I'm new to fictionpress, but I've been around in fanfiction for a few years. I've been thinking about putting up an original story for quite some time and it's only now that I decided to go ahead and do it. The universities and places are all fictional, but some characters in this story are based on real people – people I know personally although only certain aspects of them were incorporated in these characters.
I mentioned in the summary that there would be an underlying lesbian theme throughout the story although it won't be as pronounced in the first few chapters. As a forewarning to the readers, there will be a lesbian relationship so if you don't like it, don't read it. Nevertheless, I hope that you have a good read and bear with my slow (for now) updates.
Chapter 1: Fortune Smiles
It was strange and surreal at the same time. Here she was on the court in her school basketball team's uniform playing in the first five line-up and she wasn't exactly sure if she was not dreaming. What made it so surreal? Well, there's the fact that she it's only been a few months since she was recruited by the women's basketball team of her university and there's also the other fact that she was recruited to play for the team in her junior year of college. Not to mention, she was never part of the basketball varsity from her elementary to current college years.
"Yo Kieran!" A stocky brown-haired girl called to her from the half court line. "Take it easy alright!" She loudly clapped her hands together and called encouragements to her other teammates as the raven-haired Kieran walked towards the free-throw line to take two shots at the charity lane.
It was the fourth quarter of only the third game of the season, but Kieran was quite sure that her minutes were going to increase steadily from now on. The young woman who was one of the oldest players in the team at twenty-one years old, stood at five feet and ten inches and was solidly built. Her raven-black hair, which usually fell just above her shoulders and framed a slender face, was tied in a low ponytail. Sleepy and fathomless gray-green eyes stared at the rim before her as she caught the regulation ball and began to shut out the noise created by the packed gym. A couple of dribbles and twists and the ball was sailing through the air and into the hoop.
"Nice shot!" the same brown-haired girl approved. "Make one more and we'll be quite safe if we manage to keep this lead."
She could literally feel the beads of sweat developing on her forehead as she bent her knees and prepared to shoot the second free throw shot. For a moment, time seemed to go in slow motion as she watched the ball sail through the air, angling towards the hoop. "Short!" she shouted, warning her teammates as she herself took off towards the rim. Just as she expected, the ball skimmed the rim of the hoop. Both the center and power forward of their opponents' team in the bright yellow uniforms, leaped up into the air to claim the loose ball. Looks of triumph prevailed in their faces as their fingers inched towards the falling ball before turning into shock as a hand came sailing in between their outstretched arms and snapped the ball away from their reach.
"Maya!" Kieran shouted, passing the ball to her teammate who stood at the three-point line by the baseline while she was still in midair. Taking a moment to set her feet, the reddish-blonde haired girl jumped into the air and with the arc of her arm and flick of wrist, sent the basketball flying before a defender could interfere with her shot. The audience all got to their feet and cheered as the ball fell neatly through the hoop.
"Pweeeeet!" The referee's whistle pierced through the air. "Time out University of Kanon!" he announced as he and two other referees walked to the scorer's table to confer with each other.
Kieran sucked in deep breaths to fill her tired lungs as she followed her teammates to their bench. A slap to her back jolted her out of her thoughts. The tall young woman twisted her head around her neck to see who had slapped her and could only smile as her team captain beamed up at her. "Did I ever tell you that you look really silly when you grin like that?"
"I don't care how silly I look!" the captain retorted, reaching up with her hand playfully messing Kieran's hair. "What I do care about is that you continue being this aggressive so that we could extend our winning streak!"
"Oh Rhea," Kieran let out in a tired breath. "You've got to let up on me. I've only been playing for the team for the past three games, you know. My stamina isn't at par yet with you mighty veterans." This time she felt two other hands slap her on different parts of her back. Two of the other proclaimed mighty veterans had heard her last remark.
"You're doing way better than we expected in the stamina department," Trixie assured their rookie. She was their starting power forward. "You got to give yourself some credit! You're too modest sometimes."
"I'm not modest," Kieran argued back as she thanked the assistant trainer who handed her a cup of Gatorade. "I'm just stating the obvious." She gulped down the drink as they huddled around their seasoned coach.
"Yeah and the obvious is that you don't take compliments well," Beatrice or Bea for short cut in before the coach shushed them. She was the center for their team and stood at a height of six feet and three inches.
The coach clapped her hands and beckoned for her whiteboard and marker. "Ok team. We got a break here because of Kieran's offensive rebound and Maya's three-pointer." She flashed a thumbs-up sign at their team's small guard. "I know you're starting to tire out Kieran since I've only rested you for around six minutes of the entire game, but the other team is rattled by the way you play."
Kieran looked at the coach in confusion.
"Technically, you're at a height that would be ideal for the power forward position, but your versatility with ball-handling, mid-range shooting, inside play and defense makes you a pretty good small forward," the coach explained. "The other team is struggling to come up with ways to defend you properly. If they send their power forward to guard you, she gets left behind because of your speed. If they make their small forward guard you, she has a height disadvantage against you."
