august 24th, 2019
1:19 pm
NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS DID SHARIFE THINK HE WOULD FIND HIMSELF AT A GYMNASTICS COMPETITION.
And actually enjoying it.
When Destiny had invited him to her competition, Sharife had had half a mind to say no due to the last time he had seen her but Destiny had insisted and this was a rare day he didn't have practice.
Besides, he had never seen Kylah in action and he wanted to know what all the hype was.
The bleachers at Buckhead Gymnastics Center were full of friends, family, and a few girls from rival gymnastics teams who had already performed. Sharife was sitting high up in the silver bleachers, his hood up, as he didn't feel comfortable enough to sit with Destiny's family, who were further down near the floor.
"Kylah Summers from Henry W. Grady High School for the mat routine. Now, Summers is ranked number two in the nation for high school artistic gymnastics and has achieved her nickname, 'Southern Simone Biles'." The announcer called over the loudspeaker, his booming voice causing the metal to rattle slightly.
Kylah stood on the expansive blue mat that covered the entire back section of the gymnastics gym, her braids tied in a ponytail, barefoot and dressed in a simple black sequined leotard.
The pulse of the dance music and the boisterous crowd faded into the background as Sharife focused all of his attention on her.
Kylah broke off into a short run, forcing herself into a complex tumbling pass to start.
To finish the routine, Kylah backflipped into a full twisting layout then stuck the landing firmly with a flourish of her right arm.
She lifted her left leg over her head and then dropped onto a split, causing the crowd to cheer.
Now that Sharife was seeing Kylah perform, he could see why she was considered one of the best and why she was given this chance to shine. She was more graceful than a swan and not a braid was out of place as she continued to dance and contort her body midair.
"Summers with a 9.7 on the mat!" The announcer spoke once more.
The student section was filled with cheers that came specifically from a group of boys in the front.
One of them, a boy with brown skin and a thin bouquet of multi-colored lilies in his left hand, was cheering the loudest. He seemed to be the leader as the other boys who sat around him were constantly glancing at him for his approval.
Sharife rolled his eyes at their unnecessary rowdiness as Kylah walked off the mat to the right side of it, where the rest of her gymnastics team was standing shoulder to shoulder.
Sharife put his head down to focus on his phone as the judges announced the winners.
"In third place with 172 points overall is Northview High School," Some half-hearted cheers erupted making the announcer pause, "In second place with 181 points overall is... Carver High School. And with 196 points, is Henry W. Grady High School!"
Sharife watched with a smile as Kylah and the rest of her team, including Destiny, rushed onto the mat around the announcer to grab the trophy from him. Some of the crowd swelled onto the gym floor as the judges and the announcer quietly left the area.
Sharife took his hood from the black Champion hoodie he had on and pulled it off before stuffing his phone into his pocket and walking carefully down the bleachers.
Once Sharife was on the gym floor, he began to look for Destiny, Kylah, or Nyree. Anyone he knew would suffice.
"Sharife!" Destiny called to him as she stepped away from her family.
"Hey. Congrats on the win." Sharife wrapped one arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek as a hello.
Destiny snorted, "Why? I didn't even participate in this competition."
Sharife furrowed his eyebrows at her response, "I mean you're part of the team so you won. Right?"
"I guess." Destiny shrugged.
The sound of giggling nearby caught the two's attention. Kylah and the loud boy from earlier were standing with his group of friends.
She was laughing at something that one of them said and the loud boy hung his arm around Kylah's shoulders similar to how Sharife was holding Destiny.
"Are you good?" Destiny asks, her brows furrowed.
"Yeah. Who's that with Ky?" Sharife nodded over to her and Destiny glanced over.
"Oh, that's her ex-boyfriend Devon. They're probably gonna get back together soon, though." Sharife passed Destiny a glance at her words, "What makes you say that?"
"Look at them." Destiny snorted and gestured.
