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"Thank y'all so much for coming. I know it is super last minute." Simone said as she helped Amara and Soraya cook in the woman's kitchen.
"Please. We were not gonna miss the opportunity to celebrate our girl making the tennis team." Nate said as she walked over the girls in the kitchen. "Okay!" Kendra said as she walked over and hugged her new teammate from the back.
"And it looks like you're not only being celebrated here." Keisha said, showing Simone her phone to see the Yard Yack posts where she was hitting a split as she hit the tennis ball.
"Oh my. Girl you was going crazy, wasn't it?" Soraya said as she glanced at the phone. "Yeah she did" Amara praised. "You look so good, girl." Deja said, looking at the photo. "That's what's up." Damon praised. "Going crazy."
Keisha playfully cleared her throat, making everyone look at her. Soraya looked over at her to see the girl looking her way with a smirk. Swiping up so everyone could see the next post, which was Soraya's beam routine from earlier. "And let's not pretend like we all didn't see this video. Not only is it on Yard Yack, it's on news websites." Keisha said, showing everyone the video of Soraya's flawless flips and her terrific triple axel. The room erupted into ooh's and ahh's all through out the video, while Soraya just continued to cook with her head down.
"Oh, girl you did your thing. That was amazing." Simone spoke up, smiling at Soraya. Everyone else started to chime in with their own praises. "And looked beautiful while doing it, now that's a skill." Nate chimed in, making Keisha point at him in agreement. "Flawless." Deja said.
"If that gold medal isn't yours, just know imma be pissed." Damon said, pointing at her as he squinted his eyes, making Soraya laugh. Amara looked at him with a chuckle. "You and me both." She said, playfully nudging the girl next to her. Soraya thanked them for all their kind words and praises before going back to looking at the food she cooked.
"Yeah, but I don't know what them other girls are looking like. Sometimes I feel like I don't work hard enough." She sighed, not looking up at them. Her conversation with Enzo coming back to her mind. At the time, she had nothing to do but defend herself. She didn't want to look like some whimp in front of him. But after it all went down, she couldn't help but think maybe his words were right.
"Yeah, I get how you feel. I still lost Queen of the Court to Kendra." Simone said but with a smile still on her face.
Kendra looked up at the girl once the video finished, walking over and lightly slapped her shoulder. "Don't act like that. You know you killed it. I can't wait until next week's tournament. Imma be out there like a proud mama." Kendra said, pretending to fake cry as she held a hand up to her face and the other out in a stop motion. The room laughed at her while Soraya smiled a little. She then looked off in thought. Has my mom been to any of my competitions?... She asked herself.
"And Simone, don't make me pull out my racket and beat you with it. You're still on the team and you still killed it." Kendra said once she broke character, giving Simone a fake glare. "It's still my court though, don't get it twisted." She said, look the girl up and down, causing the room the laugh.
"Look at my girls." Nate piped up, looking at the two girls. "Both of your roads have been bumpy as hell but yall managed to get everything y'all needed." Nate told them, wrapping her arms around them both as she stood between them.
"And what did Alicia Keys say in 'Superwoman'?" Keisha chimed in. "What did she say, Keisha?" Deja asked, playing along.
"Even when you're a mess, you still put on a vest." Keisha said. "I know that's right." Kendra said, fanning herself like a lady in chruch. "With an 'S' on your chest." Keisha finished.
"Oobashata!" Deja yelled as if she was catching the Holy Ghost, making the room erupt into laughter. "Y'all now I love me some Alicia Keys, now." Deja told them.
Simone walked over and helped Damon set the table. She wasn't really listening to their conversation since she was in her own head, but she heard something about Jr and that made her speak up. "Hey, um...is Cam and Jr okay. That fall was pretty hard and I feel bad that Jr had to find me like that." She said, her voice lowering as more people turned to look at her. The room got silent at her words, causing Soraya to tense in worry. Seeing her nevers getting the best of her, Damon was the first to speak, walking over to the girl. "They're fine. Cam is...ok. He's just resting from the fall. And Jr is perfectly fine, he's still playin ball." Damon told her, raising his hands in a calming motion. He was about to place them on her shoulders but took in Jarvis's words after the incident.
Soraya looked him in the eyes for a sec before nodding. "I also want to say sorry to you. I didn't mean to snap on you like that. It's just..." The girl trailed off, looking at the rest of the room. She saw all eyes on her and her anxiety started to spike. "Uh, it's just a thing I have." She said, shrugging as she went back to cooking. Damon glanced at the other people in the room, all of them looking between the two. "It's totally fine Soraya. I get it." She said, patting the girl on the back softly.
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"Time!" Kendra yelled as she pressed her thumb down on the stop watch. Today's tennis practice consisted of getting Simone's stats now that she was an official member of the tennis team.While Kendra timed Simone's speeds she couldn't hide the proud smile that was watched into her features. She felt so happy for the girl, knowing all the hard work she put in. Stopping the stopwatch Kendra yelled, "Time!" again.
Simone walked over to the other girls, panting, "So?" She asked. Kendra tried to play mean, looking at the girl as she paused for dramatic affect, but a smile weaved it's way into her face. "6:52!" She said happily as the team cheered behind her. "Yes! Yes. Oh." Simone panted, placing her hands onto her knees as she caught her breath.
"Come check this out!" Kendra said as another girl on the team passed her the bag she was holding. She dropped the bag in front of Simone. "Open it up."