"So recruiting her was really a good idea huh?" Rhea chirped, playfully elbowing Trixie. The dark-haired team captain held the point guard position and was graduating after the season. She had only one championship under her belt, which she got in the second playing year of her five-year career. Now she hoped, that she could get one more trophy and medal in her last year as a collegiate player.
The coach rolled her eyes. "Are you fishing for compliments, Rhea?" she asked. It was the team captain after all who had spotted Kieran playing a friendly game of basketball with a bunch of boys at a nearby neighborhood park. Rhea was pleasantly surprised to see a lone girl playing hard basketball with boys. It turned out that Kieran was playing with childhood friends of hers who were all in the basketball teams of other nearby colleges. "Now Kieran, I want you to pull out of the post," the coach informed her latest charge. "Let's use some of your mid-range shooting for the rest of the quarter." She finished scribbling the play on her whiteboard and tapped at each player's position on the court. "Think you could hold out for a bit longer?"
The raven-haired woman nodded her head and tightened her ponytail. "I'll try my best coach," she said sincerely, taking one more cup of Gatorade and drinking it just as the referees blew their whistles.
"Let's all play hard!" Rhea shouted, adjusting the armband on her arm.
"Yeah!" the team shouted back, obviously ready to do what was expected of them. As they took their positions on the opposite side of the court, they decided to do a zone-defense and took up their assigned areas. For most of the game, Kieran had been relying on her under the post skills and her arsenal of hook shots, bank shots and lay-ups to amass the seventeen points she already has. Now, she was hoping that she'd get even more points by using her mid-range jump shots that is until the other team has figured out how to close her out.
The college junior let out a long breath as she bent down and braced her hands against her knees. She looked up at the clock and grimaced. There was still a good three minutes left in the game and they were only leading by five points. That was enough time for the other team to mount a comeback. She felt an arm press against her waist and narrowed her eyes at her defender. She wanted to end the game already and just go back home to her condominium.
The whistle blew and the ball was passed into the waiting hands of an opposing player from the sideline. The slightly shorter power forward twisted away from Kieran's defense and waved for her teammate to pass the ball to her. "I don't think so," Kieran muttered as she followed her mark and pressed her body into the other girl's back. As her opponent turned around and attempted to shoot, the junior leaped into the air and attempted to block the shot. She silently cheered as the ball skimmed just the tips of her fingers, her face still dead serious as the ball's trajectory was changed. As it bounced off the rim, Kieran immediately pivoted, this time pressing her back into her opponent's body and boxing her out to get a better position for the rebound. Being solidly built and well muscled, the raven-haired girl was able to outmatch the other girl in the battle for the rebound. After snagging the ball in the air and protecting it for a few seconds, she passed it over to her team captain who motioned for her to get down the court.
"Less than two minutes left," Kieran thought as she ran across the half-court line. "If we make this basket, it'll be harder for the other team to catch up." Instead of heading inside the painted area, she took up a place a few feet away from the three-point line. As her coach had predicted, the power forward stayed close to the painted area and allowed her mark to stray away, thinking that Kieran was not a threat. Casually waiting there, she watched as Rhea carried the ball past the half-court line before suddenly sprinting towards the basket. She evaded and cut through three defenders before leaping into the air in an attempt to lay the ball in.
Three defenders leaped into the air with their arms stretched up to block the ball, but they could only gawk as the skilled point guard kicked the ball out, passing it into the waiting hands of an unguarded Kieran. Fingers slightly tightening around the ball, Kieran's body shifted then launched into the air, releasing the basketball with the extension of her arm and the hard flick of her wrist. Without even waiting for the ball to fall through the net, which actually did, Kieran turned around and started to head back to defend their basket.
"Nice one!" Both Bea and Trixie slapped her hands as they ran past her. By now, all the starting members of the team had at least five points each. Maya the small guard and shooting specialist had eleven points. Trixie the power forward and Bea the center each had fourteen points and shared twenty-one rebounds. Rhea had the least number of points with eight, but had ten assists and three steals. As for Kieran, she now had a career-high nineteen points and six rebounds.
The raven-haired girl nodded her head to her captain and positioned herself for defense. She knew that this was crucial. The last minute usually made a team that was behind in points dangerous. Kieran also knew that the other team would probably try to salvage the remaining time and try to make a quick shot to increase the number of possessions in the game. Sure enough, one girl in the bright yellow uniform drove into the lane and attempted to lay the ball in. The ball glanced off the rim and landed in the hands of another yellow-uniformed girl. "No way!" Kieran yelled, leaping up as her opponent attempted to put the ball back in.
"Damn it! Grab the rebound!" Rhea shouted as the ball once again glanced off the rim and fell into the hands of one of their opponents. She cut into the paint and slapped the ball out of the hands of the rebounder. As the ball rolled towards the bench of Kieran's team, three players, two in yellow and one in green, dove onto the floor to retrieve the loose ball.
