story of another us 》michael clifford

Chapter 5: Broken and Loose Ends

It was the night of the pep rally and the homecoming game as well. The girls were getting ready in their locker room. It was an twenty minutes before the game starts. Amara couldn't stop thinking about what happened two nights ago. What he had discovered about Ashton, and what Michael said to her. She can't believ that, can't she? Ashton is her friend. And Michael, well, Michael is someone she met a few days ago, but she somehow feels safety in him. 

"All right, girls. This is our chance to kick off an amazing year. So, we give it all our best, and keep our focus, okay?" Tessa says to the squad. A chorus of agreement was heard. "Okay, let's get out there!" Tessa yells as the whole squad cheers and heads to the gym, where numerous people were already there. Their players, getting ready as well.

The opponent team had just arrived, their school following closely. And as Amara takes a scan of their faces, she notices a familiar one. She totally forgot that they were up against Richmond High School. Ashton's school. "It just had to be so soon." Amara says to herself. 

As she looks away, Ashton notices her and calls her. "Amara!" Amara lets out a deep breath before she comes face to face with Ashton on the side of the court. Ashton motions her to come by the gym doors. Amara heads that way as she and Ashton now meets. 

"I'm sorry about the other night." Ashton says, letting out a breath. "It's fine. Do you know Michael, personally?" Amar asks. She wanted to see if Ashton was going to tell the truth. 

"We may have a few encounters with each other." Ashton lowers his voice. "Look, I can't talk about this now, and here. But I promise, when things wind down, I'll tell you everything." Ashton nears her, so they were the only ones who could hear. "But for the mean time, please stay away from Michael and his friends." 

Amara looks at him, confused, "Why? And don't you dare say it's for my own good." 

"He's not who you think he is. Please Amara." Ashton says, his hazel eyes softens. 

 Before Amara could respond, Ashton runs back to his teammates, leaving Amara to wonder what the hell is going on. Amara eventually runs back to their side of the court and brushes off any thoughts about Ashton and Michael and the chaos that surrounds them. 

Minutes later, both teams are now on the court, in their respective places, as the referee holds the ball and throws it in the air. "Panthers has the ball!" The commentator says into the mic. 

The right side of the court cheers as the Panthers deliver their ball on their side and scores. "A great start by the Panthers!"

--

Halftime, the score was 51-49. Panthers was leading by two points. The cheer squad was getting ready for their routine. "Okay, girls, let's do this." Tessa says as they took their place in the middle. 

As the music starts, the squad chants for their school, whilst doing the routine. Then, it was time for the finale. Amara steps on the bases' hands, rising up and letting out a wide smile, two more rise up as the flyers takes their place. Amara hold them by their ankles as they fly up and down, and after the last count, Amara holds them by their heels. 

With a confident smile, Amara looks at the crowd, as she spots a familiar patch of purple hair. She almost lost focus as they started their count, but she managed to dismount just in time. 

As the crowd cheers, the game continues on a few minutes later. Amara searches the crowd. What the hell Michael was doing there? He wasn't a student of Hearstfield nor Richmond. She tries to focus on cheering for her school along with the squad. 

94-91, Panthers were still the lead. And there were thirty seconds left on the clock. Ashton has the ball, looking for someone who's open to pass the ball. But there were none. If the ball shoots, they would be a tie, and there would be an extension. As Ashton rises high, another one did, trying to knock the ball off his hands, but misses the ball, and crashes into Ashton, hard. The ball bounces off the rim, as Ashton and the other player falls to the ground. Ashton hitting the cold gym floor.