^ Sevyn's outfit.
"Whew, chile this workout is kicking my ass," Sevyn said as she worked out beside Simone who just laughed at her.
"Girl you only been working out for ten minutes how are you am athlete?" Simone said causing Sevyn to laugh just as Thea walked in.
"All right, listen up, everyone. Listen up. The tournament this weekend is do-or-die, ladies." Thea started as she got everyone's attention.
"We are going to be playing against some of the best players in our conference." She continued as she paced, "Now, for those of you who can impress Coach Loni and land at least fifth place, you'll be moving up the team rankings. Your opponents are listed outside of Coach Loni's door." Thea said making everyone look at Coach Loni's door.
"You're dismissed." She said making everyone rush to the door.
Sevyn looked to see that she was playing Liza Simmons, Sevyn had seen videos of the girl play and she was definitely aggressive on the court the girl had weak spots that Sevyn was gonna figure out.
"Hmm. Ooh." Thea said as she looked at the opponent's list.
"Heh! That doesn't sound good. Who'd you get?" Simone asked causing Sevyn to chuckle.
"Oh, I'm not worried about me. You're playing Helena Adams. She is the number-2 player in our conference, literally the only player who made me sweat last season." Thea said as she inhales sharply before looking at Simone, "Get ready."
"Good luck, that girl is good but you got this," Sevyn said while patting Simone's back before grabbing a towel and leaving.
"And I thought Thea and I were trading in our frenemies bag for a full-time friend one, but she literally tried to psych me out today." Simone as they sat in the lounge eating Chinese food while Sevyn opted out of Chinese and got Chipotle instead.
"Key word is "tried." A bad bitch cannot get psyched out, and you, my friend, are a textbook bad bitch." Nate told her with a smile.
Sevyn high fived Nate while saying, "Period."
"I receive that. Thank you." Simone with a chuckle.
"Keish? You here with us, girl?" Sevyn asked her, she had been zoned out since they got their food.
"Yeah, I'm just not hungry, I guess. This Chinese food is not it." Keisha said while she put her food down.
"Mmm, OK. You want to try again?" Simone asked her.
"Right because you really want us to believe this mood has nothing to do with Cam? Have you talked to him since you stood him up?" Sevyn asked with a smirk.
"No, but this mood's not about him. It's not entirely... about him." Keisha started as she showed Sevyn and Simone a picture of her mother.
"This is your mom?" Simone asked as she took the phone.
"She's beautiful." Sevyn complimented.
"Yeah, her birthday's on Sunday. In Filipino culture, birthdays of someone who's passed away are a big deal. We go to their grave and we celebrate them. 'Cause of work, this is the first year me and my dad can't fly back to Detroit for her birthday." Keisha said as Simone handed her back her phone, "Does not help that he and I aren't speaking right now, either."
Simone grabbed Keisha's hands before saying, "Keish, I'm really sorry, but you're not alone. You got us."
Keisha looked at Nate and then at Sevyn who were both nodding their heads in agreement.
"Thank you... Mm-hmm. But I think I really need to fly solo this weekend, so--" Keisha started but Nate cut her off as she put food down and sat on the coffee table.
"Oh, if you think we're gonna let you sulk alone, then you must have us confused with your less cute best friends," Nate said causing them to chuckle as she grabbed Nate's hand.
"OK, fine, but, no, I--I really do have to go. I promised Dr. P. That I'd help her set up for the summit, so..." Keisha said.
"Oh."
"Love y'all," Keisha said to them.
"Love you."
"Love you too Keish," Sevyn said with a smile.
"Love you, too," Simone said before Keisha stood up and left. When she was out of hearing range they started to talk.
"So two days is enough time to research and plan a traditional Filipino birthday celebration, right?" Sevyn offered.
"I've done medium-sized box braids in under 3 hours." Nate started causing Sevyn and Simone to look at her in shock as she continued, "There are few things I cannot accomplish."
"OK," Sevyn said as she high-fived Nate.
"Period." The three of them said as they started to laugh.
While Sevyn was practicing on the court for the tournament she could feel someone watching her so she turned to see her opponent Liza Simmons.
"What can I do for you?" Sevyn asked as she crossed her arms.