A long and loud whistle pierced the air. "Green ball," the referee announced, as players from both teams walked over to their teammates on the floor.
"Nice try," Kieran told Maya who had determinedly threw herself onto the floor in the last play. She looked up at the game clock and smiled. There were only roughly thirty seconds left. They were still leading by seven points and as long as they used up the remaining time well, the game would be as good as theirs. They left the ball handling to Rhea who skillfully protected the ball as the game clock winded down. Finally, the buzzer sounded to end the game.
"Kieran! Can we get a few words?" A courtside reporter waved at her from the sideline. She and her camera team were setting up for the short interview.
The raven-haired girl hesitated. She was not one who liked the idea of showing herself on television and she hardly expected to be given the chance so early in the season. In the country, the most popular university athletic league usually only broadcasted the more popular sports on television like that of men's basketball and the other men's division sports. It was only this season that the league's authorities decided to give more airtime to the other sports. Now, both women's volleyball and basketball were experiencing a surge in viewer numbers in terms of television and live audiences.
"Go on." Rhea patted their prized rookie on the shoulder. "It's not that bad and besides, you deserve some popularity." She lightly shoved her teammate towards the camera crew then went to congratulate her other teammates who were celebrating their third consecutive win.
"We just have a few questions for you," the courtside reporter informed the tall woman who was somewhat stiff. "Nervous?" she asked, giving Kieran an assuring smile. "It must be your first time to be interviewed live like this."
Kieran nodded her head and smiled. "It's alright. Let's just get it over with," she stood beside the petite reporter and looked at the camera pointed at her.
"You're going live in five-four-three-two…" One of the crew gave them the thumbs-up sign to signal that they were already shooting.
"And we're back after a spectacular game with the Faber University edging the University of Kanon by seven points!" The young reporter quickly looked at her notepad before speaking into the mike. "Right now, we have the privilege of talking to our player of the game, Kieran Fortun who is in her first season as a player for Faber." She flashed a smile at the raven-haired woman. "So Kieran, what do you think so far of the women's basketball division of this tournament?"
"Well, it's more competitive than I thought it would be prior to joining the team, but it's been an enjoyable experience so far," Kieran sincerely answered, thanking one of the coaching staff when he tossed her a clean towel.
"According to the rosters, you're a third year business administration student," the reporter started, glancing at her notes once again. "It's a rarity to have rookies in their third year joining a team and similarly enough, our sources tell us that you never had prior experience in the basketball league." She held the mike up at Kieran's face.
"I had no plans of joining the team when I entered my university," Kieran explained, wiping the sweat off her face and setting the towel around her shoulders. "I was very much focused on getting my degree, but then Rhea spotted me playing some ball with a bunch of my friends and dragged me to one of their training sessions." She could not help but chuckle as she thought back to that moment. "One thing led to another and I ended up getting recruited."
"If you continue to play after this season is over, you'd only have a year left assuming that you're on a four-year course, right?"
"That's pretty much correct," Kieran replied.
"Any plans of extending your playing years?"
The rookie shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it yet. If I do decide to extend, I'd have to take up another course and well, let's just say that's a bit heavy to the pockets." She looked into the camera once more.
The reporter nodded her head in thought. "Anyway, that was a great game and we hope to see more of your brilliant performances in the next games! Thank you for your time!"
"You're welcome," Kieran replied, shaking hands with the older woman before trudging off to her teammates.
"So how was the interview?" Bea asked, offering an unopened bottle of Gatorade to her friend. The center was one of the first friends of Kieran when she first began to train with the team prior to the start of the school year. She was also a junior in college, but had been playing with the team since she was a freshman.
"It was ok I guess."
"We should check out the Faber Exchange Forum on the internet later on," Trixie suggested as they headed off the court. The power forward was the one of the youngest among the starting players as a sophomore. "The fan base for the women's division sports is going up and there's a popular thread on the Faber University Rogues."
"You only check it to see if people talk about you," Rhea accused their power forward.
"Hey! It's not a bad thing to see what people say about you," the power forward defended herself as they made their way into the locker room. "Anyway, I'm sure that after the interview, Kieran here is going to have her own thread."
The gray-green eyed girl shook her head. "That's ridiculous."
"It's highly likely though," Rhea let out, pulling off her hair tie to air out her dark brown hair. "So far, Trixie, Bea, Maya and I have our own threads too in that website."
"And you pretty much just admitted that you check the Faber Exchange Forum all the time too," Trixie pointed out, grinning as their captain scowled and turned red. "So that means we're all guilty. Well maybe except for Kieran," she added, settling down on a bench near her locker.
"I don't understand why you like looking at that forum's threads about us." Maya plopped down on the bench beside Trixie and began to unlace her shoes. "Some of the comments people put there are kind of raunchy." Her nose crinkled at the thought.
"But I've seen your thread and most of your fans love you to death!" Bea laughed, sitting on another bench. "I've read comments like 'Maya is definitely the cutest girl in the team' and 'Maya if you're reading this please go out on a date with me!'"
