The correct bet was always me.
Crashing out on the hardwood had long been my personality. Somewhere between losing my last college championship andplaying my first professional game, I developed a penchant for losing my cool on the court. I questioned refs, I started shoving matches when someone’s defense on me was dirty, and above all, I always yelled at Nola.
Call it residual rage, call it me wanting to make her easy life as difficult as possible, or even revenge. I was the gnat that wouldn’t stop buzzing in her ear. The fact that we were nearly equal in skill only fueled my animosity, and I assumed her general annoyance.
And now we would be teammates?
Nina, the Waves marketing director, was no Perry, but she seemed kind. But that was before I walked right into her little scheme.
“Nina…” I sang as we got closer to Nola, the boy, and her agent. “What’s the likelihood my new teammate is Nola Young?” I tried to keep a smile pasted on my face the second I saw the boy whip his camera-filled hands toward me.
“Surprise!” Nina cheered as if this reveal was to be celebrated.
“Someone get the confetti!” Aaliyah fake laughed as Amir tried to gauge my reaction from the corner of his eye.
Our groups finally met in the middle, and it didn’t surprise me that Nola looked like she was in on the joke. Her natural resting face was a smirk that hung from the right side of her face, and just as I was appraising her, she was doing the same thing to me. Her medium deep skin glowed as if it was blessed by the Miami humidity, and her platinum twists hung past her shoulders covered by a snapback.
I hadn’t seen her since game seven. I thought that the season break couldn’t possibly be long enough before I saw her cocky face again.
But I guessed God wasn’t answering all my prayers lately.
Nola’s heart-shaped face was the reason the media adored her, and why fans developed scarily and odd parasocial relationships with her. She naturally radiated the vibe of being someone who was trusting and kind. She was whip smart, slightly conniving, and would take your most vulnerable moments and blast them to the world.
I would know.
I stuck my hand out first because I wanted to be perceived as mature, even though all I wanted to do was smack her hat off her head like the child I actually was. “Young.”
“Lee.” She shook my hand, and I knew we were both using as much strength as possible to beat the other out in our handshake. But just like everything with us, we were equally matched.
“So this is why you wanted to wait for signings and announcements.” Amir broke the awkward tension.
“Nina, this is a new low, even for you,” Daya commented in a way that read she knew Nina better than any of us did.
“Marcello, stop filming.” The boy listened, dropping his camera arms. “Head to the media room and keep everyone happy.” Marcello went off to do what he was told, smiling as if he and his boss hadn’t started a small conflict.
“Listen, I know this is coming as a shocker to all of you.”
“You don’t say,” Nola mumbled, and it was the first tell that maybe she was just as uncomfortable as I was.
“And I know you guys have a long history. Trust me, I do. But imagine what you guys could do on the court,together.Honestly, Tashi should be doing all of this, but she’s saving it for the press conference.”
“In front of everyone. And the cameras. When it’ll be too late to back out,” I spelled out slowly to make sure we were all on the same page.
“Is this a dealbreaker?” Nina asked with widened eyes, her long black hair cut into layers that moved every time she turned her head to defend herself and the Waves.
“Obviously we know this was a…controversial decision. Especially, given the history you two have.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“But Tashi and the general manager think this could work. Everyone’s going to underestimate the Waves anyway thinking that you two won’t know how to operate together. But everyone felt good about this.” Nina nodded like she was convincing the room from a scripted monologue.
This was bizarre, asinine, and dare I say potentially the worst decision known to man. Nola and I hadn’t played on the same team since before college. Every All-Star Weekend we’d participated in always had us on opposite teams.
“Well, this can’t be the first time rivals have been moved to the same team…” Amir offered.
“And I’m assuming this is part of the team’s social plan. Content, vlogs, and whatnot.”
“Yes! We projected this will doreally wellon socials. It’ll help public perception and fan engagement too.” Nina smiled.
