After Jace, Izzy, and I have finished our lunch, Izzy and I ride back to school in silence. She occasionally glances over at me, a worried look on her pretty face, as if she wants to say something; but she never does. And I don't want to question her on the matter, because I'm not sure if I want to know what she's worrying and keeping quiet about. Besides that, I can't stop worrying that Alec may go after Sebastian.
True, I believe that Sebastian needs unspeakable things done to him after all the hell he has put me through, but I damn sure don't want Alec to be the one to do them and get in trouble. That would tear his family up, especially poor little Max; and I can't let that happen to them, not after everything they have done for me throughout the years. Besides, Sebastian isn't worth the time or the energy. I dealt with it. It's done. Time to move on, and let karma handle him from here on out. Now, if only I can get Alec to see it the same way. But, he did promise to leave it alone, and he has never broken a promise to me before, at least not one that mattered, so I suppose I should drop it for now.
Looking out the passenger window my mind wanders off to something else that I can't seem to get out of my head... What Alec said during our private talk at the restaurant.
Mr. Alexander Lightwood wants me to try to get to know Jace because he thinks that there is some sort of connection between us and doesn't think he'll hurt me. Ha! I think Alec has finally fallen off his rocker. He believes that Jace can somehow help me break down my wall, but what he fails to see is that I refuse to let it down. But he also says to keep my wall up, because it's the smart thing to do. And that's what I find the most confusing.
Why would Alec say that when he has always been so adamant about me taking it down entirely before? And what does he mean by it? Is he unsure about the pretty good feeling he claims to have and this so-called connection between Jace and me, that he says he feels? I mean, seriously-
"We're here," Izzy says as she puts her car in park, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I sit up, and sure enough, we are in the school's student parking lot. We get out of the car, and as we head toward the building, I see Izzy in my peripheral reach her left hand over her right shoulder as she locks the doors and sets the alarm.
I never thought I'd see the day that I would be so glad to be back at school, but strangely I am in a way. It means that the day is half over, and I'll get to go home soon. I know that I don't honestly have to be here, that my last two classes of the day are electives and I already have more than enough of those to graduate, but I already made commitments that I can't break. Besides, Maryse said that they would look good on college applications and she didn't want me to be cooped up in the house like a hermit even more than I already am. By the angel, I love that woman! Always worrying about me as if I were one of her own.
"I'll catch you later, Iz," I say once we've entered the building. She looks at me puzzled, and I know it's because I usually walk with her to our lockers after lunch. "I told Mr. Carstairs that I'd be in early today. I've got to get a TV and DVD player to the English III class before this period starts."
"Oh," she says simply, but she looks a little relieved too. "Well, have fun."
"Oh, yes. Lots of fun," I deadpan and give her a hug. "Have fun in history," we pull apart, "it's all about World War II today."
She laughs. "See, that's why I took it after lunch, so you could prepare me for what's to come."
I laugh. "And here I thought it was because you didn't want to use too much of your brain in the morning."
"Well, that too." she chuckles.
"You're so bad," I tease with a smile on my face.
"I'll see you later," she says as she starts walking straight. "Love ya!"
"Love ya, too!" I call back to her before heading to the right.
I open the door to the library and walk in to find that nobody is here. The book return is close to being completely full, and it looks as if no one has touched any of it today. And there is only one television cart left when usually there is five.
"Mr. Carstairs," I call out while looking around, "I'm here."
There's no response, so I knock on his office door. Still no answer, so I turn the knob. It's locked, which is odd, so I knock again.
"Mr. Carstairs?" I wait, but still no answer. I'm starting to get really worried now, this isn't like him. I knock again. "Jem?"
"I'm right here, Clary," he answers, finally, and I hear the library door shut.
I spin around and face him, fisting my hands to my hips. "You had me worried. What have you been doing?"
"I took the television to the substitute in English III since we have a lot of other things we need to get done." He raises his left eyebrow, his dark brown eyes looking at me with worry in them. "And you better watch it using my name, somebody might overhear and report you."
