Chapter 213: Top Sail
Friday, January 20th, Evening
Friday night, another home game, Sawyer watched from the home baseline as the two girls' basketball teams got ready to face off. She smiled, that fake smile of a cheerleader, and stood with the rest of the cheer squad. Sawyer clenched her teeth as she watched the ball go up for the centers to tip-off.
The ball sailed high, and the centers went up for it. Avril was able to get a hand on the ball and sent it off to one of her teammates. Jade Loyal, the small forward, grabbed the ball out of the air after a bit of a fight. Jade looked around and threw the ball to Baylee, who started down the court.
Baylee threw the ball across the court to Faye. As Faye Ambrose pushed down the court, she fired off a running pass. Down the court, Brett received the pass then drove to the basket for a lay-up. Brett scored the first two points of the game.
Sawyer nodded and smiled. That was a typical opening for the game, and it's going to be one of those games. Sawyer started to shake her pom-poms.
"Go Tree Hill!" Sawyer yelled.
The opponents tried to push down for a lay-up. Sawyer's eyes got wide as Brett leaped up and cleanly blocked the shot. The ball landed, hard, at the feet of Flannery O'Brien, the sixth man, who secured the ball after the bounce and sent the ball over to Faye. The speedy point guard took control of the team.
"Go Tree Hill!" Sawyer yelled and just kept shaking the pom-poms.
Faye advanced the ball and called the delta formation, the triangle offense. The ball traveled around the court, trying to find the path of least resistance. The ball finally ended up in Baylee's hands. The senior shooting guard squared up and took her shot, just outside the arc.
Sawyer was engaged in the game, this time as a cheerleader, not her usual ex-player mindset. The first quarter came to an end with Tree Hill dominating, outscoring their opponent eighteen to zero.
"What's gotten into you?" Keni asked, from her position next to Sawyer.
"What do you mean?" Sawyer asked.
"You're full of energy and actually engaged in cheering for the game," Keni said.
"I don't know, it's a good game, maybe it's that time of the month, or maybe it's because I listened to Daft Punk before the game," Sawyer said.
"I need to keep you away from Keith, and well, it's not that time," Keni said, "Since our cycles have synced up."
"So, it's one of the other two," Sawyer said.
"I'm just glad not to hear it from Joce and Shannon," Keni said.
"You're welcome," Sawyer said.
"Well, anyway, what would Keith say if he knew you were listening to Daft Punk?" Keni asked.
"We're up all night for good fun," Sawyer said.
"We're up all night to get lucky," Keni said.
"Quarter's about to begin, again," Sawyer said.
Tree Hill didn't as dominate the second quarter as they did in the first quarter. Tree Hill still controlled the tempo of the game but came up with one point less than the first quarter. The defense was a little more porous, as the opponents scored two baskets, a two-pointer, and a three-pointer.
Sawyer was nearly chewing on her nails during the first part of half-time. The Tree Hill Cheerleaders went out onto the floor and did a routine. Sawyer was on point, and she didn't drop Alesha. When the routine ended, they returned to their place on the home baseline.
The third quarter started, with Tree Hill coming out strong. The opponent did get three free throws in the quarter. Sawyer heard her dad, Coach Scott, yelling at the team. She knew he was trying to keep them motivated to keep playing the game.
Sawyer stood on the baseline and did her part to keep the crowd cheering. Keep the fans in the game to keep the players in the game. As the third period wound down, the score was now Tree Hill leading 45 to 8. The team on the court was no longer the starters.
The bench players started the fourth quarter. Sawyer couldn't remember all the younger player's names. She knew two of the guards because they played basketball together before Sawyer had to give it up. They were Corynn Conners and Gracelyn Cooper.
The opponent finally showed up to play in the fourth quarter. Sawyer nodded, or maybe the teams were finally close to the same level of skill.
"Go Tree Hill! Finish Strong!" Sawyer yelled.
The game clock wound down, and Tree Hill controlled the quarter, still, scoring 14 points to the opponents 10. The last seconds wound down, and Tree Hill Girls' Basketball Team won another game, this time 59 to 18.
Sawyer watched as Trey Tertheto walked over to the court and met up with Brett under the net in front of Sawyer. He smiled at the taller woman and held a microphone to record for the school website.
"Brett, you had a good game today, with only playing two and a half quarters. How does it feel to sit out the last quarter?" Trey asked.
"Well, Trey, it's good to get some rest, since we have a quick turn around with another game tomorrow," Brett said.
"How does that feel with playing tonight and a game on Saturday?" Trey asked.
Brett shrugged, "I don't make the schedule, I just play when and where they tell me," she said, "But it can be exhausting."
"One last question," Trey said.
"Okay, sure, go ahead," Brett said.
"With the season coming to an end, and senior night about two weeks away, how does it feel for your career at Tree Hill to be coming to a close?" Trey asked.
Brett pursed her lips and nodded. "You don't," she said, "You live day to day and game to game. Some people would say try to hold up the sun for one more moment. Av, B, and I are in the middle of trying to get to another postseason run," Brett added, "Trey, I just want to stay in the moment and just keep winning games."
"With more games like tonight, I don't see that being a major problem," Trey said.
"Hopefully, you're right, Trey, of course with proper preparation, excuse me," Brett said.
"Thank you, Brett," Trey said.
Brett walked by Sawyer, stopped, and looked at her. Brett jerked her head towards Sawyer and went wide-eyed. "What?" Brett asked.
"You did everything right out of the humble athlete script," Sawyer said.
"Brett, let it drop, Sawyer's in a juiced mood," Keni said.
Brett tilted her head, "If it's not broken and works, don't fix it," she said.
Sawyer shrugged, "Celebrating tonight?" she asked.
"Can't have a game tomorrow, and I'm still restricted," Brett said.
"Still?" Keni asked, "I'd figure Chase would give in by now. She's always been soft on you."
"You know my step-mom," Brett said.
"I should since she's my sister," Keni said with a laugh.
"Maybe, you should make her call you, auntie," Sawyer said to Keni.
"Don't encourage her, Sawyer," Brett said and gave Sawyer a playful shove, which came off a little strong. Brett shook her head and walked away.
Sawyer laughed and watched as Brett walked away. Coach Sinclair confronted her at the locker room door. Sawyer just shook her head and went to join the rest of the cheerleaders.
