Hidden Play: The Return 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

Come one come all! The next circus affair is upon us!

Behind the majestic doors of our conservative high school, you'll be given the chance to bid on purchases of a lifetime!

Are you in need of a signed basketball from a mediocre high school basketball player?

We got it!

Are you in need of old practice shirts, yellowed with sweat stains and riddled with bacteria and fungus?

We got it!

Interested in a 1 on 1 session with a coach who yells too much and sweats like a pig in heat?

We got it!

Best yet, do you have a local event where you need a handful of varsity basketball players to help make your event a success?

We got it!

I stare at the blinking cursor on my screen, willing myself to relax as I write. I haven't posted a blog since going back to school. Now we're just an hour away from the Auction Event, and the words become stuck in my mental throat. Before I knew my peers were watching my words, the blog felt easy. It was therapeutic. Now, it's suffocating, imagining the eyes' of my peers scanning my words and pulling apart their meaning.

The doorbell rings, and Gigi's singsong voice carries through the entirety of the house as she notifies us all that 'she's got the door.' Whoever it is, she must be expecting them. Gigi is pretty selective on who she invites over to the house. Normally she leaves, choosing to spend her time with friends elsewhere. Come to think of it, I don't think she's had anyone over since Mi –

"Hey, Broncs."

I lift my gaze from the screen. Mike stands at my bedroom door, hands stuffed in his pockets, and that sheepish expression etched into his features. Well, well, well. What do we have here? I lean back in my chair and grin.

"What's up, man?" I ask. "I take it you're not here for me."

A faint blush rises into Mike's cheeks and he glances over his shoulder. "Your sister asked – I mean, well, actually I asked, if she wanted to ride together to the Auction Event tonight."

He quickly holds out his hand and adds, "just as friends, though."

I hum under my breath. The words reek of Gigi's self-denial as he says them. Since seeing him on Monday, it's taken a mere four days to get her to cave. At this rate, they'll be dating again in a week.

"Right," I muse, turning back to my laptop. "Just friends."

Mike seems to take our idle chit-chat as permission enough to enter my room. He grabs my mini-basketball and flings himself onto my bed. Of all the times he's been here for Gigi, this is a first time he's made an effort to hang with me, too. Then again, knowing my sister, she 'shooed' him away to my room because she's not done getting ready yet.

"You writing another blog? Or working on homework?" Mike asks, tossing the miniature ball into the air.

"I was trying to write a blog, but the words feel forced. It was easy before, writing to a bunch of strangers. But now it feels weird, knowing the entire school is reading it, too. It feels - "

"Invasive," Mike finishes for me.

He throws the ball again and I nod. "Exactly."

"I get it," he says. "I mean, I couldn't write a blog to save my left ballsack, but I understand where you're coming from. In this town, when you're in the 'it' crowd, people want to know everything. It's like a bigger version of a basketball game. Everyone is hungry for a play-by-play, and you're constantly trying to stay one step ahead, so you don't fall behind in the game."