“Going on a date with the next pretty girl?” Mary demanded to know.

“It’s not a date. We are just going out for coffee.” I replied maybe a little louder than I intended to.

“Oh sure. That’s why you had that big smile on your face the whole time Lilly talked to you.” Mary insisted.

“Can a girl just be happy to make new friends?” I answered, starting to feel a little angry.

“Riley, come on! Don’t play games with me. I know you inside and out. You need to settle down. You are way too hyper while flirting with all of those girls.”

“Listen, I don’t want to argue right now. Can we do this later?”

“Sure.” Mary responded and walked away without another word.

I felt like crying a bit but I also felt angry and worked up. I knew Mary was right and I knew she had been warning me countless times. On the other hand, I want to keep exploring and making new friends. I want to have that freedom and if sometimes I get a little flirty what is the harm?

I decided to ponder this some more. I needed to clear my head. I went back to my dorm. Alice wasn’t there when I entered. I was actually a bit relieved. I wanted some alone time. I decided to make myself comfortable with a book on the couch. After reading for a while, I decided to text Sammy and see how mad at me she was. I was surprised that she responded. She suggested we talk on the phone.

“Hey, Sammy. How are you?”

“Not very good. I am still mad at you. I am not sure how long this will last but that is how I feel right now.”

“I understand. I don’t want to say I am sorry again, because I don’t think it will help you. Maybe after a while, you could possibly consider still being friends? If you find it within your heart. If not, I would understand.”

“It is not impossible. I cried my eyes out. I need some more time and space. I will get back to you eventually. However, I wanted to tell you something.”

“What do you want to tell me?”
“That I miss you. A whole lot.”

For a long moment, everything was still. Neither of us talked. Then, beautiful memories were going through my mind. All of our fashion shows, our rides to the mall, the awesome time we had with Angela at the German Christmas market, the fun times with Mary and Alyssa, the silliness, and of course our first encounter in the pantyhose section at Macy’s.

“Are you still there, Riley?” Sammy wanted to know.

“Oh, I am sorry. My mind just drifted away for a minute.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“I thought about how you “caught” me looking at pantyhose at Macy’s.”

“Oh, that. You had this cute look on your face. I could see that there was a pretty girl hiding right away.” Sammy said, giggling a bit.

“Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t be at this amazing school and I wouldn’t be Riley of course.”

Sammy was silent for a few seconds.

“Maybe. I believe though that Riley would have come out to play either way. Anyways, are you taking any interesting classes at CBH?”

“I am. My favorite class by far is philosophy.”

“Why is that?”

“The writings of Sokrates and Aristotle are so interesting.”

“Oh yeah? What’s her name and is she cute?” Sammy wanted to know.

I was shocked for a moment.

“Liliana and yes. Am I really that easy to read?”

“I am afraid so. The excitement in your voice was an easy giveaway. If I could see you right now, I bet I could see it written all over your face. It’s okay, Riley. I can understand why you feel this way. A new school and a new life. Nobody knows about Randy. I can see the appeal. You are one of the girls. You don’t have to worry about football players who are lurking in the hallway so that they can harass and assault a trans girl who is just going to her locker minding her own business.”

This made me cringe and smile at the same time.

“That is true. Even though this girl knows how to defend herself.”

“Of course she does. Nobody will ever forget the school-wide famous kick in the nuts. Even though nobody besides you and Mr. football player Mc slime ball has actually seen it.”

Football player Mc slime ball? That made me giggle on the inside.

“Wait a minute. That is still being talked about?”

“Oh, darling. You have no idea.”

That comment actually made me giggle out loud.

“I like that we can talk to each other again.” I said to Sammy.

“I like that too. Don’t think everything is back to normal again though. I’m still very hurt and I can’t believe that you dumped me this quickly.” Sammy said, letting me know her feelings.

That made me cringe a bit because I knew that this was the truth.

I didn’t know what else to say. Sammy was the one who spoke again after a minute.