The small guard rolled her eyes. "Oh please! Enough already!" The fourth year player looked at Kieran and gave her a smile. "Anyway Kieran, if you do decide to access those threads in the forum just don't let it get to your head, alright?"
"I'll remember your advice." Kieran finished the contents of her sports drink and walked towards her locker. "I'm going to take a quick shower," she announced, unzipping her duffel bag and pulling out her clothes. "If the coach comes in while I'm still in there," she jerked her head at the shower room. "Just tell her that I'll be out in three to five minutes." With that, she walked into the shower room while the rest of the team lounged around the spacious locker room.
"That girl is something," Maya mused.
"Something else you mean," Rhea corrected, bracing her hands against the edge of the bench. "But that's what I like about her. She's different."
The rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement. "She's humble and grounded too," Bea put in. The two had become fast friends ever since the raven-haired girl joined the team. "She's also one of the most thoughtful and gallant people I've ever met!"
"Not to mention, she's not at all stuck up especially with those rumors going around that Kieran's a rich girl," Trixie pointed out.
"Those rumors happen to have a degree of truth in them anyway," Rhea joined in. "Remember that time I dragged Kieran to one of our practices? She was still reluctant to join the team and said that she'd have to ask her parents about it first." A small smile graced the captain's lips. "Coach really wanted her to join the team so she even accompanied Kieran to her parents' home." They all knew that their teammate was living alone in a simple three-room apartment a few miles away from the university campus.
"So what happened?" Bea asked, obviously intrigued by the development.
"It turns out Kieran's dad is a tycoon in the cruise ship industry," Rhea told her friends. "He owns four cruise ships that are stationed in strategic ports around the world. Her mom on the other hand was this famous concert pianist."
"Wow!" Maya breathed out. "I never expected such an illustrious background from our Kieran especially with the way she is around us," she said, noting that the girl subject in the conversation was quite practical. "It makes you wonder why she's not living with her parents when she could easily just get chauffeured to school every single day."
"Now that I don't know and I suggest we don't pry about it," Rhea told her team with a firm look. "We don't want to cause any trouble and we certainly don't want to get on the bad side of Kieran."
"What about getting on the bad side of Kieran?" Their coach walked into the locker room, holding a sheaf of papers. Most likely, the papers were their game statistics.
Rhea shook her head. "We were saying that we don't want to get on the bad side of Kieran especially since we're doing so well at the start of this season," she explained. It only part of the truth, but she didn't want to mention their conversation to their coach.
The coach nodded her head, seemingly unaware of what had transpired prior to her entrance. She looked around the locker room. "So where is Kieran?" she asked. Almost all of the team including their bench players pointed at the shower room. "Ah. She'll be out soon anyway so we'll start by reviewing your game." She lifted a table to the middle of the room and spread out the sheets of paper on its surface.
"So how did we do?" One of the second stringers asked. Most of the bench players were given time to play in the game a while ago, but only for short bursts or to rest their starting lineup.
The coach smiled. "You all did well. Our rebounding numbers have significantly increased with the addition of Kieran in our line-up. As a team, you're all playing more cohesively than I could have hoped for," she informed them. "Individually though, each of you still has room for improvement."
"Nothing escapes the ever attentive eyes of our coach," Rhea mused.
"Since you put it that way, we'll start with you Miss Team Captain," the coach informed her with an amused smile. "You've increased your field goal percentage, but you're capable enough of scoring more points in a game. Of course, your assists make up for it, but it increases our competitive edge if our point guard averages more than ten points per game."
"More shooting practice for me then?" Rhea asked.
"I'll work out a shooting practice regimen for you," the coach promised, looking over the statistics. "Maya can help you out in that department at least," she added. "Now as for Maya, you had a solid shooting game today, but we need to work on your defense." She tapped her finger against the table. "The other team's small guard amassed sixteen points while you were guarding her. Footwork exercises would probably help you out in that department." She wrote down the note on another piece of paper.
"Hooray for me," Maya breathed out, flashing a peace sign to her coach when the latter gave her a look of warning.
"As for Bea, you need to improve more on your mid-range shooting," the coach explained. "Having a versatile center is quite advantageous after all. You'll do footwork exercises too since you still have that bad habit of shuffling your feet when you're at the post."
"Will do coach," Bea replied, grabbing her duffel bag from her locker.
"Box-out practice and leg-strengthening exercises for you," the coach spoke to Trixie. "You have better rebounding numbers, but you could do better. Your boxing-out still needs work and your jumping needs some more height. You're almost six feet tall, but you approximately have a twelve inch vertical jump. A girl of your height could jump a foot more than that so we'll be putting you on a weights program."
"I wonder if a girl under six feet could dunk a ball?" Trixie wondered aloud, receiving a sharp elbow to her side courtesy of their team captain. "Hey it doesn't hurt to dream right?"
A knock from outside the locker room halted all conversation.
"Come in," the coach called, shaking her head and smiling at the same time when a tall man and a group of girls entered the locker room. "Matt, I didn't know you stayed to watch the game."