"I ain't worried about them." I dismiss his concern with a wave of my hand. "What are they gonna do, suspend me for being worried about a teacher? And it's not like they can really do anything to either of us for knowing each other outside of school, now can they? Besides, if they tried, it would come back to bite them."
"I suppose your right," he says and casually shrugs it off. "Do you think you can help me get caught back up? My morning aide was out sick today."
"Code for a hangover," I laugh softly.
"Exactly," he laughs. "And as you can see," he motions towards the book return, "everybody decided to return books today, and the televisions have been being checked out like crazy." He points to the remaining cart, "And that one there has to go to the drama club. Guess it's a good thing that they don't meet until last hour."
"Right!" I agree and head towards the book drop. "You know, we could always blame Izzy for all the crap the drama club needs." I joke with a small laugh.
"No, I blame Ms. Belcourt." he chuckles. "She's always had a thing for the dramatics."
We both laugh as I get to work on scanning books in, and he puts one of the towering stacks of books that were lying on the counter in the book cart. Then he sets off, pushing the cart up the little ramp, to a row of shelves and starts putting books away.
After about fifteen minutes of scanning in books, and approximately another twenty putting them away, Mr. Carstairs and I finally finished with the books. Then I pulled up the list of all those that have books overdue still and of those that became due today and printed out the usual reminder note for each of them. As they printed out, I went through them and wrote down the fee on those that had one, before taking them to the office for the office aide to handle.
"Clary?" Mr. Carstairs says when I walk back into the library.
"Yeah, it's me," I reply, walking towards his office door. He pops up from behind the television cart, causing me to jump and screech a little. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I ask with a small, tight laugh, and using both of my hands to try to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest.
"Sorry," he chuckles. "Can you take this over to Ms. Belcourt's class, please?"
"Sure, no problem." I grab the handle on the cart and pull it towards me, then spin it around so that I can push it instead.
"Thanks," he says, opening the door for me. "You're a lifesaver."
"I bet you say that to all your aide's," I tease with a smile.
"Nope, just you," he assures me, with a smile.
"Aw. Okay, I shall return."
"Oh, I know you will."
I walk out of the room, again, and head for the elevator this time. I push the button, and the doors open immediately. Good! This should take no time at all, I think to myself as I enter and push the button for the first floor. The doors shut and when they open again, I exit beside Vice Principal Aldertree's office and begin to make my way down the corridor that is filled with the sound of bouncing basketballs.
As I come up on the gym, the doors are opened, so I stop to check out who may possibly be on the team this year. Bat, who I know is going to make the team, runs in for a lay-up, and of course, he makes it. He gathers up his ball, noticing me, and comes over to the set of doors I'm watching through.
"Hey, Clary," he says in greeting with a smile. "How do you think it looks out there?"
"I don't know, I haven't been standing here long," I admit. "But we both know that you're a shoo-in. Do you think you'll take us to state again this year?"
His smile becomes a grin. "I sure hope so. Are you playing this year?"
"Me? Are you crazy?" I laugh shortly. "I haven't played ball in years, you know that." I point my stubby, unpolished finger up at him. It's comical really. "And I know you're gonna take us to state, so the next time someone asks you that question, you tell them, 'Hell yeah, I am!'"
He laughs shortly, his chest heaving up and down a couple of times. "You always have faith in me, Clare. I'll be sure to remember that the next time I'm asked, though."
"You better," I say, playfully demanding him, while bringing my hand down to my hip.
He shakes his head with a smile on his face. "You gonna be in the stands cheering me on this season? I know you quit the squad, but that didn't stop you last year."
"Of course, I'll be there," I tell him with absolute certainty, almost hurt that he'd think otherwise. I have never missed one of his games, and I'm not about to start now.
On top of that, Jon would not be happy if I missed one of his buddy's games, even though I have quit. The two of them and Alec use to be an unstoppable trio on the court, and then when Jon died, Bat took it kind of hard. His grades plummeted, among other things, then he dropped out for the rest of the school year. That's how the two of us came to be in the same grade.
