Mr. Yamoto paused, blinking in surprise at Raymond before grinning. "Ah! The basketball boy is back! You have been missed here, Raymond! Young Kaitlyn sure could have used your skills. Khione is not much of a teacher! Go check in the register, there is a surprise for you." With that, he was gone, continuing after the boy.
Just as he disappeared, a girl rounded the corner, brown hair pulled back into harsh boxer braids. Her face was covered in piercings, as were her ears, and the edges of some feathered tattoo peaked out from the sleeves of her tanktop. Kaitlyn Maritza was taller than Khione by around seven inches, and despite not looking it, was only a junior at the high school Khione and Raymond used to go to. "There you are!" She greeted, voice rich and yet just as deep as one would expect from her appearance, a light Italian accent clinging to her words. "See? Not in jail. Stop worrying." Her eyes finally alighted on Raymond. "Dios mio, is that him?"
Raymond watched the old man walk away, wondering what had been left for him at the register. The sound of a new person's voice averted his attention away from the register. Seeing the girl's facial expression and what he could only guess was an exclamation of surprise made him blush slightly. This was the first time meeting someone who only knew him from TV.
"You told people about me?" he asked Khione, glancing over at his long-time friend.
(Ooooo, I have an idea)
(So, like, what if Kaitlyn is the one who tells Raymond about how much Khione likes him? Like, she walks off to talk to Silas and leaves the two of them to play basketball, and that's when Kaitlyn tells him)
((gfdghjjh that's such a kaitlyn thing to do. hell yeah))
"We gotta take pride in something. You're the only one of us who's ever made it all the way out." Khione said with a shrug, looking away. She moved to look over the shelves, searching for a particular snack she had been craving.
"Talks about you all the time." Kaitlyn added unhelpfully, arms crossed over her chest as she shot Raymond a wink. "Your recent game, how good at ball you are, things ya guys did when you were high schoolers."
"You've been using my old court, right?" he asked, studying her body for a moment. Strong lower body, long arms, and good height for a girl. She had the physical attributes to be a good player, at least. "Did you bring a ball? I'd like to see how good you are."
Kaitlyn lit up at that, her sort of imposing expression melting away into a grin. "I got one out back, yeah. Dude I would love to play you!" She pulled something out of her pocket, tossing it to Khione, who caught it. "Catch ya later, Frost!"
Khione shook her head, pocketing the item she'd been tossed. "Go easy on him with the trash talk, ya menace."
Anyone who's ever watched Raymond play basketball, they would marvel at the seemingly complete understanding of the game. You have to literally force him to make mistake. Every step was made with a purpose, every dribble was deliberated, and each time his arm reached out on defense it always seemed to come back with the ball.
"Maybe I should just give you a few pointers," he said as they walked into the back lot. "I don't think a game is a good idea."
"Ugh, but that's no fun." Kaitlyn complained, already removing some of the jewelry she was wearing, mainly the large hoops dangling from her ears. "Actually, I'll take what I can get. Just holding a ball around a pro seems like a literal dream. You and Frost have known each other a while, huh?"
"Feels like my whole life, but we met my freshman year," he said, walking over to the basketball and picking it up with one hand. It was a little flat, but those were the type he was used to playing with. He dribbled a couple of times before shooting it from 3-point distance. It clinked off the back of the rim and rolled over to Kaitlyn.
"God, she must've been even smaller back then. Don't tell her I said that." She said, scooping up the ball and tossing it between her hands experimentally. "What was she like? Same as now? Rico says she started crushing hard like, that year." She didn't dribble, but instead went straight for shooting, the ball rolling around the rim before falling into the net.
Raymond frowned as he walked underneath the net and catching the ball. He stared at it for a second before tossing it back to Kaitlyn.
"Crushing?" he asked, watching her shoot again. Form is decent. "What do you mean, 'crushing?'"
"You know, having a crush on someone." Kaitlyn watched the ball hit the ground a second time, already jogging to grab it. "Like-like? Anyway, Rico says she was like. Full on enamored or something. Heavy duty crushing."
