The Start of Everything After

Camping

I get to the parking lot twenty minutes early ready to pick the best seats for Kacie and I, which consist of the back seats right over the wheel because what's that phrase? In it for the bumpy ride? Well that's Kacie and I, in it for the long haul, turbulent or not. But especially turbulent.

With the whole team and all our stuff it's going to be cramped. But I'll survive I'm sure.

Second to me Luke shows up "Hey" he says casually and drags his hands down his stubble. Even this early in the morning, I can't deny that it's an attractive sound.  "You're here early, but I know better than to be surprised. With you I'm always surprised. Keeps me entertained"

"Oh yeah, I surprise you?" I inch closer "give me a clear cut example"

"How exceptional you are, at playing for one."

"Exceptional, oh?" I say trying to not act as caught off guard as I actually am.

"Be quiet, I'm complimenting you. Asss I was saying... your pure talent caught me by surprise. And the first day when you ran twelve laps instead of eleven I knew then that I was in for an interesting season."

"And has it," he looks to me, questioningly "been interesting?"

"I don't need to respond, you already know the answer to that one."

Pretty soon more girls start showing up and the intimacy of it being just us is shattered but I somehow know fate will find us together again. For better or worse.

We start loading up and though I secured our special spots on the bus I'm worried about Kacie, who is notorious for being late, pushing her luck, somehow always showing up at the last second. Basically Kacie has made an art around the term fashionably late, hell she coined the term. I check my watch; only eight minutes until we were scheduled to leave. One thing's for certain: Luke runs a tight ship and I wouldn't put it past him to leave without a player to teach them a good lesson about being punctual. Kacie would make the first great example. I check my phone again; just six minutes until. It's about all I can do not to start tapping my foot. I've texted her six times and called her four. Her fate is up to her.

Kacie unsurprisingly arrives twenty minutes later huffing and puffing as if she ran here and not drove. Her hair is standing up in ways that shouldn't be possible, completely defying the laws of gravity. She has dried drool on her cheek and crumbs on her lips, remnants from her daily blueberry muffin. She looks like the epitome of the word frazzled. And that's Kacie most of the time unless she's going out and looks unfrazzled. Put together, which takes a lot of time and effort in Kacie land.

"Traffic" she says and smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Really?" I arch an eyebrow "It's 6:38, there was traffic?"

"Ok fine I slept through my alarm. Happy? You want honest?" she raises her voice which she never does, which means she's feeling more than just frazzled "My parents were yelling nonstop over the phone into the wee hours of the morning. I think my mom is moving back. And truth is I hate her, hate her for leaving, hate her for wanting to come back. And I know you're going to tell me something sappy or unhelpful and say how I won't remember last night or any of their pointless fights in five years. But I don't know if you noticed but saying those cheesy comforting lines" she puts air quotes around the word comforting.  "Well I've got news for you; I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It." she takes a deep breath and then starts again, "So yea I didn't have time to get ready, to shower or brush my teeth."

"I'm sorry your parents are fighting.".

"I think I smell, do I smell?" she says, ignoring me and already moving on, seemingly back to her usual self.