"Awesome!" he says excitedly. "You wanna come shoot a few with us?"
"I can't," I sigh. "I've got to get this delivered to the drama department before next period. Sorry."
"Alright," he says sadly. Then a sudden spark of hope flashes in his eyes. "Maybe on your way back through, yeah?"
"We'll see," I chuckle. He's still such a big kid. "I'll catch you later."
"Now, we both know better than that," he laughs.
I laugh, too, and steal the ball from his hands. "You know what I mean." I chest-pass him back the ball. "Now get back to practice before you get in trouble."
He dribbles the ball a couple of times, then bounces it between his legs. "Okay," he sighs dramatically. "If I must."
"You must," I laugh, again. I swear, talking to Bat is almost like talking to Jon; the same charisma and happy go lucky ways.
"Alright, but promise you'll stop back by on your way through."
"I'll try, but no promises." I give him a half smile.
"Try hard," he says and then pivots back towards the court.
Jace
"Hey, Malik," I yell, trying to grab his attention. He's staring at the guy they call Bat, who's standing over at the doors talking to somebody that I can't see. "Are we playing or not?"
"Yeah. Sorry, man," he says, sounding distant and grave. He then shakes his head, looking over at me, and puts his hands out for me to pass him the basketball. "Let's play."
I bounce-pass him the ball and ask, "Are you alright, man?"
"Yeah, I'm good." But the way he says it, I find it hard to believe. He starts dribbling the ball. "Set it up, and let's run it," he calls out.
The guys we are playing against set up a simple two-one-two in front of the goal. Malik fakes a pass to the guy named Edward, that I recognize from first period, and passes me the ball. I start dribbling and take my time walking toward the goal, and just as the dude Mark comes up, I pass the ball back to Malik. He dribbles it and heads down the center, but the twins in the front block him; I think their names are like Joey and Alex.
"Good job, guys." Malik praises everybody. "Now, let's put a little spice on it and see who we can shake up."
He quickly passes the ball to me, I take a step toward the goal, then give it back to him. He passes to Edward, who goes in for a lay-up, but instead of taking the shot, passes it to me. I shoot it, and it's nothing but net for a perfect three-pointer.
"Swoosh," Edward says excitedly, and fist pumps the air. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"Where was the defense, guys?" Malik asks the five guards. "Come on, you're gonna have to do better than that if you want a spot on this team."
"Here, let's show them what you're talking about," Bat says, running up from behind me. I glance over at the door, but whoever he was talking to is already gone. "Malik, Jace, Edward, Mikey, and I are going to take your places, and I want you guys to mimic what they just did."
We all swap out spots, Mikey taking center, Edward and I taking the back two rear post wings, while Malik and Bat take the front two post. The other five follow what we did, but when Joey goes in for the lay-up like Edward did, Edward blocks him, causing him to pass the ball sooner then he thought he'd have to. Kadir, Malik's brother, catches it but isn't able to make a clean shot; because Bat is already moved out toward him, and I'm already covering him. He tries to take his chance and shoots anyway, instead of passing it, and I slap the ball over to Bat.
"Now do you guys see what we've been talking about?" Bat asks as he starts dribbling the ball.
"Yeah," the five mumble at him.
From what Malik was telling me earlier, these guys are good but not great. He said their coach last year basically didn't give a shit, and just let them play. But seeing as how they are all trying out for varsity this year, it means more work for those that have - as he called it - the true experience of the game.
"Okay, set it up, and we'll try it again," Bat says, and we all swap back spots. Only this time, Edward moves down to his actual position, and Malik slides into his typical place, Bat being the primary ball handler as he is captain of the team.
We run the drill again, and this time the sophomores step up, and I end up having to pass the ball to Mikey. Mikey goes in, but Chris shifts down to guard him, so he moves it across the court to Edward. Edward gives it to Bat, who passes it to Malik, who passes it back to Edward, who tosses it to me. We follow the pattern we've made, and I can't help thinking that this seems like a game of monkey in the middle. I laugh to myself at the thought, just as Edwards shoots and sinks it.
