BREAK POINT - chris sturniolo

CHAPTER 7

I wanted to stay in this very moment forever. 

Here I was, in the last set of a brutal game between me and a girl from University of Washington. She was a baseline player, each shot was a savage force, but I met her with grace and finesse. I ran her around the court to wear her down early, and without her stamina she began to crumble. This was my court, and she was about to lose on it, just like every one of my opponents before her. 

I heard my friends cheering from the stands as I take the baseline once more. Matt, usually reserved, was cheering loudest of all, and I could hardly keep myself from smiling. 

I knew in just a few hours, after a steaming hot shower and a nice meal, I'd be headed to the biggest surf party yet this year. The annual Surf-Fest was a school-wide success every time, and provided me with some of the best memories. Fuck Chris, and fuck Sarah Grace. If nothing else, I was going to have a good time tonight. 

"Here we go!" 

"Bring it, Annabelle." 

"Kick her ass!" The voices of my friends stood out to me in the crowd, sending an extra surge of energy through me. I was going to finish Washington once and for all, and I was going to enjoy it. 

I bounced the ball at my feet, as I did before every serve. Just as the crowd began to hush, I hear "Show 'em, AB." 

For a moment, I felt the flash of that spark being fed, followed by a pang of confusion. Wasn't he just ignoring me? I want to say I'm sick of him, but deep down, I know I'll take anything I can get from him. 

I push it out of my mind, bouncing the ball one more time, before drawing my elbow back and firing. Ace. 

+ 

"Surf-Fest!" Sammy stands on the roof, shouting over the crowd below. He swiftly punctures a can with his thumb, cracks the tab, and shotguns the beer, while everyone down below cheers.

At midnight, the party was now in full swing. Girls in bathing suits milled between the beach and the backyard. A bonfire was raging at one end of the yard and the dance floor at the other end was packed.  

"How cliche can this kid get?" I laugh to Charlotte. The two of us are sat further up the roof, a front row view to the one man Sammy show. 

"I don't know, it was kind of attractive." Charlotte shrugs bashfully. 

Sarah Grace, a drunken mess, somehow made her way onto the roof as well and stumbles up to Sammy. Admittedly, I was probably about as drunk as she was, but she was so much sloppier about it. 

"Woah there." Sammy says, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her as she teeters at the ledge of the roof.

"What a hoe." I whisper. 

"Who, him or her?" Charlotte asks.

"Him." We both say in unison and laugh to ourselves. 

Sarah Grace stands on her toes to whisper something in Sammy's ear but trips. He moves his hand down to her ass and steadies her once more. 

"I cannot watch another second of this. Come get me when they fall off." I say, standing up and heading back towards the window from which we came.