Don't Let Me Fall

Chapter 4: Sympathy For the Devil

" Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game." -Michael Jordan

If I had to give you a name of someone that I hated, there would be one, one name on that list. Jordan Dunlap. I'm not a hateful person; I see the good in people. In everyone but her. There was just everything to hate about her. There was the major fact that she was just over all a bitch. I'd said that before, but it still needed to be stated.

Then there was the fact that she was a whore.( Excuse my French). She probably had slept with half of the guys in the school, and it wasn't like it was some big secret that she kept from everyone. She talked about it all the time, almost as if she was proud about it.

And let's not forget about her attitude, or her temper, which started this whole thing in the first place. More her temper than her attitude. She had a way of making a bigger deal out of things than they really were.

Now I'm not talking about her just to talk about her. Trust me, I hate talking about her, it just makes me mad. There's a reason I'm talking about her in the first place. It all started a few weeks ago at the first basketball game of the season.

Two weeks earlier.

We were lined up on the baseline getting ready to run a special, which is where you touch every single line on the court. It was towards the end of practice. We'd been practicing for nearly a month by now, and our first game was Monday, at Brookfield. After we finished with the special, coach called us over to the center of the court, like he always did after practice.

"Girls listen up!" He shouted at a few freshman talking in the back.

"Alright, I will get you out of class at 2:30, and the bus will leave at 2:50." he looked around seeing if there was any questions.

"No questions, OK. I will see you tomorrow then."

"Lets get a break, captains." He looked at Jordan and me. I pushed my way from the outer edge into the center of the huddle. I looked at Jordan to make sure she was ready.

Jordan and I counted it off, then the rest of the team repeated.

"1-2-3 Lady Rams! Here we go Rams he-he-here we go!" Everyone's hands went up at the same time. There was a bunch of screams, and cheering, then it ended.

It was the team's thing before a game. We would get excited now, then do the same thing right before the game. It got us pumped, and ready to play.

Coach flipped a page on his clipboard then began to walk towards his office.

Hannah pushed past me, nearly knocking me off of my feet.

"Slow down!" I shouted after her, but she kept on running.

I decided to shoot around. I rarely stayed after practice, but today was different. Today was definitely different.

It was the weekend before a game, and she was just making sure that she was good and ready for Monday. I would probably be fine, but it was part of my pre-season ritual, and it had worked all the other seasons, so why stop now right.

I heard someone clear there throat behind me. Immediately I knew who it was: Coach Finch.

"You know that there is such a thing as over practicing." He stated.

I turned towards him. He was walking towards me. He was walking with a limp, like he always did. No one knew why he did, and they didn't dare ask him. Coach Finch was an intimidating guy. He was probably like a drill Sargent in a past life or something.

"Pre-season ritual."

I dribbled the basketball in my hand, then pulled up for a jumper.

Swish.