“Let’s talk some more another time. I hope that things will continue to go well at your new school.”

“Okay. That sounds good. Bye.”

“Bye, Riley.”

I took a short breather and decided to take a little break. Knowing that Sammy probably won’t hate me forever had a calming effect. I felt a little better but getting so excited every time I meet a new, cute girl made me think a bit. I knew Mary was right. We had conflicts in the past but the thought of her being really upset with me made me sad. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I decided to continue reading. After a while, I dozed off and got woken up by Alice who was suddenly standing next to me.

“Hey, sleepy head. Wake up.” Alice said gently.

“Hey. I must have fallen asleep.”

“Evidently. Listen, your sister told me to remind you that the basketball game will take place tomorrow and you are supposed to go to a practice session tonight. Mary will be there too but she said that you are probably on your own for dinner. Were you two fighting or something?” Alice wanted to know, seeming concerned.

“Yeah, I think so. I screwed up big time. She was mad because I flirted with Liliana. She wants to go out with me right after the basketball game.” I told her.

Both of us remained silent for a moment.

“Oh no! What did I do?” I asked while being close to tears.

Alice realized this and hugged me.

“I don’t think it is that bad. It’s a bit annoying. I get that. You are simply trying to find out who you are. Maybe Mary has been a bit too harsh?” Alice suggested.

“Maybe. Maybe we both made a mistake.”

Alice gave me another hug.

“It’s okay. Just leave her alone for now. She might just need time to think. She’ll come around.”

“I think you are right. Can we get dinner? When is the basketball practice?”

“It’s in roughly two hours.”

“Darn! We have to hurry. We can get dinner after practice.”

After flirting with, I mean talking to Lilly and being lectured by my big sister, I totally forgot about basketball practice. I wondered how Mary would act toward me and these thoughts made me nervous. Alice and I made our way to the gym a little while later. I was kind of hungry so I ate some fruit and little snacks. We eventually made our way to the event of the evening.

“Alice, I don’t think I can play. I don’t even have gym shorts, a jersey, or sneakers.” I insisted while we walked to the gym.

“Darling, that has all been taken care of. One of the girls on your team, Sidney, approached me yesterday to let me know that they will have all that for you in the locker room.” Alice assured me.

“Sidney, huh? That’s a nice name.” I commented.

“Riley, don’t even start again. Focus on your basketball skills. If you have any.” Alice fired at me.

Where did that come from? Instead of getting upset about it or seeing it as an attack, I decided to move on and stay in a good mood.

“You’re right. Don’t you worry! I will try to be as good as Lebron Jordan or Michael James.” I said proudly as we entered the gym.

“Lebron Jordan? Seriously? Good luck with that.” Alice wished me with a smile and pointed towards the locker rooms while pushing me in that direction a little bit.

I was a bit confused. Did I get the basketball players wrong again? I have to find some time to educate myself regarding this topic.

“Alright. I will see you after practice.” I told her while giving her a kiss on the cheek.

I had to walk toward the other side of the gym to get to the locker room. There were quite a lot of people here, considering that this was only a practice and a practice game. I looked around and I was delighted to have spotted Lilly with her beautiful, long red hair which was easy to notice, considering most people had blonde, black, or some shade of brown hair.

I decided to walk over there to say hi.

“Hey, Lilly. How are you? It is good to see you.” I said while smiling.

“Oh, Riley. Good to see you too, sweetie. I can’t wait to go out for a coffee after the game tomorrow.” Lilly told me, seeming excited.

“I can’t wait either. I have to go to the locker room now. I will see you soon.” I assured her.

Once I entered the locker room, a tall girl came up to me and introduced herself.

“Hi, Riley. I am Sidney. It is nice to meet you. Glad to have you on my team.” Sidney said.

Sidney had sandy blonde hair, was very athletic and tall, and was also kind of cute. She had warm and beautiful blue eyes.

“Oh, thanks. I am excited to play with you.” I told her.

