You Don't Know..What you Don't Know

Chapter Twenty-Three: Winter

Basketball season wrapped up in the middle of December. Coach carefully limited my minutes to protect my knee, promising I'd have every opportunity to earn a varsity spot next year if I kept working.

Practice didn't end with the season.

Every afternoon I was back in the weight room strengthening my knee before Coach sent me to the free-throw line.

"Don't lose your touch," he'd remind me.

So I didn't.

Jim and Phillip headed into the playoffs while I watched from the sidelines. Phillip hadn't spoken a single word to me since the breakup. I couldn't blame him.

The cheerleaders, however, found endless amusement in my misery.

Every time I walked through the gym, someone laughed. They waved at Phillip constantly now that everyone knew he was officially back on the market—and apparently why. Judging by the attention he was getting, he wasn't suffering nearly as much as I was.

I tried more than once to walk over and apologize.

Every time I lost my nerve.

The drama could wait until after the playoffs. I owed him at least that much.

Randy, meanwhile, ended things with the girls he'd been seeing before we started dating. He never told me who they were, but Tammy seemed like a safe bet.

Life settled into an easy routine after that.

He ate lunch with us every day before walking me to the gym. The second the warning bell rang, he'd sprint down the hallway toward whatever class he was perpetually late for.

After practice, he'd always find five minutes before Jim and I left.

Five stolen minutes.

Five-minute conversations that usually turned into kisses until someone cleared their throat or yelled that the gym was closing.

Being Randy's girlfriend wasn't nearly as difficult as everyone imagined.

He was the leader of the crowd, but he never treated me like some trophy. Randy carried all the attention himself, leaving me exactly where I liked to be—in the shadows.

Jamie and Brandi drifted in and out of our circle, joining us for movies every now and then. Jamie still made half-hearted attempts to flirt with Jake.

Jake ignored her.

One afternoon he shrugged and told me, "I can't stand the way she treats you."

Loyalty like that was hard to find.

Tim and Brandi continued their on-again, off-again relationship. Their drama wasn't my concern.

As long as Randy and I were good, the rest of the world barely existed.

Torri hadn't texted me in weeks.

Steve mentioned he'd gotten himself into some kind of trouble and was laying low, but he refused to explain. When I finally texted Torri to make sure he was okay, his entire response was two words.

All good.

That was it.

Life felt...stable.

Which probably should have been my first warning.

Good things never seemed to last.

The varsity boys swept through the playoffs, earning a trip to the state championship at the Virginia Beach Civic Center. Every basketball team was expected to travel.