"It'd be a waste of gas if the girls and I had the university bus take us back to the campus then go back here to pick you up," Matt replied, walking over and briefly hugging the shorter basketball coach. "We'll all fit into the bus anyway, Jeanne," he called the basketball coach by her real name.
Jeanne laughed and returned the hug of her former schoolmate. "Well if you told us earlier, the girls and I would have come earlier to watch the volleyball team play." She smiled at the group of tall volleyball players. "I did hear though that your girls practically murdered the other team."
"That was because the other team is a rookie-laden one," Matt replied. "They didn't have much experience as compared to our team." He clapped the shoulders of two of the nearest players at his side. "Anyway, where's the player of the game?" He looked around the spacious locker room as some of volleyball players conversed with their basketball counterparts. "I've been wanting to meet her since the first game of the season!"
Just as he said that, Kieran walked out of the shower room with a damp towel around her shoulders and her hair wet and uncombed. The nearly six foot tall girl stopped in her tracks and regarded the numerous pairs of eyes staring at her. "Uhhh… is this supposed to be a get-together that I wasn't informed about?" She briskly ran her fingers through her hair to give it some order. Kieran was dressed in her trademark civilian attire of a wife beater shirt and jeans. She had switched from her basketball shoes to a more comfortable pair of slippers.
Coach Jeanne shook her head. "You could say it's a get-together, but it's quite impromptu," she told both Kieran and the rest of the team. "Anyway, since some of you don't know each other, I'll introduce you." She beckoned Kieran to stand at her side as she started the introductions. "Kieran Fortun, this is Coach Matt Locke. He's the coach of Faber's women's volleyball team. Matt, this is Kieran, our star rookie."
Matt stuck his hand out and firmly shook hands with the slightly shorter girl. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he told her with a warm smile. "You've been playing really well."
"Thanks coach," Kieran replied, releasing the hand of the volleyball coach and digging into her duffel bag for her glasses. "How was the volleyball game a while ago?" she asked, noticing that her teammates were going into the shower room to freshen up and change.
Matt gave a genuine look of surprise. "Oh so you watch volleyball?" He had not expected the rookie to have an interest in the said sport.
"Yeah. I like watching it, but I don't like playing it," Kieran chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "I've tried playing it, but honestly I suck." That drew a laugh from both the volleyball team and the basketball team.
"Well, if you decide that you've had enough of basketball, you could always come to our team." Matt winked at his charges. "I'd definitely be able to train you to be a good player."
"I don't think so," Jeanne interjected. "Kieran is ours so don't go changing her mind about what sport she should be in." She wrapped a protective arm around the tall rookie.
Matt laughed heartily. "I was just joking, Jeanne." He gestured at his team of fifteen players. "We've got the most solid line-up in the last five years and we're confident that we could win our sixth championship this year." He clapped his hands loudly together. "Speaking of the championship, I'd like to introduce you to the team captain." He crooked his finger at a rather stocky, but pretty girl with wavy black hair. "This is Ilina Grant. She's a fifth year player." He watched as Kieran politely shook hands with the captain.
"Great game a while ago," Ilina told the Kieran before releasing her grip.
"I'll let her handle the rest of the introductions since your teammates are still freshening up." Matt stepped aside to talk more with Jeanne.
Kieran let out a long sigh as she kicked her bag across the floor.
"What's with the long sigh?" Ilina asked.
"I didn't think I'd become this popular since joining the team," Kieran muttered, smiling in spite of herself. "Being interviewed on a live camera, getting introduced to the star volleyball athletes produced by UF's excellent volleyball program," she enumerated.
The volleyball captain laughed and waved her hands in front of her to stop the tirade of the rookie. "Enough! Enough! You're obviously new to this, but your popularity is deserved." She beckoned to her nearest teammates. With the exceptions of Ilina who stood at a height of five feet and six inches and two other players who were more or less the same height, the rest of team was composed of girls who were taller than five feet and eight inches. She first introduced Kieran to a girl with straight black hair that fell just above her shoulders. "This is Michelle," she said, watching as Kieran once again shook hands with the equally tall girl. "She's our combo middle and opposite hitter."
"I used to watch your televised games back when I was still in high school."
The tall and rather pretty Michelle could not help but blush. "I'm flattered that you admitted that. When I see the replays of my old games, I somewhat can't believe that I used to look so young back then."
"Well you are in your fifth year of playing," Ilina pointed out.
"Don't remind me," Michelle retorted, stepping back to allow the other girls to be introduced.
"This is Charlene, but we call her Cha for short," Ilina continued, watching as the perky opposite hitter and back-up setter stepped up and cheerfully greeted the basketball rookie. "This is Kaye, our setter and this is Lisa who's our rookie and libero. The tallest one over there is Jacqueline or Jack for short. She 's our middle hitter." She smiled as Kieran made an effort to remember all their names and introduced the rest of the second stringers. "Wait a minute, where's Steph?"
