Bella and JP had gone together to meet the rest of the team for breakfast that morning. All thirteen of them sat crowded around a single table in the dining hall discussing strategy, game plays, new moves, drama around campus while there were no classes to distract anyone, and anything else they could think of.
They then all headed to the campus pool after Hollywood (she had a habit of wearing ridiculously huge sunglasses apparently) had mentioned that it's always empty during the summer being that no one really stays on campus then. And they'd had a blast together. They'd played chicken, volley ball, a round or two of Marco Polo, and even had a few races up and down the pool as well.
They'd all gotten out, dried off, tied their hair up, pulled on a pair of shorts, and headed across campus to the field for practice that would be happening in the next hour. They all automatically got into their usual circle to stretch and talk.
"Will you show us that move, La-La?" Bella looked up and nodded in response. She never thought that some dumb move she'd made up years ago would be such a staple among her teammates.
"Do you guys think we're ready for the game next weekend?" Another girl, Minnie (she had a high-pitched voice and an obsession with Disney) asked.
"I think we are⦠or at least we definitely will be," JP answered her as she lunged to the side and stretched her legs out. They all laid down to do leg raises and continued to talk everything out.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd all been in that pool," CK said as she walked up without looking up from her phone. Bella turned her head to look at Kate from where she was still lying on the ground. They were all still in their bathing suit tops and most of their hair still hadn't fully dried either.
"You should join us next time, CK," Hollywood said as they all finally stood. Bella felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of Kate in a bathing suit and bit her lip while trying to figure out why her body had reacted like that in response to Kate.
"We'll see," Kate said and finally pocketed her phone. She shot everyone a wide smile which earned groans in response. Bella looked around in confusion before looking back to Kate who was now smirking, "Go get the cones, K," She said and Lil' K ran off to grab the cones out of the bag that CK had dropped on the side lines. Ah, they were running suicides. Bella loved running. "Okay, girls, you know the drill," She blew her whistle then and they all fell into two lines to start running.
After thirty minutes, they were all sweaty and everyone seemed to be breathing hard. Bella could've gone for thirty more minutes, but Kate seemed to take pity on them, "Okay, water break and then we're running plays," She said and the girls all seemed to fall to the ground at once, "So dramatic," She said playfully and rolled her eyes. Bella was the only one left standing, "You guys should all step it up. La-La there isn't even breathing hard and she's definitely not used to this altitude," She said as she walked towards the bleachers where she'd left her bag.
Kate earned twelve simultaneous middle fingers as she walked away and Bella just laughed in response, "I saw that," Kate threw over her shoulder with a giggle and the girls all finally dragged themselves from the ground and over to their bags to grab their water bottles. Kate pulled a soccer ball out of her bag and tossed it over her shoulder onto the field, "Two more minutes and then corner kicks."
0~0~0
"Okay, girls! Nice job today," Kate said when the last play she'd planned had been mastered. "No practice tomorrow, as usual," She said. Bella nodded along with the rest of the girls. They didn't practice on Sundays. "I'll see you all on Monday. We'll be in the weight room," She said and the girls all groaned once again. Bella smirked. It was clear, Kate was doing all she could before their game next weekend.
"I'm going back to the pool," Hollywood said and the rest of the girls mumbled their agreement. Bella was pulling her cleats and socks off.
"You coming?" JP asked as she did the same next to her.
"Nah," Bella shook her head, "My counselor wants to meet with me today and I need to go shower and change," She continued and JP nodded as she shoved everything into her own bag.
"Cool, I'll text you when we go to dinner then?" Bella nodded in response and threw a smile her way before the goalie was standing and running to catch up with the rest of the team.
"Counselor meeting, huh?" Kate asked as finished shoving cones into her massive equipment bag. Bella looked up and nodded before standing and shouldering her bag, "On a Saturday?"
"Every other time he wanted to meet, I was here," Bella gestured to the field and shrugged, "He agreed to meet with me today after practice, so I took it." She started walking and Kate fell into step beside her once again. "I don't see the point in the meeting. He's just going to welcome me to campus, like everyone else did. Give me my schedule, which I can access online. And tell me that his door is always open if I need someone to talk to," Bella finished with a roll of her eyes.
Kate laughed in response and nodded, "That was pretty close but this school also has a slogan, so you'll also get a 'And remember, Denali is only as great as its students'," She said and Bella groaned in response.
"You're kidding right?" Kate shook her head and Bella made a face, "Gross," She mumbled and Kate just laughed at her, "Why no practice on Sundays?" Bella asked and Kate shrugged before answering.
"We usually hunt on Sundays," Kate said and Bella nodded.
"We?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Kate nodded in response.
"The coven. There are five of us," She explained, "Well six. I keep forgetting Irina actually has a mate now." She then glanced at Bella and looked away quickly which seemed odd, but Bella forgot about it when Kate kept talking, "He's nomadic and they're hardly around so I forget about him," She said by way of explanation and Bella just nodded in response.
"And you?" Bella asked, "No mate?" She finished and looked towards Kate who was now definitely trying her hardest not to make eye contact with Bella. She furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Kate look anywhere but at her.
"Umm," Kate started, and Bella knew that this was the first time she'd ever seen a vampire fidget nervously. It was a sight. "No," She said simply and Bella could tell she'd wanted to say something else but she didn't push it. She stopped walking and Bella looked up and realized they'd once again made it to her building.
"Thanks," Bella said awkwardly, "For walking me," She finished lamely and with a gesture to the building. Kate's nervousness was suddenly gone and a bright smile lit up her face.
"No problem. Good luck with your counselor. I'll see you on Monday!"
