Page 38 of The Riley Effect

When the crowd settles down, the starting five take our spots on the bench, preparing for the starting lineups to be announced.

“Why didn’t you tell me Jalen was coming with Marcus?” I hiss at Indy, who is a two-year starter.

“How was I supposed to know? I thought they had practice during our game,” she retorts before bending down to retie her sneakers.

She’s been making it really hard for me to believe her lately. She has been in Jalen’s corner ever since this whole thing began, making sure Jalen has all the tools to win me over. Which makes me believe she orchestrated this whole thing, but I have no time to ask more questions because my name is the next to be called.

When I meet the other starters at halfcourt, I take a moment to look at the crowd, and that is when I spot a pair of blue eyes staring into my soul. He gives me a look that tells me he understands how much this moment means to me. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I like that he understands me and knows that this season is filled with lasts. I force myself to look away from Jalen because I can’t afford to lose sight of what matters and that is winning the conference and ensuring ourselves a one-seed in the postseason tournament.

Once Indy’s name is called, our starting five is finally complete and we’re ready to take the court. Izzy Smith, our sophomore center, wins the tip. Indy secures the ball, and we set up in our half-court offense. Indy gets the ball to Imani, who swings it to me. When I notice I’m open, I take the baseline three. It feels good as it leaves my hand, and when it goes in smoothly–not even touching the net–I know this is going to be a fun night.

Turning to make my way back down the court, I don’t even register what defense Coach Lee is trying to tell us to run because Jalen is on his feet behind her, screaming my name. I flash him a smile. Yeah, this is going to be a good night.

I’m feeling good as I leave the locker room after the game. We’ve won our first two games of the season, and the team’s chemistry hasn’t lost a beat since last season.

“Aunt Ivy!” Stella yells. Her little legs are working overtime to get her across the Riley Center’s lobby. She launches herself into my arms and I spin her around making her laugh. “You played so well. I can’t believe you made five threes.” I can’t believe it either, but the early season success shows the work I put in this summer is already paying off.

“It’s all because of you and your brother’s help this summer,” I tell her before I give her a kiss on her forehead. Stella and Caleb rebounded for me all summer. They thought it was so cool that they could be in the gym with me when school wasn’t in session.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and Indy is giving Caleb a high five.

“Hey, Ind, is something wrong?”

She leans forward and whispers, “Jalen wants to know if he can come over and say hi. He made me ask because your family is here. I don’t think he’s ever met a girl’s family before. It’s kind of cute how nervous he is.”

“Who’s Jalen, Aunt Ivy?” Stella asks. I can’t blame my best friend for not knowing that anything you say in front of a five-year-old won’t stay a secret for long.

“He’s a new friend of mine. Do you want to meet him? He plays hockey,” I say calmly, making it seem like I’m in control ofthe situation when I’m clearly not. How can I say no when Jalen was thoughtful enough not to intrude on my family time.

I take Stella’s hand, and my heart melts when I see Jalen squatting in front of Caleb, who is hanging onto his every word.

“Have Caleb and Jalen met before?” Indy asks as we walk toward the rest of my family.

“I don’t think so,” I say with a shrug.

Jalen hugs me, and when his hand lands a little too low on my back. I abruptly pull away before I introduce Jalen to my family.

“I see you already met Caleb, and this is Stella.” I take the little hand of the girl hiding behind me and tuck her into my side. Stella and I both are on the shy side and prefer to be around small groups of people, where Caleb and Ruby thrive as the center of attention.

“I want you to meet my friends Marcus and Jalen. They play hockey.”

I watch Caleb’s face as he takes in these two Division l athletes. There was a time when I looked at Westvale’s student-athletes with the same awe. I remember thinking you had to be so mature to be in college, but here I am at twenty-one, having no idea what I’m doing.

“Does Aunt Ivy braid your hair, too?” Caleb innocently asks Jalen.

I hear Indy snort, and it takes all my energy to not swing my arm into her stomach to shut her up.

Jalen squats down so he is eye to eye with my nephew and speaks to him sincerely, “No, she doesn’t, but yours look so good. Do you think you can convince her to do mine?”

“You can come to my house the next time she does mine, and she can do yours too.”

Jalen puts out his hand as an offering to Caleb. “Sounds like a deal, kid.” It tugs at my heartstrings watching the way Jalen interacts with my nephew.

We hear the horn that indicates the men’s basketball game is about to start, and I have to meet the rest of my team in the gym.

“We better get going. The kids have to get to bed,” Ruby offers us a smile while she helps the kids into their coats. I wish they could stay for the next game, but I know it’s a school night.

Once the season starts, I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like with my family, making all these little moments so much more meaningful. I soak in the hugs I get from my sister and Stella. When it’s Caleb’s turn, he jumps into my arms and whispers, “I think it’s really cool that Jalen has braids like me.”

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