“Great. Let me introduce the coaching staff to you. They will be here at practice and tomorrow during the actual game since this is more of an organized event and not just a pickup game. Oh, and I also have a jersey, shorts, and sneakers for you.” Sidney let me know.

“Thanks so much. I can’t wait to get started.” I cheerfully said. I meant it. I started feeling a bit more confident about this challenge.

After meeting the coaching staff and the other players, we got ready for warm-ups. I was told that the other half of the team was in a separate part of the locker rooms. That’s why I didn’t see my big sis yet. Some of my teammates kept asking me about Mary and her slam dunk. It appeared that someone recorded her dunking with their phone and the video went viral at Cherry Blossom Hill.

Fine. My big sis can dunk a ball. If I would be a little bit taller, I could do it too. Wait a minute. Was I feeling jealous? Or just competitive? I told myself to focus on practice. Sidney gave me the jersey, shorts, and sneakers. I changed and soon followed the other girls back to the basketball court.

A few minutes later, the other half of my school’s team, or my opponents tomorrow, came out too. Mary was right at the front and seemed excited as well. We gave each other a quick look but I could not read what she was thinking or feeling.

I focused on the warm-up and I tried to listen carefully to what my teammates and coaches were telling me. Coach Karl, a really nice man, checked on me several times and asked if I needed help. I was fine with most of the warm-up and stretching. Soon we were getting ready for our practice game.

Coach Karl blew his whistle and everyone lined up in the middle of the gym. My opposing team seemed to wear the slightly more colored home jerseys of the Cherry Blossom Warriors while my team was wearing the lighter-looking away jerseys.

The tip-off was won by my sister and her team. Coach Karl asked us to play hard but not too hard since he needs healthy players for the second half of the season. I could certainly understand that.

Mary’s team showed good offense right away and scored. My team was going forward next but lost the ball quickly. Mary was able to steal it and throw a great pass to one of her teammates who scored with a nice layup. Four for them, nothing for my team. This was starting to annoy me already.

We moved forward again but one of my teammates missed the jump shot. The other team got the rebound and guess who scored for them on the fast break?! Yes, my big sis.

Zero to six. This was starting to get a bit embarrassing. Meanwhile, coach Karl called for a time-out, so that he could talk to us.

“What is going on?” he demanded to know.

“I am not sure. We are just not moving the ball forward fast enough.” Sidney told him.

“That sounds about right. Get moving, ladies.” the coach told us.

We all nodded and got back into the game. The atmosphere already felt like game day. There were a lot more people here than I anticipated. Just for practice. I reminded myself to ask Sidney about it. I focused on the game but when I had a moment I tried to see what Lilly was doing.

Moving forward with determination, I was able to find a spot where no player of the opposing time was for the moment. I tried to see where the ball was and before I knew it, it was coming right at me. I was able to hold out my hands to catch it, which I did successfully. I decided within a split second to go for the basket which I narrowly missed. However, one of my teammates was able to get the rebound and score for us. Yes! Our first two points. Two to six.

I started feeling more confident and this showed on the court. I called for the ball quite often and most of the time, I passed which lead to points. Sometimes I went for it though and I actually did score a few times which I could not believe. It felt good.

Mary and I made eye contact every so often but not a lot else happened between us. She was doing a good job but it felt a little like she was holding back a bit. Maybe she was saving her energy for the actual game. Since this was only a practice game, it was much shorter than a regular game. When it ended, the final score was 31-39 for the home jersey Warriors. I was exhausted and laid myself flat on the court. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I looked into the faces of Lilly and Alice. Sadly, Mary wasn’t there. She must have left already.

Both were holding out their hands for me. I grabbed one hand from each of them and they pulled me up.

“I think you need a shower.” Alice said jokingly while acting I would smell to high heavens.

“I think she is right.” Lilly added.

All three of us started laughing.

“Alright, alright. I will. Thanks for coming, Lilly.” I told my cute classmate.

“You’re welcome. I am still looking forward to our date tomorrow.” Lilly said with a big smile on her face.