Simone opened the bag, chuckling as she saw all the official Bringston Tennis team paraphernalia inside. Kendra smiled at her reaction, taking a seat next to the bag as she looked up at the girl with a smile. "Just a little drip so you can look and feel your best on the court." She told her, moving her own shoulders in excitement. Everyone could tell she put this together herself by the way she was so happy about the gift.
"Wow, y'all, this is more than I could even ever imagine." Simone said, looking at each of the girls before smiling down at Kendra, who showed all her white teeth with her smile.
"Congrats again on officially making the squad." Jerika spoke up, causing all the girls to clap, Kendra being the extra girl she was and jumping up and down as she cheered. I mean, she want called the cheerleader for nothing. Not only did she do it in high during tennis off season, shes also just super bubbly. If I ever pledge, I want that to be my name. The cheerleader...do I come up with my own name? Kendra thought to herself.
"Hey. Thank you, y'all." Simone said with a smile before putting the bag on her shoulders. She turned to Kendra, who was already holding her arms open with a large smile on her face. Simone walked over and Kendra pulled her into a tight hug, rocking the girl from side to side, making them both laugh. "You just don't know how happy I am. Some people on this team were getting insufferable." She said, pulling away. Turning, they both looked to see an Thea standing on the court, looking at Simone with an odd look on her face before she walked off.
"Girl, don't trip on her. She's just...being her usual self." Kendra said, putting her arm around the girls shoulder and walking off.
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"Can't believe we lost. Again." Santiago said as the boys filed into the right room, sullen looks on their faces from another bad game.
"I mean, only by a run, bro." Jr said, trying to cheer the team up. "Which says a lot about our team. It's not like we're bad." Jarvis said, putting his things down.
"Look, at least, we didn't get our ass whooped, all right?" Damon spoke up, looking at the guys. "It's progress." The guys all filed in the room, tailing seats on empty machines, anything that didn't move or had a cushion. "I don't know how much more losing I can take." Santiago said.
Coach Turner then walked into the room, catching everyone's attention. "All right, circle up fellas." He yelled, clapping his hands. "Enough with the poor body language. Heads up, now." Coach said, making everyone stand up and fix themselves, walking closer to hear the man. "I just want to say I'm proud of the hard work I saw out there today, guys. And we still have time to turn it around." He said, looking around at the boys. Jr nudged Jarvis, causing the boy to look at him. He then slightly nodded his head in Damon direction, making him looking at the other guy who who nudged his head towards coach. Getting the gist of what they were saying, he nodded his head. So, keep them damn head up, y'all and let's get back to it tomorrow." He finished. "All right, come on. Pick up the sport now, now. Come on!" He clapped, acing them to clap with him enter walking away.
"Hey, yo, Coach." Jr yelled as he, Jarvis and Damon ran to catch the man before he got to far.
"What's up?" He asked, turning to look at the boys.
"We gotta do something about the team morale being in the dirt like this." Jr said, looking back at the rest of the sad team. "I mean, it's like everybody giving up before the season even starts." He said.
"Heys, that's part of starting over, Jr. Building a championship team back up from the ground is gonna hurt a little." He said, looking at each of them. "Or a lot."
"Then we do what we can to keep it to a little." Damon said.
"What about a new image?" Jarvis spoke up, causing the group to look at him. "Disconnect from the old team, all the scandal and bad vibes." She said, waving his hands like he was pushing said bad buses away.
Jr and Damon smirked at his words, nodding their heads. "Maybe, like, some new uniforms. Fresh equipment. That could help turn the team momentum back around." Jr smiled, trying to convince the man.
"This baseball program is already on thin ice. Ain't no way they're gonna give us more money." Coach Turner told them, causing their smiled to drop.
"What about individual sponsors? College athletes, they can receive N.I.L. Endorsements now. We can pull in our own money." Damon said, glancing at Jarvis as he talked. "I mean, everybody having a little piece of their own change, Coach. That can make a big difference."
"No, Damon, the last thing we need right now is an already fragile team competing with each other for attention, man." Coach Turner told him. "All right." He said, looking at each of them before walking into his office. The boys watched him go, beat down looks on their faces.
"You're gonna make some call anyway, aren't you?" Jr said as she looked at Damon. Said boy smiled at the two. "It's just a few old contacts." He chuckled. "I don't know man. Coach seemed pretty adamant that he wasn't with it." Jarvis said as they started walked away from the man's office door.
"I'm just gonna check the pulse to see if they're interested in in a few potential sponsorships." Damon said, looking between the boys. "All right? Imma worry about the Coach Marcus part later." He said, patting them on their shoulders before walking off. Jarvis and Jr smirked at each other before waking away with him. Maybe I can ask my dad?... Jarvis thought.
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"Nate, I can't not thank you enough for letting me crash here these past couple of days." Simone said. The girls were all in Nate's room doing different tasks. Nate was sitting in front of her mirror fixing hair on her mannequin head, Keisha was making goodie bags, Kendra was plucking her uni-brown with a handheld mirror, Deja was painting her toe nails while Soraya smiled at her phone, texting Cash.
"It's all good." Nate smiled at her though the mirror. "No sense in stressing trying to commute back and forth from your aunt Amara's when there's plenty of space here." She told her with a smile.
"Hello? Could y'all at least...pretend not to make undercover arrangements in front of your R.A." Keisha spoke up, looking between the two as they laughed. Soraya raised her head, looking at them.
