The Year of the Wolf (Completed) (Book One of The Almair Series)

Chapter 24 (Edited)

"Well, look at who showed up for practice, today," Mia said, sarcastically, spying me when I came out of the locker room, wearing a white shirt that I used during track season.

"Ya, Team Captain is here, today, ready to play ball. Where were you, yesterday?" Ava Marie asked, tossing me a basketball that she had in her hands.

Ava Marie Lone was her name, and she had sandy, blonde hair that was darker than mine. She had brown eyes that always had a sparkle in them, smiling at everyone warmly. Ava, a nickname that we gave her, was 15 and had played basketball with me for years. She stood at 5'7, so she was a foot shorter than me.

I grinned when she called me Team Captain, since I was the team captain of the Girl's Varsity team, even though I was fifteen. "I had a hard night the night before. I got to bed around midnight and woke up at three in the morning, because of a nightmare. I did go to school, but it was for a couple of minutes before I went home again," I replied, catching the ball and making a jump shot, landing the ball into the hoop."Ya'll cupcakes needed to practice on your own, because I might not be going to this school, anymore."

"Why not?" Ava asked, catching the ball. She shot it up into the hoop, but missed, not aiming for the black square.

Quickly, I caught the rebound and shot it into the hoop, making it in. Again, I caught the ball and was about to shoot, when a whistle was blown, telling us that we needed to go over to our coach.

  Li Pike was her name, but everybody called her Coach, even when she wasn't their coach. She had long, black hair and black eyes, with something in them that I couldn't put my finger on. She stood about 5'9, and she was pretty muscular.

I felt the gem in my pouch starting to warm up, but I didn't know what it meant. I couldn't help but frown, wondering what it meant.

"You blew, Coach?" Mia asked, rudely, raising an eyebrow.

Coach shook her head and sighed. "I never thought I'd hear you say that," she said. She knew our history because she taught at the school and probably have talked to the teachers of our old schools. I was sure that she didn't know some stuff about me. Or did she know, and was she the one that was trying to kill me?

"Well, my used to be friend isn't telling me anything anymore, so I changed from being a sweet girl to a mean girl." She glared at me, making me roll my eyes and shake my head.

Coach Pike looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What are you hiding from everyone?" Something in her voice made the hair on the back of my neck stand up at attention. At that moment, I knew that she was the one that I had to watch out for, and she was the one that will try to kill me. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew that it was her.

"Just that my brothers are driving me crazy as always. Nick and Mike so want me to kick them them where it hurts." I rolled my eyes, annoyed, patting the ball that was in my hands. "Let's go and practice, because I really need to blow off some steam." I didn't glance at Mia, but it was because of the fight we had that I was still in a sour mood.

"Well, the Varsity Boys will be playing against us, so let's warm up and beat them, like I know we can." Her eyes flashed, staying a black color. And, there it was again, there was something that she has been hiding from us.

However, on her saying that the Varisety Boy will be playing against us, the boys came out of their locker room, followed by Talu. The Team Captain of the boy's team, Mal, ran towards me and tried to steal the ball from me.

I side-stepped him, dribbling while I did so and shot it at the hoop, making it in. I smirked and looked at him.

"You know, you should be on the boy's team," he said, catching the ball. There was a smile on his face as he looked at his sister before looking back at me. "You are pretty good."

Mal was a lot like his sister, Ava, and not just for playing basketball. Like her, he had brown eyes that smiled warmly at people. However, they did turn angry when someone messes with somebody he cares about. He had sandy blonde hair that was really bushy, and he stood at 6'0 with tanned skin. Unlike Ava, he was 17 years old, and he was the same age as my brother, Josh and sister, Julie.

"Why? 'Cause I can beat your skinny behind in a 1 on 1 combat," I challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Tupac walked over to us and folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that you can defeat my best player in a 1 on 1 combat?"

"Hand me the ball, and I'll show you how sure I am." I glanced at Mal, catching the ball, when he threw it at me. I walked to the free throw line and turned away from the goal. I dribbled the basketball and took a deep breath, relaxing my body. I closed my eyes, sensing where the hoop was and shot the ball, not turning around.

There was a whoosh as the ball made it into the hoop, signalling that I had gotten it in without hitting the baseboard. I couldn't help but smirk when I heard some of the girls cheered for me.

I looked at Tupac, still smirking. "And that is how sure I am that I would beat your best player at his own game."

Mal whistled and clapped. "Can you teach me that? That would be a great thing to use on the girls." He winked at Ava, who just rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you win 1 on 1 against me, then I'll teach you. However, if you don't win, then you will have to wear a dress to school tomorrow."

"Let's add you wearing a dress to school if I win, then we'll have a deal." He held out his hand for me to shake.

I mocked shuddered, disliking on wearing a dress but shook his hand, anyways. "I'll teach you in then dress that I'll be wearing tomorrow. It'll be a new experience." I looked at Tupac to see that his eyes were wide in surprise, as if he thought that I couldn't play basketball in a dress. I hid back a snort, debating on whether or not I should try it one day. Probably should. That'd be a fun thing to watch.

"Alright, well, I guess that we will have to have the Team Captains practice and the rest of the players can watch, cheering for their captain," Tupac said, glancing at Coach. "How does that sound?"

Coach nodded her head. "That works for me," she replied.

Mal looked at me and smirked."Prepare to get your behind kicked, because basketball is my sport."

I snorted and shook my head. "No, you should prepare to get your behind kicked by a girl." I paused and smirk, looking him up and down. "I hope that your sister or your mother in your size."

Mal snorted and shook his head, mimicking what I had done. "Well, I hope you can play better than you can talk smack, because I'm about to smack you down to fun size."

And with that, the game started. Two captains were fighting each other and one will not have to wear a dress tomorrow...