"Nothing at all." Liza said while she looked Sevyn up and down before saying, "just looking at some number two queen of the court reject."
Sevyn was about to walk over to her but Damon rushed over and pulled her to his side as Sevyn gave her a fake smile.
"I'ma wipe the court with yo ass today. You'll see why I'm undefeated, be gone." Sevyn dismissed her with a fake smile causing the girl to scoff and walk away.
"Damn I thought baseball was competitive," Damon said with a laugh.
"She got lucky because of you Damon, 'cause I would've smacked her with this racket right upside her head," Sevyn said as Damon laughed.
"Look don't let that girl get you outta character, Sev you got this. I'll see you for your interview later," He said before they did their handshake and kissed her on her cheek before heading off with his teammates.
"A warm welcome to the Marietta Tennis Invitational. Our first matchup today, we'll see Helena Adams versus Simone Hicks." The court announcer spoke as Sevyn, Keisha, and Nate cheered for her.
"Simone, we're here."
"Go get 'em, boo!"
Sevyn looked over at Thea who had a nervous look on her face.
"Simone is too into her head right now," Thea told her.
"Yeah I tell, I always tell don't let these girls see her sweat," Sevyn told her as they watched Helena step on the court with a smirk.
They watched Helena serve first and Simone had missed the ball earning a snarky comment from some of the opposing side's teammates. She had been off her game since the match started up and the snarky comments didn't make anything better.
"How embarrassing for Bringston." A girl from the buffalo's team teased.
They watched as Simone missed every serve Helena make in disappointment at how she swung wildly.
"Who taught her to swing?"
It took a lot for Sevyn not to kick the girl in the back as she teased Simone, they watched Simone close her eyes and jump to shake the nerves away.
"Helena Adams is up 5-2. The score is love-30."
"Yes!" Simone cheered as she got a point but was short-lived when the umpire called, "Foot fault!"
"Wait. What?"
"It's giving loser of the court."
"If I were her, I'd never show my face on the court again."
Simone got tired of the two talking about her and threw her racket to the ground before yelling, "Oh, my god! Shut up!"
"Racket abuse. Point penalty--Hicks. Game, set, match--Adams."
"Our next matchup today, we'll see Liza Simmons versus Sevyn Baker-Wade."
"Make sure you watch your mouth when you step on our court," Sevyn said to Liza who was sitting in front of her before making her way to her side of the court after the coin toss.
"Yass Sevyn!!" Nate yelled.
"You got this Sev!"
Sevyn winked at Liza before serving the ball with a grunt Liza hit the ball in time Sevyn quickly hit the ball back over with an Overhead shot causing Liza to miss the ball giving Sevyn her first point.
"One-love"
On the second serve, Sevyn hit the ball with a Tweener shot, Liza hit the ball but causing it to go out giving Sevyn her second point.
"Two- love."
The game continued as Sevyn moved quickly on her feet making sure to cover the court.
"Sevyn Baker-Wade is up 6-1. The score is love-30."
Sevyn served the ball making sure to watch her feet, Liza hit the ball Sevyn quickly rush and hit the ball backhand making Liza to miss the ball as she fell.
"Game, set, match-Baker-Wade." The umpire announced the crowd cheered as Sevyn walked over to Liza.
"Next time don't come on the court so cocky and lose," Sevyn said with a fake smile while shaking her hand before walking away.
"Congrats on the win," Damon said as soon as he saw Sevyn who walked over to him with a smile.
"Thank you, Damon." She said before sitting in the seat across from him and placing her duffel bag on the floor next to her.
"You ready?" He asked Sevyn nodded her head as Damon pressed record.
"So Sevyn when you think about who you are as a person, what do you think influences you more-- nature or nurture?"
"Nature and nurture are both very important in development. But of the two, in my opinion, I cling to nurture having the most influence as to who I am as a person." Sevyn tells Damon.
"Why is that?"
"You heard the saying "you are a product of your environment"?" Sevyn asked Damon.
"Yeah."
"Environment can include the physical environment in which you grow up but the environment can also mean the opportunities you are given. Including me developing as an athlete I had access to the absolute best coaches, programs, technologies, and supportive parents." Sevyn listed.
"So how to differentiate the two?"
