"Jay?" Patrick, the team's power forward, nudged me with his elbow.
I ignored him, turning my hand over in the car's heater, relishing in the warmth rushing over my chilled fingertips.
"Jay? Something happen?"
"No."
The entire car rocked as we entered the school's driveway. "Okay. Just hope you won't be like this going into the game."
"Yeah."
Exiting the car, we both moved to the trunk to grab our shoes.
Patrick gave me another glance. "You sure everything's okay?"
"I said I'm fine, dude. Give it a rest."
"Alright, sheesh."
Popping my earbuds in, I jogged to catch up to Patrick, who had already started walking towards the gym, leaving me to close the trunk. Entering the high school quad, we pushed past a few of the freshmen, acknowledging their words of encouragement with a nod and a smile, although I had trouble with the latter. Squeezing between several bystanders crowding the doorway, we made our way inside, wincing when the buzzer went off.
The squeaking of shoe soles against the hardwood floor intensified as both girls' basketball teams moved to their respective benches for a thirty-second timeout. Two opposing scoreboards hung on the far ends of the gym, displaying that our home team was losing by twelve points with four minutes to go in the third quarter.
"Guess they've got a strong girls team this year."
"We did lose Mary-Claire last year."
"Still; they at least won the first few games at the start of their season, didn't they?"
"True."
We moved towards a door on the southeastern side of the gym, knocking twice and peering through the windows. A familiar face popped up, unlocking the door and letting us in.
"Hey, guys. Ank isn't here yet, so get your shoes on."
"Coach running late?"
"Guess so. He's coming from El Dorado an hour away, so it's no surprise."
We dispersed to the different areas of the weight room, occasionally getting up to let in teammates and other late arrivals. The athletic director stopped by to open the ball cart for us before returning to doing the girls' statistics. We chatted nonchalantly in an attempt to break the nervous atmosphere that hung heavily in the room, discussing shenanigans we enacted in before coming to the game.
I played with my warmup jersey, resting my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward. Reaching into my bag, I removed my cell phone, flipping it open and scrolling to my contacts. My gaze rested on Jen's phone number, my stomach clenching involuntarily. I stared at it for several seconds before a ball bounced my way, drawing my attention away from the screen. Alex stopped in front of me, dribbling between his legs.
"Jay? You sure you're fine?"
I tapped the options button on my phone, scrolling to "delete" and pressing "enter." I snapped the phone shut, tossing it into my bag.
"Yeah. I said I'm fine."
All fell silent when the fourth quarter buzzer sounded outside, and our coach limped through the door.
"Yo; music off. Listen up."
We deposited our music players into our bags before crowding around the coach.
"Remember: These cats are the number one players in the league. Now I know yall' feelin' a lil' antsy thinkin' about that. And there's nothin' you can change 'bout it. They're big, they're athletic, and they're more skilled than you. They've been playin' all summer, too. They just recycle their football, soccer and baseball players to this team. So think of 'em as a bunch of Morgans on that team."
Morgan was a small point guard on our team who was famous for playing almost every single sport available at Country Day. Lacrosse, skiing, baseball, soccer, cross country and track were the ones he played best at. Basketball wasn't even his prime sport (Which was soccer). This also made him the most athletic on our team, since he played a different sport for every month in the school year.
"You've already got no chance of winning. But," he held up his hands, catching our downcast gazes. "There's a difference in 'losing' and 'getting beaten.'"
We all shared a shit-eating grin. We knew what was coming.
"You lose, you let 'em walk all over you. But if you get beaten, you make them beat you. Make 'em earn that 'W.' And that all lays on where yall are at. You gonna pussy out? Or you gonna be the win they walk away from, sayin', 'Damn, we really had to work for that one.'"
Not even waiting for our answer, he put his hand out. "Bring it in."
Forming a circle, we placed our hands on his fist. "Hard work, on three. One, two, three!"
"HARD WORK!"
As we moved back to switch shoes and gear up, our coach checked the scoreboard through the window. He smiled, his perfectly white teeth providing a stark contrast to his mahogany face. "Five dollars and thirty-six cents on the clock, gentlemen. Get yer heads straight."
"Okay. I think everything's in place."
