Adaeze

14

In the amount of time it would take me to go home, eat and come back, I'd be late to practice. So I just asked Adaeze if she was alright staying for a few hours. She said yea and just sat in the bleachers but I gave her cash for the vending machine in case she got hungry.

We'd all gotten dressed in the practice uniform then walked out into the gym to shoot around until it was time to start.
Gym was filled with that loud noise of a bunch of balls dribbling.

"Who's that?" Trent asked.
The few of us that heard him, looked where he was looking and saw he was talking about Adaeze.
"That's Koda's girl." Chris answered.
"You got a girlfriend?" Trent asked me.
"She's not my girlfriend." I answered. "She just-..."
"She's just fine as hell, lives in his house, and has a crush on him." Jaylen said then shot a three.
He missed. Dude's only good for defense and dunking.
"She lives in your house?" Trent questioned.
"Long story." I shot the ball and made it.
"Why is she here?"
"Cause I'm her ride home."
"Coach know that?"

I looked and saw our coaches talking and looking at Adaeze.
"EXCUSE ME!" he yelled.
I jogged over there.

"Coach."
"What's up, Shaw?" he answered.
"That girl up there is with me." I explained. "I'm her ride home and didn't have time to bring her before practice started." That's a lie. I had plenty of time. I just spent it bullshitting and forgot.
"Alright. She won't be a distraction for you will she?"
"No, sir."
"Alright."
"Thank you." I jogged back.

"What'd he say?" Trent asked.
"She can stay, he just doesn't want her to distract me."
"She distracting me." Jaylen stated.
"That's his girl, man!" Chris said and shoved Jaylen.
"He said that's not his girlfriend! You want me to act like she not fine?"
"You're so disrespectful." Chris scoffed.
"Wha-...Trent." Jaylen called.
"Huh?"
"Is she or is she not fine?"
Trent looked back at her. "I mean...she's alright."
We all stared at him judgingly.

"Nah, that's gotta be racist." Jaylen laughed.
"For real." Chris agreed and shook his head.
"So because I don't think she's that fine, I gotta be racist?" Trent asked.
"Yes. Because there's no fucking way." Chris agreed.
I don't actually know if Chris knows he's white. I'm not disagreeing with what he's saying right now...it's just a thought that came to mind.

"MARCUS!" Jaylen yelled.
Marcus looked then walked over while dribbling the ball between his legs. "Huh?"
"Trent said Adaeze isn't fine."
Marcus sucked his teeth and looked at Trent.
"What?!" Trent asked. "We just got different tastes."
"No matter your taste, you can't say she not fine." Jaylen stated.
"That's gotta be racist. She not fine to you 'cause she black?" Marcus asked.
"That's what I said!" Jaylen responded. "NO!" Trent yelled.
"Chris, she fine?" Marcus asked.
"As fuck." said Chris.
"Koda, she fine?"
"Yea."
"See." Marcus said. "I expected more from you, Trent."
"I can't even see her body, she's sitting down! How would I know if she's fine?"
"You at least think she's pretty?" Chris asked.
"I mean-..."
All of us groaned loudly.
"I WAS GONNA SAY YEA!" Trent shouted.

Coach blew the whistle and it was time for us to gather around.

~~~

We finished the fourth drill and the losing team had to run sprints. Luckily that wasn't me.

After this we should be done with practice.
We usually get four to five drills in including the punishments the losers have to do afterwards and sometimes doing the same drill more than once. We had the timer on the clock and only fifteen minutes left. It's been three hours.

Coach Parker pressed the buzzer to let the sprinters know they were done.

"BRING IT IN!" Coach Reyes yelled.
We all jogged to circle him.

"Alright. Schedule will stay as is. Workouts in the morning from 7 to 9, practice in the evening from 4 to 7. You all have classes between those two time frames so we should be good."
"I have a class tuesday and thursday that ends at 4:45." I spoke up.
"That's fine. Just come after."
I nodded.
"If there's no questions, get outta here."

We all headed into the locker room and some of them took off their shirts before they even got inside.

I grabbed my clothes from earlier so I could change.

"Y'all saw that girl in the bleachers?"
I put my shirt on.
"Who was that? Is she the new manager?"
"No, the manager's still Cristy. I don't know who that girl was."
"It's Koda's friend. She here because he's her ride home."
"Hey, Ko!"
I looked at him after sliding on my sweatpants.
"Put me on." said Jude.
"Don't bother. He's stingy." Marcus told him and I scoffed.
Jude sucked his teeth.

"I'm not letting her date any of you." I stated.
"What do you mean letting her? She's a grown woman. You not her dad." Marcus laughed.
"Bro, you cheated on your last girlfriend!" I reminded him. "And if I set her up with one of my teammates and that shit goes south, which it will, it'll be my fault because I knew you were a ho." I shrugged. He sucked his teeth and finished getting dressed.
"I haven't cheated on anybody. So put me on." said Jaylen.
"No."
"Why?!"
"Because he want her." Kj answered.
"That's what I've been sayin'. That's the only time a dude won't put his friends on." Marcus stated.
"You want her?" Jaylen asked me.
I grabbed my stuff then left the locker room.

I walked over to the side of the bleachers Adaeze was on. She had headphones on and her laptop in her lap. Felt bad making her sit here for three hours.

"DAISY!" I shouted with my hands cupping my mouth.
She lifted her head and saw me.
I gestured for her to come down.

She started packing up her stuff and I watched her stand then come down the bleacher stairs.

She came to the railing I stood at.
"Are you finished?" she asked.
"Yea, I'm sorry I took so long."
"It's okay. You are good."
"What do you mean?"
"At basketball." she explained.
I snickered. "Thank you. I didn't expect you to watch."
"I had to see if you were lying to me or not. But you're good so you were being honest." she teased.
I laughed. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yea."
We both walked along the railing until she could finally get out of the stands and we walked to leave the building together.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her and held the door open.
"Yes, I was afraid to buy your snacks because I'd never had them and didn't want to not like them."
"Really? The snacks in there are pretty basic but they're good. One day I'll get you a few of them so you can try it."
"Okay. We can do it when-..."
"When I try plantains?"
She shoved me and I laughed.

"All of my teammates have a crush on you." I told her.
"Oh, no no." she laughed.
"What? You don't like them?"
"No, I like you."
I snickered. "I thought you would have liked Jaylen."
"Who is that?"
"The really tall one that you already met."
"Oh, no. That is too tall. And he has pimples." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Not very handsome."
I laughed.

We kept walking and I had a question.

"How do you tell me you like me so openly?" I asked.
"Hm?"
"Like...here, people usually keep that between themselves or maybe a best friend or something but not a lot of people tell the person they like that they like him. At least not as early as you do."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. Scared I guess."
"Oh, I'm not scared." She held my arm while we walked and my hands were in my pockets. "You're just a boy. And you're handsome, if I don't say something, someone else will. I always go for things I want. Or else someone will take it before me."
I nodded.

I've never thought about it like that.

"And you're the perfect height." she added. "Very pretty skin."
I chuckled.