It's About Heart

Chapter 3: the championship one (Nolan POV)

pic of Jacob up top^

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I can feel my sweat drenched hair sticking to my forehead as I throw the ball in to Jacob. He takes a couple dribbles, and then passes it back to me as we sprint up the court. I call for a play, ultimately looking for Dakota on the 3-point line. He's covered, but their defense is so spread, trying to make sure we don't get a three that I find an opening pretty easily. I do a quick crossover mixed with a jab step, take two hard dribbles to the rim, and lay it up.

Easy enough.

I take a glance to the scoreboard as my team hustles back on defense. We're down by 6 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

I set up for defense at the top of the key. By now my legs are aching, but I squat down anyways. Their point guard brings the ball down the court in a steady jog. He passes to the shooting guard who pulls up for a 3-point shot.

I run to put a hand in his face, but Caleb, a post, gets there before I can. He shoots...and misses.

Devin grabs the rebound, passing it to Jacob. I don't bother asking for the ball this time, knowing that it will just slow both of us down. Jacob is faster than most and has a wide open layup, but I know beforehand that that's not what he's doing. And I'm right. He pulls up for the 3-pointer and swishes it.

Jacob holds the title of best three point shooter in the state.

We head back for defense yet again as I watch their point guard bring the ball down. I glance up at the scoreboard.

Three points down with one minute left.

The point guard comes almost to the top of the key holding the ball to run the clock out. With fifteen seconds left he passes it off to the shooting guard, but Caleb already has him covered this time.

I anticipate their next move before they make it. The shooting guard goes to pass it back to the point, but I'm there as soon as the ball leaves his hands. I catch it as I'm already sprinting to the goal. It feels like I take more dribbles than I actually do on my way up the court. I realize quickly that their point guard is right on my tail. I take the ball to the rim, but as I'm mid lay-up I feel a very distinctive smack on my arm.

Instead of reacting, I just push my arm up higher, basically pushing the ball into the rim.

Down by 1. Three seconds left.

I look to the ref desperately. It seems as if time slows down as I watch him blow his whistle, signaling a foul.

A huge sigh of relief leaves my chest, as I walk to line up for my free throw. I'm not even concerned as I line it up. While Jacob may hold the title of best three point shooter, I hold the title of best free throw shooter in the state.

I do my normal routine, bouncing the ball twice and then twisting it in my hands. I'm just about to get in my shooting stance when I hear a distinctive voice coming from the crowd.

I can normally tune out the crowd extremely well. I barely even notice them until the game ends. But this voice is different. Even the scratchy sound of her yelling sounds smooth and soft. I can hear it ringing in my ears. I know I shouldn't but at the last second, I steal a glance to the side.

She looks anxious. She's biting down on her thumb joint, and for a second I start to wonder if that is her nervous habit.

Jacob's voice pulls me back into the game.

"Nolan!" He yells, and my head snaps towards him. "You got this," he says, but his eyes hold a small amount of nervousness.

I nod my head, lining my shot up.

Then I hear that voice and a word that confuses me enough that as I shoot that's all I can think about.

I swear she just said "tuba".

And I miss.

The final buzzer sounds and I'm still frozen in my place.

Suddenly I can hear the roaring of the crowd. I can see the devastated looks on my teammates faces. I can hear the sound of the other team celebrating around me. But most importantly, I can see the scoreboard that reads "Charleston County: 73; Maryville High: 72".

I head to the locker room with my team. None of us are talking. I know nobody wants to put the full blame on me, but I already have. After everything we worked for, everything I worked for, I can't believe I would mess it up like this.

Coach gives us a short talk, and he doesn't bother pulling me aside afterwards, even though I know he wants to.

We take longer to change this time than we normally do. No one really wants to face the parents and fans right now.

Jacob is the first to leave and I follow suit. I figured with how long it took us, most everybody would be gone already. However, upon leaving the locker room I realize that there's still quite a few people here from both schools.

I'm about to head to my parents who are standing at the bottom of the bleachers, talking to my coach, when I see her.

She's across the gym, standing in a herd of people. Her hair is no longer in its ponytail and now falls in messy brown curls  that frame her face.

I watch as she runs up to someone, a guy, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around her waist and lifts her up just a little as they hug.

A twinge of jealousy hits me.

I feel like a child striving for attention. As stupid as it sounds, I want that to be me. I want to be the one she hugs like that after a game and the fact that I'm not just puts me in a worse mood than I was before.

I keep watching as she pulls away from him. I start to look away, not really wanting to watch that anymore, but something I see makes me keep looking.

It's the smile on her face. She looks happier than I have ever seen her look before. And while I watch her smile, I forget about the game, and the score, and even the guy.

I guess in that moment I realize that losing a stupid high school game is worth it if I get to see her smile.

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This chapter brings me basketball flashbacks, and I love it. 

thanks for reading. love y'all!

-lauren<3