Twilight took a few steps back, sighing in satisfaction. The sound crystals were in place, each one levitating within its respective container. The soft glow they emitted lit the darkened library basement, illuminating the intricate chalk mosaic drawn on the floor between them.
Spike scratched his head. "You sure this was the 'simplest' design?"
"Of course! Isn't the circle's design streamlined from the mass teleportation ones that we read about in the book the other day?"
The dragon gave her a blank stare. "...It kinda looks the same."
"Oh, Spike! Quit teasing!" Twilight laughed.
Spike opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it, shrugging to himself before returning to his checklist. "That just about does it for the final checklist. Should we fire it up?"
"Not quite yet. We've still got the checklist for the final checklist, and the checklist for the checklist of the final checklist. Then we'll be ready."
"Ugh. How did I not see this coming...?"
"Closeout drill! Let's go!"
We crowded the baseline, lining up on opposite sides of the key.
"Go!"
Alex and I took the lead, sprinting forwards. As we approached the top of the key, we threw our arms back, swinging them back up into an imaginary opponent's face to block a shot, quickly sliding to the sideline and jogging back to the baseline. Our teammates followed, and we repeated the process to the half-court line. Once finished, we switched sides at the baseline and started over again. As I closed out on the half-court line again, I risked a glance at the opposing team. I couldn't help but feel a little more nervous.
The number one team in the division certainly looked like it. Tall; Paul Bunyan tall. Probably about as ripped as that guy, too. They were a Christian school, so it was no surprise to see a majority of white guys on their team. I guess that was one less thing to worry about. Ank always said, "When you start seein' a lot of chocolates, that's when you gotta be careful." But they were still tall, burly and practically dunking every single layup they made.
I snapped out of my stupor when my coach's voice stood out among the obnoxiously loud music from our school's pep band. "Quit starin', Jay! Get yo skinny ass back over here!"
Without hesitation, I obeyed, jogging back to the baseline for the defensive slides drill. As we lined up at the corners of the baseline, I glanced back at the opposing team. If I'm going to be preoccupied with them, I might as well scout out the who the shooters are.
Our drill began, which involved sliding to the top corners of the key, and then to where the half-court line met the sideline before backpedaling to the baseline, all while in a defensive crouch. Ignoring the burning in my quads and calves, I squinted towards the opposite side of the court. Luckily, the other team had just been released to start taking shots around the basket. My eyes widened marginally upon seeing all three initial shots land in the basket, jamming themselves into the narrow net—all three had made it. Even their power forward was a goddamn shooter. I gritted my teeth. This shit just keeps getting better and better.
"Okay, Twilight. That's everything." Spike replaced the quill in the ink bottle, massaging his aching wrist.
"So... Spike, you're not going to say anything?"
"Huh?"
The unicorn frowned at him. "You know, any more words of wisdom? I thought you were against me going through with this?"
"Well, initially, I was," he admitted. "Things that would be 'a challenge' for you always worried me. You said it yourself when you first stumbled upon the idea last week. When you said it required caution, I instantly felt worried about the outcome. Like... What if you teleport yourself off to somewhere far away... and I never get to see you again?" The dragon hung his head. "But I realized it wasn't right for me to doubt you. I mean, look at this crazy checklist!" He waved the long parchment he was still holding. "You always over-prepare yourself, so why should I be worried, right? I mean, you're the smartest pony I know. And even though you make mistakes, you never make technical ones. And I also realized I shouldn't doubt the most magically talented pony in Equestria."
Twilight blushed. "Well... I wouldn't say that."
"Hm... How 'bout the most magically talented unicorn I know?"
Twilight smiled. "Better."
"Anyways, you know what you're doing, and I suddenly asked myself, 'Why am I worried? Twilight's obviously got a lid on this, and you're already thinking about the worst-case scenario.' I was being pessimistic when I really had nothing to fear. Spike gave a sheepish grin. "So, sorry for doubting you. Do you forgive me?"
Twilight ruffled the dragon's spines with a foreleg. "Of course I do! You are my number one assistant, after all." Her expression softened. "And I'm sorry for worrying you. I didn't mean to cause you any stress over the matter; I shouldn't have been so stubborn towards you. I should always listen to what other opinions have to offer instead of shutting them out."
"Heh; sounds like a decent friendship letter for this week!"
