Just A Rebound (BWWM)

three

"Make sure you write your name and number clearly on the tickets! We will be doing a raffle for prizes at the end of the night!" Someone announced on the speaker.

Loya stepped in with a twirl to take in the full view of the dimly lit gym with purple and pink lights outlining the ceiling. I could of sworn she thought it was prom night. "Wow! They did all this in two and a half hours?"

"All for you, babe." Brett whispered before she and him shared a deep kiss then she broke away the moment she spotted a refreshment table in the distance. "Don't run off too far!"

"I could never be away from you for too long." She sent him a wink and disappeared into the scattered crowd.

I took this opportunity to scan the room for any familiar faces outside of what I've been seeing all day. In other words, I wanted to know if Alyssa showed up. She never missed a thing which is why our break up reason was beyond my understanding. Not once did I go to events with her as a couple. We usually went with our own friends and met up when we got the chance. I don't recall myself being clingy or overbearing.

"Woah! Did you see Andre's shot?! He's got to teach me that!" Brett rushed off to the boys playing ball to pass time for the event to start.

It left me standing all alone and desperately searching for a group to huddle in. It didn't take me long to lock eyes on Paris who was easily identifiable by her thick coils that were tucked into a big bun in the back. Taking quick strides, I stopped at the table right next to her and introduced myself.

"I don't know if we've ever met but I'm Ryan Richardson. Also... friends with Brett." She handed me a ticket which I accepted without asking.

"Name and number, please. We're trying to fill the jar." The next thing in my hand was a pen and before I knew it I was writing down whatever she told me. "I'm sorry. Name is Paris. I'm so stressed from the crunch on time that now my brain is telling my mouth to spit out words that aren't related to anything. A girl was talking about her dead cat and I asked if she'd already signed up for theater."

I laughed at her frantic behavior which made her giggle. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It feels like a box closing in on you when expectations are high." I looked into her eyes at the same time she looked into mine and sighed. The contact became a little too intense and I knew she had more to do then watch me make a fool of myself. "Uhm... This belongs to you."

The pen and ticket was held in between our faces which broke the trance when she took it. "Thank you. Good luck. I hope you win a stress ball tonight."

"Am I allowed to know the major prize?" I tried to charm my way into an answer but she caught on to my sleazy antics.

"Be the fifteenth name called and you'll find out." With that, she walked away to continue getting things in order.

I scanned the crowd of students sitting on the bleachers for any familiar faces. When my eyes landed on Logan I knew this was going to be a good time. He was always the loudest in the room and the main person who was dedicated to school spirit.

"If it isn't Mr. MIA! Where the hell were you all summer?!" I almost fell on top of him trying to sit down anywhere. I wanted to go home and nap before this but Brett was set on getting food first. "You were at two parties then vanished."

My head was so far up Alyssa's schedule. "I swear everyone in my house was sick every week. I didn't want to ruin anyones summer. Then on top of that I was helping my brother with his bachelor parties." Those consisted of every male cousin and some guys he met in college. Kit didn't have many friends for someone who had a million likes and comments on his social media. "So yeah... pretty busy."

"Brett told me the news. That's so cold, dude. And the night of your bros wedding? It's always the ones who look sweet." He tucked a strand of is long black hair behind his ear then whipped his phone out.

I didn't know how to react to this conversation. I didn't want Alyssa to be known for how she dumped me. Then again, I didn't even want her to be known to me at all. "Yeah."

He showed me a short text conversation between him and some girl. He made a few promises and she accepted his offer. "Carissa let me put ten tickets in the drawing when Paris wasn't looking. My odds of winning increased by ten times!"

"Carissa is Paris's friend right?" Logan nodded. "I swear everyone said they were sisters last year."

"Half sisters. It was a mistake since both their dads are black but Carissa has a white mom. Paris's dad used to drop them off every morning and Carissa calls him 'daddy' too. I hate that I know all this but after dating the gossip girl of the century... I know too much."

I chuckled while backtracking on his words. "She calls him daddy?"

"Yeah. After the Internet, I don't think I want my kids calling me that or I'd unbirth them."

"Everyone please take your seats! We're going to start with a slideshow!" The people standing around and playing basketball eventually arrived to their seats. Brett found us after Logan shouted his name a million times across the gym. "We have four categories. General, field specific, sport, and women scholarships. Barcodes to the link document will be provided on the lower right corner. Let's begin."