CHAPTER 10:

"One more point," I said optimistically as I walked past Rhea.

"One more point," Rhea nodded with a determined and staid look on her face.

I was at baseline, and Rhea was at the service box. I watched Pateel as she bounced the ball, getting ready to serve. I saw Lucia getting ready at the service box. If Rhea and I won this point, we would win the game. If not, then it would be Rhea's turn to serve.

I swung my racket and returned Pateel's serve. Pateel hit it straight towards Rhea. Rhea volleyed the ball back, trying to aim at Lucia's feet. Lucia stepped back and hit the ball past Rhea. I ran for the ball and hit the ball in the doubles ally. Pateel tried to lob the ball over Rhea.

"I got it!" Rhea exclaimed before I could claim the ball, she stuck her racket over her head, keeping her eye on the ball up in the air.

We watched the ball come down towards Rhea, and she tried to hit an overhead. I glanced at Pateel and Lucia. They were backing up, assuming Rhea would slam it.
But she missed it! The ball ended up hitting her shoulder.

Lucia, Pateel, Rhea, and I started laughing.

"Rhea! How'd you miss that?" Lucia demanded from the other side of the net.

"I know!" I agreed, and shot Rhea a look.

Rhea smiled a guilty smile towards me and complained, "I had it, but the sun was in my eyes!"

This caused the four of us to crack up again.

"Alright, you're serving Rhea," I informed her as I set two tennis balls in her hand.

"Okay. We're going to win this," she said encouragingly.

I took my position in the middle of the service box. My eyes glanced over to the side of the court, to see Jason sitting on the bleachers. I saw Jason, Anthony, and Cam amongst the few guys talking.

The bleachers were located ideally—outside the high chain-link fence—in front of the main court.

I turned my face back towards the court. Lucia was up at net too.

"Hey, there's Anthony," Lucia said with a hint of excitement, as she looked over at the guys. She said this loud enough for only me and Pateel to hear. I heard Rhea bouncing the ball off the court ground.

"He probably came to say hi to Lucia," Pateel stated, and shot Lucia a look. Lucia smirked.

Lucia told Pateel, Rhea, and I how she thought how cute Anthony looked today.

"5-4. Love all," Rhea called out the score.

I looked at Pateel, as she watched Rhea get ready to serve. We were all silent, as we waited for Rhea.

Then I saw a ball fly over the net, and Pateel ran to it. She hit the ball in the doubles ally and Rhea was able to hit it back. She hit it at Lucia. Lucia hit it towards me and I hit it over Lucia's head. Pateel returned the ball. Rhea hit it back at Lucia.

Why is Rhea hitting it towards Lucia? Lucia's good at volleys.

Just then, Lucia hit the ball at the doubles ally. I was covering the left side of the court, but Lucia was smart enough to hit the ball towards the right side. They won the point.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Then I heard somebody call from outside the chain-link fence.

"Go Lucia!"

My friends and I turned towards the bleachers to see Anthony with a smug smile on his face.

The other guys on the bleachers had amused expressions on their faces. Obviously they saw the whole play.

I turned back before my eyes tried to find Jason…or Cam amongst them. From across the net I saw that Lucia had a smile on her face. She waved towards Anthony.

I walked over to Rhea with a tennis ball in my hand.

"One of my pet peeves. Lucia always getting the guy," Rhea stated in a joking manner, though there was truth in the statement. She retied her black straight hair into a pony tail.

I gave her a small smile, "Yea, well…"

I shrugged; Lucia was who she was. A flirt. I tried not to think about it, before it could bother me. And before the Lucia Situation will come up again.

"Let's get this point," I said as I handed Rhea the ball.

Lucia was now at baseline. Pateel was now up at net, like me. Rhea was serving.

"Go Lucia!" Anthony's lucid voice shouted again.

I caught Pateel's eye. We both rolled our eyes before we concentrated on the game.

"Love, 15," Rhea called out the score. I waited for the next few seconds, imagining Rhea starting her serve. Just when the ball should have passed across the net, I felt something hit me on the shoulder. A tennis ball.

"Ow!" I said, startled. I dropped my racket, and fell to the ground. I felt the court ground beneath my butt. I started to laugh as I reached my left hand over to my right shoulder, still feeling the sting of the ball.

I managed, through my laughing fit on the floor, to see Pateel, Lucia, and Rhea laughing. My eyes glanced over towards the bleachers. I saw Jason sitting on the top bleacher, laughing and shaking his head in amusement and disbelief. I heard the other guys laugh, but before I could see which guys, Rhea blocked my view.

Rhea stood over me, her hand cupped over her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she said, "I'm so sorry." Then she couldn't hold in her laughter anymore.

Then I heard Pateel and Lucia ask, "Are you okay?"

I nodded my head with a last laugh, "I'm fine."

I picked up my racket and stood up. I gave a look towards Rhea, that didn't go unnoticed by Pateel and Lucia, causing them to laugh.

"Don't hit me again," I said sternly but with a smile.

We walked back to our positions on the tennis court.

I made sure to position myself off to the side so Rachel won't hit me with a tennis ball again.

