"I'm sorry this is kind of short notice for you but if you were planning on trying out for any school sport try-outs are today" Cleo told Latoya as she packed up her English books.

"What?" Latoya responded in shock "I hadn't really thought about that"

"Well if you are interested in anything you better decide now because you will never get another chance, try-outs are only on the third week of first term every year" Cleo added

"Okay fine...I was planning on joining the girls' basketball team if its there" Latoya wasn't ready but she had no choice. She had always wanted to play basketball ball but there was no girls' team at her previous school so it was now or never.

"Cool I'm going for basketball too .I guess we will go together" Cleo was obviously excited but at least she wouldn't be alone "I think I have an extra t-shirt and short from gym class I could borrow you" Cleo offered.

"Thanks" Latoya responded with a smile. It was like Cleo was a gift from above and they immediately clicked. Latoya usually had trouble making friends but things were going well so far.

"We will talk later" Cleo said as Mr Jameson, The maths teacher, entered the classroom.

The following lessons were just long and boring. The other students had a two week head start but Latoya was still fresh from the holiday and she would need a day or two to adjust to school life again.

At break time Cleo and Latoya headed for the cafeteria along with everyone else. Latoya was too nervous about the basketball try-outs so she just bought some juice. No need to overfeed yourself when you will need to run around later.

"Suit yourself" Cleo said as she got herself some real food.

"Cleo are you going to finish all that?" one of the 2 girls who had already occupied a nearby table asked.

"Of course I am, I need all the energy I can get for try-outs" Cleo responded as she sat opposite them with Latoya.
"Everyone this is Latoya, the new girl. Latoya these are my crazy friends" Cleo made introductions.

"Hie Latoya I'm Gabriella but you can call me Gaby" she was clearly Asian, she had clear soft skin, beautiful hazel eyes and nice, silky, straight black hair to match. She was a bit chubby and revealed cute dimples when she smiled.

"I'm Alison, nice to meet you" she was white, slim and had chestnut blond hair. She looked like the smallest of them all.

"Nice to meet you too" Latoya responded as she smiled.

"Guess who's coming?" Alison smiled in Cleo's direction.

"Oh them" Cleo responded as her smile turned upside down and Latoya wondered why.

At that moment the girls were joined by 4 boys who sat evenly on both sides.

"Cleo aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend" the guy sitting opposite Latoya broke the silence.
"Oh how rude of me, were are my manners" Cleo spoke in a British accent which made everyone laugh.

"Boys this is Latoya, Latoya this is my psycho cousin Tazz, and his friends Chris, TJ and Tatenda"

"Nice to meet you guys" Latoya responded with a smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you too" Tazz was the first to respond. He tried to keep his cool because truth be told when Latoya smiled she literally took his breath away. Latoya was beautiful. She had oval shaped face, a light skinned complexion, full lips and her black braided hair was neatly tied into a bun. He sat opposite her next to Alison and looked straight into her eyes. Latoya realized he wasn't looking away and she did the same because her skin wasn't easily penetrated. She wasn't a shy girl.

Tazz wasn't the best looking guy around. He wasn't as blessed as his friends. He was black had a darkish complexion and short hair but from what she could see he was well built actually he was well favoured in the physical department. He wore the simple white shirt and red tie just like the other male students but it seemed to suit his broad shoulders better than any other guy. One thing she clearly noticed was his smile which made her weak in the knees.

"If you need anything we are the guys you come to and we are always available" Chris said breaking the eye contact and forcing Latoya to face him as he was sitting right next to her.
"Thanks Chris I will keep that in mind" She responded as she got a better look at him.

Chris was definitely what the girls call drop dead gorgeous. He was black, chocolate brown in complexion and his eyes were like a masterpiece you couldn't help but keep gazing into. They were a pair she would gladly look at all day long.

"So are you new in town?" Tazz asked in an attempt to get Latoya's attention.
"Yes I am. I just moved here with my dad" she replied as she faced him again. He realized she had so much confidence in her eyes he wasn't used to seeing. Most girls were unable to look him in the eye without blushing uncontrollably or at least looking away. That made her even more interesting to him.

"Why?" Tazz asked as soon as he snapped back to reality. "He got a new job and..."

"Latoya" She turned when she realized it was Felicity calling her name.

"I don't think I will be able to see you later, got a tight schedule. I just wanted to ask. Do you need a ride after school?" Felicity spoke quickly and was obviously in a hurry.

"It's okay Felicity I will take her home" Tazz immediately answered not giving Latoya a chance to speak.

"What?" Felicity asked in shock.

"Don't worry we will take care of her" Cleo quickly responded knowing that Tazz was up to no good.

"Okay just make sure your cousin doesn't lay a finger on her" Felicity said as she relaxed and turned to Latoya "I guess I will see you later. Bye" she turned and walked to another table at the far end of the cafeteria.

