitterly.

"I've done my best to prevent this, but nothing's changed. Let's just start practicing," I urged, feeling the weight of the situation settling in.

"Aittt" everyone one responded

Phina suggested, "Let's use 'Not Like Us' by Kendrick Lamar."

"You want Drake fans to go crazy tomorrow, right?" I jeered

"I agree," I countered, "Let's use an African song."

"Great idea! We haven't used any of those before," Phina agreed enthusiastically.

"Nigerian music is so nice. I heard this new one, 'Pretty Girl' by IceSpice and Rema," I suggested.

"You thought I was feeling you!" I called out,

"That nigga a munch" causing cheers from the group.

So we got to practicing. We had amazing dance steps up our sleeves, and by 7 PM, we were rounding up. We had started around 4 PM, and by 7 PM, we had dance steps for each part of the song.

"Y'all need to come to the stadium by 6 tomorrow; we need to do the final practice to slay like we always do," I said as I started to walk away. "I'm off. Make sure you sleep well because we have a big day ahead tomorrow."

Everyone dispersed, and I went back into the stadium only to realize that my mom and brother had already left for home. "It's going to be a boring walk home today," I sighed.

As I walked briskly towards the stadium gate, I heard a familiar voice.

"So you guys just finished practice?" Alex asked from the other side of the stadium, with Phina beside him. They couldn't see me, but I could see them.

"Are they dating?" I panicked internally. "Phina's so pretty, he'll probably go for her over me. I knew I shouldn't have overthought about that hug. Now I'm worried about someone who probably doesn't give a damn about my existence. I messed up big time."

I continued walking home briskly, feeling raindrops starting to appear on the ground.

"Why did my day have to end like this?"

Arrgghhhh