"With that being said, I was thing about getting a kitten." She spoke up, shrugging her shoulders. Keisha snapped her head over to the girl beside her with her moth open. "Or a small dog. I don't know, what do you guys think?" She joked, pretending not to see her R.A as the rest laughed.
"You got a lot goin on. Especially since our girl officially made the tennis squad." Nate said to Simone, turning around in her seat. Keisha, Kendra and Soraya cheered while Deja stopped what she was king and clapped her hands.
"Yeah, but I don't think everybody's too happy about it." Simone spoke up, and before Kendra could even say think of a smart remark, she reiterated. "Well, not as happy as Kendra. She's the happiest person there is." Simone laughed, smiling over at the girl. Kendra nodded her head, holding out a heart to the girl.
"I thought Thea and I had a nice moment after Queen of the Court, but now she's back to being mad that I even made the team." Simone sighed.
"Girl, duh. You're her new competition. It was Kendra before you but she had to get over it at some point. Soraya would be better than her if she played as much as y'all did. And she's in the team." Keisha said, waving over at the two girls she named as they did their own thing, listening to them talk. Hearing her name, Soraya chimed in. "Hey, I know we all remember homecoming. I won that match. I'm good." The girl defended herself, a small pout in her lips.
Keisha rolled her eyes at the girl, waving her off. "Let's not get her started. She's too competitive for her own good." Keisha said. Soraya looked at Simone. "Everything a competition." She whispered while nodding her head, causing Simone to chuckle.
"She's just trying to psych you out." Keisha finished.
"Forget her. What she gone do?" Nate ask the girl, smirking.
"Make tennis a living hell." Simone said, looking at the girl. "She's the team captain and all the girls follow her lead. Her and Kendra play good cop and cop and guess who the good one is." Simone said, causing the whole room, even Deja who was really concentrated on her toes, to look over at the girl with the tweezers near her face. She smiled at them without looking, still focused on pulling out hairs.
"She's wields the power." Simone finished.
"Ok, well, if Thea's still tripping I can just throw this gift bag in the trash." Keisha said. "Or at her head. Whichever works." She smiled. Nate and Kendra chuckled.
"Mm." Simone said, looking at Keisha funny.
"What? I make gift bags for all my residents when their birthdays are coming up." Keisha defended herself. "Thea's birthday's in a couple of days. Which reminds me, we have another birthday in the room coming up soon." Keisha said, nudging Kendra with her foot. Her words made the girls around her oooh in excitement while the girl rolled her eyes. "Chill y'all, I don't even do birthdays like that." She said before a knock sounded on the door.
Nate got up to answer it, opening the door for a small girl to enter. She liked around the room until her eyes landed on Keisha. "I need to talk to you." She said sternly before walking away. "Ok." She said before getting up from the bed. When she got to the door, she looked around tat the other girls with a confused look on her face, rolling the girl out.
"She looks familiar. Do I know her?" Soraya thought out loud, making the other girls think as well.
"I just wanna know why she had such an attitude." Deja chimed, taking a look at her toes. Her words caused Nate to chuckle as she turned from closing the door.
"I think I just figured out a way to bring Thea and I together." Simone said.
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"Don't worry about the sponsorship, bro. We'll figure out another way." Jr said as she, Jarvis and Damon walked onto the field in their bear for practice.
"I don't no other ideas, bro." Damon told him.
"There all types of way to raise some extra money." Jr told him. Damon scoffed, looking at the guy. "Yeah, like what?" He asked. Jr looked over at him, pausing. "I meant give a brother a minute." He laughed trying to think. He looked off and saw a man sitting in the stands, watching the game.
"Wait y'all." Jr said, placing his hands in front of Damon and Jarvis since he was in the middle. "Who is that?" He asked, making the boys follow his line of sight to see the man as well.
"Thats Alden Pederson." Jarvis and Damon said at the same time. "The head sponsor for Sprint Flex." Damon finished.
"What? I thought you said you struck out?" Jr said, laughing in disbelief. Damon sighed as he looked at his friends. "Yeah, I did. That means somebody else is responsible." He said, looking back over near the stands. Just then, two women emerged from the dugout, one dressed way fancier than the other. The boys looked at the women in disbelief.
"Bro, is that your Mom?" Jr asked, point at the woman in the maroon dress with a blah purse in her hand. "Yeah." Damon sighed. "Who is that she's with?" He asked again. This time, it was Jarvis turn to sigh.
"That's my mom." He said, not paying attention to the boys that looked over at him in shock.
"They brought the sponsor?" Jr asked. His words made Jarvis shake his head. "I thought you said that hell would freeze over before she helped you here at Bringston." Jr said, looking at Damon.
"Yeah, I did." The boy sighed, just then, Damon's mom liked there way, seeing her son and his friend. She nudged the woman beside her as she waved her son over, causing the woman in the thick black shades and her fancy suit with heels to look over and see her baby. She smiled at him, waving him over. The boys looked at each other with a sigh before walking over.
The boys walked to the dugout with their mothers, having a seat. Damon's mom was the first to speak.
"So, what, you thought you was slick, calling around behind my back?" She said, her words directed at her son. "Those sponsors are my contacts. You could've just asked for my help."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think you you'd want to help considering how mad you got that I chose not to enter the draft." Damon told her.
Ms.Sims sighed as she walked closer to the boy. "Baby, that's water under the bridge. If this is what you want to do, we're gonna do it right." She told him. Her words sent Damon into a frenzy, already seeing which way she was about to go with this.
