Page 7 of Courtside

Sage took a slow, deep breath, her body completely still as her mind raced, running through every possible scenario, seeking any alternative solution to the problem currently facing her.

She had to graduate after this year. She needed the internship for that to happen, and couldn't put it off until later.

There was no other way.

“Okay,” she finally said, trying to force a smile onto her face. “I guess I’m in, then.”

She barely registered the goodbye she and Coach Smith exchanged, walking on autopilot out of the classroom. Rather than turning right, the direction she needed to go to get to her next class, her feet carried her left, winding down the carpeted hallway. She walked past the workout room that catered to the general student population and a few of the team locker rooms. She continued on, not really seeing what was in front of her, until she reached a set of wooden double doors at the end of a hallway. She pulled on the brushed metal handles, immediately hit with the familiar smell of industrial cleaners, a hint of sweat, and the faintest scent of leather. Four open courts stretched before her, the hoops lowered on two of them, while volleyball nets stretched across the other two.

The Southeastern practice gym was a beautiful space. A line of windows bathed the wooden floors with sunlight, while light stone pillars that stretched up to the high ceiling cast dramatic shadows against the walls.

She didn’t normally see the practice gym bright with natural light that brought out the warm, golden streaks in the wooden floors. She couldn’t normally tell that the lines that delineated the basketball court were painted burnt orange and not red, and that the volleyball lines that bisected the other court boundaries were dark navy rather than black.

She dropped down onto the bleachers that stood along the wall closest to the door. The cold metal bit against the bare skin on her thighs, but she barely noticed.

All of her attention was caught up in a silent storm in her head.

She’d had a plan. Agoodplan. She was going to work for the soccer team, learn from a coach with a winning pedigree, supportwomenin sports, and somehow, through that, she was going to figure out how to turn her degree into a paying career.

But now?

Basketball.

She’d made such a conscious effort to put some distance between herself and the teams here. She’d avoided the games, the players, and even carefully navigated away from any news or articles about them.

She’d maintained her relationship with the sport. But that was personal. It was an agreement between herself, the ball, and the basket, and even then, she was only able to do it in the privacy provided by the silence of the night when the court around her was empty.

And now, in spite of years of running and careful planning, there she was: the new team manager for the Southeastern Men’s Basketball team.

* * *

Her phone rang as she sat on her couch reading a handout for her Baseball Analytics class. While she didn’t necessarily have a burning passion for the sport, it was an elective that worked with her schedule and, based on the first class, was going to be interesting enough.

She grabbed her phone and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Hey you.”

Sage immediately relaxed at the sound of her sister’s voice. “Hey Brin,” she said, smiling. “What’s up?”

Her older sister, Brinley, lived in Thousand Oaks, in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles, and about an hour drive from where their mom lived in Santa Barbara. Brinley worked as a lawyer in the entertainment industry, doing something relating to contract negotiations. It was fancy and paid a shit ton of money.

“Wanted to see how your first week is going and check in about Alumni Weekend.” There was the sudden screech of brakes and the honking of a horn in the background. “I hate humans,” she snapped. “Have I told you that recently?”

Sage laughed. “Only every time we talk.” She got up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen to refill her water. “First week is fine. My internship got fucked up though.”

“What? What happened?” Concern was evident in Brinley’s tone.

“Soccer found someone else who actually knew the sport,” Sage said, pausing to take a long drink from her bottle. “So now I’m stuck with Men’s Basketball.”

It was silent over the line for a long moment. “Are you okay?” Brinley finally asked.

“Fine,” Sage said. She started walking through her apartment, her phone gripped in one hand while her toes brushed over the soft carpet. “I don’t have a choice if I want to complete my program, Brin.”

“I’m so sorry,” Brinley’s voice was soft. “We’ll have to drink about it when I’m down there.”

“Right!” Bless her sister for the seamless topic change. “You’re still coming?”

Brinley laughed, her giggle light and feminine. “Like I’d miss the chance to see my friends from college and hang with my little sister?”

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