“Me too. Of course, I will shower after that game too.” I assured my favorite person to discuss philosophy with.

“ Great! I will see you tomorrow afternoon.” Lilly said, smiling and taking off.

“Now it is just us two. What do you want to do after your shower?” Alice inquired.

Meanwhile, the gym was nearly empty. It felt kind of strange to see it this way since it was filled up pretty well not too long ago.

“I am not sure. Do you want to grab a bite to eat and then maybe talk about this day?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Alice replied.

We walked back to our dorm where I grabbed some shower gel, shampoo, a couple of towels, and other toiletries to hit one of the private showers. Once I was refreshed, Alice and I went to the cafeteria to get some dinner. I sent Mary a text to invite her to come along but I did not receive a response which worried me.

“Overall, what do you think?” Alice asked me looking thoughtful.

“The practice game was good. Everyone was nice and I especially liked playing for coach Karl. He is fun and very smart. The most amazing thing was that I scored four points.” I pointed out, feeling proud.

“Yes. That’s great. I was very impressed. Maybe you want to try out for the Warriors?”

“Who knows? It’s kind of funny. I just had to think about how my dad desperately wanted me to try out for the soccer team at my old school. I always refused. Now I am considering trying out for a sport I have never played before. Crazy!”

“I can understand that you feel this way. What about your sister Mary?”

“I am not sure. We never had a fight like this. It worries me. On the other hand, it is probably better to get the different opinions, emotions, and perceptions out in the open. I am sure she’ll come around.” I said, not sounding very convincing at this moment.

“How do you feel about the game tomorrow?” Alice wanted to know.

“Pretty good. I think the practice game was a lot of help.”

“Fantastic. I am sure you’ll do well. Maybe Lilly wants to sit with me when I watch you two sisters play basketball.”

“Awesome. Let’s go back to the dorm so we can get some rest. I need my sleep. I am excited about tomorrow but also a bit sad because it will be Mary’s last full day. The day after that, Mary will fly back to Oregon.

I fell asleep quickly and woke up feeling well-rested. Basketball was the first thing that popped into my head. I was so amazed that I am actually able to score sometimes. The next thought included Mary. I hope she won’t leave tomorrow without having discussed our disagreement or misunderstanding. Whatever one wants to call it.

I got dressed and had a big breakfast so that I was strong enough tonight. Soon I was sitting with Alice in our homeroom. The school day went by quickly. Lilly and I had fun with philosophy again. The afternoon came and it was time to prepare for this epic event.

I grabbed a water bottle and some other items I might need and Alice and I made our way down the gym again. It was still a bit early, but the gym started getting crowded. How amazing. Shortly, Lilly spotted us and waved for us to come over. We chatted a bit. Alice and Lilly decided to sit together and cheer for team Riley. Yay!

I went into the locker room where Sidney greeted me with another pair of fresh and clean basketball attire. I was pumped and ready to go. Soon we were on the court for some warm-ups. It was nice to see and talk to coach Karl again. He was very caring and asked if I needed help with anything.

After warm-ups were completed, we walked out to the court. People started cheering and applauding. It seemed like the entire school was here. Insane!

We lined up in the middle of the court. The referee got the teams set up for tip-off which Mary yet won again. Mary seemed very concentrated and determined. The game started off pretty evenly. Mary scored a few times, I was able to pass the ball quite often for assists and I scored twice again which was even more amazing because it was only the first quarter.

I played as hard as I could. It showed. I was able to defend several times successfully by covering my opponent closely and thus forcing turnovers.

Mary also played hard and scored countless times. Sidney, who was my team captain, had a close matchup with my big sis often. They both seemed evenly matched. Again, Mary and I made eye contact every once in a while but never for too long.

Soon I was substituted so that I could have a bit of a break. That gave me an opportunity to evaluate this weird event from the outside. When I was in the game, I did not notice the crowd that much. I was too focused on my tasks.

