overtime | clark & martin

Paige i.

AN: Okay first, Paige's chapter is so long that there will be two parts, but I didn't want you guys to think I'd forgotten. I saved the best for last. My favorite relationship (besides Jackie) was Paige and Jess, so to be able to write them has been a lot of fun. Jess and Paige give very much soulmate energy, and I honestly love them.

And lowkey in order to get back on the original plot, I had to write Paige a little out of character (chapter 50 if you were wondering), and it pained me to do so, but now I get to remedy my mistake.

I could lowkey write a whole book on Overtime Jess and Paige, they're so pure and healthy.

So enjoy part one and finally find out what happened in Turkey between Paige and Jess. (Part Two coming soon to a theatre near you)

2014
Nike Jam
Columbus, Ohio

Jessica sits silently on the stairs, listening as her parents' argument escalates in the living room. Their words bounce off the walls, sharp and unrelenting, each one carving deeper into the pit in her stomach.

"I just don't understand why you're making a big deal out of this?"

"I'm not making a big deal, Robert!" Renee counters, her tone sharp but laced with exhaustion. "Jessica's life is already changing so much. If she doesn't want us to sell the house, then we don't sell the house. It's as simple as that."

"She's fourteen!" Robert snaps. "She has no idea what it takes to keep a house like this—property taxes, maintenance—it's expensive as hell!"

"And you're not exactly hurting for money, are you?" Renee shoots back, crossing her arms.

Jessica exhales quietly, trying to steady herself. All she wanted was an answer to a simple question: what happens to the house now that everything is falling apart?

"Keepin' up with my financials, are you?"

"I want to send Jessica to private school-"

"Here we go-"

"Charlotte Christian is one of the best schools in the state. Stephen Curry went there!"

"Stephen Curry?" Robert laughs, bitterly. "What's next, you want her to go to Davidson? Play for the Warriors too? Maybe shoot commercials for Under Armour?"

"I want her to have a shot at her dreams!" Renee shouts back. "That starts with giving her the tools to succeed!"

"Her dream is basketball! Doesn't matter what school she goes to, she's getting recruited. I mean we're getting calls from coaches everywhere! They want the girl to play in those U17 things. I'm not worried about her getting a scholarship. But no kid of mine is goin' to private school."

Jessica closes her eyes. Basketball. It's always about basketball. It used to be hers, something she could hold onto when everything else felt shaky. Now it's just another weapon in their endless fights, and she's the collateral damage.

"Why?" Renee asks.

"Because there ain't nothin' wrong with public school. You think I want Jessica to turn out like those stuck up brats?"

"I went to private school," Renee says.

"Yeah and shows."

"Fuck you, Robert. You are so insecure about your upbringing. The little boy who grew up on the farm, couldn't get rid of his accent and no one would take him seriously so what does he do? He goes back to the farm. Could have made something of yourself but you didn't want to."

"Always looking down on me. It must be nice on that throne of yours," Robert responds, "The youngest tenured professor."

"We went to the same school. Our degrees are the same. It's not my fault you turned down the job at NASCAR, now you're sitting here restoring old cars when you could be out there, racing!"