"No, no, ma. You cannot just come in here steamrolling-"Damon started, standing up from his seat and in front of his mom. "I'm not steamrolling." She cut him off.
"Look, Ma. There are protocols, and I just—I don't think Coach Marcus is is gone be cool with this." Damon said.
"I'm not." A voice spoke up fro behind them, making both pare of mother and son turn to the voice of Coach Marcus.
"I already expressed to you how I felt about the sponsor thing, and you went behind my back and called your mothers?" He asked, looking between the boys. Jarvis and his mother, Leanne stood up at his words.
"Nah, Coach, it's not-" Jarvis and Damon started but was cut off by their mother interrupting.
"Excuse me. Hi." Ms.Sims chimed in, walking forward along with Ms.Montgomery. "Coach Turner? Damon actually didn't call me. I heard about the teams needs and decided to come help myself." She said.
"Me as well. I wish my husband could be here with me, seeing as he was once on this very field as well. and to see it in trouble is, well troubling. But knowing that we could help the school we once went to and where me and him made history eases the pain." Leanne said, smiling softly at the man. Jarvis had to fight the urge to not roll his eyes at the woman's acting.
"Look, Ms.Sims, Mrs.Montgomery, whatever this is, I don't want it to turn into a dog and pony show around Damon and Jarvis." He said, jerking his head over to the boys behind to women. "Our focus is the team and what's best for all of them." He said, looking out at the field where the other boys played.
"Agreed." Ms.Sims said. "Which is why President Allen approved us coming here and offering my services and Mrs.Montgomery's excellent experience." She said, flashing a corporate smile. "So if you have any further issues I suggest you take that up with him. We have woke to do." Leanne said before smiling back at her son and then walking away with Ms.Sims.
Jarvis and Damon avoided Coach Marcus's eye when he stared at them, they glanced at each other before walking away to practice.
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"Let me guess, they don't have plans?" Nate asked once Simone sat down at their table. They could tell by the look on her face that she's plan didn't work the way she wanted it to.
"Nope." Simone answered.
"Well, there you go." Keisha told her.
"I think that's more of a reason why we should do something." Simone suggested. "Maybe we could throw, like, a little party."
"I think you should just let it go." Soraya said bluntly.
"See, that the problem. Everyone's so intimidated by Thea that no one actually wants to do anything nice for her." Simone said, completely missing the point.
"Or she's just a raging bitch." Kendra, Keisha and Deja said at the same time, looking at each other with small smiles on their faces. They did small high-fives as they snickered.
"Most of the time when someone doesn't celebrate something, it's for a good and valid reason." Soraya said as she sipped a strawberry milkshake. "Or the raging bitch thing." She shrugged, making Simone look at her disappointed. "What? I'm just throwing out all the possibilities here. I mean, we're cool but we're not friends. Y'all think everything's a competition with me? She's ten time worse." She justified, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I still think that we should try." Simone said, looking around the small table at them. "Even though she's tough in the surface, everyone deserves to have somebody show up for them."
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"What are you really doing here, Ma?" Jarvis asked his mother as they stood in the field, watching the people as they took shots of Jr. Leanne looked over at her son when she spoke.
"I'm here to support you. And Bringston. It's the least I could do for such an amazing school." She smiled at the boy. Jarvis just looked at her, his face blank.
"Have you talked to Soraya?" He asked. Leanne's smile flattered just a smidge, something no one else would have noticed but Jarvis did. He's been around her so much that he started to notice the fake smile. She turned her head away from the boy and looked back at the field. "No, no I haven't." She answered.
Jarvis sighed, baking his head as he liked off as well. "You been here some days and haven't spoken to your daughter?" He said, his words having some bit behind it as he spoke. Leanne snapped her head over, her smile dropping completely as she clenched her jaw.
"Didn't I tell you to stop bringing that up." She hissed at the boy.
"You have to tell her one day. I don't know how much longer I can go with this weight on my shoulders. She already struggles with being different, adding the fact that she's not your real daughter is only going to hurt more in the future." Jarvis hissed back, stepping closer to the woman.
Leanne glared at her son before flaming around to make sure no one was close by. "You don't think this hurts me too. That my only daughter isn't mine. The older she gets, the more I don't see myself in her and it hurts me. To know that my husband had some one night stand that resulted in a blessing of a little girl." Leanne said, looking her son in the eyes, water brimming in her lids.
Jarvis looked down at the ground as she clenched his jaw. "Look, Ma, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring this up here." He said sadly, wrapping his arms around the woman. Leanne hugged her son back, looking up at the sky so her tears won't fall. She pulled back from the hug and cupped his head in her hands, kissing his forehead.
"I don't want you to ever mistake my actions for hatred towards your sister. I love you both deeply, you're both blessings to me. Huge, wonderful blessings." She said, looking the boy in the eyes.
"I know, Ma, I know. But you have to tell her before it's too late. She can feel the absence, I know it." Jarvis said, pulling away form the woman. He was urging her to tell his sister the truth because he could feel the pressure building up. Everything was going so good that it could only get worse.
Leanne smiled at her some before nodding her head. "I will...just give me time." She said, looking at him. Jarvis nodded his head before kissing her cheek and running off into the felid. He met Jr halfway there, stoping to see the boy looking at a picture of a baby.
