The Trouble With Two Seasons

Chapter 47 : Loss?

Summer lay sprawled on her bed,staring quietly at the ceiling. Tate McRae's 'Greedy' softly blasted from her speakers as she nestled a bag of crisps in her arms.

Courtney groaned from her position beside her,pulling out a salted crisp from the bag Summer held out to her.She gratefully munched on it.

"I ought to be getting ready for the game tonight!" She announced,slipping off the bed.

They had spent sometime hanging out in Summer's room. They'd gossiped about boys and watched a marathon of Pretty Little Liars.

They lay on the bed,famished from laughing too hard after blurting out spoilers and some lines they knew off head. The show hadn't finished running when the laptop flashed a low battery warning and they'd plugged it in to charge.

"Come on Summer,get up let's get ready!" Courtney urged,trying to pull Summer off the bed.

Summer hit pause on the music playing from the speaker and sat up," I told you already Court,I'm not going!"

"It's the final game of the season Sum,before we go off to college. No one ever misses a championship game." Courtney chided.

Summer shrugged, "Well I am." She fell back on the bed with a thud  after her little announcement.

Courtney looked up from where she was crouched beside the foot of Summer's bed,rummaging through her cheer bag for something."You can't keep on hiding away from the outside world just because you had a fallout with some boy." She opined.

"I'm not hiding from the outside world!" Summer defended herself.
"I'm keeping my distance from a particular type of boys -- the basketball court seems to have a lot of them." She explained.

Courtney tilted her head to the side,her face scrunched up in confusion. "Isn't that the same thing?"

Summer shook her head, contentedly shoving more crisps into her mouth.

Courtney collapsed dramatically on the floor. "Well then, I'm not going too." She sighed.

Summer's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "But you've been practicing for weeks,you wanted to cheer tonight!"

Courtney wore an exasperated look."I know, I'll just call in sick with gut wrenching cramps or something.I can't leave my best friend sat here all gloomy with a half eaten bag of salted crisps while I'm out there popping champagne and tossing my pompoms  merrily away." She ranted.

Summer gnawed at her bottom lip in thought.She sighed,"You cannot miss your game because of me.I'll come with you,if that's what it takes to make you happy."

A smile lit up Courtney's face.She rose from the floor and engulfed Summer in a bear hug."You're the best!" A pang of guilt gnawed at her chest. Courtney shrugged it off, she hoped everything would go on well.She was doing this for Summer,she wanted to see her happy.

                              ***

The gym was packed like never before when Summer stepped foot inside.It was charged with the electricity of competition.
Rally flags flew about,the sound of trumpets and bassinets filling the air as the school band performed.

The bright purple and white Mount Crest school colors was an interesting kaleidoscope,students rocked the jerseys.

Summer made her way up to the bleachers,her white Sketchers squeaked against the highly polished floor.
Her ponytail swayed behind her,she'd worn some silver loop earrings with a matching silver necklace and wanted to show it off.
Her baggy Mount Crest jersey floated to her thighs,she'd topped it off with an above knee plaited skirt.The jersey was tucked in one side.For some reason, Courtney had urged her to dress up tonight.

Mentioning Courtney,she had dashed off to join the rest of the cheer squad in warming up as soon as Summer pulled over into a parking space.

Summer found an empty space beside a couple of other kids she knew from her class and settled there. She waved a friendly hi to them,dropping her phone and Stanley cup beside her.

It took little time before the game started. The cheer squad kept the crowd alive with their energetic performance, sashing with their skimpy purple outfits after they were done. 

Courtney made eye contact with Summer and blew her a kiss. She smiled back at her.

Then,the players lined up.Summer spotted Grayer amongst them. His eyes seemed to dart around to their side,where she usually sat,before his eyes trailed to her.

His gaze rested on hers for a while, before his tired eyes crinkled up in relief,excitement? He looked weary, probably vigorous training for this day had worn him out.

Regardless, his six foot three frame stood impressive, ready to make a mark.

She admired that about him,he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
Grayer was relentless in his pursuits,and she for once wished she had someone who'd stop at nothing to love her that much,to continuously choose her despite her flaws.

She  oddly found herself being jealous of whoever would get to claim Grayer as her man.
Maybe that was why Winter seemed to irk her with the littlest of provocation--she got to call him her man.

The referee blew the whistle for the first quarter to begin.
She found her eyes trailing Grayer's every move. She watched his muscles flex as he stretched to catch the ball,his slender legs make firm sprints on the court,and his plump lips turn up into a scowl when the opponents made a basket.

Summer watched him silently, wondering how she'd fumbled such a catch by seeing him as just friends material.

The sharp sound of the referee's whistle signalled that they were in the last few minutes of the final quarter of the game.

The sprinting foxes were down by a point. Decorum was still maintained.Mount Crest High was known for winning last minute on several occasions.

Brandon stole the ball from the tall Ridgewood High player,tossing it to Grayer. Grayer grabbed the ball mid-air,immediately taking off with it.
In two quick strides,he dribbled the ball past their defender and dashed past.His ball control was impeccable. He was within close range to shoot in no time.

The crowd sprung out of their seats in jubilation. This was Mount Crest's comeback. Coach Riley ran along the lines,yelling his voice hoarse for the other players to side up behind Grayer.

Summer's pulse seemed to have been racing quicker than before.

Grayer jumped up,tossing the ball towards the direction of the hoop.The tall Ridgewood High player came out of nowhere,making the jump in a bid to slap the ball out of Grayer's hands.

Summer's blood run cold.The crowd was silent,her heart beat echoed through the walls of her chest. It happened in slow motion-- the body of the opponent jammed into Grayer's from the side.

Grayer yelped in pain,his knee jerked the opposite direction,striking the floor before his body fell  with a loud thud.

The entire room seemed to fade away,Summer saw nothing but Grayer squirming in pain in the middle of the room.

The ball whooshed through the hoop,making a basket worth three points.

The scoreboard lit up,the referee blew the final whistle. A win for Mount Crest High, but their quarterback lay defeated on the floor.

The noise from the crowd slowly tuned back up, they screamed  frantically.Some excited,others cussing out at the turn of events.

Nothing seemed to matter to Summer than the boy laying on the floor a few metres before her.

She dropped her can of soda,eyes wide,heart racing  and then ran. Not away from her troubles this time,but towards the one who seemed to be the root cause of it.