"That was pretty good guys." Bat commends them before Malik walks over and whispers something in his ear. "Now, keep practicing while I talk to Malik for a minute."
"Jace, you move to center. Edward and Mikey, you two slide up." Malik instructs while taking a couple of steps backwards, then turns as he and Bat continue towards the center court.
We set it up and start running a bullshit play against the five; considering our odds, that's all we really can do. I pass the ball to Edward and run down the center, and as three of the sophomores come in to guard me, Edward passes the ball to Mikey, who sets it up and gets his own three-pointer.
We run one bullshit play after another while waiting on Bat and Malik to return. Each of us taking turns shooting. I don't know how much time has passed, but when Bat and Malik return, they are shoulder to shoulder and smiling from ear to ear.
"Okay, guys," Malik says, his grin never leaving. "We've got a surprise for you."
Bat looks over at him with a shit eating grin on his face, and then back to all of us before saying, "This surprise is going to blow your minds," he uses his hands to emphasize his words, bringing closed fists out from his head and opening them. "You've probably heard the name, and some of you may have even been fortunate enough to see this legend in action."
"But, I can guarantee, only a few of us have ever had the privilege of playing side by side with this legend," Malik adds.
"Oh, will you two stop it already?" A familiar voice says with amusement from behind them. Who pushes through them is not who I expected though. It's fucking Clary! As she makes her way between them, she smacks them good-naturedly on their arms, smiling. "I don't know if you two are trying to scare them or give me a big head. But I'm not that good," she chuckles.
"Bullshit!" Malik and Bat say simultaneously, both still grinning.
"Whatever," she waves her right hand in a dismissive manner at them as she starts scanning the court. She stops when she comes to Edward and Mikey, who are both smiling at her. She nods at them, her profile showing that she is still smiling. "Hi, guys."
"Hey, Clary." Edward says as Mikey responds with, "Well, long time no see, pretty lady."
"Some things never change I see," she chuckles and shakes her head at Mikey. "You're still a big flirt."
"Only speaking the truth," Mikey quickly counters. I want to agree with him, I really do, but I can't. I'm frozen in place, unable to speak or move.
"I've heard that before," she rolls her eyes playfully at him, and starts scanning the court again; her eyes sweeping over the underclassman. "I don't see why you want, or need, me here. I bet you guys can whip these kids into shape, no problem."
Her mouth drops as her eyes come across me, the last person on the court that she hadn't seen. She closes her mouth and looks up at Bat, then back to me, before she whirls around on her right heel and looks back at Bat and Malik. I notice only now that she's discarded her heels and is wearing sneakers.
"You guys got this, you don't need me."
"Oh, yes we do," Bat says. "We need some of that Morgenstern magic of yours."
"No you don't, and I don't have any magic." She glances over her right shoulder at Edward and Mikey. "Not anymore."
"Please," Bat, Malik, Edward, and Mikey all plead with her in unison.
"Here," Edward tosses the ball to Bat. "Put it in your hands, Clare. It'll all come back to you."
Bat hands her the ball, and she stares down at it. "I really should be getting back to class."
"Oh, come on," Malik says.
"Yeah, you were all for it a minute ago," Bat adds.
"We'll get down on our knees and beg if we have to." Edward chimes in.
Clary shakes her head, still staring at the ball. "That won't be necessary." She clears her throat, looks up, and turns back around. When she speaks again her voice is clear and strong, "One game. That's it."
It's the same one I heard her use last night with Alec and Izzy at the park. The one that leads me to believe that she is a firecracker. I wonder why she hides that part of her.
"Yes!" The entire gym erupts, even Coach.
"Alright, let's clear the court." Coach's voice booms across the stadium, and everyone does as they're told. Even I somehow manage to make my legs work. "Sophomores, take a seat and pay attention. This girl will show you a thing or two about the game."