"Is that baby Dam?" He asked, chuckling at the photo over the boys shoulder. Jr jumped at his voice and tuned to him, making Jarvis look at the boy confused. "Who did you say this was?" Jr asked him seriously.
"Baby Damon? They have the same scar?" Jarvis said, pointing to his forehead. "At least it looks like him." The boy said shrugging. Jr looked at the boy, his eye slightly widening. He then patted his chest. "Come with me, I gotta tell you something." He said before walking off, the Montgomery boy following him.
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"This for a program or something?" A girl asked as she walked into the dorm common room to see Simone decorating with the help of a reluctant Soraya and Kendra while Deja typed on her computer on a couch not to far away. The girls turned their head to see the girl from earlier walking up to them before ignoring her and going back for their tasks while Simone handled it.
"It's just a little birthday thing I'm doing for a friend." Simone told her, continuing her sorting. The girl crossed her arms, putting her weight onto one leg.
"I was planning to come in here and study." She sassed. Her words caused Soraya and Deja to pause what they were doing, while Kendra just glanced at the situation form the corner of her eye every now and then as she continued fix bags. Soraya softly placed down the streams she had in her hands while Deja took her computer off her lap. The walked up behind Simone, with their arms crossed.
Simone looked the girl up and down. "Go ahead." She said, waving the girl to the available seats in the room, which were many.
"Kind of hard to do that with all of this going on." She said, gesturing to the decorated room with music playing.
"Girl the music ain't even that loud." Deja said, rolling her eyes. "Put some headphones in if it's that troubling." She said, glaring at the girl's figure.
"You know you can study in your room, as well." Simone told her.
"You know you can do all this in your room. Or Nathaniel's, or wherever you live." She said, glaring at Simone. Soraya scoffed, looking around the room to make she wasn't tripping. She then turns back tot he girl in front of her. "And what are you insinuating, miss ma'am? Or whatever you name is." Soraya said, copying her exact pose as she looked the girl up and down with a glare.
The whole situation was interrupted, though, by Thea coming up to the girls. "Ok, one of the girls in the team told me that you were were throwing me a birthday party." She said, her words directed at Simone. The girl turned her head to look at Ke far, who shrugged at her as she played with colorful tissue paper. She sighed before turning back to Thea. "Well damn. There goes the surprise."
The girl from earlier was still there, looking between Thea and Simone with a smirk as they talked. Soraya and Dena still glared at the girl.
"Can we help you, hoe?" Soraya asked, taking a few steps closer, only to be held back by Kendra, who ran up behind her and grabbed the back of her shirt. The girl gasped at her words before adjusting her purse and walking away.
"Ok, what are you trying to do?" Thea asked Simone, stepping closer to the girl.
"I'm trying to do something nice for my teammate." She answered.
Thea chuckled duly at her response. Still not believing her, she asked again. "What is this? Some kind of weird "keep you enemies close" strategy?"
"Hasn't anyone ever done something nice for you without an ulterior motive?" Simone asked Thea. There was a pause in the air, everyone knowing the answer to the question but deciding it was t their plaice to speak.
"You know, it doesn't matter, because now that you told everyone about it, I have no choice but to show up." Thea rushed out, trying to move the 'ulterior motive' conversation out of the way. "Or it looks like I'm a complete bitch." She sighed.
"Thea, it'll be fine. Trust me." Simone smiled. "The whole team will be here. At the very least, just let us celebrate you."
Thea looked as if she was contemplating on what she should do before sighing. "Yeah. Fine. I'll be there." She said before walking away. The girls were left in silence for a bit before someone decided to speak up.
"I guess Keisha wasn't playing when she said y'all were gone have her back if a fight broke out. Cause y'all was ready to step just then." Simone laughed looking at Deja and Soraya.
"Cause I don't play about my girls, and I don't play about disrespect." Deja told her, pointing her finger sassily. Soraya pointed her her, nodding her head. "What she said. Who did that heffa think she was?"
"What is that girls name though? I can't think of anything for the life of me..." Soraya spoke up, looking off in thought, trying to remember the girls names from earlier that wanted problems.
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"Happy Birthday!" Kendra and Soraya yelled as Simone and Thea rounded the corner. The rest of the girls said it in lackluster tone, sort of embarrassed at the way the room was empty for the party. The boys on the couch playing video games even said it on a bored tone.
"See, this is why I didn't want to have a party." Thea said to Simone. "I knows no one would show." She said, her voice cracking as she walked away.
Simone turned and looked at the rest of the girls, smiling softly at Soraya and Kendra for putting in the effort.
"Why did y'all tell me nobody showed up?" She asked the rest of the girls with an attitude as she began to clean the common room of all the decorations.
"Keisha, can I talk to you?" A voice spoke up as it entered to common room. Deja and Soraya turned around at the familiar voice, seeing the un-named girl from earlier, back with her usual attitude.
"She must want to get her ass whooped?" Deja mumbled to Soraya and Kendra, since they were standing closer to her.
"Can it wait?" Keisha snapped back, sick of her attitude as well. "I'm a little busy right now, Wilinda." Keisha said. Her words caused Soraya to snap her finger and turn to the girls beside her. "That's her name!" She whispered before her little excitement dwelled down. "That's an ugly ass name but I might not have room to talk." She whispered with a stank face before raising her hands in defense, causing the girls next to her to snicker.
