RETICENT, kate martin

000. prologue

-- 𝓡eticent, Chapter zero.

Narrator pov.
March 31, 2023
(real life)

DILIGENT is what you would call her. she was the one everyone was dependent on. her skills on the court were precise and sharp. and despite her 5'7 height, she managed to keep up with anyone, tall or big. she prided herself in being able to keep up and show out at any given moment on the court, especially whenever she had the orange ball in her warm palms. shooting was her specialty.

Avalon Hills was the player that many young girls loved to watch. her trash talk and the fact that she could back it up was what people would get intrigued by. the games she played in were never dull.

One issue of hers was her anger. she could never hold it in. that anger almost costed her, her entire basketball career every time, but her coach gave her chances... plenty of them.

Today, the intensity of the game costed her a broken nose. South Carolina Gamecocks were going against Iowa Hawkeyes. both teams were good, but Ava thought her and her teammates were better than Iowa.

She was guarding number 20 from the hawkeyes team, her legs were bent down a bit. her right hand out towards the taller blonde girl, while her left one was out on the side of her. The blonde was practically eye level with her, dribbling the ball between her legs and then between them.

"you're taking too long. shoot or something, damn." Ava mumbled to the older woman. Kate scoffed and stepped back, pump faking and then dribbling to the right of Ava.

Avalon was right on her trail as they got closer to the goal. Kate went for a layup but was left disappointed when the 5'8 beauty blocked her attempt; sending the orange ball to the sidelines. Ava looked up at her, trying to find an expression.

but all she got was a smirk and a chuckle from the taller girl. and that made her angry, she thought kate was taking her as a joke.

"That's what i'm talking about, Hills! keep it going!" Coach Dawn Staley yelled, her hand hitting her clipboard repeatedly. she was trying to get Ava's attention, hoping that she wouldn't cause a scene by the way her and kate were staring each other down.

The girl listened though, trying to better herself.

"come on, don't let that anger get to you." one of her teammates, Zia Cooke said as she patted the girl's back. they both ran to the other end of the court, quickly getting into their spots outside of the three point line.

the ball was being passed around, and Ava was switching spots on the court with her teammates, trying to distract the Hawkeyes.

Ava clapped her hands trying to get Raven's attention, "Ball! Rae, Ball!" she called out, her hands were ready for the ball. Raven passed the ball to her, once she caught it; she was surprised to see Kate in front of her, ready to snatch the ball from her at any given moment.

She dribbled one time to the right and got into form, shooting for a three. and she got it.

but, she also got hit smack dab in the nose. making her not even see that the ball went in. The hit was so hard that her neck flew back, almost as if she snapped it but luckily she didn't. blood started pouring out of her nose and down to her mouth and neck.

Timeout was called, and the girl was surrounded by her teammates, a couple of them were holding her head and nose trying to stop the blood.

Kate watched them with a guilty face, it all happened too fast. she wasn't even trying to hit the girl in the face but when Ava went for the three; kate tried to hit the ball before it could go up but her hand went right to Ava's nose, harshly.

"she'll be okay. it's just a nose bleed." Caitlin tried to make her friend feel better, patting the girls upper back awkwardly. "unless your hand is as hard as a rock and possibly made her nose break. then you're really gonna feel Ava's wrath. you know she's known for her anger on the court."

That did not make Kate feel better. if anything, it made her want to avoid ever playing with Avalon Hills ever again.

"You're not good at making people feel better, Caitlin." Kate hissed, her teeth picked at the chapped skin on her lips. her hands laid on her hips as her and her teammates watched the scene in front of them.

Ava was escorted out of the arena, the paramedics by her sides, telling her to keep her head tilted up slightly. a big piece of tissue was held on her nose, no one had seen what her nose looked like.

The crowd had simmered down, seemingly upset with the departure of their favorite gamecock. it was announced that Avalon was not gonna play for the rest of the game until they see if her nose was up fractured or not.

The game carried on, and South Carolina lost.

half of the crowd was full of Hawkeyes who were cheering loudly as the teams slapped hands after the game was over. while the gamecocks fans were already leaving, with sullen faces.

Kate still felt guilt. she appreciated the little time her and Ava played today, Ava was a great opponent to her. all because she matched energy and she was equally as good as Kate Martin.

"And with that, South Carolina gamecocks have ended their 2022-2023 basketball season; unfortunately with a loss and an injured player. we wish for the best for sc and Avalon Hills, hopefully her injury isn't too serious." one of the commentators said as everyone celebrated on the court while many other people left the building.

Ava sat in the emergency room, watching the game with an angry face. she was still in her jersey and shorts, while a doctor moved her face from side to side to access the damage done to her nose.

"It doesn't look too serious but it's definitely broken. we'll fix it up, but you won't be able to play for about 2-3 weeks." the doctor said, Ava's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him.

"Why not?"

"because for one, your nose will be patched up, so you'll barely be able to breathe. and two, anything could happen on the court, we don't want anyone to hit it." Dr. Mcghee explained to the sulking 20 year old.

Ava was feeling a range of emotions right now. she didn't know if she should be mad, sad, happy for a break from basketball or what. but she knew she was definitely angry with number 20 on Iowa's team. she couldn't even remember the girl's name.

One thing about Avalon Hills; she hold grudges. for however long she pleases. some may think it's not that big if a deal, but to Ava... a broken nose was not on her bucket list and it definitely did not make her feel cute.

She pulled out her phone as the doctor went out of the room to grab supplies. typing furiously on her phone in the safari app, she looked up Iowa women's basketball roster; looking for a familiar blonde.

Kate Martin, she read in her head. well, now Kate Martin was on her shit list.