"Probably more than that, Coach," Mikey yells over to him.
"Probably," Coach laughs. "She'll probably even show you a thing or two, Mikey."
"Y'all are crazy! The whole lot of you." Clary roars good-naturedly, shaking her head as she walks towards Coach. "You know that?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bat says as he follows behind her. "But you always fit in with us crazies."
Clary hugs Coach, and he hugs her back, grinning down at her. "It's good to see you, Clare."
"You too, Luke." she says, before quickly correcting herself, "I mean, Coach Garroway."
Luke? Does she know him outside of school? They do seem to be familiar with each other, almost like a family kind of relationship. But that can't be the case, or he wouldn't have said 'Good to see you.' Right?
"Ready to play some b-ball?" Coach asks her, and she shrugs her shoulders.
"I guess." She looks over at Bat and the others to her left, then chuckles. "I don't think I have much of a choice."
"Yeah, I don't think you do." he laughs. "You might want to go say hi to everybody before we get started though."
She sighs before saying, "Alright," then heads towards the guys that are now all standing beside Bat; where she is hugged and picked up by nearly every one of them.
The more I watch her with the junior and seniors - especially the seniors - of the team, the more I notice how familiar she seems with a lot of these guys. - Laughing and cutting up. Sharing what seems like private jokes, at times, with a couple of them. - Did she use to date them? And what's up with this Clare business? Alright, fuckers, get your hands off her and let's get this show on the road.
"Okay," Bat says after a moment, that to me, seems to have lasted forever. "If we don't get this game started soon, we aren't ever going to play, because I doubt we can get Clare to come back tomorrow."
"You're right about that," she laughs. "I'll be avoiding this side of the school during third period from now on."
"You can't do that," Malik says, sounding hurt if I'm not mistaken.
"I can if I'm going to be blackmailed into playing," she says with her hands on her hips, her right brow arched, and a smile on her face.
"What about sometimes?" Edward asks.
"Maybe. We'll see." She looks over at Coach. "So who's on who's team, and what score are we going to?"
"You're captain of shirts," Coach replies. "And Bat, you're captain of skins. Pick your teams, and we'll go from there."
Clary rubs her hands together with a mischievous glee about her. "Malik."
"Damn you," Bat says under his breath with a half smile. "I want the new guy. Jace."
"Alright. I want Edward."
Bat turns to look at her, "Fine. I want Mikey."
She looks up at him smiling, and I have to admit that these two look funny next to each other. He's so tall and compared to him, she's so short. And to see the two of them facing off with each other like this is really amusing.
She puts her right hand on her cocked out right hip and continues, "Mark."
"Jay."
"Zeke."
"Mitchell."
They continue picking their teams until there are no more junior and seniors left to choose from. Then we huddle into our respected groups and get ready to start the game. This should be interesting, I think to myself. The way everybody is acting, she's like a basketball guru; and personally, I can't wait to see what she's got.
"The first four names called are our starters," Bat explains. "If you need a sub, pull someone off the bench to replace you. I'm jumping."
"Who's guarding who out there?" I ask.
"It doesn't matter," Bat replies. Then sincerely he adds, "It's been a long time since Clarissa Morgenstern has been on the court, and I just want to remind her how much fun it is."
"Yeah," the others all agree.
Why hasn't she been on the court for a long time? The look on her face a bit ago was as if she loves being out here. And she doesn't seem to me, like somebody that would quit something that they love. Hmm... More puzzling things that I want answers to. I wonder, who-
"Alright, let's do this," Bat says, pulling me from my thoughts.
We head out on to the court, and when we reach the center circle, Clary and her team are already standing there waiting. She has Malik jumping the tip-off, and the way they are set up, they are going for the hoop on the wall with the doors that exit outside. Clary glances at Bat as he takes his stance, and smirks at him. Boy, she seems cocky. I like it!