"I want to file a formal complaint." Wilinda said, stepping closer to Keisha. "I know she's been staying here in his room, and he doesn't have the right to risk the safety of other residents by letting random people shack up in our dorms, using up our resources." She ranted. With every word she spoke, the closer Soraya and Deja got behind Keisha, Kendra trailing them as well. Once she was done, Soraya and Deja turned to each other, having silent conversation with their eyes.
"I about to get real disrespectful in this bitch." Deja said, taking out her earrings and handing them to Kendra. Soraya took off all her jewelry and handed them to the girl, who had nothing to say this time.
"First of all, Wilinda, it's she. Don't ever in you life try to pull some slick shit like that again. Especially when I'm around." Soraya said as she and Deja stepped in front of Keisha.
"And secondly, what is your problem? You've been bothering and damn near stalking us all day. It feels like you have something else to get off you chest." Deja piped in, both of them staring the girl up and down.
"Raya, Deja." Nate spoke up in a calm tone, but Simone just held her hand up the the girl, telling her to let the other girls speak.
"Come on." Keisha some up, stepping in front of the girls and walking over to Wilinda. "If you wanna file a complaint, I have the paperwork." She said, it when Wilinda made so sign in moving, she spoke again. "After you." She sassed.
Wilinda looked the girls up and down before walking away, Keisha trailing behind her.
"Why'd you let her disrespect you like that?" Simone asked Nate once the girls were out of the coming room.
"She's just trying to stir me up." Nate told her. "I know who I am. If I sat around here and tried to correct every person that misgendered me, I'd probably run out of air."
"Well it's still not cool." Simone told him. "And she's acting like a damn Karen. And honestly, if you don't handle it than I will!"
"Simone, enough!" Nate yelled. "Let it go. You need to start listening to people when they tell you what they want." Nate hissed, looking at the girl in front of him. Soraya and Deja felt bad that she was taking all the heat when they were the ones to step in and bash the girl. "Had you listened to Thea, you would've saved her the embarrassment of this—this nonexistent party." She yelled as she gestured around the room before walking out the girls and out of the common room.
Seeing Simone's defeated face, Soraya made the first move and hugged the girl, taking everyone by surprise. Simone smiled into the hug, wrapping her arms around the girls back. She guess this way her way of saying sorry without really saying it. Kendra and Deja looked at the pair before joining in as well.
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"Uh, Good evening. Thank you all for coming." Damon spoke into the microphone as he and Jarvis,who had his own mic, stood on the stage I front of the small crowd at the sponsor presentation. Damon's mom, Jarvis's mom and his sister sat in the crowd. He smiled at them, trying not to show that his dad not being here didn't hurt. "Actually...one second. Come on up here fella." Damon said, nothing his other teammate's to get on the stage.
"One of the main reason that I chose Bringston was its rich history, it's resilience, it's culture. Something nothing or no one can ever take away from it." He said, looking at the crowd. "Now, while other athletes might be chasing a bag...my teammates and I, we're chasing our legacy." He said.
Damon spoke. "While the legacy of Bringston Baseball...may be tarnished...But I can guarantee you guys that we're here to bring it back. Now you all know me and him." He said, gesturing between him and Jarvis. "Damon Sims and Jarvis Montgomery, start pitcher and outfielder. MLB hopefuls. But tonight's not just about us." He spoke up, making eye contact with his mom.
"It's about our team. Our family." Jarvis said, looking at his sisters smile. "The men who are bringing that legacy back every single day. And I want y'all to get to know them." She said, handing his mic off to Santiago.
"Santiago Reyes." He said, stepping forward. "I love being an athlete, but not just because it's dope to compete at an elite level. I'm the oldest do six kids, all boys, who pretty much copy everything I do. So, it's about being a role model, both in and off the field, for them and every other Colombian dreamer that I am proud to carry on my shoulders." He said. "I'm possibility."
"I'm Cole Higgins. I'm redemption. I lost my pop junior year of high school. Depression hit, my GPA plummeted. No college would admit me...except Bringston. Baseball kept me alive and Bringston gave me a fresh start." He finished.
"I'm the poster child for legacy. This team is a part of my direct lineage, built on the shoulders of payers who ultimately forged their own path through the negro leagues, down to my grandfather and father, who both played baseball here at Bringston. I play to honor all those great men. I play to remind the next generation that we belong in this sport. And I'm keeping the legacy going so my future son, and your son, and any son can one day continue the tradition and play baseball here at Bringston." Jr spoke before moving from in front of the podium so Coach Turner could turn on the presentation video they put together right before this.
The video played, Jr's voice from orientation night blazing through the screen as highlight reels played. Everyone clapped and cheered once the video was over, causing the boys in the stage to smile. "Again, thank you all for coming." Damon spoke into the mic. "Hope you all enjoyed it." Jarvis finished.
The boys walked off stage, talking and greeting people that walked up to them. Alden then made his way over to them. "I gotta be honest, I was not expecting that. Impressed the hell out of me." Je smiled at the boys. Damon smiled, holding his hand out for him to shake. "Thank you, Sir."
"I'll be in touch." Alden said before walking away. Jarvis face fell at his words, stuffing his hands into his pocket. "Yo, I can't believe we just did that. We just landed one of the biggest sponsors possible, bro." Cole said as he and Santiago had their own little celebration.
"No, actually, we didn't, bro." Damon spoke up, as if he was reading Jarvis's mind. Jr looked at their sullen faces, confused. "What? Bro, he just said he'll be in touch."
"That's business talk. When someone says "I'll be in touch," that actually means that they won't." Jarvis said, waking away from them.
