Jealousy Best Served Devious (Clash Of Cliches Book 1)

Chapter 24-The All-Stars

Chapter Twenty-Four- The All-Stars

Ryder Jefferson's dad had rented out a ballroom at the local Holiday Inn to host the All-Star pick and I gaped at the lengths he had gone to decorate the room with Sao Marino's flag, posters of all the Sao Marino All-Star teams and the two trophies our teams had won. The room was filled with parents, our local news station with cameras and teens I didn't know, some from the smaller public high school, Deacon High, and others from the private school, Marino Academy.

We were each handed a program of events, printed on heavy, expensive feeling paper, and Cordell grunted as he looked at his. "Seriously, what is all this shit?" he asked Jermaine and Tyler with distaste. "None of this is necessary, but you know how showoffs love to ball out."

I sat at the table of honor with Jermaine, Suzi, Janessa, Tyler and Cordell, since Cordell was the special guest and we were technically his guests too.

As Tyler pulled my chair out, I spotted Ryder seated at the table to our left, staring at me with his beautiful eyes wide. An imp in me made me smile brightly at him and wave and, looking as though I had caught him unawares (HA! I knew it!), he flushed as he waved back. He was looking stylish in a white shirt with a blue tie, and Celeste was sitting next to him, primped and polished as usual in a peach dress that looked ridiculously expensive.

Ryder's dad, tall, lean and handsome, strode to the podium that had been erected in the front of the room, tapped the mic, and launched into a long, winding speech that was basically about how great Ryder was (fact), how much thought had gone into putting everything together (also fact), how happy he was that we could all be here and that he had managed to secure Sao Marino's finest (Cordell) to announce the 2015 All-Star team. He talked expansively as I fidgeted nervously.

I knew that Tyler had to be on the team; he was one of the best players at Sao Marino High, for goodness sakes! And yet, I was still nervous enough for both of us, which was good, because he didn't seem to be nervous at all.

"But I'm afraid I've talked too much," Mr. Jefferson said finally, smiling boyishly at the guests as I realized where Ryder got his charm from.
Behind her hand, Janessa muttered, "You damn right you have," as Mr. Jefferson gestured towards our school's basketball coach, who had been waiting on the sidelines for the past five minutes.
"I'll hand over the reins to Coach Willis of Sao Marino High."

Coach Willis, looking almost unrecognizable in a suit instead of his usual Adidas tracksuit, walked up to the podium, shook Mr. Jefferson's hand, and turned to us.
"Thank you for coming tonight as we choose the best ten basketball players in town to join our All-Star team and represent Sao Marino in the game of the year against River Valley. As you might know, the proceeds from the All-Star games go towards our local Make-A-Wish chapter, and since the game's inception four years ago, we have raised almost $100, 000 towards the charity." An appreciative round of applause as Coach Willis ruffled his notes. "By bringing together players from Sao Marino High, Deacon High, and Marino Academy, we put aside all school rivalry and come together as a team to play for a common cause. Good news to all our senior picks- we will be retiring your jerseys and they will hang in your respective gyms." A loud round of applause rose at this news. "And this year, we have a special guest who took the time out of his very busy schedule to come and join us. Some of you will recognize him as being part of the starting lineup for our very first All-Star team four years ago. Others will recognize him as NBA superstar Cordell Banks!"

"This fucking guy forgot what team I play for," Cordell muttered through gritted teeth, before he stood up, fake smiling, and walked to the podium.

I leaned in closer to Janessa, who was giggling at Cordell's indignation. "What team does he play for?"

"San Antonio Spurs."