"Take me home?" Latoya looked at Tazz with a shocked expression.

"Yeah I just want to show you around, since you are new in town, I could give you a private tour "Tazz smiled as he spoke and gave her an innocent look. If only he knew what that smile was doing to her insides.

"Private tour?" Chris repeated giving Tazz a suspicious look.

"Don't worry Tazz, we got it covered. We will show Latoya around" Cleo spoke as if closing the topic all together.

"Thanks for the offer but I think I will go with Cleo, Gaby and Alison" Latoya finally spoke but Tazz kept his eyes on her. As much as she would have loved a private tour with Tazz, she wasn't ready to enter a new place with a guy she knew nothing about. Tazz was obviously showing an interest in her and she wasn't complaining because she loved the attention. Who doesn't?
All this time T.J and Tatenda were silent but it was clearly not their natural behaviour. Both boys were white but Latoya didn't notice much about them because they didn't seem interesting at the moment.

"Now that that's all settled. I hate to be nosy but what's up with you and Felicity?" Gaby asked the question that had been itching inside like a bad rash.

"Hate to be nosy" Tatenda finally spoke "You are like the gossip girl of the school"

"Am not" Gaby defended herself.

"Come on don't deny it. If I fell right now in the boys locker-room you would know about it way before the other guys in the same room and you would have pictures to prove it" Chris said and everyone burst into laughter.

Latoya concluded that Chris was the comedian of the group. Gaby on the other hand did not see the humour and stayed silent with a frown on her face. Latoya found it more amusing that Gaby's angry face just made her look more adorable.

"Basically if you want to know anything about anyone of anything Gaby is your girl" Alison informed.

"Don't worry its cool I was just about to tell you guys anyway" Latoya said as she faced Gaby "she is kind of like my future step sister"

"Wait a minute...that means your dad is engaged to Miss Smith" Gaby said in shock but in actual fact everyone was shocked.

"Yeah that's the main reason we moved" Latoya said as everyone stayed silent.

"Hard to believe when her husband died she swore they would be no other, but I guess she just hadn't met anyone who would once again steal her heart" Gaby spoke as if her thoughts were elsewhere. Like she was sitting in front of a television watching a soap opera.

"I always wonder where you get all this information" Tatenda said as he leaned on the table facing her.

"It's a gift but as you said I'm gossip girl" Gaby gave him a menacing look before she smiled.

"You never cease to amaze me" T.J finally spoke. "So since Felicity is your future stepsister it also means Fiona will be your sister too" he added.

"I hate to be in your shoes living with that freak of nature" Cleo spoke and looked so disgusted.

"Come on she can't be that bad" Chris said admiring how Cleo changed her facial expressions. Whether she looked bloated, happy or sad he thought she always looked gorgeous and couldn't get his eyes off her.

Latoya realized and instantly leaned back to give him a better view.

"I think she is hot" T.J shared his view.

"That's because you guys only look at the outer beauty you don't know what evil lies beneath and you never will" Gaby said because she also had no love for Fiona.

"I can live with Felicity she's a really cool person, but little Miss perfect is a lot to handle believe me" Latoya said and it was obvious she had a down on Fiona. At that moment the bell rang signalling the end of break time.

After lessons were completely over for the day Latoya and Cleo headed for the basketball court for the try-outs. Latoya wasn't really looking forward to it and felt so nervous because she hadn't practiced and felt like she was going to screw up, making a fool of herself therefore personally ruining her reputation on her first day.

As soon as they got there Leona, a very tall well-built and slim Indian girl, the girls basketball team captain divided all the girls into teams which would play against each other to determine the best of the bunch.

Latoya and Cleo were in the same team and were one of the first two up. Coach Johnson watched their every move and would write down notes on his clipboard every few seconds and this didn't make Latoya feel any better.

She got so caught up in her thoughts, lost concentration and accidentally bumped into Caroline who sent her falling to the ground. Caroline was on the opposition team, she was big mean and kind of scary. Latoya wondered how she survived the accident; it was like a toy car running into a monster truck, deadly.

"Are you okay?" Cleo asked as she helped her up.

"I can't do this" Latoya said as she had lost all hope. You don't just all of a sudden decide you want to be a basketball star. She wished she had prepared.

"You are already doing this so let's just finish what we started" Cleo said as they separated. Latoya knew she had to wake up it was now or never. She took a deep breath then smiled. It was game time.

"Why didn't you tell me you played like that? All this time I was afraid you were going to embarrass me" Cleo said as soon as her heart rate returned to normal.

"You didn't ask" Latoya responded realizing she was worried for nothing. After she got knocked down by Caroline she just started playing like a pro. Guess all she needed was a boost. The way her and Cleo played together was as if they had practiced for months and they caught a lot of attention. No one could keep up with them, they even got Caroline on her knees in exhaustion. Their advantage was that they were smaller and faster.

