Beyond the Final Score

What Comes Next

By Monday morning, Marian had convinced herself that she was going to treat the weekend like nothing had changed.

It lasted until she walked into the gym.

Emerald was already there, sitting on the bleachers with a basketball resting against her knee. The moment she saw Marian, her face lit up with the same smile Marian had been trying not to think about since Friday.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Marian dropped her bag beside the bench and tried to act normal, but Emerald was watching her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"I was wondering if you're going to pretend Friday didn't happen."

Marian smiled despite herself. "I wasn't planning to."

"Good."

Before Marian could answer, Coach Daniels blew her whistle.

"Warm-up. Five minutes."

The team moved onto the court, and the mood quickly shifted. With the tournament getting closer, Coach Daniels had increased the pace of practice again. There was less time for mistakes, and everyone knew it.

During the first scrimmage, Marian and Emerald were on the same side.

They didn't need to discuss their plays anymore. Marian brought the ball up while Emerald moved into position, and when the defense closed in, Marian passed without hesitation.

Emerald caught it and immediately sent the ball to Tessa, who scored.

"Again!" Coach Daniels called.

The play repeated several times, each one becoming smoother.

But halfway through the scrimmage, the opposing team began pressuring Marian heavily. Two defenders trapped her near the sideline, forcing her to give up the ball.

Emerald moved toward her.

"Marian, here!"

Marian passed, but Emerald was already covered.

Instead of forcing a difficult play, Emerald passed the ball back to Marian once she had created space.

Marian drove toward the basket and scored.

"That's better," Coach Daniels said. "Don't panic when the defense changes. Adjust."

Marian nodded, breathing hard.

Emerald grinned. "Nice recovery."

"You helped."

"That's what teammates are for."

There was something about the way Emerald said it that made Marian smile.

After practice, the team began gathering their things. Marian was about to leave when Emerald came over.

"Are you busy?"

"Not really."

"Want to stay for a few minutes?"

Marian glanced at the emptying gym.

"Sure."

They waited until the others had left before sitting on the lowest row of the bleachers.

Emerald leaned back, stretching her legs.

"I've been thinking about the tournament."

Marian nodded. "Me too."

"I'm excited."

"I'm nervous."

"I know."

Marian looked at her. "How do you know?"

"Because you get quiet when you're nervous."

"I do not."

"You do."

Marian laughed. "You've been paying too much attention to me."

"Maybe."

The answer was so casual that Marian didn't know what to say.

Emerald turned toward her.

"But I'm not worried about us on the court."

"Us?"

"Our partnership."

Marian smiled. "Right. Our partnership."

Emerald's eyes stayed on hers for a second longer than necessary.

"Unless you meant something else."

Marian felt her heart beat faster.

"I might have."

Neither of them looked away.

The silence between them was different now. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't entirely comfortable either. There was too much neither of them was saying.

Finally, Marian looked down with a small smile.

"I think we should take this one step at a time."

Emerald nodded. "I can do that."

"And no rushing."

"Deal."

Emerald held out her hand.

Marian looked at it, then took it.

"Deal."

They stayed there for another few minutes, talking about the tournament, school, and everything in between. Nothing had been officially defined between them, but Marian was starting to understand that maybe it didn't have to be.

For the first time, she wasn't afraid of what might come next.

She was curious about it.