Best Nemesis

ChapterTwo

Miles' Pov

There were three things I knew I hated.

Slippery courts.

Long lectures.

A clapback.

Worse off, a clapback from a girl.

Even much worse, a girl whose identity rang no bell in my head. It was one thing to have occasional sassy comebacks from annoying rivals and opposing teams. It was a boy thing. We did like to run our mouths at each other to break an opponent's ego. But there was barely anytime I didn't get the final word.

And there also wasn't anytime a nameless nobody had the guts to stand up to me. Much less talk back at me.

I was so angry I didn't realize I had completely squeezed the water can in my hand.

"Miles, you going for practice or what?"

I looked up see my best friend, Ryder with a towel wrapped around his lean waist and another draped over his neck. "You've been sulking there for an eternity"

"I'm not sulking" I defended, standing up from the bench "And go put some f*****g clothes on"

"Yeah right" Ryder looked apologetically at the bottle "Of course you're not" Running a palm over his torso, he sighed. "If only I could practice shirtless. This body is such an art not be displayed for the entire school to see"

I rolled my eyes. "If you're going to say stupid stuff like that, I'd go hit the showers right now" I grabbed my gym bag.

"What got you so pissed? Did Coach give you a hard lecture again?" Ryder asked jogging backwards in the opposite direction to keep pace with me as I walked to the showers.

He liked to do that a lot so we could talk directly in each other's face.

My only response was a grunt.

"Ohhh, I know that look" Ryder persisted. "Girl problems?"

I shot him a stony look. I didn't have girl problems. Girls were never my problem. In fact, if anything, I was 'their' problem. I couldn't share myself to everyone of them. Even if I were to date a different girl everyday for three years, I would still not be sufficient to go round all of them.

It was not pride, It was a fact. I was young, and hot and super talented, not to mention stinky rich. I was every teenage girl with a beating heart's dream—not to mention older girls, even women who tried to take advantage of me.

The attention was fun at some point, but it got tedious and draining as time went by. At seventeen, I had way too much experience for my age. And while it looked glamourous and like the perfect life, most of it wasn't typically what I'd describe as 'good'.

"Are you going to join me in the shower now?" I asked sarcastically as I looked up at Ryder who was still looking at me with expectations for an answer to his previous prodding.

"If I have to" He grinned.

"Get out of here you creep" I said, shutting the door and gave myself a thorough scrub, stepping out seven minutes later.

I didn't know why Coach forced us to shower before practice when we were obviously going to still scrub ourselves after.

"Hi, Cap" Rowland nodded at me as he took a swig from his bottle.

Rowland and I weren't exactly friends, but we did get along often because he was good on the court and understood team spirit.

"It took you forever to get out of there" Ryder said.

"Takes him forever to pretty much do anything right" Someone grunted from a corner.

I didn't need to turn to know who the coward was.

"Say what now?" I said over my shoulder.

"You heard me"

"What's wrong with you man?" Harry, our center and probably the only guy just as tall as me scolded.

"No one's talking to you, so it's best you mind your business" Landon scoffed as he threw his jersey over his head, smacking sweatbands over his wrist.

"Scratch Harry, you're talking to me now" Ryder hissed. "What the hell is your problem? Want a taste of my fists?"

"Ohh, I'm so scared" Landon said dramatically. "Have some dignity man. You can't be defending someone who needs cheerleaders to talk for him"

"Who are you calling a f*****g cheerleader?" Ryder lost all his cool, stomping towards him, fully prepared for an all out fight.

"Ignore him man" I held him back. "He's clearly rage-baiting"

"Rage baiting?" Landon crossed his arms over chest as his lips curved lopsidedly. "You wish I was"

"You want my attention that bad?" I finally turned to him, slowly losing my patience.

"Oh, I'm not looking to be recruited to your fanbase"

"Something you clearly lack" I said "Maybe that's why you're so mad"

"Dude, take basketball out and you pretty much can't do anything else. Freaking spoiled rich boy"

"Jealous? Wanna cry about it?" I asked, bruising his pride.

He snorted. "What's there to cry about? Some of us actually have to 'work' to earn our title rather than throw daddy's money around"

Okay, he got my attention now. "Listen now, you little joker" I said grabbing him by his collar. "I put in a whole lot of work to be Miles Asher. Every single day!" I pushed him hard, shoving his back to the wall. "You think you can survive a single day being me?" I grated out. "I work my ass off all the time"

"In different skirts" Landon scowled.

That was it. I buried my fist in his face. I just about to land another blow to his jaw with every intention of breaking it when Harry quickly came between us.

"Okay, that's enough" He tried with almost zero success to separate us.

Ryder, slouched back in a corner without budging, hoping I was going to give him a good show.

"What's going on here?" Coach came in, blowing a fuse.

Landon breath in relief when I immediately released him. He knew I was ready to disfigure his face and mess him up so badly.

"Exactly what you see Coach. Rich boy thinks he can put his hands on anybody"

"Don't you even dare..." I launched out to him again when Coach blew his whistle and blocked me with his arm.

"Asher! Bench! Now! You'd be warming the seats today" Coach instructed.

"But he started it!" I raged at Landon's sudden victimized expression.

"I don't care! You don't fight on my damn team!" Coach barked at me.

"Then why even bother to come for practice?" I snarled under my breath.

"I heard that. And that's ten laps for you after practice" Coach retorted.

"But—" I gaped at him in disbelief.

"Fifteen"

"I didn't even—"

"Twenty!" Coach said dismissively and blew his whistle. "Alright, the rest of you boys out now!" He yelled and then turned back to me. "Don't make me look for you, Asher"

"Yes, Coach" I crankily said, hissing under my breath.

Coach rarely yelled at me. In fact, he usually lets me get away with a lot of stuff that should get me in trouble.

Maybe because I was his best and most reliable player.

Or maybe, because I was just me.

Another confrontation that wasn't in my favor. All in one day.

What a hell of a day.