I watched rain slowly fall off the leaves as my father's casket was laid into his grave. It was cloudy out and the rain finally stopped coming down. I felt the water finally sink into the front part of my shoe. I tried to ignore the crying coming from my relatives. Hell even my mom was crying. Everyone was wearing black. Flowers were now being thrown on his casket. I watched before lightly tossing my flower on his casket.
The priest then said a few words and we had a moment of silence. No one talked, but crying was heard from people all around. I looked up at my grandparents from my dad's side. I haven't seen them in years. They currently lived in Florida. I saw my two aunts crying with their husbands, my uncles, holding onto to them. My two aunts are my dad's sisters. They use to tell Timmy and me stories of how they got in trouble when they were younger. Until the alcohol started to affect my dad. I never knew why he became addicted to alcohol. Was it something I did? It doesn't matter now because I'll never know.
As people left, I stood there as soil was thrown on my dad's casket, burying it far underneath the Earth's surface. My mom and I stayed there until they were finally down. I checked my cell phone, it was 12:00. We had the finals today at 6:00. The coach had constantly asked me if I was up to playing. I know, my dad did die, but I had to play. I worked to hard to give up now, and it was my last chance ever. I had to do this.
"Lilly, Lilly sweetie." My mom said shaking my shoulder gently. I looked up at her. Her eyes were a bit red and puffy. She had changed a lot since dad left, sure the first week was rocky but she's doing great now. Now she shows me she actually cares now and it feels great.
"Yeah." I said still staring at my father's grave. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my mom look back at his grave. It was hard to believe I lost another family member, but that's life I guess. I slowly tugged on my mom's arm signaling her that I had to leave. She nodded and we made our way over to her car.
"So are you nervous about the big game tonight?" My mom asked while starting up the car.
"A little bit, the Cougars are a really good team." I sighed. I was debating on telling her the promise I made with Timmy many years ago. I was more afraid of her reaction to Timmy's name. We never talked about him.
"Well I'm sure you guys will pull a win. Your team is pretty good. You girls can box out, but have a little trouble grabbing the rebounds, but I'm sure you'll be able to pull through in the end. I mean your team is very good with the outside shots, and even down low ones considering everyone's height." My mom said casually. I love when she tried to understand sports. Well she is true and she did use to play in college back in her day, but it just seemed funny to hear this all coming from her. Conversation soon died down and my attention went to the window wipers which were currently moving back and forth. The rain had started up again.
"Mom, can I tell you something?" I asked still scared to mention Timmy's name in front of her. I'm not sure of how she'll react seeing.
"Sure honey." She answered. I hesitated thinking of how hint it was about Timmy. When that failed I just decided to come out with it.
"It's about Timmy..." I whispered. Her face showed no reaction at his name. She just nodded, so I decided to go on.
"Awhile ago I promised Timmy something. It was after he lost the state championship to the Cougars. I went into the locker room to see him. He asked me to make varsity, then win the state championship for him. See mom that's why I'm playing, that's why I always focused so much on basketball." I said still looking at her. Soon there where tears slowly coming down her face.
"Mom I'm sorry, please don't cry." I said frowning. I didn't want to upset her, only make her understand why basketball was so important to me.
"No, Lilly I'm happy. We never talked about your brother and I feel horrible for it. It's just after he left us, I went through so much pain. I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one going through this, I'm sure you and your daddy were too. I'm sorry for not being there when I should have been. I've been a horrible mother, I just hope I can make up for it and be there for you Lils, because I love you." She said as we neared the gym. I smiled at this, my mother hasn't told me she loved me since I was small. It really meant a lot to me.
"Mom it's okay I forgive you. I love you too." I said smiling.
"Now go win that championship. And no matter what happens I'll be cheering you on. Even if you lose Timmy will still be proud of you, remember that." She said smiling. She gave me a hug.
"Thanks mom." I said as I opened the car door. I really needed to hear that.
As I walked into the gym there were already about a 100 people there, and many more were still trying to get in. There was a side dedicated to our fans and another side dedicated to the other fans. We were playing at a local college, which had a huge gym. There were streamers and posters with our colors on our fan side. The opposing team's fans also had their share of posters and decorations. The game was about to start in an hour. My teammates were already out on the court warming up. My coach knew I was going to be late. When he saw me he gave me a nod and pointed to the locker room.
