Chapter 220: Pine Forrest

Saturday, January 21st, Afternoon

The blonde and brunette looked at the young man who was on his smartphone. The blonde elbowed the brunette, who smiled and laughed. The blonde laughed and looked back at the young man, who was still on his smartphone.

"So, Gar, how's the video doing?" Sawyer asked.

"About on par as most of your dance videos," Gareth Reuter said, from his spot sitting on the bleachers.

"Damn, I thought we had a better routine this time," Sawyer said.

"Sawyer, it's only been a few minutes," Keni said.

"Also, I thought the cheerleading uniforms would help too," Sawyer said.

"Going for the Lolita Fetish," Gareth muttered.

"Not enough skin, Sawyer," Keni pointed out. Gareth chuckled.

"What's so funny, Gar?" Sawyer asked.

"Nothing," Gareth said.

"What are you talking about?" Alesha Gregg asked as she walked over to them.

"We posted a new shuffle dance video," Keni said.

"Really?" Alesha asked, not sure of how to react.

"Yeah," Sawyer said, "We do it from time to time."

"Can I see?" Alesha asked.

"Gar?" Sawyer asked.

"Sure," Gareth said, stood up, and walked over to the three cheerleaders. Gareth held out his smartphone and pressed the play button. Alesha looked at the screen and watched as the music played, and Keni and Sawyer danced. When the video ended, Alesha looked at Sawyer and Keni.

"Wow," Alesha said, "I get now why Shannon puts up with your eccentricities."

"Yeah," Keni said with a shrug, "Well, we have fun."

"Yup," Sawyer said, "We did it just for fun."

"Practiced for weeks to get that routine down," Gareth said.

Alesha laughed, just as Shannon Rothenburg walked up. "Hey girls, are you ready for the game?" Shannon asked.

"Yes, I am," Alesha said.

"Okay," Keni said, more than a little sheepishly.

"Always," Sawyer said.

"I'm here to watch," Gareth said.

"What are you four up to?" Shannon asked.

"Just watching a video," Alesha said and got elbowed by Keni.

"A video? Can I see it?" Shannon asked.

"Well, umm," Gareth said.

Sawyer sighed, "Show her, Gar," she said.

"Are you sure?" Keni asked.

"What do we have to lose?" Sawyer asked.

"Good point," Keni said.

Gareth walked over to Shannon and held out his smartphone. Shannon watched the video and nodded a bit. Finally, she turned to Keni and Sawyer. "Getting better," Shannon said.

"Thanks," Keni said.

"Thanks," Sawyer said.

"Well, you two better have your minds on the games," Shannon said.

"We will," Keni said.

"Oh Sawyer, you were engaged yesterday in the games, let's try and keep the forward momentum going," Shannon said.

"Sure, no problem, Shannon," Sawyer said.

Shannon smiled, and the girls disbursed to start stretching. Gareth returned to the bleachers. The crowd began to stumble in; most of the cheerleaders had already arrived.

The first two games, they didn't cheer at all. They were the JV games. Once they were over, the girls' varsity teams came out for their warmups. The cheerleaders started to work up for the game. Finally, Coach Scott came out of the locker room, and there were cheers from the hometown crowd. Coach Scott paused and waved to the bleachers acknowledging the fans. Once he finished, he turned to Coach Sinclair, and they started to talk. Coach Pierce-Scott wasn't on the sideline.

As warmups came to an end, the two teams returned to the locker rooms. Sawyer stood on the home baseline and waited for everything to start. She turned to Keni, who stood next to her, and she smiled at her.

"Smile, be strong, and I'm standing right next to you," Keni said.

"But I'm not one of your sisters," Sawyer said.

"Sister is more than blood," Keni said.

Sawyer nodded and turned back to the court. It didn't take long before the teams were back out, and the pre-game rituals were over.

The starting lineups took to the court, with Avril Popova walking to center court to meet for the opening tip-off. The opponents took their positions as well. Avril shook hands with her opposite number as they got ready for the start of the game.

