“Ihaveto sit alone,” she repeated.
“You don’t sit next to anyone on your way to away games? Elementary school trips? Middle and high school games?” I wasn’t letting up, and why should I? This wasn’t home, and she was going to have to let go of her princess ways.
“No, I can’t.” I watched Nola’s jaw clench as if I was irritating her with my investigation. Good. She was probably used to getting her way, but I wasn’t going to yield.
“It’s okay Brittney, we can just sit in the front row.” Farrah said from behind, her body slightly jostling the truck as she got in and sat in the row in front of Nola.
I was simultaneously a younger and older sibling, my position in my family a weapon I wielded when I felt the scales of justice tip out of my favor. Nola was trying to establish her dominance and isolate herself at the same time. I wasn’t going to let this go easily, but I was aware everyone was watching. And whether I liked it or not, we were a team
“The journey alone is always a chilly one,” I quoted, maybe from an old movie I’d watched, a video game from my brother’s stash, or one of my sister’s mediocre poems.
All I knew was that I’d left Nola Young speechless.
The first three days felt like a whirlwind. We landed. We slept. We were up early for practice. We ate lunch. Back at it for practice. Then off to recovery before we were done for the night. The five of us were split into two bedrooms, two beds each, with a connecting door in the middle even though no one really used it. We didn’t speak much as a group on the first day, but by nighttwo it felt like Lucy and Katie were purposefully excluding me from things. From trips to the breakfast buffet, to matching t-shirts that didn’t have enough sizes for everyone. I couldn’t tell if my middle child syndrome was coming out, or if they were just assholes.
Farrah was kind, and Nola was…Nola. Someone who glided through life with the knowledge that everyone knew her parents and thus weren’t allowed to give her shit. She mostly kept to herself during practice, used breakfast and lunch to review plays, or otherwise was walking away, talking on the phone—probably to her superstar parents—observing everything around her.
We were only here for nine days, and she couldn’t be bothered to devote time tospending timewith us.
Farrah developed an alliance with me whether out of pity or loyalty, I wasn’t sure, but the division was starting to feel lopsided on the court. On the drills I was paired with Lucy and Katie, they generally tried to avoid my presence unless berated by the coach, a legend from a big ten school. When we were practicing defense on each other, their boney elbows caused bruising along my ribs, my hair bunsoh so convenientlywhacked when they’re trying to block the ball. Every occurrence made me want to check the ball at their dumb heads.
I only lost my cool with my family. My temper was hot and sharp, but my words were sharper, designed to cut deep. I wasn’t anangryperson; I just had a short fuse. My dramatic antics were known by my siblings, and I’d rather not start my college career with rumors or footage of me blacking out on them. However, my patience was wearing thin. Paper thin, thread thin,razor thin.
It was the last practice before knock out rounds began, and Coach called a time out after Lucy all but poked me in the eye.
“Farrah, I think today’s the day I’m going to lose it,” I mumbled as we sit on the opposite side of the bench from Katie and Lucy. Nola found herself alone in the middle, as per usual.
“That’s what they definitely want, Lee. You can’t let them get to you.” Farrah retied her long, honey blonde hair back into a ponytail that grazed her waist. The motion briefly hypnotized me.
“Well, I kind of feel like giving them a show.” I chugged some water and stood.
I heard a tenor voice rumble. “Don’t.” I dropped my gaze to find Nola looking up at me from the bench.
“And why the fuck not?”
“Because nothing matters off the bench.” Nola’s voice was even, logical, instilling a slight calm in me, but for someone who’d barely spoken for the past three days, the reaction was hard to believe.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Farrah shake her head. “They’re just going to be asses if Lee doesn’t say anything.”
“They don’t like you because you’re unknown.” Nola rose from the bench and stood eye-to-eye with me. “You’re not in any of our circuits, on no one’s radar, then here comes this kid from Charlotte looking to get swept up by one of the best schools in the West.”
“Oh, so you’re familiar with my resume?” I joked to see if Nola would bite.
I ignored the way my stomach did a flip at her suppressed smile.
“What I’m saying is they think you’re a fluke. I’ve played with Lucy, I know girls like Katie. They’re not gonna get off you until you break their ankles, outscore ‘em, shit, something good.”
I nodded, letting Nola’s words fuel me and redirect me from an outburst; something that could label me as,difficult to work with. If I was honest, I’d cried frustrated tears every morningbecause I couldn’t understandwhy.I didn’t need to be liked by everyone, but damn, I at least wanted people to call me annoying first before writing me off. At least hate me for being myself, and not because I took their friends’ spot.
“Also… itisthe best school on the West Coast.”
The jittery need to speak that had clawed up my throat was ebbing away. The energy translated to adrenaline pumping into my limbs, mirroring how I felt when I played against higher-seeded teams. The unbearable need to be heard and seen. I was just going to do what I do best: give everyone hell.
All thanks to Nola Young.
CHAPTER FIVE
Nola