Coach tosses the ball up into the air, and the game begins. Clary's team manages to win tip-off, and within no time flat, Clary has done sunk the ball for two points. How the hell did she do that? I didn't even have time to move.
"Come on, Giant," Clary calls out gloating.
"Oh, it's on now." Bat threatens good-naturedly as he takes the ball out. He throws it inbounds to me, and when I turn around, Clary has her team set up in a one-three-one formation.
She stands in center court, grinning, Malik is to her right, Edward to her left, Zeke is standing behind them, and Mark is just a few feet away from me. Okay, I have to admit, I was not expecting this. Good call, though. Now let's see if they can execute it.
I start to dribble to my left, putting myself between the ball and Mark, and as he slides towards me, I toss the ball to Bat over my head. Bat makes a b-line to go between Clary and Edward, and they throw their hands out and slide to meet him; effectively blocking him, unless he wants to get called for charging. He steps back, looking for his next option. All but Mitchell is still on this side of the court, and Zeke has him covered. As Bat glances over at Mikey, Clary swoops in and steals the ball, then goes in for a left-handed lay-up, but Jay throws his right arm out to his side and his left hand straight up above him, which causes her to laugh. She bounces the ball behind her, to her right, and Malik comes out of nowhere.
"Uhh!" He groans excitedly, retrieving the ball, and ends up dunking. He drops down and grabs Clary up, swinging her around, and she laughs. "Does my girl know how to make a play, or what?" he laughs, and sets her back down on the ground.
His girl? I don't like the sound of that. At all!
"Or what?" Bat laughs. "I guess we're gonna have to stop taking it easy on y'all."
"Don't get mad," Clary chuckles. "You're the one that wanted this."
"Yeah, but we're taking it easy on you and your team." Bat quips.
"Oh, really?" Clary asks with a laugh to her voice, still looking at Bat as she motions for her team to get back down the court. "And why's that?"
"Because you're a girl," Bat teases.
"Ha!" she shouts, causing me to flinch slightly at her unexpected outburst. "Think of me as one of the guys then and bring it like a man."
The gym fills with laughter. The sophomores in the stands. The players in the chairs on the sidelines. All the guys on the court. Even I'm guilty of chuckling at her witty comeback. Poor Coach is laughing the hardest, though, gripping his sides as he fights to stay upright.
"Ohhhh," Bat drags out as he tosses the ball over to Mitchell. "It's being brought now."
"I guess we'll see about that, won't we?" she taunts him, amused and if I'm not mistaken excitedly.
While Mitchell takes the ball out, I run down the court; noticing that she has set up a one-two-one-one. She really has got a knack for this. She could coach, for crying out loud. Clary stands at the free throw line, so I decide to be post. She has Zeke and Mark out to her left and right, with Edward in front of her, and in front of him is Malik.
"We most certainly will." Bat retorts good-naturedly.
Bat starts to make his way down the court, and Malik presses him. Mitchell runs out in front of him, onto this side of the court, for the pass but Edward starts pressing him. By the angel, they're like freaking vultures! Is this how they usually play for fun? As Bat gets a little closer, Clary starts backing up to press me and to, no doubt, get a better shot at catching the rebound, if there is one. But I don't budge, and with one more step backward, her back is literally pressed against me. Cheap feel, I know, but I mentally pat myself on the back anyhow.
"Now," she yells suddenly, and all hell breaks loose on the court.
Mark who was standing to the right of us, breaks across between her and Edward, and Zeke breaks behind us to the right. Edward turns to his right, and somehow he has managed to get the ball. He runs around Malik and goes in for an unguarded lay-up, which he makes. All while Clary and I stood in the same place, her pressing against me, keeping me back.
This is fucking crazy! Six to zero. Zip. Nothing. I can't believe this shit. How is this even possible?
"Ready to forfeit, yet?" Malik asks Bat, as Clary walks away from me toward center court.
"Not in this lifetime," Bat says, and if I'm not mistaken, I think he may be starting to get a little upset.
