Playing the Court (Lauren/You/Camila)

Chapter 8

(Y/n)'s pov

"Hey, (Y/n)." Someone called out as I walked through the library. I waited until the teammate, the one who told off Demi in the locker room after the fight, caught up to me before walking again. "Tough game the other night."

"Yeah..." I said hesitantly.

"It happens." She shrugged. "So you read a lot, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I got something for you." She said while setting her stuff on a table. "Listen, I know we haven't had a chance to talk much since you joined the team, but I just wanted to stay out of your way. Give you a chance to chill, ya know. Oh, I'm Zendaya."

She stuck her hand out and I shook her hand before replying.

"Yeah, I know." She smiled at me before starting to talk again.

"There's a lot of talk about the one on one with Demi. Man, I wish I could've been there."

"It was no big deal." I shrugged.

"You know, Demi- she's a hell of a player, she really is, but... she buys into all this nonsense. You got her scared. Fear changes everything." She said while handing me a thick book.

"Atlas Shrugged?"

"You read it?"

"No."

"It's good. Anyway, you're going to be fine. Just remember- don't let her take it."

"I don't know what that means." I said.

"Yeah, I know. But you will." She said as she patted my shoulder before leaving the library.

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After school, I made my way to the park and tried to shoot some hoops. I kept missing, still, for almost an entire hour, but at some point I heard a car door shut right before I shot. I missed again as someone caught the ball and laughed. Demi smirked and walked near me with the ball in hand.

"It's like this." She said before swishing the ball through the net and moving to a different spot. "You can't do it, can you?" She said before making another shot.

"That's beautiful. Now, I always wondered about it. We all do, right?" She asked as she made another. "What happens when it's gone? I have never seen anybody lose it, like really lose it- until now." She nodded her head towards me. She threw the ball at me.

"Go ahead. Prove me wrong."

"I don't have to prove anything to you." I said.

"That's pathetic. It's too bad, really. I was looking forward to taking you down slowly, but now, what's the point? You already know it's over. Now, I would say 'see you at practice', but we both now you're not gonna be there. Why humiliate yourself, right?" She said as she started to walk to her car. I took the ball and threw it at her, but it hit the front bumper instead. "You missed again." She said without turning around, and laughing.

Instead of going to practice the next day, I went to work at Keith's. Lauren showed up to sign some papers for her car, and I sat behind the counter to help her out.

"No practice?" She asked once she handed me the papers back, but I didn't respond. I bent down and grabbed her sketch book before handing it to her along with her keys.

"What, are you stalking me?" She asked.

"I thought someone should see them." I responded.

"It's none of your business."

"You know what? You're right. It's none of my business. I wouldn't know anything about it."

"I know you don't." She was about to walk away, but I hopped over the counter.

"Just tell me why you didn't submit them. Your stuff is good."

"It's not good enough."

"Look, Lauren- why not?"

"I wanna draw something that means something to someone. You know, I wanna draw blind faith or a fading summer or just a moment of clarity. Like when you go and see a really great band live for the first time, and no one says it but they all think it. We have something to believe in again. I wanna draw that feeling, but I can't. And if I can't be great at it, then I don't want to ruin it. It's too important to me."

"Yeah. Me too." I said, not knowing how to respond to her passionate speech. She got in her car and turned the engine on.

"What about your sketch book?" I asked.

"What about 'em? They don't mean anything to anybody, do they?" She responded before driving off.

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Later that night, I was sitting on the park picnic bench staring at the goal. The ball was sitting on the ground in front the bench. I saw Coach Smith pull up in the corner of my eye, but stayed staring at the goal. He walked over until he stood right beside the bench.

"Missed you at practice." He said.

"I can't do it."

"You wanna know something? I have had 35 winning seasons, but you know what keeps me up at night? College jobs I never took. Coulda-beens have a way of doing that."

"Yeah." I mumbled under my breath.

"We got a game tomorrow night. You're on my team until tip off. The rest is up to you." I slowly nodded in response and sighed.

"Look, there is no shame in being afraid. Hell, we're all afraid. But what you gotta do is figure out what you're afraid of, because when you put a face on it, you can beat it. Better yet, you can use it. Think about it." He winked before walking back off to his car, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

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The next afternoon, a few hours before the game, Ally and I were walking to my house from Karen's Café.

"Have you ever figured out your porn name?" Ally questioned. I choked on the drink I was swallowing, because first off I never would have imagined Ally saying that, and two, the fact that she has figured out hers.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" I asked her once I stopped almost dying.

"You know, you take the name of your first pet and your mother's maiden name, and you put them together. What was the name of your first pet?" She asked, trying to remember.

"Well, you know that. It was a dog named Rocket."

"Oh yeah. I loved Rocket. So your mother's maiden name is Rowe... Rocket Rowe." She laughed. "Nice."

"What's yours?" I asked.

"I had a bunny named bunny."

"You named the bunny bunny."

"Yes, yes I did. And my mother's maiden name is brigard, therefore, Bunny Brigard." We both laughed.

"New film starring Rocket Rowe and Bunny Brigard." She joked.

"You're so weird." I told her.

"Shut up!" She pouted. "Um. There's a game tonight. Are you playing anymore?"

"No." I sighed. "You know, I've never walked away from anything before, Ally. But I can't do it, and what makes it worse is that I don't know why I can't do it. It's like no matter how confusing or screwed up life got, the game always made sense. It was mine, you know? In a lot of ways, it's who I am. But, I can't be that person in their gym or in their uniforms or in their world."

"I hear you. But I know you, (Y/n). And I know that no matter what happens, you are going to be the same girl you always were. No uniform, no whatever is gonna ruin that... you know? Call me later. We can go grab some pizza." She smiled and I hugged her before I walked into my house and her to her own.

A/N I like that this is based off a TV show, because sometimes when I don't know some info on some characters, I just use the show. Example: Bunny Brigard and Rocket Rowe. Have a good day (or whatever time it is) all you Rocket Rowe's out there.