this riled up and happy before.
I turned back to the clock. The game was almost over. There were less than ten seconds left in the game, and we’d been down almost the whole time.
The team had struggled without David. They’d lost a couple of games without him. He was one of their better defensive players, but Aaron had been doing a great job tonight of carrying the team by scoring basket after basket.
He was shining as a player more and more with each game, and everyone could see that, from the coach to David and the rest of the team to everyone in the stands.
Aaron gave David a high five as he ran past.
The other team grabbed the ball. One of their players dribbled towards our side of the court.
I watched the clock and cheered, my voice lost in the yells and screams filling the gym.
Seven seconds.
Stomp, stomp with the rest of the squad.
Five.
They were going to go for the shot.
I froze with anticipation.
Three seconds.
Their point guard faked one way then aimed for the basket. One of Aaron’s teammates raised his hand high to stop it, but it was too late.
The intense noise seemed to fade away or maybe it was just me.
One.
The ball hit the rim and bounced off.
One of the opposing players jumped high to sink it in but Aaron jumped higher and grabbed the ball first. He landed on his feet, immediately wrapping his arms around it to protect it.
The buzzer went off.
The crowd went absolutely wild.
The cheer squad joined the screams. I shook my pom-poms and ran the far sideline, opposite the crowd.
I dropped the pom-poms as I geared up for what I did best at games.
My legs powered me into a sprint, and then I lunged into a round-off and several backflips.
Finally, I landed square on my feet and pumped my fist into the air.
My stunt only added to the excitement. The entire basketball team, along with most of the crowd, got on their feet, somehow screaming even louder than they had been a few seconds ago.
After a couple of minutes, everyone began to settle down, but only slightly. Clearly, they were still full of adrenaline from that incredible end to the game.
I made it back to the squad, looking at Aaron and how many people surrounded him. His teammates, his friends, and coaches.
I’d never seen him that happy in his life.
I smiled. He deserved it. The limelight didn’t often shine on him.
Since it was the last game of the night, people began to mill about, and others began to file out of the gym, still chatting animatedly.
As they did, the cheer squad made up two lines near the locker rooms so we could congratulate the boys on their hard-earned win. We cheered and clapped as the basketball team walked in between us and into the locker room.
Aaron gave me a giant grin as he walked past me, and I high-fived him. David was the last one to hobble into the locker room. Despite being on crutches for a couple weeks, he couldn’t do much more than take a few baby steps without them.
“Great job, everyone,” I told the squad, clapping for them. I could see how tired they were. We headed to the locker room.
Within about twenty minutes, most of the gym had gone from full and rowdy to almost empty and kind of desolate.
I stepped out of the locker room, my stuff in tow. I had my uniform on still, but I’d let my hair down and freshened up after a sweaty couple of hours cheering.
Scarlett was right behind me. “Are we heading to Bobby’s or what’s the plan?”
I turned back to her. “Yeah, I think so. I think the boys are riding together. Want to ride with me?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That would be perfect. Mom’s out with a friend of hers so I thought we could hang out.”
I was sure David and Aaron and the rest of the boys were already outside or on their way. We’d meet them there.
We made our way to the parking lot. Once I got to David’s car, I searched for my phone. Uh oh. Maybe I had left it in the locker room. “I hope the gym isn’t locked yet,” I thought out loud. “My phone isn’t here.”
Scarlett sat in the passenger seat. “Want me to go with you?”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I’ll be right back.”
I ran back, passing David and some of his friends. They were getting ready to leave themselves, but it