The ball was tossed into the air by the referee. The centers were mismatched, as Avril was towering over the other girl and could leap as well. Avril tipped the ball to Baylee. Baylee secured the ball and passed it over to Jade Loyal, who passed it over to Faye Ambrose. Now the offense started as they advanced towards the basket.

Faye opened the scoring with a pulled upshot for two points. Now it was time for defense, but just for a short time. Brett forced a turnover and rushed to the basket, adding two more points to the score.

"Go Tree Hill!" Sawyer yelled as the first quarter became a study of stern defense. As the quarter ended, Tree Hill blanket their opponent with a score of 24-0.

Sawyer watched Coach Scott talk to Coach Sinclair on the sideline. Coach Sinclair nodded and started to speak to the players. As the second quarter started, three new players checked in. Coach Scott decided to sit the three seniors for a few minutes. Evalyn Lopez replaced Avril at center, Flannery O'Brien replaced Brett at power forward, and Corynn Conners replaced Baylee at shooting guard.

Tilting her head, Sawyer wondered why he was doing this. The game was hardly over, so why sit your three most experienced players? Could it be because of the back-to-back games? Could it be to give the reserves some meaningful minutes?

Whatever Coach Scott's plan, it initially seemed to backfire. The opponents took advantage of two miscues to get on the scoreboard. The first one was for break down in the defense, and the second, Corynn fouled a player. Whatever it was, it did wake up the reserves, and they buckled down.

Evalyn became a shot-blocking machine. Soon the defense was just as oppressive as when the seniors were on the court. It was an intense alinement, but it only lasted a few minutes. The three seniors returned to the court and started the clinic back up.

Sawyer tried to engage in the game, but how could someone pay attention to a slaughter. The quarter ended, coming to a merciful end, with Tree Hill scoring 20 to the opponents 4. That brought the half time score to 44-4.

"Cory, you did well out there," Sawyer said, as her old teammate started to walk off the court.

"Thanks," Cory said, "Miss you out there."

"So, do I," Sawyer said.

"I know, I can't imagine how tough it is," Corynn said.

"Hi, Cory," Keni said.

"Kendall," Corynn said, a bit short.

"I bet you're starting the third quarter," Sawyer said.

"Your lips to god's ears," Corynn said, "I'll probably start the fourth, though."

"Still, a hell of a job," Sawyer said.

"Thanks, but if you were still with us, you'd be the one out there," Corynn said, "And not me."

"I don't know, that was four years ago, I think you're better, now," Sawyer said.

"I got to go," Corynn said, "Before I'm in trouble." She jogged off the court to the locker room.

Sawyer looked at Keni. "She still hates me," Keni said.

"I don't know," Sawyer said.

The girls smiled and nodded. "It wasn't that bad," Keni said.

"To her, it was," Sawyer said.

"Routine time," Alesha said, "And please don't drop me, Sawyer."

"I didn't drop you," Sawyer said, "Why does she keep mentioning it?"

"Because it gets a reaction," Keni said.

"Let's get this done," Sawyer said.

The cheerleaders headed out onto the court for their half-time routine. Sawyer made sure she stayed focused on the performance. She didn't want Alesha to fall again. Sawyer was starting to like her fellow cheerleader. Once they finished, they returned to the home baseline for the second half.

Sawyer's prediction turned out not to be true. The starters came out to start the third quarter. Tree Hill didn't score that often, only putting up two baskets. On the other hand, the opponents didn't score at all. It seemed that Tree Hill wanted to focus on defense and run down the clock. So, the score after the three quarters was 48-4.

The fourth quarter saw the reserves out on the court. Coach Scott wanted to get the back end of his bench out there to play. The younger players went out to score, but also caused a few fouls, which the opponent converted with a free throw for a point.

The game ended with a whimper rather than a roar, as Tree Hill dribbled out the clock. The final score was 59-5, Tree Hill won.

AN: Merry Christmas 2020 and Happy New Year, hopefully 2021 is a better year for us all.
~Thumper~