Switched Up

4-III: The PSSC!

"Alright. I'm all ears," he said while straightening his posture.

"Um, okay. Okay, okay," said Sam while shaking her arms in an attempt to calm down.

While squirming around, Sam felt two warm hands land on her shoulders. She looked from right to left and saw Jack and Oliver. She turned back to Ricky and took a deep breath in; she knew she would be fine with their support.

"Okay. Ricky. Look, I'm not... I'm not a boy. I'm actually a girl. I'm just pretending to be a boy because the women's team got cut. I didn't know what I was going to do without basketball, so I kinda panicked and now here I am: a member of the men's team. And well... I felt like I needed to tell you because I know I can trust you with this. I just really need someone there to support me when these two aren't around."

Ricky looked at all of them with a expression of confusion and shock.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're... a girl? Seriously?"

Sam lifted up her shirt to reveal the binder she was still wearing from the day.

"I am. I'm not shitting you."

"Okay, well, all I have to say is, you sure had me fooled. I was totally convinced that you were a boy."

"Well, then that's a good thing," she responded with a chuckle.

"And wait, you two are in on this?" asked Ricky aiming his question towards Jack and Oliver.

"Yeah. We've known since the first day we came here," said Jack.

"After Sam had a little meltdown about the women's team, she freaked out and suddenly told us that she was going to join the men's team. She was so stubborn about it that Jack and I couldn't fight back," said Oliver, wrapping his arm around Sam's neck while she laughed at his light horseplay.

Ricky fell back into to the chair, letting his body go limp. He gazed at them like he was still processing the information he was given.

"So... so what's your plan then? You're just gonna join the men's team and stay on it until we graduate?" he asked.

"Yup."

"But Sam... Wait, your name is Sam right?"

She giggled.

"Yeah don't worry. The only lie is that I'm actually a girl."

"Okay, okay. Just making sure. But seriously Sam, this is really dangerous for you. Ever since all those rules were made around 20 years ago, girls can't play on men's teams. I know that occasionally happened in the past, but that era is over. You could get kicked off the team or like, never be able to play in college."

"That's exactly what I told her," commented Jack.

"And you're still willing to do this?"

"It's not a matter of 'if I'm willing to do it.' I'm going to do it. This is my dream. And it's been my dream since... since my mom died. I just want to do this for her, and for myself. I want to make her proud of what I've accomplished."

Ricky was silent for a while, staring Sam in the eyes. He broke his gaze with her to glance up at Jack and Oliver. Jack gave a sincere smile and Oliver shrugged while shaking his head.

"You're pretty serious about this aren't you?" asked Ricky.

"Of course I am. I've already come this far. And well, now that I've told you, you're kinda stuck in it with us," said Sam with an innocent smile.

Ricky held his breath for a few seconds and then  sighed.

"You're crazy dude. This is crazy what you're doing."

"I know," she said with her small smile turning into a big grin, like she knew what was coming.

"Okay. I surrender," said Ricky holding out his hand to her.

Sam took his hand and gripped it tightly.

"Ricky, thank you. This means so much to me. I can't even explain it."

"Don't worry. I got your back. We're gonna be the 1st year duo remember?"

A smile beamed on Sam's face, and she reached forward and gave Ricky a soft punch in the arm.

"You know it!"

Ricky started glancing around between the trio before him.

"Not gonna lie, this is kinda cool. We have this little group together where we're all responsible for Sam's secret. It's like, a secret squad. The... Protect Sam's Secret Committee!" joked Ricky.

"The PSSC!" cheered Oliver.

"What, we have a name for this now?" laughed Jack.

"I kinda like it! It's like a special code name for our group or somethin'. And our dorm room is the headquarters!" said Sam.

"I'm all for that," said Ricky with a chuckle.

"We just need a sign to hang up in here and it'll be perfect," said Oliver.

"Oooooh, I'm so down to do that. We have to make one," said Sam.

Ricky glanced at his phone and noticed that the time was 9:53.

"Ah shit, it's almost 10. I should probably head back to my room."

"For sure. I don't want you to get a strike," said Sam while walking to the door.

She opened it for Ricky and he paused in the doorway.

"We should definitely talk more about this when we all have free time again. Maybe at night like this or something," he said.

"Yeah, sounds good. We'll get your number from Sam and we can make a group chat," said Oliver.

"Alright, perfect! It was nice to meet you two by the way. See ya in class Sam!" said Ricky while walking out of the room.

"Bye!" they all called.

Once the door was shut, Sam walked over to her bed and flopped face down into her pillow.

"Uuugghhhh," she groaned in a muffled tone.

"Hey, he's on our side now," reassured Oliver.

Sam lifted her head and looked up at him.

"I know. That was so nerve racking though. My heart was beating out of my chest. I don't wanna do that EVER again."

"Well at least he knows now. He seems like a good guy. It'll be super helpful to have someone like him in on your illegal plan," teased Jack.

"Say what you will Nordam. I'll make this work even if it kills me."

"It's scary because I actually believe you would do that," said Oliver.

Sam chuckled and then continued where she had left off when unpacking. The trio got their things back in order and chatted for a little longer before they finally got to bed after their long, wild day.

To be continued...

Author Note: Hello precious readers! You've read one more section in Switched Up. This time the section covered 4 days rather than just 1. It's just easier to do it this way in order for me to get all the good, significant details down. I hope you're enjoying it so far! The formation of the PSSC finally happened. It makes them sound like a superhero association or something. But anyways, I hope you'll keep sticking around because more intense things are going to keep happening!
\(^_^)/

- Layna