Page 45 of Rome: The Ballerina

“Nigga, I was tired that day.”

“Just don’t be tired tomorrow. We have a win to catch.”

“I’ll be asleep before the sun goes down.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Bet, De Bacco.”

Team meetings warranted change each time I exited the facility. While most hated them, I saw them all as opportunities for growth. I never left a meeting the same player I went into the meeting as.

My engine roared in the garage, joining the others as we raced for the door that was climbing at a snail’s pace. A band of motors created an unmastered, tasteless track that possibly only sounded good to those who possessed aYchromosome.

Sunlight greeted me as the rubber of my wheels mingled with the pavement, burning from the friction their union caused. The streets of Clarke welcomed me back after suffocating in the conference room for three long hours with coaches, staff, and players.

It wasn’t music that I wanted to hear. Neither was it the sound of my sibling’s voice. The missed call would have to wait until I decompressed.

“Later Nadia,” I whispered, swiping my screen clean of the notification.

Bzzzt.

Bzzzt.

Bzzzt.

As my screen darkened, an incoming call relit it instantly. Instinctively, I lowered the volume of my stereo, quickly forgetting music wasn’t playing. Chuckling at my foolishness, I answered the incoming FaceTime call.

“Sac–”

The woman who’d been by my side since we were in diapers called out to me with saggy shoulders and lips that curled downward. Distress was written all over her beautiful face.

“What’s the matter?”

“My purse–” she complained, “I left it in your car after dinner last night. I’ve looked everywhere and don’t see it. It has to be with you.”

My eyes darted around my car. They landed on the floor where the strap of her pink purse was peeking from underneath the seat.

“My license is inside. My cards. My wallet. Everything. I’ve felt so lost this morning.”

Aliza Frison. The girl next door. My girl from next door. My damsel was distressed.

“Fix your face. It’ll be handled in a few. I have your things, baby.”

Like a ray of sunshine, she beamed.

“Oh God, you’re a lifesaver. Have I told you how shitty my life would be without you lately?”

Nodding, I admitted, “Not lately, but I’ve heard it enough times to know it, Aliza.”

“Well, I need to change that, because I feel like there isn’t a day that goes by and you’re not reminding me that if my head wasn’t screwed to my body I wouldn’t know where it was either.”

“Meet me on Swayer Lane, baby. I’m headed that way now. I’ll be parked in front of Haystack.”

“I’ll be there in–” she paused, “Maybe fifteen.”

“I’ll see you in thirty, love.”

Snickering, she responded, “You know me all too well, honey.”

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