A New Kind Of Relationship
1107 Words
By the time Marian reached the locker room, she had almost convinced herself that the smile she'd been trying to hide in the gym hadn't meant anything.
Emerald was still her competition. That hadn't changed.
She still wanted her position back, and she still intended to prove to Coach Daniels that she deserved to be the team's starting point guard.
But somewhere between the arguing, the competition, and those extra shots in the empty gym, something had shifted.
Marian just wasn't sure what to call it.
She changed quickly and joined the rest of the team as they headed toward the court.
Coach Daniels was already waiting.
“Bring it in.”
The players gathered around her.
Coach glanced at the schedule in her hand. “We have a scrimmage against Northside Academy in three weeks.”
The mood changed almost immediately.
Marian felt her stomach tighten.
Northside.
She remembered that game from last season—the final whistle, the scoreboard, and the terrible silence that followed. Westbridge had been one game away from moving forward, and Northside had ended their championship run.
Coach Daniels looked around the circle.
“I don't want anyone treating this like a regular practice game. Northside plays hard, and if we're going to beat them this year, we need to be better than we were last season.”
Marian nodded.
That was exactly what she wanted.
A chance to prove they could do it differently this time.
Coach looked at the players again before adding, “And we're going to start working on something new today.”
Marian had a feeling she wasn't going to like what came next.
“Marian. Emerald.”
Both girls looked up.
“You're together.”
Emerald's eyebrows lifted.
Marian stared at Coach.
“Together?”
“That's what I said.”
A few teammates exchanged amused looks.
Tessa leaned toward Marian as they moved into position.
“This should be interesting.”
Marian gave her a warning look. “Don't.”
Tessa smiled. “I didn't say anything.”
“You were about to.”
“Maybe.”
Across the court, Emerald was already waiting.
Marian walked over.
“So we're working together.”
“Looks like it.”
Marian bounced the ball once. “Don't slow me down.”
Emerald smiled. “I was about to say the same thing.”
Coach Daniels blew the whistle.
They started with passing drills.
At first, it was a mess.
Marian passed too quickly, and Emerald wasn't ready. A few minutes later, Emerald tried a pass Marian hadn't expected, forcing her to chase the ball toward the sideline.
“Was that supposed to be a pass?” Marian asked.
Emerald caught the ball as it rolled back toward her.
“You were supposed to be there.”
“I would've been if you'd told me.”
“I thought you'd know.”
Marian stared at her.
Emerald grinned. “Okay. Maybe I should've told you.”
They tried again.
This time, Marian adjusted her position.
Emerald passed.
Marian caught it.
She immediately sent it back.
Emerald caught it without breaking stride.
Something clicked.
The next pass came faster. Then another.
Soon they were moving around each other without having to call every play.
Coach Daniels watched from the sideline.
“Again!”
They repeated the drill.
This time, Marian cut toward the basket just as Emerald sent the ball through the gap between two defenders.
Marian caught it and scored.
She turned around.
Emerald was already smiling.
“Nice pass,” Marian said.
“Nice finish.”
They reset.
A few minutes later, Marian drew a defender toward her before sending the ball behind her to Emerald.
Emerald caught it and scored.
Tessa called from the other side of the court, “Okay, I see you two!”
Marian laughed before she could stop herself.
Emerald looked at her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You laughed.”
“So?”
“Nothing.”
But Emerald was smiling too.
For the rest of practice, things continued to improve.
They still disagreed. Marian still wanted to control every play, and Emerald still had a habit of doing things her own way. But instead of fighting for control, they began figuring out how to use each other's strengths.
Marian knew where Emerald liked to move.
Emerald started recognizing when Marian was about to make a pass.
By the end of practice, even Coach Daniels looked satisfied.
“Better,” she said. “Much better.”
Marian wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
Emerald stood beside her, breathing hard.
Coach looked between them.
“You two are starting to understand each other.”
Marian glanced at Emerald.
She couldn't deny it.
They were.
After practice, most of the team headed for the locker room, but Marian stayed on the court for a few extra shots.
She wasn't sure why she had stayed.
Maybe she just wasn't ready to leave yet.
She took another shot.
The ball hit the rim and bounced away.
Before she could retrieve it, Emerald caught it.
“You're still here?”
Marian looked at her. “Apparently.”
Emerald passed the ball back.
“I thought you were going home.”
“I thought you were.”
“I was.”
Marian raised an eyebrow.
Emerald shrugged. “Then I saw you still shooting.”
Marian smiled slightly. “So?”
“So I stayed.”
There was no teasing in her voice this time.
Marian looked down at the ball in her hands.
“You're strange.”
“I've been told.”
They stood there for a moment.
Then Emerald nodded toward the basket.
“One more?”
Marian hesitated.
“Fine.”
They took turns shooting.
Neither kept score.
When Emerald missed, Marian laughed.
“Don't say anything.”
“I wasn't going to.”
“You were.”
“I really wasn't.”
Emerald picked up the ball and tried again.
This time, it went in.
She turned toward Marian with a satisfied smile.
“See?”
Marian shook her head, laughing.
The sound felt surprisingly easy.
She had spent so much time thinking of Emerald as the girl who had taken something from her that she hadn't noticed how quickly that image was changing.
Emerald was still competitive.
Still irritating.
Still determined to beat her whenever she got the chance.
But she was also becoming someone Marian could talk to without feeling like every conversation had to end in a challenge.
And Marian wasn't sure when that had happened.
She only knew she didn't mind it.
Not anymore.
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