Daylight - Paige Bueckers

happy birthday

October 31, 2023

Alex's POV:

The alarm blared way too early for my liking, filling my room with its obnoxious buzz. I groaned, reaching over to slap my phone and silence it before anyone else in the house stirred. 5:30 a.m. came way too fast.

I blinked, trying to shake the grogginess out of my head. My muscles were tight from the last few days of practice, and as much as I wanted to stay buried in bed, I knew I couldn't miss morning lift. The cheer team wasn't letting anyone off easy this week.

I grabbed my phone and checked it, hoping to see something from Paige—maybe a cute "good morning" text or even a simple emoji. But there was nothing. I sighed, reminding myself that we'd planned to see each other later, and she was probably still asleep or wrapped up in basketball stuff. She'd been distant the last two days—always busy with practice or something. I didn't want to overthink it, but there was this nagging feeling I couldn't shake. Something was going on, but I had no idea what.

After stretching and rolling out of bed, I pulled on my workout clothes. My reflection stared back at me in the mirror, dark circles under my eyes from another night of not quite enough sleep. Great. It was just one of those mornings where everything felt off.

Still, I pushed the thought aside and grabbed my water bottle and keys, heading out the door. Naomi was already downstairs, her gym bag slung over her shoulder as she scrolled through her phone. She looked up and gave me a small grin.

"Happy birthday, old lady," she teased, nudging me as I walked past her.

"Ha, ha," I muttered, unable to hide my smile. "Thanks."

"You ready for lift?" she asked, trailing behind me as we headed out to the car.

"Not even a little bit, but here we are," I said, my voice half-joking but still tinged with sleep.

By the time we made it to the gym, the rest of the team was trickling in, some looking just as tired as I felt. Morning lifts were brutal, but there was something about suffering through them together that made it bearable. The weights clanged and the steady hum of conversation filled the gym as we got to work.

After warming up, I found myself at the squat rack, adding weights to the bar while I glanced at my phone again. Still nothing from Paige. I couldn't help the small frown that crept onto my face as I wrapped my hands around the barbell.

"Everything good?" Sarah asked from the next rack, raising an eyebrow as she caught my expression.

"Yeah, just... expecting a text that hasn't come through yet," I admitted, my grip tightening on the bar.

She smirked knowingly. "Paige?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry. She's probably just busy. She'll get back to you," Sarah said, giving me a reassuring pat on the shoulder before returning to her own lift.

I nodded, not really reassured but trying to shake off the weird feeling. Maybe Sarah was right. Paige was juggling a lot between basketball and school. But still, it was my birthday, and I thought... maybe things would be a little different today.