The Day After
1250 Words
The gym was quieter than usual the next morning.
Marian noticed it the moment she stepped through the doors. There were only a few players on the court, and without the usual noise of a full team, the space seemed almost too large.
She dropped her bag beside the bench and looked toward the scoreboard.
Yesterday's game against Northside came rushing back to her.
The close score. The pressure. The final seconds.
And Emerald's shot.
Marian smiled to herself.
They had actually done it. After losing to Northside the previous season, Westbridge had finally beaten them.
“You look happy.”
Marian turned to find Emerald walking toward her with two bottles of water.
“I am.”
Emerald handed one to her. “I can tell.”
Marian took it. “Don't get used to it.”
“Too late.”
Marian laughed quietly and twisted open the bottle.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. There was no need to fill the silence. After everything that had happened on the court the day before, simply standing there together felt comfortable.
Emerald glanced at the scoreboard.
“That was a good game.”
“It was.”
“You know what I liked most?”
Marian looked at her. “What?”
“You finally passed to me without looking like you were reconsidering your entire life.”
Marian gave her an incredulous look. “I always pass to you.”
“Eventually.”
“I hate you.”
Emerald grinned. “No, you don't.”
Marian opened her mouth to answer, but Coach Daniels walked into the gym before she could.
“Good. You're both early.”
Emerald straightened. “Morning, Coach.”
Coach nodded and placed her clipboard on the bench.
“Yesterday was a good win. You should be proud of yourselves.”
A few more players arrived, and the gym slowly became noisier.
Coach waited until everyone had gathered before continuing.
“But one win doesn't fix everything. We still made mistakes, especially on defense. Northside found openings that better teams will find too.”
Marian nodded. She knew Coach was right.
“We're going to work on those today,” Coach continued. “And I want everyone communicating. No guessing. No assuming your teammate knows what you're thinking.”
Her eyes moved toward Marian and Emerald.
“Especially you two.”
Emerald glanced at Marian.
Marian tried not to smile.
Practice began with defensive drills.
Coach paired Marian and Emerald together again.
Neither of them complained. In fact, Marian was beginning to expect it.
They worked through the first drill quickly, moving between positions and calling out whenever they switched.
“Left!”
Emerald moved across.
“Behind you!”
Marian turned just in time to block the passing lane.
The ball went out.
Coach blew her whistle.
“Good communication. Again.”
They reset.
This time, Emerald moved too far toward the ball and left her player open.
Marian saw it immediately.
“Emerald, behind you!”
Emerald spun around just as the pass came.
She intercepted it.
“Nice save,” Marian said.
Emerald looked at her. “You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
Emerald laughed as they moved back into position.
A few minutes later, Marian made a mistake of her own. She followed the ball for too long and lost track of her player.
“Marian!”
Emerald's voice brought her back.
Marian turned, but her player had already slipped past her.
Emerald moved across the court and forced the player away from the basket.
After the play, Marian walked over.
“Thanks.”
“Don't mention it.”
“I just did.”
“I noticed.”
Marian shook her head, smiling.
It was strange.
Not long ago, every mistake between them had felt like an opportunity to prove who was better. Now they were covering for each other without even thinking about it.
Coach Daniels eventually called everyone together.
“Better,” she said. “Much better. You're starting to trust the person beside you instead of trying to do everything yourself.”
Marian glanced at Emerald.
She couldn't deny that.
Tessa walked past them, shaking her head.
“You two are becoming dangerously cooperative.”
Emerald laughed. “Is that a problem?”
“No. It's just weird.”
Marian raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because when Emerald first arrived, I thought one of you was going to throw a basketball at the other.”
The team laughed.
Emerald pointed at Marian. “She started it.”
“I did not.”
“You definitely did.”
Coach Daniels shook her head.
“Locker room. Five minutes.”
The players began gathering their things.
Marian picked up her bag, but when she looked back at the court, she found herself reluctant to leave.
She had planned to get some extra shots in.
Apparently, Emerald had the same idea.
“You staying?” Emerald asked.
Marian nodded. “For a little while.”
“I'll stay too.”
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
That answer made Marian smile.
They returned to the court.
For several minutes, they shot in silence. The familiar rhythm of dribbling, catching rebounds, and taking shots filled the empty space around them.
Eventually, Emerald caught her rebound and leaned against the ball.
“Can I ask you something?”
Marian looked over.
“Depends on the question.”
“Why do you care so much about winning?”
Marian held the ball against her hip.
She had already answered that question once, but this time she didn't feel like giving the easy answer.
“Because I hate losing.”
Emerald smiled. “That's obvious.”
Marian rolled her eyes.
“But seriously,” she continued. “After last season, I wanted another chance. I wanted to know what it would feel like to actually finish the season the way we planned.”
Emerald nodded.
“And now?”
Marian looked toward the basket.
“Now I want the championship even more.”
Emerald smiled.
“You'll get there.”
Marian looked at her. “You sound very confident.”
“I've seen you play.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“It does to me.”
Marian wasn't sure what to say to that.
Emerald seemed to realize she'd said something more sincere than she intended, because she quickly tossed the ball toward Marian.
“Come on. One more.”
Marian caught it.
“You just can't stop competing, can you?”
“Not really.”
Marian laughed.
They took their positions.
“One shot,” Emerald said.
“Loser gets the rebounds.”
“Deal.”
Marian shot first.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Emerald narrowed her eyes.
“Lucky.”
“You're just nervous.”
“I don't get nervous.”
“Sure.”
Emerald took her shot.
It went in.
She turned toward Marian with a satisfied smile.
“Told you.”
Marian shook her head, laughing.
For a while, they continued like that, trading shots and teasing each other.
It was still a competition.
But it didn't feel like the competition they had started with.
There was no anger behind it anymore. No need to prove that one of them belonged more than the other.
They simply enjoyed being on the same court.
And Marian was beginning to realize that might be the biggest change of all.
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