I went into the locker room. It was probably the biggest one I have even seen or have been in. I prepared myself for the final time I would ever put on a basketball uniform for my high school. I slowly tucked in my shirt. I was feeling a bit nervous. I remembered Timmy told me the other team was just as nervous, or more nervous than I was. It did make me feel better, because it probably was true. I slowly made my way out to the court to warm up. I was greeted by my teammates smiling nervously at me. Man did they look nervous.
"Hey everyone, come over here." I said getting their attention. I waited until they gathered around me.
"Okay look, why does everyone seem so nervous?" I asked not expecting an answer. I was surprised when one girl spoke up. She was a sophmore who did not talk as much as the rest of the team.
"I'm scared we're going to lose." She said softly refusing to make eye contact with me.
"Is that all?" I asked everyone. Some mumbled yes, while others nodded.
"Just look at it as another game. Win or lose we're not going out without a fight. Got it?" I said smiling a bit. The girls seemed to loosen up at this and smiled a bit.
"Good now lets go kick some Cougar ass." I said loudly.
"It's time to get this game started!" The commentator yelled into his microphone. "Here are the Cougars starting line up! We have Days, Johnson, Stevens, Applebee, and Thomas! The Cougars have won the state championship for the last three years. Now here come the Wildcats starting lineup Truscott, Lewis, Jones, Stoker, and McNeil. Lillian Truscott is the sister of Timothy Truscott who competed in the championship against the Cougar's male team way back. His team lost, but can Lilly take back the championship for Tim? Well we'll see."
"Cougars gain first possession in the first period. Days dribbles, passes to Johnson, who passes to Stevens down low, who takes a shot... Oh she makes it! 2-0 Cougars. Now Truscott takes up the ball, does a move around Lewis, she passes it to Stoker, who passes it back to Truscott, who takes the 3… and she makes it! Wow amazing shot 3-2 Wildcats. Days dribbles it up, she is double teamed by Truscott and Lewis. Truscott steals the ball! She passes it to Lewis, who scores the easy layup. 5-2 Wildcats." The commentator said.
The first period was now over. The score was 18-16 Wildcats.
"Truscott dribbles up the ball. Oh McNeil shoves right into her, causing Truscott to fall and lose the ball. The ref clearly wasn't paying attention to that play, it was clearly a fowl. McNeil gets in an easy layup. Truscott is slowly getting up but seems to be fine. The Wildcats are seeing the Cougars first press of the night. Truscott to Lewis, to Stoker, to McNeil. They are finally past half court. McNeil passes the ball back to Truscott, who passes to Stoker who is wide open! Easy layup for Stoker." The commentator yelled.
The second period now ended leading into half time. The score was 30-26 Cougars.
I slowly made my way into the locker room. I just played for two periods straight and was dead. I grabbed my water bottle from the water girl. I listened to coach go on about how we had to break the press better, but mostly paid attention to Ms. Stewart, who was looking amazing like always. I guess she noticed I was staring at her and looked over at me finally and smiled. I smiled back. The coach dismissed us from the locker room. I ended up walking out with Ms. Stewart.
"You're doing great Lilly, keep it up." She said putting her hand on my shoulder.
"Oh I will." I said smiling a bit. I looked around noticing we were all alone.
"Well good luck." She said. But what she did next surprised me most. She kissed me on the cheek, smiled and left. I stood there rubbing the cheek she kissed, her lips were so soft. I felt my face turn red. She smiled at me and walked out.
I never knew
I never knew that everything was falling through
That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth
But that's how it's got to be
As the second half ended we found ourselves in overtime the score was 58-58.
It's coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
The smoke and who's still standing when it clears
"Well folks it looks like were going into overtime!" The announced yelled. "Here comes the tip off, the Wildcats start off with the ball. Truscott dribbles it past the defenders and gets an easy layup in! Days gets the ball, oh she sinks in a two pointed! Truscott dribbles up the ball and she is hacked by Days. That'll bring her to the fowl line. She makes one of her free throws in." The commentator yelled.
Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
I looked up at the clock time was coming to an end. There was about a minute left to play. I quickly dribbled up the ball and passed the ball off to Amanda Stoker who easily got the layup in. I called for a press. The score was 63-62 Wildcats.
Let's rearrange
I wish you were a stranger I could disengage
Just say that we agree and then never change
Soften a bit until we all just get along
The press broke taking a wide open three point shot. They were now up by two 65 to 63. We had only eight seconds on the clock. We had to score quick, coach called a time out before the ball could be taken out. We had possession.
But that's disregard
Find another friend and you discard
As you lose the argument in a cable car
Hanging above as the canyon comes between
Part of me listened to him and part of me didn't. The fans were screaming and chanting. I looked over at my mother who was standing up with her hands over her face. She looked nervous. Then my mind went back to her. She also looked nervous. I watched Ms. Stewart pace back and forth. We just had to win. Not only for Timmy, but for myself. I wanted this.
Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
I quickly dribbled up the ball, I checked the clock it was quickly running. I had to shoot. The only shot I had was a three point shot. Sara McNeil set a pick, all I had to do was make the three pointer to win.
Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind
3-2-1 I shot the ball and prayed it would go in. The stadium went dead quiet as I took the shot. Everything was happening in slow motion. Then the ball went in! It went in! I never jumped so high in my life. We won! We won! Before I knew it I was being tackled by my teammates, then eventually everyone from the stands came down to celebrate.
"They won! They won! I can't believe it! "The commentator yelled.
I never felt so happy. Before I knew it we were getting our trophy and so many people were taking our pictures. I couldn't stop smiling. After that was done I watched my mom come over to see me. She was smiling and it looked as though she had been crying.
"Lilly! "She yelled hugging me. "You did amazing."
"Thanks mom, why are you crying?" I asked letting go of her.
"Oh I was so happy." She said still smiling. She quickly wiped away a few tears. I smiled and told her I wouldn't be out too late.
My team finally went into the locker room so our coach could talk to us. This was the first time I have ever seen him smile so much. Usually when we were in the locker room he was angry. For once we got all compliments. He told us he'd call us to let us know when the banquet was and then dismissed us. I was the last to leave. When I got out to the parking lot there were only two cars left. I noticed someone was leaning against my car. As I got closer I noticed it was Ms. Stewart.
"Hey." I said. She looked a bit nervous, she was even shaking a little. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, well no." She said shaking her head.
"What's wrong?" I asked feeling anxious. I saw her bite her lip and look down at her feet. She seemed to be struggling on to tell me or not.
"Have you ever loved someone that you're not supposed to?" She asked nervously. My jaw dropped a little, there's no way she's talking about me. Maybe it's her ex boyfriend, it has to be.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I said slowly. My heart was beating fast, it felt as though it was going to come right out of my chest. She looked around as though she thought someone was watching us. I decided just to come out with it, school was kind of almost over. I couldn't keep lying anymore.
"I love you." I blurted out. I was too scared to look at her. Even if I did I couldn't read her facial expressions because it was too dark outside.
"I, I love you too." She said shyly. I ignored what she said.
"I'm sorry, we don't have to talk again, I shouldn't of said anything. Sorry, sorry, sorr..." I said before getting cut off by her lips. Shivers ran through my body, I wanted this for so long. It just couldn't be real. She slowly pulled away.
"You know when you were at the club, well I kissed you." I said.
"I had a feeling it was you." She said sounding happier than before.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"Well your wig was kind of falling off." She said laughing a bit. We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.
"We shouldn't tell anyone, you would lose your job." I said frowning.
"I know." She said agreeing. "I wish we didn't have to hide."
"I know, me too." I said.
"You should get going, you don't want to keep your mom waiting." She said before giving me a quick kiss on the lips. My face turned red again but luckily it was dark out so she couldn't see.
"Bye." I said before getting into my car.
This has definitely been the best night ever.
Once again I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Thanks for all the reviews, I believe I had about a little over 20. This is the longest chapter I ever wrote. SoI hope everyone likes this chapter. And also I do not own the song used, the fray does. Anyways keep up the reviews.