The volleyball players shrugged their shoulders. "She might still be talking to her mom," one player said. "I saw her earlier at the bleachers."
"Well, someone text her and say that we'll be heading to the parking lot in a few minutes," Ilina ordered, eyes suddenly focusing on one basketball player who had just exited the shower room. "Hey Maya!" she called. "How is the traitor --- I mean former volleyball player turned basketball player?" She gave the younger girl a goofy grin.
"Hi Ilina," Maya greeted back, not at all affected by her former teammate's teasing. She had initially joined the volleyball team during her freshman year, but transferred to the basketball team because of a conflict in schedule. "I'm doing pretty well." She walked over to her former team and hugged her friends. "I miss you guys, but I'm having the time of my life with this team here." She clapped Kieran's shoulder and grinned up at her. "Especially since we have Kieran around," Maya added sheepishly.
"Ok girls, since everyone seems ready, let's head out to the parking lot," Coach Jeanne announced, watching as her players gathered their belongings and walked alongside the volleyball team. She had to smile as her rookie was besieged with questions from the girls of the volleyball team.
"Are you really a junior?" Cha questioned, looking closely at Kieran's face. "You look kind of young and some people would assume that you'd still be in your freshman year."
"I really am a junior," Kieran assured the group of girls milling around her. The raven-haired girl reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. "Here, take a look." She pulled out her school identification card.
"10685731," Michelle read aloud. "Well, she's definitely a junior." The University of Faber classified their students according to the year they enrolled. Since Kieran enrolled in 2006, her identification number started with the numbers 106. "College of Business and Economics? Wow! That's a feat!" Michelle exclaimed.
"Huh? Why is me being listed under the College of Business and Economics such a big thing?"
"We rarely have athletes who're able to balance a course in one of the toughest colleges in Faber and their athletic career," Michelle explained. "There are an exceptional few who are able to juggle both a difficult course and an athletic career like Ilina over here."
"And also yourself Michelle," Ilina shot back as they walked into the parking lot.
Kieran shook her head. "That may be true for the two of you, but I've only been training with the team for the past few months so I can't really prove to you that I'm capable of balancing my course and athletic career." They all filed into the large University of Faber bus and settled into their seats. "Ask me again after a few months or so and I'm sure that I'll be able to give you a proper answer." She took her iPod touch from her bag and set her headphones over her ears.
"Sorry!" A girl called out from the front of the bus. "I just had to flag a taxi down for my mom!"
"It's alright Steph," Matt told the tall girl. "Your mom's flying back to Singapore tonight, right?"
"Yeah. The National track team is going to start their training soon so my mom has to get back right away to handle it." The girl walked down the aisle in search of a vacant seat and stopped when she saw one. She leaned over and caught the attention of the lone girl. "Excuse me, but is this seat taken?" she asked, watching as the raven-haired girl removed her headphones and draped them around her neck.
"Not at all," Kieran replied, grabbing her duffel bag from the window seat and getting to her feet. She let the volleyball player sit at the window seat before settling herself on the seat beside the aisle. Dropping her bag onto the aisle, she was just about to put her headphones back on when she got a good look of her seatmate. Like all the players in the volleyball team, this girl was solid, slender and tall at five feet and eight inches. She wasn't an outstanding beauty, but there was this somewhat mysterious attractiveness that emanated from her. Her slender face beheld light brown eyes, a nice nose, easy-to-smile lips, which were all framed by shoulder length black hair that was turning brown from the sun.
"You're staring," Steph pointed out, amused rather than annoyed.
Kieran blinked and shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't meant to be rude, but I don't think I met you in the locker room a while back." She turned off her iPod touch and stowed it away in her duffel bag. "I'm Kieran, by the way," she introduced herself, offering her hand to the other girl.
"I know who you are," Steph replied with a smile. "I saw you playing a while back. Anyway, I'm Stephanie de la Vega. Steph for short." She took Kieran's hand and gripped it firmly.
"Nice to meet you," Kieran told her, returning the smile. "So what position do you play?"
"Oh me? I'm one of the outside hitters," Steph replied, fidgeting in her seat in such a manner that her arm would bump against Kieran's. "Ilina's the other if you were going to ask that."
Kieran raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Ilina's an outside hitter?"
Steph nodded. "She may be the shortest player in our team, but you should see her jump and make those kills."
"I'll try to watch more of your games if I can.," Kieran promised.
"By the way Kieran, I didn't get to give a review for your performance a while ago," Coach Jeanne called from the front. "Overall good performance, but we obviously need to work on your stamina. I've arranged with the track team to let you jog with them in the morning before our practices."
Kieran groaned. "So that means I have to wake up at five in the morning before heading to our six am practice."
"You're right. We'll check your progress after two weeks."
"That seems a bit harsh," Steph murmured.
"It is," Kieran agreed. "The track team trains at 5:00 in the morning and then I'll have to go to practice with my team from six to eight-thirty. After that, my classes start at nine." She let out a long sigh. "Just what have I gotten myself into?" She pressed a hand to her forehead. "Life was much simpler before this."