Twilight chuckled. "I think the Princess has enough on her hooves after that Crystal Kingdom ordeal; It'll work for next week, though."
She turned her attention to the vial of nether dust resting in the center of the circle, its contents flickering with a hauntingly beautiful shimmer. "Okay. Let's get this over with."
I rocketed the ball back to Patrick before taking my place at the end of the line. I glanced up at the clock: four minutes to go until gametime. Three until we headed to the bench to see who the starting five were. My gaze drifting back to my teammates, I watched intently as one of the other point guards put up a jumpshot, rushing after the ball when it bounced out of the hoop.
I couldn't help a nervous glance back at the other team, who were still shooting and chatting eagerly. Completely oblivious of our intent. My eyes narrowed. Another one of Ank's sayings popped into my head.
"So what? So what if they're D1? So what if they're taller than you? Packing your every shot? Just shrug it off, and say, 'I'm gonna make the next one.' And if they are D1, good. They'll be walkin' in like they're hot shit. Make 'em pay for carelessness. Take up the slack. Don't let them make any mistakes. Make 'em play well, so we've got no excuse for why we lost. We lost because they were better than us, but we did everything we could. No harm in losing those kinds of games."
I knelt to tie my right shoe again, which had come loose. Suddenly, my vision flickered around the edges, accompanied by a sudden wave of dizziness. I swayed in place, holding out a hand for balance. A ball impacted my face, the explosion of pain bringing me back to reality.
"Whoa! Sorry, Jay! You good?"
I nodded quickly, rubbing my face where the ball had hit me. "Yeah. My bad." I retrieved the basketball, turning around and jogging back to the line.
The hell was...? Whatever. Must've knelt too quickly.
I started jogging towards the hoop when another thought popped into my head.
Since when do I get dizzy from taking a knee...?
"Something wrong, Twilight?"
The unicorn frowned. "Yes. I just cast the spell."
Spike cocked his head. "But the vial's still there..."
Sure enough, the vial of nether dust was still resting in the middle of the circle, still giving off a lavender glow from Twilight's magic interacting with it.
"Exactly... It shouldn't still be here."
"Well, try again, I guess."
"Okay. Here we go..."
"Alex, Jay, Richard, Angel and Michael. Everyone else, off. Don't give 'em nothing. Make them earn every damn point, you understand?"
We all nodded in unison. He put his hand out, and we reciprocated. "Cavs on three. One, two, three!"
"CAVS!"
All five of us strolled onto the court, tucking in our jerseys. The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers.
"Welcome to tonight's Homecoming Boy's Basketball game! Tonight's matchup is Country Day Cavaliers versus the Sonoma Valley Lions. Here, we have our starting five..."
The rest was muffled and indiscernible. I glanced back at the announcer's table, confused. The dizziness returned, and I stumbled over myself. Shaking my head in an effort to break up the haze that now surrounded my senses, it became a struggle to simply stand upright. In addition, a strong nausea sent my stomach reeling into somersaults. My ears fell victim to a horrible ringing as the scoreboard's buzzer went off to signal the start of the game. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear my now-blurry vision, as well as attempting to unplug my ears. And then, as suddenly as this assault on my senses occurred, it vanished. A black-and-white blur appeared in my foggy vision.
"Hey, can you play?" the ref asked.
"I-I'm fine. I stood up too fast," I lied hastily.
"No, ref. Get him out!" the coach barked.
A teammate came off the bench, helping me up and assisting me in hobbling back to the vacant seat before taking my position on the court.
"Jay, s'matter? Ain't gettin' nervous on me, are ya?"
All I could do was shrug helplessly; the nausea made doubly sure that I didn't talk. Ank frowned.
"Well, sit out for a bit. When you think you're better, lemme know and I'll put you back in."
Again, I nodded before I rested my head in my hands, willing the nausea and dizziness to go away.
Twilight stamped her hoof in irritation. "Why isn't it working? I followed everything to the letter!"
"Beats me. Everything checks out. The sound crystals brightened momentarily and made that ringing noise, just like the text said they would."
"Hold on; let me check the tome again."
A flash of Twilight's horn sent the leather-bound book flying towards her, its cover flipping open. After a few seconds of sifting through its yellowed pages, the unicorn squinted as she scrutinized the text printed on the page of interest.
