kiara pov
i look at the clock as the long hand slowly makes it way toward the 5. i close my notebook and slide it in my bag. i close my textbook. i zip my bag and glance at the teacher. i slide the textbook under my seat. the bell rings. i toss my book bag over my shoulder. i pull out my phone from my back pocket. i zoom out of the room and head towards the bus lot.
"hey kiara." will says walking up beside me.
"hey will." i reply.
"we're meeting at your house right?" he asks. he opens the door for me as we walk out of the school. the both of us make our way across the bus lot.
"yea." i reply.
"ok. what time should i be there?" he asks. we walk down the stairs and towards a bench.
"since the game starts at 7, be there around 5." he looks at me as if i have two heads. "it's an hour and a half drive, so bring a charger too."
"alright." he says. cameron and aj walk up to us.
"hey will." cameron says. he daps him up.
"hey man." will replies. cameron turns his attention to me.
"hey kiara." he smiles.
"hey." i smile back.
"i was wondering if i could talk to you for a minute." he looks at me expectantly. i nod my head.
"sure." he grabs my arm gently and leads me a few feet away from aj and will.
"i was just wondering if i could meet you after the game. i wanna talk to you about something." he says.
"uh, sure. just text me the details." i say. he nods his head with a smile.
"ok. i'll see you later." he beams.
"see you later." i reply. he turns around and heads back toward the school. aj follows him. i slowly walk up to will. aliana skips at us.
"what was that about?" she asks.
"i was just about to ask the same question." will says.
"he wanted me to meet him somewhere after the game." i say.
"and you said yes?" will asks.
"yea. i didn't want to hurt the guy. i've rejected him so many times. i don't know how much more rejection he'll take." i elaborate.
"ok. if you're sure." aliana says hesitantly.
"i already told him i would. i can't back out now. it'll crush him." i say.
"i guess they really don't call it a crush for no reason." will says.
"tell me about it." i sigh. aliana and i say our goodbyes to will and walk down to the football field. isaiah is running with the rest of the team. he spots me and runs up to me.
"hey. what's up? why are you here?" he asks.
"dads gonna pick you up today." i say.
"why can't you pick me up?" he asks.
"i'm going to that game today and i have to leave early for it." i briefly explain.
"fine. but tell him we finish 10 minutes earlier so he'll be on time." he says.
"i will. don't worry." i reply. "don't forget to call uriah. you know he gets mad when he doesn't hear from us on his birthday."
"i won't." he heads back down to the field.
"i love you!" i yell after him.
"i love you too. now leave." he yells back. i smile as aliana and i walk to my car.
~~~
i pull up to my house. aliana and i get out and head inside. my dads sitting on the couch as usual.
"hey dad." i say.
"hey." he replies.
"we're going upstairs." i yell walking up the stairs.
"ok." he yells back. aliana heads up the stairs behind me. as soon as i enter my room, i toss my bag next to my desk and flop on my bed. aliana tosses her bag beside mine and sits in my desk chair.
"are you gonna change?" she asks.
"no. why would i?" i ask, sitting up on my elbows.
"because we might meet mikey williams." she says.
"and?" i question.
"ok. i won't bother you about your outfit." she says.
"what's wrong with my outfit?" i look down at my outfit. i'm wearing a tan sweater, black high waisted pants and white forces.
"it's screams white girl." she says.
"even the forces?" i ask.
"yes." she nods.
"i'm only changing my shoes." i walk into my closet and take out my vachetta tan low-top forces. i place them beside my bed.
"aight." she says.
the doorbell rings.
"that must be will and kate." i say.
i walk down the stairs. i open the front door. will and kate stand on the other side.
"you ready?" will asks.
"what time is it?" i ask.
kate pulls out her phone. "4:26."
"ok. we'll leave in a little." i say. i step aside to let them in. i close the door behind them as they walk in. "we'll be in my room dad."
"ok."
we walk upstairs and into my room. aliana lays on my bed.
"is that what you're wearing?" kate asks, pointing to aliana.
"no. i'm changing later." she says.
"ok." kate sighs.
we stayed in my room talking. will and aliana wanted to talk about cameron but i brushed them off. that's the one thing i didn't want to talk about. we ended up leaving later than expected because we lost track of time. aliana drove. i sat in the passenger seat and will and kate sat in the back.
aliana pulls up to the gym. it's packed with barely anywhere to park. we eventually find a parking spot and hop out the car. we walk into the gym. aliana shows the lady at the door our tickets. she smiles politely and hands them back after tearing the bottom piece off. we walk inside and sit with the student section from BA. will daps up a few of them, then sits beside us.
the teams start warming up. i pull out my phone and open instagram. i scroll through my timeline.
"kiara. pay attention." aliana says.
"they're just warming up." i complain.
"just look." she snatches my phone from me and shoves it in her purse.
"aliana!" i exclaim.
"watch." she says. i roll my eyes and turn my attention to watch the teams warm up.
after a few minutes of boredom, the game starts. both teams get ready for jumpball. i watch as one of the guys on BA tips the ball to ed. he dribbles down the court. he passes to a teammate. they move the ball around a little more. eventually, ed ends up with the ball again behind the three point line. he shoots. it goes in. i smile and clap as the student section cheers loudly.
mikey brings the ball down the court. he drives to the basket and lays it up. it goes in. ed brings the ball up the court. he lobs it toward the basket. one of his teammates catches the lob and dunks it in the basket. the student section goes crazy.
it wasn't until the end of the first quarter when cameron and aj showed up. cameron sat behind me and aj sat beside him. i was a little nervous to see him after the game today. i have no idea what he wants to talk about. not to mention, the way he asked me about it was a little sketchy.
