The ground cheered, roaring as I dribbled the ball, dodging defenders. Setting my eyes on the hoop, I circle around my defender, trying to keep the ball out of his reach. Pivoting my right foot, I tossed the orange ball into the air, watching it as it slowly reaches my teammate.
The ball reaches him and he grabs it, quickly dashing away as he dribbles. I let out a short breather, trying to pace my breathing as the crowd continued cheering in the gym. I looked around, trying to find who had the ball.
Corey still had it. I ruffled my hair, feeling sweat covering my scalp. Shaking the sweat out, I began jogging again, yelling out for the team to pass me the ball. I waved my hands freely, keeping my eye on the opposing team.
They stared at us competitively, hoping to win the competition. I wasn’t going to let them have such luck. I waved my arms frantically, watching as Corey pass the ball to Jason.
My eyes widened, shit, Jason was surrounded. I turned to the others in my team and nodded my head. Everyone in the team ran to Jason’s aid, defending all those who surrounded Jason as I ran near the hoop.
Waving to Jason to pass the ball. His eyes landed on me and he stared at me with frantic eyes. With my eyes, I sent him assurance, telling him to throw the ball. He nodded his head, and with his mite threw the orange basketball to my direction.
My arm were wide open, with a smile, I jumped up to grab the ball and that’s when I saw her sitting across the room, by our teams bleachers. It was odd, the span of two seconds seemed to turn into a millennium and all the while, I could only focus on her.
She was beautiful, not hot, or pretty but in fact beautiful. She had this odd glow to her, something I hadn’t understood then and still don’t understand now. A Band-Aid lay noticeably on the side of her face, her hair was a bit untidy (like she had fixed it last minute) and she seemed overly dressed for a basketball game. It was as if she didn’t care what people saw her as. She seemed so carefree, so open, and so lively.
The best part was the contradiction that radiated off of her; she seemed so flawless but at the same time, she was covered in flaws. She seemed so amiable yet at the same time, obnoxious. It was as if imperfection was the new perfect.
I analyzed a ten-fold about the girl in those two seconds in turn explains how I had failed to miss the large, oversized deaf boy that had knocked me over. I fell to the ground and the referee’s whistle was blown.
I blinked, confused while lying on the ground, watching as the basketball bounce up and down before coming to a stop and rolling away. Had I just been knocked from my two feet? Had I just lost the chance to make a basket?
Questions swirled in my mind, and I lied there, questioning my own actions as they seemed unbelievable. I shook my head, finally noticing the boy hovering over me and took his hand that was reached out for me.
I patted myself down and looked across the room. The girl, she was now watching intently. An amused smile playing across her face. Our eyes locked and I gave her a sheepish smile. She grinned and pushed a lock of her brown hair her behind her ear.
The whistle once again was blown, pushing me out of my reverie. The referee then yelled in his raspy, old voice, “Half-time.” I silently thanked the referee, happy that he saved me from any more embarrassment.
The team, including myself, headed to the bleachers, where all the subs sat, waiting to be sent in the game. We all grabbed a paper glass filled with Gatorade and gulped it down. I sat down, tossing the cup in the trash and breathed in.