Spike's foot tapping impatiently echoed in the silence. "Well? What does it say?"
The book thumped closed as a befuddled Twilight shook her head. "Nothing that we haven't seen before."
A long pause followed. Spike broke it with a suggestion. "Well, why not give it one last shot? Just to make sure that this isn't going to work. I mean, three time's the charm, right?"
Twilight sighed. "Not sure what good it'll do, but, alright." She crouched low, her horn aglow. "One more shot."
The first quarter buzzer went off as the two referees blew their whistles simultaneously. I squeezed my eyes shut, covering my ears. Although the nausea and dizziness had faded away, the strange hypersensitivity to sound hadn't. My eyes darted up to the scoreboard: 15 to 27. Down twelve points. It hadn't been a terrible quarter, but I still wanted to get into the game. I wanted to contribute to the last homecoming match.
"Okay. Not bad, guys. I can see that yall have settled into your rhythms. Just don't forget to close the zone at the top of the key when the ball moves to the middle. Stop any approaches to the bucket; no easy layups. Make them shoot around the outside for their points." Ank's head swiveled to face me. "Jay, you think you're up for playing?"
I opened my mouth to respond when I heard my name again. Except it was from the last person I wanted to hear at the moment.
"Jay!"
I slowly turned to the doorway of the gym, my eyes widening at the sight of my very pissed-off mom and melancholy dad.
"The hell do you think you're doing, Jay?" she fumed, pushing past the referees.
"Mom?! What're you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same question."
"Ms. Akamatsu." Ank held up a hand. "Is there something I should know?"
My mom calmed down, much to my surprise. "Yes. I told Jay that he wasn't allowed to play in tonight's game because he's received two Cs. I even took my car keys from him to prevent him from driving here on his own. But I guess he had one of his friends pick him up, thanks to a tip off from someone I won't name."
I ground my teeth. Bryan. That sack of shit.
"I drove over here to take him home."
Ank turned to me. "Jay. You know the rules. One C technically means academic probation, but you're sporting two. I can't have that."
A sinking feeling filled the void the nausea had left in my stomach. "Well, can't I just play for one quarter?"
"Sorry, Jay. Your end of the bargain was to keep those grades up, and you let me down."
The referee jogged up. "Thirty seconds, coach."
Ank nodded to the ref before turning back to me. "Go home. You lied to me and your mother. You took advantage of both of us, and that's just damn selfish. Pack it up. You're out of tonight's game."
"But-!"
"Keep arguing and you're off the team," Ank shot back.
I bit back a smart remark. Not playing one game wasn't worth losing an entire season. I shuffled over behind the bench, throwing on my warmup jersey and slinging my gym bag over my shoulder. Before I could stand up, I couldn't help but feel the nausea returning; the sickening sense of defeat and failure not unlike the stinging aftermath of a slap.
Until it was accompanied by a shutout of almost all noise, muffling my hearing. I turned to face my mom, a confused expression on my face. She reciprocated with one of her own, mouthing something indiscernible to me.
Icy fingers suddenly grasped at my brain, like someone had dripped ice water through the top of my skull. The freezing vice-grip pulled me backward, throwing my vision skyward. I opened my mouth to yell out when the back of my head collided with something sharp, casting a dark blanket of silence over all of my senses. I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I felt nothing.
Except fear.
"You did it, Twilight! Look!"
The unicorn's eyes slowly opened, revealing a large depression in the floor where the circle was once situated. The sound crystals had fallen on the floor, no longer containing their ethereal shimmer. A smile slowly lit up the unicorn's face.
"I think you're right, Spike. Although, it looks like the Princess is going to get a little more than just a vial of nether dust."
The dragon eyed the depression in the floor. "Er... I'm sure she won't mind."
Twilight slumped into a sitting position. "Phew... That took a lot more out of me than it should have..."
Spike's brows shot up worriedly. "You feeling okay..?"
Twilight managed a weak smile. "Nothing a little tea won't fix. C'mon; I'll start the kettle."
"Oooh! Can we break out some of those strawberry scones Pinkie left us yesterday?"
"Why not? Call it our little 'success' celebration."
"Awesome!"