When Sharife peeked at them once more, Kylah was taking Devon's flowers and sniffing them with a half smile. Devon smiled back and gently planted a hand on Kylah's face, murmuring something that Sharife couldn't make out.
"Everyone knows, well except Kylah, that Devon's been waiting for Brandon to leave so they can get back together. He wouldn't try if Brandon was still here." Destiny readjusted her athletic jacket printed with a knight helmet on the back, "My family always goes to Houston's after a win. You wanna come?"
"Ye-Yeah," Sharife responded, but he couldn't quite tear his gaze away from the two.
With a devious smirk, Devon was now whispering something in Kylah's ear that was making her cheeks slightly redden and bite her full bottom lip.
"Sharife?" Destiny asked.
Sharife looked at Destiny, "Yeah."
"You'll meet us there, right? It's the one on Peachtree." She continued, "I have to get changed still.
"Yeah," Sharife said in an absent-minded tone.
Destiny leaned up to peck his lip and then walked away to leave with her family while Sharife stood frozen in his spot, trying to rack his brain on whether Brandon had ever mentioned a Devon before.
Kylah had finally spotted him and was bounding over with a grin, the flowers in the crook of her arm. "Hey, Rife. I didn't know you were here!" Kylah embraced him with her free arm, wrapping it loosely around his waist.
"Yeah. You were amazing." Sharife hugged her, sliding his hands on her back.
"Thank you! I was so nervous. Could you tell? The first meet is always the worst." Kylah exhaled.
"Aye," Devon walked over, "Your mom told me to tell you that it's time to go." Devon shrugged his arm over Kylah again and led her away. The action left Sharife with a small peculiar feeling.
Kylah glanced to the door where a married couple that held similar facial features to her, were ambling about near the exit, conversing and watching their daughter. She stepped back from Sharife and readjusted the flimsy bouquet," We're still on for tomorrow, right? Breakfast for lunch?"
"Yeah, of course." Sharife nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."
It felt like a knot had tightened itself in his stomach and Sharife didn't like it at all.
This was his friend's cousin, all he was supposed to do was watch over her not feel like he was being punched in the stomach at the sight of her with someone else.
It's just me being protective, Sharife thought to himself, "That's all it is."
TIME SKIP!
august 25th, 2019
2:10 pm.
"No, that's not the way that happened at all!" Sharife laughed.
Sharife and Kylah were at a Waffle House, trading war stories about Brandon.
"I was there!" Kylah giggled before biting into her buttered toast.
"We dropped you off first!" Sharife exclaimed.
"No, you didn't, Rife." Kylah shook her head, "I was in the backseat with Alyn because BJ was supposed to drop me off after his tattoo but then we got stuck behind that accident."
"I..." Sharife shook his head with another chuckle, "I don't remember you being there at all. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Kylah said simply, "All of his friends kinda treat me the same way so it's okay. I'm not memorable to any of you."
"No," Sharife blurted, "It's not. You're memorable."
There was an unreadable expression laced in her eyes broken only by Kylah's phone beeping on her side of the table. The name Devon was bright on the screen and Sharife cleared his throat.
After Sharife had left Kylah's competition yesterday, he had promptly called Brandon to get all the details about Devon, Sharife had calmed him down, and he had quickly filled him in about how the girl Sharife was talking to had, however unwittingly, stolen Devon away from Kylah.
"So, who's Devon?" Sharife asked in a casual tone.
"Uh... He's my ex." Kylah stirred her water with her straw.
"Ex?" Sharife sipped his hot chocolate.
"Yeah, we dated for a year and a half but... Things didn't work out. Maybe, it'll work out this time. Don't tell Brandon about it, okay?" Kylah replied, "At least until I'm sure about where we're going."
Hearing Kylah talk about another guy with slight longing was giving Sharife that same knotty feeling.
"Yeah," Sharife forced himself to nod, "I won't tell."
Then he forced a half smile on his face like he hadn't just lied twice: once to Kylah and once to himself.
NOTE FROM KY
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