As Rhea started to take her second serve, we heard a voice yell from the side of the court, "Don't hit Jackie now!" Then laughter.

I smiled, but I didn't recognize whose voice it was. I didn't bother looking over at the guys.

We won the next point, thank goodness. But we weren't able to play out the whole set because Coach Palmer gathered all the other tennis players over onto the main court.

"Okay. Good work today. See you tomorrow!" Coach Palmer announced, ending tennis practice.

I stuck my Prince racket into my tennis bag.

"See you tomorrow Jackie," Rhea said beside me as she picked up her bag.

"Yea, see you tomorrow," I said with a smile. With that, Rhea exited the tennis courts.

I zipped up my tennis bag and picked it up. I started to walk towards the exit when Hannah appeared by my side.

"Jackie, do you have texting yet?"

Hannah has a great tan, and caramel colored hair. She's an upcoming sophomore like my friends and I.

I sighed, "No. I don't think my parents are going to get it for me."

"Ugh. That sucks. You should ask. It's way more practical," Hannah said as she adjusted her pony tail.

"Yeah, maybe," I said uncommitted, knowing my parents wouldn't go for the idea.

"Hey Lucia!" Anthony greeted her and stepped off the bleachers to give her a hug when we reached the guys.

"Hey," Lucia said and hugged him back.

I walked past them, knowing that if I stuck around Lucia when she's with Anthony or any other boy, I'll start to get annoyed. And I don't want that. At all. I mean, I just got over that whole Lucia problem.

Hannah continued walking beside me as I approached Jason, who was sitting on the top bleacher. I hopped up on the bleacher next to Jason, sitting in the opposite direction you're suppose to sit, with my legs were dangling off the bleachers. He turned himself around, mimicking my sitting position.

"Hey," Jason greeted me with a smile. He put his left arm around my shoulders, and squeezed me towards him.

"You enjoy the game?" I asked, and pulled away when he loosened his grip on my arm.

Jason chuckled and said, "Very funny."

Then Pateel approached us, and stood next to Hannah who was standing and watching us.

"Hey Pateel," Jason greeted Pateel. He opened his arms for a hug.

"Hey Jason," Pateel replied and gave him a hug.

"Your mom called and said she can't pick us up," Jason turned to face me.

"What?" I asked wearily.

Jason ran his hand through his hair, causing some of his hair to stick up. In a cute way.

"She tried calling you, but she said that she's stuck in traffic. And nobody else can pick us up, so she said to just go and eat somewhere for lunch. And by the time we're done she said she'll probably be out of traffic."

"Great," I replied sarcastically. I turned my back towards Jason, so I could unzip one of the pockets of my tennis bag. I rummaged through my stuff, searching for my cell phone.

"Why do have so much stuff in there?" Pateel asked surprised, from beside me.

I looked up at her and said with a laugh, "I don't know."

I dug past my water bottles—some empty and some full—, sun screens, and two tennis balls for my cell phone. I was even surprised to see an extra set of tennis clothes in my bag. No wonder why my bag was so heavy.

I found my phone and saw that I received a missed call from my mom.

"I'd offer you guys a ride home, but my aunt is picking me up," Pateel said. I had no pockets on me to put my phone in, so I unzipped the smallest pocket on my tennis bag. I made sure to put my phone in the smaller pocket, which contained only a granola bar and my wallet.

"Oh, it's alright. We can go to Chick-Fil-A." I stated, turning back and looking at Jason.

"Somebody say Chick-Fil-A?" asked a male voice.

I turned to see who the voice belonged to, to see that Cam now approached us.

"Okay, we can go there," Jason said while nodding his head in agreement.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Cam asked. The sunlight was shining on Cam's brown hair, causing it to look a light shade of brown.

He turned towards me, and I noticed his eyes were shinier; probably because of the sunlight too.

"Sure, why not?" Jason answered, before I could open my mouth.

"I love Chick-Fil-A," Pateel gushed.

"You can come too," I offered to Pateel.

Pateel nodded her head at the idea, "Okay."

She took out her iPhone and turned away from us, so she would be able to ask for permission.

"Ooh, is it okay if I come?" Hannah asked expectantly, looking at me.

"Might as well make it a party," Jason answered sarcastically, but with a polite smile.

"Sure," I replied with a smile, disregarding Jason's answer.

"Thanks," she smiled at me and then turned towards Jason.

"I'm Hannah," she introduced herself.

"Jason," he replied with a smile.

Then Hannah turned towards Cam, waiting for his name.

"Cam," he replied.

Pateel turned towards us and said with a smile, "Okay, I could come."

"Cool," I stated.

"Your shoulder hurt?" Jason asked as he turned towards me, trying to put on a concerned face but a smile formed on his face.

"Bet you got a laugh out of that," I stated with a look.

"Good thing Adam wasn't here," Cam stated. I turned towards him with a puzzled look.

Cam explained, "If he saw that, he wouldn't let you live it down." Then he chuckled.

I laughed, "Then I should feel lucky."

Then Jason suddenly hopped off the bleachers and stated, "Let's go. I'm starving."

Pateel, Hannah, and I got our bags.

I turned to see that Jason and Cam were already rounding the corner of the tennis courts, not bothering to wait of us.