"Nah, no way," Raymond said, shaking his head. "Me and her were-are- close, but I'm not really the type of person she's go for. Or anyone would go for, in fact. He was just yanking your chain."
"Nah, dude. Listen. I've never seen Khione pay much attention to anyone, but family. She showed up here with you, and she keeps a picture of you in her locker at the community center. Like, motivation or some shit." Kaitlyn shook her head, looking over at him. "Rico said she beat Silas's ass when you guys were teens. Over you."
Raymond felt riveted to the concrete after processing everything she had just said. And…she was right. Anytime Raymond ever walked outside, it seemed like she was right there waiting for him. Hell, she missed her own birthday party one time just to watch one of his basketball games. The Silas stuff….he didn't want to think about that. But…a picture of him?
"I never gave her a picture of me," he said quietly, frowning heavily. Basketball was completely forgotten for the time being.
"I never gave her a picture of me," he said quietly, frowning heavily. Basketball was completely forgotten for the time being.
(Thought that would produce a funny story)
"It's this one of you at a game." Kaitlyn continued, setting the ball at her feet as she rooted around her pocket for her phone. "Said a yearbook student took it and gave it to her, but she's lying. At least, I'm pretty sure." She pulled out an old phone, pulling up the photo she'd taken of the picture tapped just inside Khione's locker. It was a picture of Raymond smiling after a game, a basketball still in hand and his eyes on the leaderboard. A rare smile, one she'd gotten lucky capturing.
"That's the state championship," he mumbled, gently taking the phone from the girl and studying the picture more closely. "She told me she had went to the bathroom and that's why I couldn't find her afterwords…."
Raymond was beyond confused. Other people's emotions were hard to understand, but his own were almost indecipherable. Obviously he cared about Khione as well, but….did he even know what it was like to ahve a crush on someone? His whole life revolved around the sport that made him feel like he belonged and he loved it because of that. Why was he thinking of that? Well…Khione made him feel like he belonged. That means….
"Let's just…get back to shooting around," he said, handing her the phone back. "This is a lot to think about."
((You'll find a theme of him tracing the way he's feeling back to basketball, btw))
Kaitlyn took her phone back and tucked it away, making a face at him. "Oh, come on. 'Back to basketball'. Like you didn't just find out your best friend had a huge fucking crush on you for literally the entire time she knew you." She said, shaking her head at him as she picked the basketball up, dribbling.
"I can't…process things like that well," he explained, backing up beneath the hoop again. "Basketball helps distract me from things like that. Besides, we just started talking again today. It's not like I can go in there and propose to her."
(Khione should walk out when he says that and immediately know what Kaitlyn told him)
Khione really had chosen a horrible time to walk out. Catching the tail end of Raymond's words, her steps faltered, bringing her to a stop as her eyes widened. Leaving him with Kaitlyn was the worst idea she'd ever had, since bringing her fists to a knife fight. Meeting Kaitlyn's eyes just as the other girl looked over, she shook her head, a clear 'please tell me you didn't'.
Kaitlyn rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, opening her mouth to say something, and deflating as Khione cut her off. "You're right. It ain't necessary, and wouldn' make any sense."
Raymond, probably feeling even more guilty that Kaitlyn did, looked down at his feet and pulled a face. It felt like the silence that had laid itself over the court would last for eternity until he found something he felt would be appropriate.
"You coulda just asked for a picture," he mumbled, looking up from his feet to make brief eye contact with his old friend.
Khione let out a breath that was obviously a disappointed sigh, pressing a hand to her face. After a moment, she looked back up at him. "I wanted a real smile." She said, tucking her hands into her pockets. "Not that fake shit you did for the yearbook journalists."
"They wouldn't take it unless I did," he mumbled, kicking a pebble resting near his foot. "If I could, I wouldn't have even taken those stupid pictures."
Raymond wanted to go home before things got any worse, but lost the effort to speak right before he opened his mouth.