"Girl I struggled to keep up with you" Cleo said after she drank some water.

"What can I say, it's a talent "Latoya replied proud of the show she had put on .If she didn't make it into the team they wouldn't know talent even if it punched them in the face. Guess all the days she spent playing basketball with her dad paid off. Back in his high school days James Carter was captain of the basketball team and that was when he met Christina the love of his life. It was love at first sight and to his advantage the she was in the cheerleading squad. The thought of her mother turned her smile upside down because it just reminded her how terrible everything had turned out.

"Those were some wicked moves. I especially loved your last shot" Latoya turned to face a sight that definitely took her breath away. This guy was a black brother who was tall, dark and handsome, just the way they described them in fairy tales. He was one fine figure of a man and the way he licked his lips made Latoya think they must taste like chocolate.

"Thanks" Latoya said hesitantly.

"I'm Joe, Joe Dash captain of the boys basketball team" he spoke with so much confidence and the sound of his voice just brought shivers down her spine.

"I'm Latoya, the new girl" she answered.

"Latoya, that a nice name" he said as he smiled.

"Thanks" she smiled as she responded.

"I guess I will see you around" Joe Dash said before he turned and reclaimed his place with his team mates.

"Now that's a sight that's out of this world" Gaby said as she watched his every move.

"You can say that again, his voice just makes me weak in the knees" Alison added as she did the same.

"Are they always like this?" Latoya asked as they headed out of the school grounds.

"You don't even know the half of it. Anyway girls snap out of it it's time to go" Cleo said as she sprinkled water on their faces freeing them from the trance that had them all hooked. They snapped back to reality and were out in no time.

The girls had decided to take a walk and really give Latoya a tour of the area. Gaby suggested they first pass by her mother's bakery where they could get some snacks. It wasn't far from the school.

"Hey mom "Gaby said as she gave her mother a big hug.

"Hey sweetie. Hie girls how was school today?" she responded with a welcoming smile on her face. It was obvious were Gaby got her looks from and her mom really seemed like a nice person full of joy and peace and ever smiling just like Gaby.

"It was alright anyway this is my new friend Latoya she just moved into town with her dad" Gaby made introductions and her mother immediately offered them whatever they wanted from the counter. By the time they left the bakery they were stuffed and couldn't take another step forward.

"Does your mom feed you like that every day" Latoya asked finding it difficult to breathe because she was so full.

"Every day. But you get tired of it believe me" Gaby responded.

"I suggest we take a break by the park but only for a few minutes? Cleo suggested because she was tired from basketball try-outs.

"Amen to that" Alison said leading the way and everyone agreed.

They finally got to the park and Latoya felt like she had just entered wonderland. The grass was green, the trees were so beautiful and they were different flowers everywhere. Roses of every colour, daisies, tulips and many more they were just too many to count. It all looked so heavenly as she realized some kids maybe about 8 years old playing football with some older boys ,an old couple sitting by the park bench holding hands and finally they was a young couple having a picnic just a few steps from where they stood on the path.

Latoya felt so relaxed and it felt so peaceful until she heard a loud clap. The young girl had slapped her boyfriend so hard right across the face it sounded as if she broke a bone. She quickly stood and left him in a rush.

"I can't believe I wasted two years with that..." she uttered in anger as she passed by and the girls quickly got out of the way.

"Teresa wait I'm sorry let me explain" the guy shouted as he followed her.

"Okay maybe it's not a hundred percent peaceful" Latoya said to herself.

"WATCH OUT" one of the older boys playing football shouted as the ball headed right for them. Latoya tried to get out of the way but tripped on a crack on the pavement. Everything happened so fast and Latoya lost balance and was headed for the ground. She suddenly felt someone's hands against her back raising her up.

"You should be careful and keep your eyes open next time you won't be so lucky" as soon as she had balanced her hero had turned and picked up the football before running towards the other guys.

"Where have you been?" one of the guys asked him.

"Busy..." he responded as he passed the ball and the rest of his statement was a whisper to the girls as he went further and further away.

"Are you okay?" Cleo asked Latoya.
"I'm cool, perfect" she responded now analysing the scene.

"At least Dante broke her fall" Alison said and they all responded with a smile.

"Who?" Latoya asked.

"Dante" Alison answered.

"He is like the hottest guy in town" Gaby added.

"Okay" Latoya couldn't make a comment because she didn't see his face but she didn't like the tone of his voice. It wasn't her fault she almost got hit by a ball and tripped in the process, it wasn't her fault they was a crack in the pavement.

"Whatever I just want to find a good spot to rest" Cleo said as she threw herself on the lawn and everyone did the same and they lay there for a while basking in the sun.

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Thank you for reading my story. If you enjoyed it don't forget to vote, comment and share my book as well as add it to your reading lists.