What an amazing atmosphere that was. Just a fun game during the mid-season break. While I was sitting on the bench, I observed coach Karl a lot. This guy was amazing. He was tough, fair, caring, and smart. I totally could see myself playing for him. I would probably learn a lot.

Mary was substituted too. I also observed her closely but she hardly gave me any eye contact which was fine. The game went on and it seemed evenly matched. The score at halftime was 32 for my team and 36 for Mary’s team.

I welcomed half-time since it gave me the opportunity to freshen up. We went back to the locker room and soon coach Karl gave his little halftime speech. He encouraged us to show more offense so that we can even the score or maybe take the lead. When we were on our way out again, coach Karl asked me to wait a minute.

“Hey, Riley. Nice job out there. Considering you never played before, you picked this sport up quickly. Keep up the good work.” he told me with a smile.

“Thanks coach. I will!” I assured him.

The second half began and I was in the lineup again. I continued playing hard. I wanted to impress coach Karl.

I scored a few more times. Sidney decided to fire up the hyper jets and started to go on a scoring streak. Every basket was a hit. She was on fire. It turned out that I was able to give her a fair number of assists. I enjoyed this more and more.

Sidney seemed unstoppable which Mary decided was unacceptable. She covered Sidney more and more aggressively. I think that this made Sidney mad. She responded with insane determination.

We were on the attack again and Sidney, who was covered by Mary, decided to dunk on her which she was able to do. Mary almost lost balance when she tried to block Sidney but she was able to catch herself. The look in Mary’s eyes was outright scary. It communicated something like ‘This means war’.

Sidney high-fived me when we retreated back to our own half. I felt like celebrating which was a mistake because the other Warrior team attacked us with light speed. Before I knew it, Mary blew past me and dunked the ball with a determination that I have not seen before. The basket was literally shaking from this effect. The crowd went wild.

I had no idea what was happening. Coach Karl called for a time-out. The score was 51-52 with Mary’s team having the lead. It was the fourth quarter and there were only nine seconds to play. Coach Karl looked at me and Sidney. He was holding a little board with a basketball court printed on it. He drew some arrows and showed us where we were to position ourselves for this, hopefully being able to win this game.

He told one of my other teammates to pass the ball to me.

“Riley, I want you to pass the ball then to Sidney, who will position herself here.” he pointed to a spot near the paint.”

“Sidney, all you have to do is to score from there.” he told her.

Sidney nodded. She and I both looked at the coach and at each other. We nodded and soon we were back in the game. This was it. Time to be a hero.

My teammate who did the throw-in passed the ball to me. I looked for Sidney, made eye contact with her and passed the ball. However, out of nowhere, my sister came flying at me to block the ball. She was not very successful. She got a hand on it but the pass still happened. However, it was deflected and did not get to Sidney.

Fortunately, the ball got into the hands of one of my teammates who passed it to me again. I did not think. I simply reacted by passing it right back to Sidney, who dunked it with all of her strength. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

I looked at the game clock and it said 1.1 seconds left. The score now was 53-52 for my team. Mary’s team had the ball back but they were not able to get the ball anywhere near our basket before time was up. At least they tried. The buzzing noise that ended the game filled our ears loud and clear.

I raised my arms to celebrate and hug my other teammates. The crowd went wild and everyone congratulated me for my assist and Sidney of course, for her amazing, game-winning dunk. What a feeling that was. Sidney gave me a big bear hug. Now I know for most of the game, both teams didn’t play super hard because coach Karl said that he doesn’t want any injured players. I do believe though that everyone did their best and played their hearts out.

I wondered how I would do in a regular season or playoff game. I’m sure not as well as today since I just started learning how this game works. I do believe though that this game had the right kind of mix. It was fun, yet still competitive.

When I looked around the gym, I saw Mary lying on the floor, looking exhausted and disappointed.

I walked over to her. I bent a little bit and extended my hand. She realized that I was there. She turned her head and looked me deep in the eyes.