Steph raised an interested eyebrow at her. "How was life simpler?"
"It was just… simpler," Kieran replied. "You could say I was pretty much married to my academic life." She had to grin at the weird look her seatmate gave her. "It's just a figure of speech, but you get the idea right? Anyhow, I sort of had things planned out already before entering this university. It was take a Business Administration major and minor in Applied Economics, graduate with Latin honors, find a job and work." She ran her fingers through her hair. "I wasn't at all active in extra-curricular activities except if you consider playing the occasional basketball game with my friends one."
The dark-haired girl nodded her head. "So it must have really pushed you off track when you got recruited, huh?"
"In a way, it did sidetrack me for a bit." The raven-haired girl unconsciously rubbed her wrist and arm. "But then again, there's nothing really wrong with playing for the basketball team even if I'm considered old in most people's standards." A small smile lit on her lips as her seatmate laughed at her latest comment.
"You're not old!" Steph proclaimed.
"I am old," Kieran retorted. "I showed your teammates my school ID just to prove to them that I'm a junior in this university." She made a move to grab her wallet again, but stopped when her seatmate shook her head. "And how about you? Are you a freshman?" she asked, guessing that the girl's youthful looks made her hypothesis likely correct.
Steph smiled. "Nope. I'm a senior actually."
"No way," Kieran breathed out.
"Yes way," Steph replied, taking out her own wallet and flashing her ID.
Kieran narrowed her eyes at the card and shook her head. "You can't possibly be older than I am," she muttered.
"Why do you say that?"
"You look younger than twenty-one."
That startled more laughter on the part of the volleyball player. "Well I won't deny it then. I actually just turned twenty last month. I'm a year younger than you since you pretty much implied that you were twenty-one. It's still my third year of playing with the team though." She glanced at Kieran's arm and pointed at it. "What is that?" she asked.
Kieran raised her arm and looked at it. "Oh you mean this," she ran a finger along a figure that resembled that of a black serpent around her wrist. "It's a tattoo I got back in high school." She allowed Steph to take her hand and get a closer look at it.
"You didn't look like the rebellious type to me," Steph said, lightly tracing the tattoo with her fingers. "Why did you decide to get one?" She was curious after all.
Kieran shrugged. "A friend of mine wanted to get one so I accompanied her to a tattoo parlor. I ended up getting one as well."
"Didn't your parents kill you?" Steph's own parents would probably grill her if they found out that she got a tattoo.
The raven-haired girl shook her head. "Nah, they didn't get angry at me at all," she replied. "If they did, then they'd be contradicting themselves." She glanced at her watch and grabbed her dark green varsity jacket from her duffel bag. "They don't show it, but they have tattoos on their backs from their college days."
"Wow! That's so cool! What kind of tattoos do they have?"
"Just each other's names," Kieran said sheepishly. "They were very much in love and devoted to each other back then. They still are actually," she added, shrugging on her varsity jacket as the bus exited the highway and neared their university campus. Suddenly, she looked embarrassed. "Look at me, I'm talking so much about myself that I must be bending your ears already."
The volleyball player shook her head vigorously. "Oh no! You weren't bending my ears and I'm seriously enjoying our conversation," she assured the junior who was older than her.
"Yeah, but I've been talking about myself for most of the conversation," Kieran pointed out, still feeling rather embarrassed. "And I find it strange that I feel so at ease talking with someone that I just met," she added.
"Same here." Steph smiled at her and fixed the collar of her own varsity jacket. "Looks like we're here." She looked out the window and watched as the scenery gave way to the sprawling campus. The bus parked in front of the nine-floor sport complex and let the student athletes get off. "Well, I have to get going. My teammates and I are all going out to grab a bite in celebration of our victory today."
Kieran slung her duffel bag onto one shoulder and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "It was nice meeting you, Steph," she told the shorter girl sincerely, offering her hand once more to her. They shook hands with each other and traded smiles.
"Come to our games the next time around," Steph said, fixing her grip on her bag and waving goodbye to her new friend.
"I'll see what I can do," Kieran replied. She waved back to the girl and the rest of her teammates before joining her own friends. "Do you guys have any plans?" she asked no one in particular.
"We're debating whether we should crash at Bea's place or head over to Quincy's to eat," Rhea told her. Bea owned her own flat just outside of the campus' wall while Quincy's was a cheap restaurant they had discovered that served quality food. The owner of the establishment happened to be a fan of the Faber University women's basketball team and often watched the games. Rhea recounted having been given free meals after winning big games in the last few years she was playing and introduced the rookies to the kind owner on their first visit.
"Okay let's vote then," Trixie announced, waving their team closer. "Who wants to go to Bea's place?" Hands shot into the air and Rhea counted them. "How about Quincy's?" she asked them, watching as more hands were raised. "Quincy's it is then." They said their goodbyes to the coaching staff first before gathering their belongings to make the ten-minute walk to the restaurant.