"You're coming too?" Pateel asked Hannah, when she noticed that Hannah was walking on the other side of me.

"Yeah," Hannah replied.

Pateel nodded.

"So…are you and Jason…like…going out?" Hannah asked me curiously.

I swear, my mouth fell open.

"What?" Pateel and I asked surprised, at the same time.

Hannah had an embarrassed expression on her face but quickly recovered.

"Are you and Jason going out?" Hannah asked again, but cautiously.

"No. Why do you think that?" I gently asked her, not wanting her to feel embarrassed…or stupid.

"Well, it just looked like that. Misunderstanding," she said, trying to end the topic.

But I wasn't ready to let this topic close.

"Really? It looks like that?" I asked concerned. Does it really look like Jason and I are…a couple? I turned to Pateel for her reaction on this. All I got from Pateel was an amused expression. Her eyebrows raised up, also interested in what Hannah had to say about this.

"Well…I just assumed. He said your mom was going to pick you guys up, and it just seems like you guys know each other very well. So, I just assumed."

"Oh well, Jason and Jackie are just really good friends," Pateel informed Hannah.

"Yeah, just friends," I said.

"Oh, okay," Hannah said, understanding in her voice. Then I saw something in her face that I couldn't quite place.

We stayed quiet until we finally approached Cam and Jason, who waited for us just outside the campus.

"You guys, I'm going to the Jonas Brothers Concert in two weeks," Pateel referred to Hannah and I, as we walked down the sidewalk.

"Really? How?" Hannah and I asked at the same time.

"Well my friend, Alyssa, is turning fourteen this summer," Pateel informed. I nodded my head to let her know I remembered Alyssa.

"And her parents got her, me, and her other friend to go to the concert for her birthday," Pateel said with a smile on her face.

"That's so cool," I gushed.

"Do you know if you guys have a good seat?" Hannah asked.

I looked behind me to see Cam and Jason looking at us with amused expressions on their faces.

The sidewalk wasn't big enough for all five us to walk in a row, so the girls ended up walking in front and the guys were in the back.

"What are you guys smiling about?" I asked with suspicion in my voice. This caught Hannah and Pateel's attention because they turned around to see Cam and Jason.

"Oooh, the Jonas Brothers," Jason mocked excitement, with a goofy grin.

Cam started to laugh.

We walked across the street and onto the sidewalk.

"We do not talk like that," Pateel retorted.

"Okay, fine," Jason said surrendering early, not picking a fight.

I switched my tennis bag from my left shoulder to my right; using the big straps. I don't like carrying it by the small straps in my hand. I prefer carrying it on my shoulder.

It was getting heavier the longer we were walking. Weird.

Then Hannah started to talk about something that took her and Pateel into a deep conversation.

Then I noticed that my tennis shoe was untied. I sighed and stopped walking, and took my tennis bag off my shoulder. I crouched down to tie my shoe, and looked up to see that Jason, Pateel, and Hannah kept walking and talking.
But I also noticed that Cam was standing next to me.

After I tied my shoe, I stood up and was about to grab my tennis bag but Cam grabbed it before me.

I looked at him skeptically.

"I saw that you were having a hard time carrying your bag," Cam stated.

"Oh, um...well, not really," I managed to say.

I wasn't technically having a hard time. The bag just seemed to get heavier by the minute.

"I could carry it," Cam offered. He had an expectant look on his face, waiting for me to oblige. He was holding onto the small straps and carrying it like a gym bag. His other hand was carrying his swim bag.

A feeling of appreciation grew inside me, causing a smile to form on my face.

But I said reassuringly, "No, it's okay. I can do it."

I reached towards my tennis bag.

"You sure? You think your shoulder can handle it? After the…tennis ball incident?" Cam asked with a twinkle in his eye.

I laughed and shook my head, "You're not going to forget that, huh?"

Cam pretended to think about it as he started walking down the sidewalk. I walked after him, looking at his face.

Then Cam looked over at me with a teasing smile, "I guess not."

"Let me carry the bag," I said after a few seconds. I extended my hand towards the bag.

He looked down at my extended hand and stated, "Looks like that bracelet's getting loose on you."

He motioned with a nod, to the friendship bracelet Lucia made for me and Pateel.

I looked down at my wrist, and fingered the bracelet. It was definitely getting loose; it was almost loose enough to fall of my wrist. Almost.

I tried to untie the knot but I was having trouble untying it. So, I stopped trying to fix it.

I looked ahead of us, to see that Jason, Hannah, and Pateel crossed the street. Cam and I were still behind, just fifteen yards till the corner of the street.

I looked back at Cam to see him looking at me.

I extended my hand towards the bag. Cam blinked then looked ahead.

I sighed, causing Cam to chuckle.

"Fine, carry it," I said with a surrendering tone to my voice.

Cam laughed, "If you insist."

I laughed and looked at him to see a smirk on his face.

Then he teased, "Your bag isn't that heavy, you know."

I laughed a humorless laugh.

"Just you wait, it's going to somehow get heavier," I said matter-of-factly which made him laugh. Which then made me smile.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reviewing you guys! I really do appreciate it! :)