Are We In Love? | (Re-writing)

3. Game Night

Vanessa

Candice has been excited about the game ever since she mentioned it about two days ago. I mean she wasn't even playing the game, but her enthusiasm says that she already won the game as her eyes twinkled with an unknown emotion, and she kept on grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Dressed casually, we arrived at the basketball court on time. Candice got hold of my arm and took us to our seats.

I watched cheerleaders practice one last time before the game. Leading the cheerleaders was none other than Nora Moore, my other friend from Kindergarten, whom I'd stopped talking to a long time ago. Candice and I have our reasons, but the only difference was Candice never forgave her, and I did.

She briefly looked at me with those pair of cat eyes, and a small smile graced her lips. I returned the gesture with a small smile. With her manicured hands, she signalled me to meet her at the after-party then she turned back and resumed her practice.

The audience grabbed their seats in a hurry. I saw a bunch of girls giggling about how Timberwood High was going to win today as usual, and they couldn't wait to see the captain of the team, Caleb Wilson. They kept on saying how breathtaking he looked, especially his refulgent hazel eyes and heart-fluttering smile.

How dare they?

After listening to those girls, I suddenly found myself fuming for no reason.

Seriously, what's wrong with me?

He is just a...friend, and straight away a memory from the past struck me, and I realised how jealous I was back then but wasn't ready to admit it. Feeling utterly embarrassed as if I was caught, I picked up the cup filled with cola and sipped on it slowly.

Caleb and I have been friends since elementary school. But in Kindergarten we hated each other because he used to bully kids around, and I despised him for that. He used to find new ways to annoy me, like pulling my hair and eating my lunch. This one time I scolded him for hiding some kid's bag, and he dared to laugh, stating and as I quote, 'It's fun".

I'd my ways to teach him lessons, one of them was to complain about his shenanigans to Mrs Wilson, his mother. I didn't remember much from my childhood, all that I know was from what Mom told me. Once in a while, she opened the box of memories, making me laugh at my and Candice's childish antics.

Carefree days...

Back to Caleb, we were at each other's throats in kindergarten, but things gradually changed. I still don't understand how it happened, but Caleb changed and truth be told, I started liking that new Caleb. During those family get-togethers, Caleb and I used to sit in the garden, reminiscing about our childhood days, laughing at the little fights we had, and one of my favourite things to do was look at the picture album.

The announcement by the coach pulled me back to reality. I looked around and saw everyone settled down, chit-chatting and waiting for the teams to arrive. I glanced at Candice who seemed more excited for the game than anyone else. She looked ahead with her hands resting on her lap and her jet-black hair cascading down her shoulder, making me smile at her charisma.

Candice scooted over to my side and whispered, "And here he- I mean the team comes".

I frowned, realizing I had given her too much credit moments ago, "Okay, you need to stop. Caleb and I are just friends".