Elena mumbles half-asleep, "... what... what..." Gio nudges her awake. "Gio?" Elena groans.
"It's time for practice! It's 4 o'clock, and Fiona's tired of waiting for you. She's the manager, remember? She has to let you in with her key card."
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Elena mutters, rubbing her eyes. "Fiona gets down to business man , I'll hop to her."
Gio shakes his head. "You know I'm carrying you."
He bends over, and Elena hops onto his back. "Elena," Gio sighs, "you're gonna scare the hoes away."
"That's the plan," Elena said, giggling.
From across the hallway , they spotted Fiona standing at the far end of the gym door, holding a keycard.
"I thought Gio crashed on the way while carrying you... his weak ass," Fiona commented with a blank stare .
arm rolled his eyes. "Weak?" he scoffed. In a ANYWHO ELENA WARNING—this gym stinks. Since you're, well... crippled, you're either going to be carried—probably by Gio—or you can use the wheelchair, but it's a bit wobbly, so be careful." Fiona glanced at Elena. "Oh, and EJ's a womanizer, totally obsessed with women. Bryon's sweet and full of energy, so don't worry too much about him. We didn't tell you this on purpose, but Kailin's on the team too, along with Carter and Wayne—they're quiet, so no drama there."
Fiona paused, looking around the gym before continuing. "The girls' team doesn't have practice today, so it's just you, Kennedy, Kenya, and... Jakari. She begged to come along, of course."
Elena sighed, feeling overwhelmed as everything Fiona said began to sink in.:
"Okay, so obviously I'm choosing the wheelchair," Elena said, sighing. "I'm tired of these crutches and having Gio carry me around. Other than that, I'm sure I can manage."
She turned to Gio. "So, put me down. I think I can stand on one foot for now."
Gio hesitated for a second but finally set her down gently. Elena hopped over to the nearest wall, leaning against it for support.
Fiona raised her keycard, a teasing smile on her face. "Just so you know, as soon as I swipe this, it's over. You're stuck. So take a breather, and when you're ready, let me know." Once Elena settled into the wheelchair, they made their way toward the volleyball court. As they approached, the team was already warming up. Gio joined them, blending in easily with the group as they passed the ball back and forth. Elena's eyes scanned the team. Kennedy waved casually, while Kenya ran over, jumped onto Elena's lap, and said, "Well, Santa, I want" Kenya started blabbering about stupid things ticking off the ridiculous items on her fingers as she listed them.
"I'm not getting you that," Elena replied, pushing her onto the gym floor. But as she did, she noticed Jakari's gaze linger a little too long, her expression unreadable—distant, maybe even irritated. Every time Elena glanced her way, Jakari quickly turned her head, pretending to be engrossed in the game. Something felt off, and it didn't take long for Elena to sense the tension between them.
"Something wrong?" Elena asked.
Jakari shrugged. "I didn't like how you pushed her on the floor, and that joke wasn't funny," she said before walking away.
Trying to shake off the awkward moment, Elena turned her attention to Gio, who was diving for a serve, his athleticism on full display. For a moment, she forgot about her own leg, distracted by how smoothly he moved across the court—until EJ swaggered over.
"Hey, pretty. Haven't seen you around before. You must be new. Let me show you around," EJ said with a grin, leaning against the back of her wheelchair.