After a while of mingling with some business people, the boys made their way back to the locker room. They boys went back to the way they were before, sad and beat down.
Coach Turner walked into the room, the sound of the door catching everyone's attention. "I know that presentation didn't go as planned. But I'll save the speech and get straight to the point." He said "After some reflecting of my own, I decided to send the team video out to some local sponsors here in Atlanta earlier today." He said, causing the room to lighten up a bit at his words. "Sever local business want to sponsor multiple players." Coach Turner smiled, causing the room to erupt into cheers.
"Dang Coach, you really can through." Jr said, smiling at the man. "What changed your mind?"
Coach Turner smiled as she looked at both Damon and Jarvis before looking around the whole room. "The leadership I saw out there tonight. All around. Y'all had each other's back in the best way. Change is scary, ok, I admit. But sometimes, it takes a little convincing and perspective to realize it's for the better."
"Now everybody may not have secured an endorsement yet, but that's doesn't mean that you all won't, all right?" He yelled at the boys. "Now, I'd like to bring in some people that wanted to speak to you all." He said, stepping aside a little. His words caused the girls to enter the room. The first person to enter the room was Mrs.Montgomery she smiled at the boys. She she took off her shades, showing her bright browns eyes to the whole room. She then beckoned over the others. Kendra, Soraya and Deja emerged, bright smiles on their faces as they smiled at the boys. They were dressed in fancy clothes, black heels adorning their feet. Soraya wore a black skirt with a black turtle neck, her gold jewelry hanging on the shirt, her hair in a half up half down, with loose curls. Kendra wore loose black trousers, with a black matching blazer and and a cream under shirt that matched the cream shades she had resting on her head that held a slick back bun. Deja had on white top with matching white, loose, trousers and a small black bag on her shoulders. Her long, small, braids handing down her back.
"Hi, guys." Soraya was the first to speak, causing some boys to speak back enthusiastically while the other girls waved at them. Jarvis glared at some of them, his smile dropping. "Alright now, let's chill." He said, looking at the boys. Damon and Jr laughed at the boy.
"What are you guys doing here?" Damon spoke up, looking at the girls confused.
"Well, through campus talk and my mom, we heard about how you guys were looking for sponsors and endorsements. So I took it upon myself to ask my girls for some help and with the help of them and my parents we created Atalanta Inc." She said, smiling at the boys.
"This company was created on to help athletes of color in every aspect. Trainers, new equipment, uniforms, what ever you can think of. And we want you guys to be our very first clients. Well, our mom's very first client. Along with your other endorsements, of course." Soraya smiled at them. Her words caused the boys to cheer again but she held up her hand in a stop motion, causing all noice to be eliminated.
"And with you guys being our very first clients, we'd like to offer special endorsements and sponsorships to each and every one of you, along with a donation check for seven hundred thousand dollars that will be spread across every sports team here at Bringston University." She said, waving her head for them to continue their cheering from before.
Damon, Jr ran up to the girls with shocked looked in their faces while the whole room cheered. "Are y'all being serious right now?" Damon asked them.
"Very serious." Soraya said as she looked over at her brother who stood behind the boys. "I wanted to help out my family the best way I could think of. And he wasn't going to ask our dad on his own so I took upon myself and used my Princess powers." She joked, putting her hands under her cheek in an adorable manner. "That and gaining money through social media. My daddy got it like that but...not like that to be giving out." Before she could say more, Damon and JR pulled the girl into a tight hug. Each of them kissing her cheeks at the same time, casing the girls cheeks to squish.
The girls behind her snickered , finding their affection for her adorable. Jarvis, on the other hand pulled the boys away from her. He glared at them. "Don't y'all ever pull that bullshit again." He hissed at the boys before turning to his sister and hugging her. "Thank you so much." He said, squeezing the girl. Soraya patted his back, pulling away to smile at him. "You're more than welcome. You know I love you, baby bro." She joked, causing the boy to roll his eyes at her. Jarvis looked at her with a smile, trying to hide the hurt behind his words. "Only by a couple of minutes." He said, glancing at his mom as he spoke.
Leanne watched her kids talk with a smile on her face. Looking down when Jarvis looked at her.
Damon then tired back to the team. "I got another suggestion." He spoke up, causing the room to look his way. "What if we take out individual endorsements and create a team fund? Pay for all the new equipment and such that we need without having to worry about they budget. Plus, with Atalanta sponsorship, that'll be money left over for us to use." He said, looking over at Coach Turner.
"That way every body wins." He smiled.
"That up to the team." Marcus told him. "Let's vote by a show of hands." He said. Hands immediately went up into the air, jr even raising both of his. "It's a deal." He said, making everyone clap.
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Simone walked across the tennis court to Thea, who was sitting down on the stands. "Hey." Simone spoke up, stopping in front of the girl.
Thea didn't answer her, continuing to look off in thought. Simone sighed, storing yo the concrete steps and to take a seat behind the girl. "Look, I was t trying to tryin your birthday. I really did just want to celebrate you with your friends." Simone told her.
"Have you ever seen me with friends?" Thea asked her. Simone looked down at her hands, not being able to come up with an answer. "And the girls from the team don't count. They only tolerate me 'cause of who I am to the team." Thea told the girl, looking down at her hands. "I used to be closer with Soraya and Kendra. But with both of them being from such affluent families and their amazing skills, my family saw them as competitors. And with enough mental manipulation, they basically drew wedge between me and the girls." She said, glancing at Simone with a small smile as she talked about her old friends."My parents even paid for the damn tennis facility. But if they had the choice, as you saw, non of them would actually choose to hangout with me outside of tennis." Thea told her sadly.
