* * *
When the bell rang to end the school day, I had to fight the urge to hop in my car and go home. I had promised to go to the game today. I hated it when people broke their word and so I tried very hard not to do it. The game wasn’t going to start for about forty-five minutes, but I didn’t know where else to go, but to the gym. I hoped the doors were unlocked, so I could just go inside and wait.
When I got to the gym, the doors were propped open. I could hear the squeaking of the sneakers on the floor. Did the game already start? I thought Patrick told me 3:00 pm, repeatedly. It’s wasn’t 3:00 yet.
I walked inside and glanced around. The teams were warming up. Patrick’s team was at the basket closest to me, the opposing team was at the far end. The stands were fairly empty, it was still early. I could see groups of friends scattered in different spots. I didn’t know where to sit. I was sure there was a ‘home’ and ‘visitor’ side, but, having never been to a game, I didn’t know which side was which. I stood there, indecisive. I didn’t want to sit with the wrong side. I wanted to just turn around and leave. I almost did.
“Hey, Liz.” Patrick waved at me as he ran to get a loose ball that whizzed by me. “You made it!”
“Yeah. We had a deal.” I was very uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to do with myself, but I knew I was in the way where I stood.
He grabbed the ball and jogged back. “Sit on the west side. That’s the home side.”
“Okay.” But I didn’t move. “Um…I’m directionally challenged. Which is west?”
He smiled and tossed the ball to Bobby. “That side.” He pointed across the gym.
“Thanks.” I half-smiled and was thankful he didn’t laugh. I felt silly for not knowing, but it would have been worse to pick the wrong side and really look dumb. I walked across to the other side and slowly walked up the bleachers, being careful not to lose my balance and trip. I tightly held onto the railing as I took each step. I went to the top center row of the bleachers and sat down. It was a good view of the entire gym. I took out my notebook to finish the physics homework and work on math before the game started.
I knew it was getting closer to game time because the noise level and warmth in the gym rose dramatically. Down in the first row, I saw Bobby and Jason’s girlfriends along with his two other guy friends. I guess they didn’t play basketball.
Usually, I’d only watched professional basketball. Although, this year I had watched the NCAA tournament on television. I had seen the tournament starting at the ‘Sweet 16’. I don’t know why I never went to a high school game, as much as I liked basketball.
The game itself was fun to watch. Patrick was right. Their team was pretty good, but there was room for improvement. Who was I to judge? I’ve never played myself and the season had barely begun. I guess, technically it hadn’t. The other team, Parkside, didn’t seem as cohesive or in shape. I guess this is what their coaches wanted, a pre-game to make them realize what shape they were in and where they needed to be.
Before, when I watched games on television, I would cheer, yell and groan depending on how my team did. If it was the playoffs, I was louder. I was much more subdued today, but I did have to fight the growing urge to cheer. I hadn’t felt like that in a long time.
At the end of the game, I watched the post-game rituals. The two teams and coaches congratulated each other on a good game. I saw many of the players, including Patrick, Jason and Bobby go up to their friends after they were dismissed by the coach. I picked up my backpack. Walking down the bleachers was dizzying if I looked all the way down. I concentrated carefully at each step, staring at my feet, as I walked down, so I didn’t trip and fall. I got to the bottom and started toward the door.
Patrick ran up to me. “Hey, Liz. So, what did you think?”
“Good game. Thanks for inviting me.” I meant it.
“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming.”
“I, uh…finished my half of the physics work.” I didn’t know what else to talk about.
“You didn’t do it during the game did you?” He seemed a little confused.
“No, no. I finished it before it started.”
He looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
“I swear. I only watched the game and didn’t work on anything else. It’s too hard to multi-task when basketball is on.” That was the truth. I could do other stuff when I watched television, but not basketball.
He laughed, “I know what you mean. You blink and you can miss something. Hey! Let me introduce you to the crew.”
He didn’t give me a chance to protest. We walked over to his friends. “Liz, this is Emily, Cassie, Kraig and Tony. You already met Jason and Bobby.”
Jason had a hearty laugh and slapped Patrick’s back, “Didn’t I guarantee you that I wouldn’t suck?”
“You did deliver.” Patrick responded. The entire crew laughed. The girls shook their heads and rolled their eyes. I stood there, an outsider, as they continued joking around and talked.
“Liz, have you seen that movie?” Tony asked.
“Huh?” It took me a second to realize that they were including me in their conversation. I couldn’t remember the last time I talked in a group. “Um, no…I haven’t.”
“I heard it was the funniest movie ever!” Patrick boomed.
Kraig insisted, “We need to see it, guys.”
“Yeah, we do!” Emily agreed. She looked at me eagerly, “You should come with us.”
It took me by surprise. “We’ll see…” I was thankful when she smiled and the conversation moved on. But, I think she took my response as a ‘yes’.
I paid a little more attention to their conversation, so I wouldn’t be caught off-guard again. I was able to get to know who they were a little better.
Emily was Bobby’s girlfriend. She was petite and had lightly tanned skin. She had short straight black hair that was just a few inches short of her shoulders. She was bubbly and perky, without being annoying about it.
Cassie was slightly taller than Emily, with long wavy brown hair. She and Jason were a couple. She was a little quieter and shyer than Emily. They appeared to be best friends.
Tony was a runner. He ran cross country and track. He was shorter than the rest of the guys, but very slender. He had a runner’s body. His deep tan showed how much time he spent outside running.
Kraig wasn’t an athlete. He would play pick-up games with the guys, but that was about it. I realized that we had been in the same math class last year.
“I need to get going.” I took out my cell phone to check the time. I probably had at least two hours before my parents got home.
“Okay. Well, let us grab our stuff and we can all walk out together.” Patrick slapped Jason and Bobby’s backs. The three of them ran to the locker room.
I must have looked very uncomfortable standing there, while the rest of them talked, because Emily tried to ease my nerves. “They’ll be fast. They don’t usually keep us waiting for long.”
I nodded. I hoped they didn’t take too long. I wanted to get home. I didn’t want to stand there making small talk with people I didn’t know and would likely not speak to again.
They emerged from the locker room in just a few minutes with their backpacks. Bobby put his arm around Emily. Cassie took Jason’s hand. We all walked out to the parking lot together. We got to my car before any of theirs.
I unlocked my door. “Bye, guys.” I put my backpack on the driver’s seat.
The rest of the crew said ‘goodbye’. Patrick walked to the driver’s side of my car. “Do you want to give me your answers and I’ll type them up and with mine?”
“Um…” What if he lost my paper? What if he forgot it? How would I know if he was able to read my writing and got it typed up?
He tilted his head. “Come on. What do you think? I’ll lose your homework? I would never do that.”
He looked so sincere. I guess he wouldn’t lose it, if he kept it with his. If he did lose it, it sho
uldn’t take me too long to re-do it. “Uh…I guess.”
I leaned into my car and opened up my backpack. I pulled out my physics work. Hesitantly, I handed it to him. He smiled, “It’s okay. I’ll email it to you tonight. You can trust me. You’ll see.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and searched his eyes for some sign that I shouldn’t trust him. I didn’t see anything like that. “Okay.”
“Don’t worry. Go home. Practice. I’ll email you tonight.”
I nodded, “Alright. Bye.”
“Bye. And thanks!” He held up my paper, smiled and nodded.
I got into my car and hoped I didn’t make the wrong decision. I wasn’t going to run after him when he was with all his friends and embarrass myself. It was too late now to do anything about it. I started my car and pulled out of the space. As I drove out of the parking lot, I noticed Patrick and his crew hanging out by their cars. He waved as I went by.