"three points, sean baker." the announcer says. i roll my eyes.
"don't be so mean, kiara." one of the guys from BA says.
"yea aight." i reply.
"kiara. your phone is ringing." aliana says. she takes my phone from her purse and hands it to me.
isaiah❤︎
"give me a minute." i say. aliana nods her head. i walk out of the gym and into the hallway. i answer the phone.
"what is it isaiah?" i ask.
"dads not here." he says.
"then why didn't you call him?"
"i did. he didn't answer." he complains.
"ok let me try." i hang up with isaiah and call dad. it rings but he doesn't answer. i call isaiah back.
"hello?" he says.
"do you have your key?" i ask.
"yea." he says.
"see if someone can drop you off at home because it'll take me over an hour to get there." i say.
"ok." he says hesitantly.
"let me know when you get home, ok?"
"alright." he says.
"ok. i love you." i say.
"i love you too."
"bye."
"bye."
i hang up and turn back to walk toward the gym. i see liberty heights walking to the locker room. mikey williams looks at me. my heart rate picks up as we make direct eye contact. he smiles and looks away. i ignore him and brush it off, walking back into the gym. i look at the scoreboard. halftime. i walk up the bleachers and sit beside aliana.
"what did i miss?" i ask.
"nothing much. a couple dunks here and there. a couples steals." aliana replies.
"wow, that was so in depth. thank you." i say sarcastically.
"you're welcome." she replies, just as sarcastic.
BA was up by 7 at the half. 46-39. when the teams came back out after halftime, that's where things started to get heated. Liberty Heights was coming back. throughout the third quarter, points were being scored left and right. Liberty Heights had more steals and points in the third quarter than BA. by the end of the third quarter, the score was 63-60. BA was up.
"ed better pull through today." will says.
"he will." aliana says.
the fourth quarter starts. mikey takes the ball down the court. the whole BA student section starts chanting.
"overrated!!" they chant. i smile. mikey looks up at the student section. he pulls up from deep. it goes in. he looks at the student section and places a finger over his mouth. the student section stops chanting. i look back at the guys in the student section.
"oh, it's quiet now." aliana says.
"be quiet ali." aj says.
the game continues. liberty heights ended up winning by 13. most of the guys in the student section got up and left as soon as the game was over. cameron, aj, kate, will, aliana and i stayed back a little to talk to the team. i walk down the bleachers and stop at the end of the steps. ed walks up to us.
"kiara!" he exclaims. i smile and pull him into a hug.
"hey ed." i smile. he releases me from the hug. "you did so good today."
"we lost." he replies.
"you still did good." i say.
"i see you brought the crew." he smiles. he daps up will.
more like they brought me.
"ali!" ed exclaims.
"hey ed." aliana says, with a small smile on her face.
"you not excited to see me?" he asks.
"ehh." she shrugs.
"wow."
i suddenly feel someone's presence behind me, then i feel a tap on my shoulder. i turn around. mikey williams stands tall in front of me.
"hey." he smiles.
"uh, hey." i reply. i glance back at aliana. she smiles as she watches our interaction.
"i saw you in the BA student section." he says.
"yep." i reply dryly.
"you go to BA?" he asks.
"nah. i just know a few people from BA." i reply.
"mmhm. what's your name?"
"why you wanna know?" i ask, defensively.
"a guy can't ask for your name?" he questions.
"not if he has ulterior motives." i answer folding my arms.
"then let me have your number." he states.
"why would i give you my number?" i ask.
"because i'm interested." he smiles.
"well i'm not interested." i say. i hear a sigh behind me.
"girl give this man your number." aliana says from behind me. i turn around and look at her. i mouth a 'no.' she nods her head. "yes." she says quite loudly. i look behind her at cameron. he's looking off to the side with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"hey kiara." i sigh as i hear sean's voice. i look to my right to find a sly smile on his face.
"hey." i reply hesitantly.
"you come out here to see me?" he asks.
"i came to see ed." i reply uneasily. aliana walks down the steps and stands beside me.
"you wanna get out of here?" she asks.
"yea." i reply.
"ok." she grabs my hand. cameron comes down the steps.
"hey." mikey grabs my arm ever so gently, i barely noticed. "you ok?" he asks.
the thought of how he knew i wasn't ok scrambles my mind. i'm not sure how he recognized my discomfort.
"yea, i'm fine." i reply.
"no you're not." he says.
i was taken aback by his words and his sudden urgency to make sure i was ok.
"i'm fine. seriously." i say, trying to assure him.
"you're not. seriously." he says.
"cameron, get out my face man. i could have her back in a quick second." sean says.
cameron's fists clench. aj stands behind him with his hand on his shoulder.
"you wanna leave?" aliana asks me.
"yea." i say.
"come with me." mikey says.
"what?"
"come with me. i'll stay with you." mikey repeats.
aliana looks back and fourth at us. she sighs.
"can you take her home?" aliana asks.
"yea." mikey says.
"ok."
"so you're not gonna ask me?"
"just go, kiara. you'll be fine. i promise. i'd rather you go with him. call me if you need me." she says. mikey grabs my hand. i look down at our hands, then up at him. i look back at aliana.
"ali."
"just go."
he pulls me away from my group of friends. i watch as they get further in distance, until they disappear around the corner.
♕⚤♔
~TT