NB: in this fic, Kathleen is older than marissa..

hope you'll enjoy

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« Riss… hurry up or you'll walk…»
« 'coming… » Marissa answered putting a coat on. She had lingered in the shower after going out for a run… She often did that in the morning, it kept her in good shape. Kathleen hated it though. It meant she was going to be late because every third time Marissa did that, she would lounge in the shower .

She watched as Marissa walked past her and to the car then closed the door and joined the girl.
Their mother being the principal of the school, she had a flat on the campus. Marissa and Kathleen, on the other hand, prefered to live away.

Growing old enough Kathleen had decided that, though she worked there as a Math teacher, she couldn't stand to live in the school ….and with Julie who, everyone agreed to say so, was a pain in the ass.
At that time Marissa decided to join her sis instead of staying with her mom… Best decision ever.

They pulled out of the driveway and took the direction of the school, driving past a car parked in front of a house on which a « for sale » board had just been removed.

« I heard the new literature teacher is to arrive this week… Hopefully he won't be the kind that lets basketball captains off the hook just because they are in the basket ball team…if you see what I mean» Kat gave marissa a look.
« Yeah, right… » Marissa rolled her eyes. « Anyway, those are Five more hours I won't be able to spend practicing...It sucks. »

« Owww Come on. Basketball ain't the only interesting thing in life. »
« So you say »
As a teacher, Kat loved to tease Marissa, her favorite weapon was the hatred from older teachers towards some students who spent more time training than studying… She knew a few of those teachers whose favorite activity was to try to have those students stuck in detention or suspended because of their results.
« No really, you should give it a try. Then maybe you'll make it to a D+ in math… » she chuckled. Ok she could make it a joke, but the fact was, Marissa was not a bad student. She'd just get a bad mark if she was exhausted and hadn't had time to take a look at the lesson, but those times were scarce.
That made it difficult to get back at her. But Kat always managed…

Once they arrived at school, they parked the car, got out and headed to the administration building. Once there, they reached a door on which « principal Cooper-Nichol » had been engraved in golden letters. Both girls rolled their eyes at it, as they always did. That was so Julie…

They knocked and entered the room together. « Hey » they both let out at once.
« 'morning girls » Julie answered. She raised her gaze towards Marissa « you've got literature lessons starting tomorrow. Don't ditch. No literature, no tournament. Is that clear young lady ?»
« Yeaaah….Whatever you say… »
« Try me » Julie raised an eyebrow. But Marissa knew better and left the office on her way to her first class .

Once she was outside, Julie turned her gaze to Kathleen « Make sure she doesn't. I'll check the registers… The new teacher is supposed to come by in the afternoon with his sister. She's going to study here. Please show them around or something. I would hate to have them late everyday for the next two months just because they can't figure out where they have to go»
Her elder daughter nodded and left since Julie had already turned her attention back to whatever she had been doing beforehand.


Matt's car came to a stop in front of a house. It was bigger than their former house which had been a bit too little, it walls were painted white.
She heard a door slam shut as Matt got out of the vehicle and watched as she did the same. He took a key out of his pocket, led the way to the wooden door and unlocked it.
« welcome home? » he whispered allowing her to enter the house… hoping it would seem okay to her
She entered the house. The rooms were modern furnished and spacey. Once they opened the shutters, two plate glass windows lit the room. Part of the house consisted in one vast room…pretty much like a loft. At one end was a desk, at the other end a couch. A table neared the kitchen which was separated from the rest of the room by a « bar-shaped » wall.

She gave a circular glance to the room… It was nice, she loved it. There would at least be two things for her to appreciate: their home and the fact that they live very close to an outdoor basketball court. She would also enjoy the park she had seen a few streets further, for she was fond of waking up early to have a nice little run before she went to school....

She went to a door at the other end of the room and opened it . There was a corridor with other doors. Two of them led to bedrooms, another to the bathroom, and the last to a spare room.

She smiled and turned around facing her brother « Hey Matty…wanna play a 1vs1? The loser unpacks everything » she smirked.
He shot her an unimpressed look then smiled. « Nah… you might need my help. There are some pretty heavy stuff in there. »
She ran a hand in her hair. « You're just too afraid that you're gonna have to spend the whole afternoon carrying boxes on your own, aren't you? »
He laughed « when are you going to learn that I'm simply the best? » He walked to her and ruffled her hair. « Let's get our things out of the car already… » Then he went on laughing while leaving the house.

After everything was taken out of the car and into the house, they first got most of the things that belonged in the kitchen and in the living room out of their boxes.
Arguing on the way they wanted to arrange the furniture then eventually reaching an agreement.

At 3.30 in the afternoon , both were in their room unpacking the personal belongings.
Well at least Matt was, for Alex found a photograph of her former basketball team. She lied down on her bed, reminiscing the moment when she had told them she was leaving. They weren't mad at her, though it upset them. They also had acted weird when she had told 'em where she was heading to, but she hadn't really figure out why.
She sighed, watching every member of the team closer. She had memories with them all…most were of joy.

Matt knocked and saw her as he entered the room. He joined her.

« They're going to be okay. You too. Being here doesn 't mean that you can't see them once in a while….and you'll probably meet during games, championship or tournaments… »
She put the photograph on her bedside table and nodded… She hoped it wouldn't come too soon though. She wasn't sure she was ready to play against them.

The older boy got up and hold out his hand for her to take.
« Come on » he said. « I told the principal we'd come by in the afternoon since our first day's tomorrow »

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