"Regardless of anything, there are two sides to the debate. To be on the side of nature I believe that DNA and heredity make us who we are. In the case of sports, an athlete is born with genes that give them the ability to excel in a certain sport. But on the other hand, I believe that we become who we are because of the environment and people around us."
"So who is Sevyn outside of sports?" Damon asked causing Sevyn to smile.
"Outside of tennis it took me a while to figure out who I was without a tennis racket in my hands granted I'm still learning my life has been nothing but tennis and school. But outside of that, I don't know who I am." Sevyn said as she sighed.
"But I'm working on that when I came here to Bringston for homecoming last year everything about here just felt like I needed to be here, it felt like I could find myself outside of Beverly Hills and who my parents are."
"Welcome back to day two of the Marietta Tennis Invitational. Today, we have Simone hicks versus Sovale Murray."
Thea and Sevyn watched as Simone jumped and sang the ABCs.
"You told her Becca's things" Sevyn questioned as she looked at Thea.
"I didn't think she would do it," Thea said causing Sevyn to laugh.
Simone scores her first point of the match causing Sevyn to clap. Sevyn could see that Simone was getting in her head as she missed the ball.
"She's getting in her head again." Sevyn pointed out.
"Oh, my god. She's going down again." Thea said to Sevyn.
"Match is tied, 3 apiece. Murray serves hicks with an advantage 40-15."
Simone hit the ball causing the ball to hit the net they watch Simone rush over to the bench to take a breather. Sevyn look to see Thea take the sign from the girl sitting next to them.
"Sorry." She says as she takes the marker and writes on the back. Writing Zone=Love.
"Simone," Thea called causing Simone to look at her reading the sign as Sevyn gives her a thumbs up.
Simone looks at the two before turning her attention back on the court and serving the ball hit back and forth until her opponent missed the ball.
"Yeah!" Thea and Sevyn yelled as they clapped.
"This next ones for the match. Hicks serving Murray, 40-15."
"Yes!"
"Whoo!" Thea and Sevyn cheered happily for Simone as she won the game Simone shakes her opponent's hands.
Thea and Sevyn rushed down to Simone with smiles on their faces, "Congrats on pulling out that win!"
"I really couldn't have done it without you," Simone said to Thea.
"Uh, all I did was yell at you, which is my new favorite thing, by the way," Thea said causing to smirk at Simone.
"No. You're a badass on the court, but what you did for me, that was Thea Mays off the court, and it turns out she is freakin' dope, too."
"Don't thank me yet; you still have another match to win. Are you ready?" Thea said holding her fist out.
"Hell yeah. I got this." Simone said while she bumped her fist.
"I am so proud of you Simone," Sevyn says while pulling her into a hug.
"Thank you, Sev."
Nate covered Keisha's eyes as she, Sevyn, and Simone led her to Amara's apartment, family dinner tonight was going to bring a little different.
Nate snickered, "OK, I know I was a little harsh on you earlier, but is this entirely necessary?" Keisha tried to negotiate.
"Yes, it is. Now, hush." Nate said causing Keisha to pout.
"OK. Open your eyes." Sevyn told her.
Keisha looked to see they had an altars filled with pictures of Keisha with her mother and candles lit and a table full of Filipino cuisine.
"Y'all remixed family dinner into a traditional birthday party for my mom," Keisha said as her voice broke.
"Tsk. Since you couldn't celebrate at your mom's grave, we brought the celebration to you." Nate said as Amara and Damon got closer to them.
"We wanted to make this as authentic and honest as possible. We hope it's OK that we did this." Amara said while she helped Keisha put on the jacket.
"It's incredible." Keisha said while sniffling, "Oh, I don't know what I did to deserve y'all. Thank you. I love you." Keisha said before pulling them all into a hug.
"We love you, too," Amara said just as there was a knock on the door Amara went to go answer it.
"I love you, too," Simone said Keisha pulled her into a hug.
"I love you too Keish," Sevyn said as she pulled away from the hug to wipe Keisha's face she moved to hug Damon before looking at the pictures.
"Keisha." President Allen said causing them to all look at him, "I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but we should be together today." Keisha rushed into her father's arms.
"Cheer."
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
"Oh, cheers."
Sevyn's IG posts