"Well maybe they did come because they thought you wouldn't come." Simone told her, causing the girl to sigh. "You know what...I messed up." She said, looking at Thea. "Ok? I love birthdays. When it's mine, I want all the birthday shenanigans. Parties, balloons, impromptu dancing and singing." Simone told her. "And that's the problem. I took over your birthday and gave you the birthday that I would've wanted instead of just listening to you." She said, looking up at the girl. "Thea, I'm sorry."
Thea looked at her sadly. "Well, at least you tired. That's...commendable." She said with a small smile, making Simone give her one in return.
"Well, the days not over yet, so...how do you want to celebrate the rest of your special day?" Simone asked Thea.
"Well I am kinda hungry." Thea suggested. Simone smiled, looking at her. "Well I think I know the perfect place. Trust me, you'll love the food and the cook. I heard todays she's making something a little sweet." Simone smirked.
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"Wow, so, you guys, like, seriously do this every week?" Thea asked the people at the table.
"Every week." Nate told her with a small smile. "This is what gets us through."
"I just want to thank you guys, again for inviting me. And for that delicious lava cake. Seriously, Soraya, that was amazing." Thea stated, casing everyone in the room to erupt into praise at the chocolate lava cake the girl made. Soraya playfully rolled her eyes, waving her hands at them. "Stop it, stop it." She joked, easing her hands to her face in an embarrassed manner, casing the room to laugh at her.
The group continued to talk with one another when Deja caught the look that Jr was giving Damon and Coach Marcus.
"Why are you looking at them like that?" She asked the boy next to her, causing him to snap out of his trance. "Huh?" He asked the girl with a smile. Simone, who was on the other side of Deja, since she was at the head of the table, scoffed. "It looks like you're trying to figure something out." She said. "Or someone." Simone finished.
Jr went glanced back at Damon before glancing over at Jarvis, who was starting at his sister and she talked with the other girls at the table. He sighed before leaning in, looking down at the table. "Look I gotta tell somebody cause I can't take it anymore." He sighed, looking up at the girls.
"But this has to stay between us. Just us." He said, looking between the two. "Not even Soraya." He said. "Ok, just spit it out, Jr. You're kinda scaring me." Deja laughs nervously. He then got up and walked away, making the girls look at each other before getting up as well and following him to the other side of the room.
"I know this might sound crazy, but...I think Damon might be my brother." He told them, causing the girls to look at him confused. "What?" Simone asked him.
"Yeah."
"Like, how?" Deja asked, stepping in closer.
"Look, when I was a toddler, I swear my parents had another baby, and then one day the baby was just gone." Jr whispered, looking over at Damon. "And everybody acted like it never happened. And I would've thought I just made it up, except a couple years ago, I found a picture of that baby in a Bible that my mom gave me, and that baby looked a lot like Damon. Right down to the scar."
"Oh my god." Simone said in shock while Deja just stood there trying to process the situation. "And his birth parents went to Bringston. So did mine."
"Ok, but, so did other people. Hell, people in this room." Deja told him.
"I know, but..." Jr trailed off, trying to come up with his win conclusion to the whole baby thing.
"I mean, so did my aunt and Coach Marcus. And they were a serious couple until something super personal broke them up." Simone spoke up, looking over at the pair as they talk to Damon in the kitchen.
"Wait, you don't think that—"Simone started, looking over at Jr and Deja.
"That what?" Jr asked. "Coach Marcus and your aunt are his birth parents?" Jr chuckled dryly. "Simone, that's crazy."
"What, crazier than you thinking he's a baby phantom from your past?" Simone said, looking the boy up and down.
"Look, I know this whole thing is wild. But maybe we're both just jumping to crazy conclusions." He shrugged.
"Or maybe one of us is actually right." Simone said, looking back over at the pair near the table. They all looked at each other before making their way back to the table where they were having their own conversation.
"Pole dancing is absolutely a sport." Thea said to the girls, plus Jarvis, around the table.
"Ok, thank you. Please tell them." Keisha said, point over to Jarvis and Damon, making them give her that stank face.
"You going hard for pole dancers like you've done it before." Nate spoke up, smirking at Thea. Thea blushed at her words, shaking her head. "No, I haven't, but...to be honest, I've always, like, wanted to." She said bashfully.
"Oh, girl, say less." Keisha said in a high pitched voice, drawing out her words. "Cause if you for real, I have the prefect cap for your birthday." She smirked. "Come on, let's go." She said, getting up from her seat and motioning the girls to follow her.
Nate and Thea stood up to go with her while the other girls sat in silence. Soraya and Deja looked at one another before they both jumped up, scurrying to grab their things. "Let's go, bitch." Deja said in excitement as she and Soraya jumped up and down. Kendra glanced at Simone over her cup with questioning eyes as the girl looked at her. After their silent conversation, they stood up to, grabbing their things and walking with the rest of the girls to the door.
"Let's go pole dancing!" Soraya said excitedly, causing the girls to laugh.
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The way I had these chapters typed out and ready to go but never posted....it's honestly like this with all my book. I have 5 chapters max after the lest before I post them, it keeps me balanced
Another chapter, let's go!!!