"Oh, come on. It'll save you guys the embarrassment, and me from breaking a sweat. " Clary says gloating, again. "Which I still have yet to do," she chuckles. "When are you going to bring your A game, guys?"
"Oh, it's been brought," Bat says with his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face. "You just cheat."
"How do you figure?" Clary asks as we all set up for the next play.
"You're pulling tricks out of that hat of yours that I don't remember," Bat retorts.
She stands straight up from her stance and puts her hands on her hips. "Oh now, Bartholomew, that's what happens during real games. If you want, though, I'll give you some to use for the season."
Bartholomew? Is that like a nickname? Seriously, what is the deal between these two? I mean, what is his thing with her? Their thing? Is there something going on between these two? And if so, what is it?
He laughs. "Sounds like a plan to me. Nobody will know what hit them."
"Right!" she laughs. She looks around the court. "Hey, guys, I think we should go easy on them and let them score this basket. What do you think?"
"NO!" Bat and Mikey say simultaneously. Personally, I wouldn't mind, it would mean that we actually have a score of some sort.
"Alright, fine. Suit yourselves, but you can't say I didn't offer." Clary says playfully. I really like this side of her. I wonder if there's a way to get her to be like this all the time.
"You're getting too cocky, Morgenstern." Bat jokes back.
"And you're not being cocky enough, Velasquez."
We continue to play, me guarding Clary every chance I get, and we are finally able to get a couple of points in on her and her team. While we play, I notice a crowd starting to form in the bleachers. Most of the people cheering on Clary and her team, and only a few cheering on our side. But none of it phases any of us, we just keep on playing while the friendly bantering continues. And before long, I even lose track of the score; which was eighteen to thirty-seven, Clary's team, before I quit tallying it up in my head.
"GO, CLARY!" A familiar voice yells, and Clary stops this time. "SHOW THEM WHO OWNS THE COURT!"
Clary looks towards the doors before shaking her head, the look on her face now is as if she is trying to figure out what's going on. I follow her gaze and see Izzy standing at the door with a massive grin on her face, then I look back to Clary, who is now scanning the bleachers.
"What time is it?" Clary asks of no one in particular.
"One forty-five," someone calls back to her. Wow! We've been playing for longer than I thought.
"Oh, sh-crap!" She looks over at Bat. "It's already last period, I've got to get going."
"We all do," Bat says with a small smile. "I want a rematch later when you have more time."
"We'll see," she chuckles and starts jogging towards Izzy. "It's been real, but I'll catch you guys later."
"Later," some of the guys call back as some simply say, "Bye."
I on the other hand just stand here, stunned, watching her as she exits the gym; Izzy saying something to her as she falls into step beside her. Once they are out of sight, I become confused. Why isn't Clary like that all the time? She was like a completely different person, kind of like she was at times last night.
Shit! That reminds me. I still need to talk to her about last night.
I turn, finally coming to my senses enough to realize that everybody is leaving the gym now and that I need to go grab a shower. Clary isn't the only one late for last period. And I'm on probation, so I can't afford to get in trouble. Especially if I want to be on the team. I head towards the locker room and wonder... Since it's my first day if I'll be able to get away with being late.
Let me know what you think about this chapter in the reviews. I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to show a slight glimpse of what the old Clary may have been like, before everything went wrong for her.
Also, Mrs Jace Wayland-Herondale and I have just finished re-writes and editing on chapter 9 for Sweet Redemption if you've been following along with it. So, it should be posted really soon. We are sorry that it has taken so long to update it and appreciate your patience with us, but life has taken control of us. And in all honesty, we've both been losing our interest in FanFiction. But, we will finish it; as well as our other stories. If you haven't read it yet, you should. But, you will need to start with Sweet Revenge first, as it part one. Otherwise, you'll be lost and confused.
Anyhow, don't forget to favorite, follow, and review. Reviews often help with ideas, so let me know what you have thought about this chapter and what is still to come. Plus, your reviews may help with getting me back in the groove of FanFiction.
Until next time... Mwah!