"I'll walk along with you guys, but I have to do some chores," Kieran informed her teammates.
"Chores? The semester hasn't started yet and you're going to do chores?" Maya asked her.
Kieran rolled her eyes. "If I lived in a house full of servants, I wouldn't need to do chores," she retorted. "I have to do some grocery shopping. My refrigerator and pantry's nearly empty and I have to stock up on hygienic stuff." She peeked into her wallet and frowned at the few dollar bills she had in it. It looked like it was time to use her emergency credit card. "Besides, I should do it now since I'm just going to walk."
Rhea gave her friend a sympathetic look. "Your bike's not yet fixed?" She was referring to the beautiful BMW K 1300 S motorcycle owned by the rookie. She had only seen the black with touches of silver and red sports bike once, but she knew well enough that it was the basic mode of transportation of Kieran. Rhea also knew that the bike was what Kieran called a 'gift and a half' from her parents since she paid for half of it.
Kieran shook her head and pasted a mournful look on her face. "It's still at the shop. I was wondering why the engine was making those weird sounds and it turned out that BMW accidentally sold me one of their bikes that were pulled out of their showrooms. Thankfully, they said they'll just replace the engine and put add some parts to it like an automatic stability control, a gear shift assistant and…" she paused. "I don't remember the other things they mentioned."
The team captain laughed and waved at a passing group of boys and girls from her class. "Sometimes, I can't help but wonder about how someone like you could be so absent-minded sometimes." She rubbed her shoulder and halted outside a quaint restaurant. "Well, we're here," she said, watching as her teammates entered the establishment.
Kieran nodded. "You girls have a great time, ok?" She stooped down a little to let her team captain hug her before calling out goodbyes to her remaining teammates who were still outside. As she walked down the sidewalk, Kieran began to whistle a made-up tune to occupy her time. It wasn't long before she reached the grocery store. It took around thirty minutes for her to get everything she needed. With the duffel bag only supported by her shoulder and two bags of groceries in her arms, the raven-haired girl made the twenty-minute walk to her apartment.
It was nearly five in the afternoon by the time she walked into the lobby of her apartment. The housekeeper happened to be strolling along that floor when he noticed that Kieran was laden with her things. Being gallant and polite, he walked over to her and offered to carry her groceries up to her apartment room. Kieran of course was grateful and thanked the housekeeper sincerely afterwards. The youngest of the Fortun siblings was hoping to have a quiet dinner and then sleep in when her cellphone rang out.
"Hello?" Kieran pressed her phone against her ear as she chopped up some fresh fish she had just bought from the market.
"Yo Kieran!" It came out in a near shout.
Kieran pulled the phone away from her ear and cursed loudly. "Damn it, Marke!" she cursed her classmate and friend after setting the phone back against her ear. "Have you ever heard of toning down you voice?"
"Sorry-sorry! My bad," Marke apologized in a much softer tone. "Anyway! Are you at home right now?"
Kieran set the knife on the counter and reached for a dishtowel. "Yeah, I just got home and I'm about to make dinner for myself," she replied. "Why are you asking?"
"Go out to your balcony!"
"What?"
"Just go out already!"
"Alright already," Kieran muttered, leaving her kitchen and making her way outside. She hung up on her friend and peered over the balcony railing. "What?" she shouted, eyes growing wide at the scene below. "Oh no… not again!" She glared down at Marke and at least fifteen of her classmates. These were her first classmates upon entering Faber University and they had remained close despite the difference in schedules. The only thing that Kieran had against them was that they tended to take advantage of her apartment space, which was quite close to the campus. She didn't mind most of the time, but it was these impromptu visits that irked her. "Why my place again?" Kieran demanded. "And there's no occasion to party here!"
"The semester's going to start in two days! We have to celebrate the last of our vacation before going back to school!" James shouted from the ground below.
"And of course, we're here to celebrate your third consecutive win!" Drew added. He was carrying a case of beer.
"Oh come on Kieran!" Ann shouted. "You rarely get to go out with us these days after joining the basketball team!" Like her other classmates, she held a plastic bag full of chips. Her other friends held boxes of pizza, soda and other alcoholic beverages.
Kieran sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh all right," she called to them. "Come on up, but no one can sleep over and you're all going to help me clean up afterwards!" Despite her earlier annoyance, a smile tugged at her lips. It had been a while since she last hung out with her friends and since Coach Jeanne gave them a day off tomorrow, she could indulge herself and drink.
She may have been an ideal student and an athlete to boot, but everyone has their imperfections right? The only vice she had was that she drank lot and occasionally smoked. She was what people called a social smoker since she only smoked during parties. For Kieran, parties came maybe once or twice a month so that meant she rarely smoked. Who taught her how to smoke? A fellow athlete of hers who was in the tennis team. Kieran never regretted it though and never once blamed her friend.
As the unlocked door opened and admitted her noisy friends, Kieran could only lightly smile as she put away her supposed dinner. Somehow, she knew that this was going to be an interesting year.