it's almost like you never left (Paige Bueckers)

Chapter 6

It's the end of June and I have just finished packing. I had loaded up my car with the help of Anaya. I've grown so close with her over the past year and I was extremely sad to leave her. I had said bye to my teammates and coaches the night before, but now it was time to say bye to Anaya.

"I still love you even if we're hours away you know?" I say

"I'm gonna miss you a lot," She says.

"Me too" I say, going to hug her. After a long and caring hug, we said our goodbyes and I took off in my car.

As I started getting closer and closer to my new campus, I got more worried my teammates wouldn't like me. Paige never came into my mind though when transferring. I was going to Uconn for basketball and a new environment. Nothing else. Yeah it definitely worked out though since Aaliyah goes there so if no one likes me at least I'll have her.

I arrived at Uconn and made it to my dorm. Just like at Depaul, the women's basketball team lived in the same building so I would be dorming with another player on the team. I walked into the building and to my room. The dorm rooms were all across from each other so it was very easy to walk a couple feet to Aaliyah's room across the hall. When I walked into the dorm, one half was full of color and exciting things. I'm just hoping that Paige isn't the one who has been living on that side of the room. Thankfully it wasn't. I saw a banner on the wall that said "Gatorade Player of the Year" and the name Azzi Fudd written below it. I knew of Azzi because she also played on team USA. She must be an incoming freshman so at least we would be coming into Uconn together.

I dragged all of my bags upstairs with the help of no one. I started unpacking even though I was tired because I wanted to get this process out of the way. Since I got there early in the afternoon I was done unpacking by dinner time. I was wondering why Azzi wasn't back at the dorms yet but I still needed to meet Geno Auriemma, the head coach, and introduce myself in person. I also had to pick up textbooks for classes, so I figured I would get this out of the way as well.

I walked out of the building and headed to my car. As I was driving to the practice gym, I drove by an outdoor court with 2 girls playing at it. One of them I recognized as Paige Bueckers, and the other.. Azzi Fudd. Oh shoot. I just remembered Azzi is Paige's best friend. This is going to be an interesting year.

I got to the gym and walked in. As I was walking down a hallway I saw an office with Geno in it. I walked in and gave him a smile before introducing myself. He said we were having a team introduction tomorrow morning and he would also be handing out gear at that time. I talked to him for about 15 more minutes and I then asked him where I could pick up textbooks. He told me about the building they were in so I said goodbye to him, and made my way out of the gym. I drove to the building, picked up my books, and made my way home. I was so tired so I crashed as soon as I got home.

When I woke up, there was still no sign of Azzi. Maybe she slept over at Paige's? God why am I thinking about Paige so much. Yes she's on the same team as me now but I need to stop thinking about her.

It's currently 8 and the team introduction is at 9. I got ready and decided on wearing a white crop top with cream colored cargoes and all white Jordan 1's. Being ranked super high means I signed some NIL deals and got some cash from it. I'm able to afford some nice shoes so I'm thankful for that. I wore my hair in a low messy bun since I didn't feel like putting in the effort. I did my skin care and brushed my teeth. I surprisingly got ready quickly and it was 8:20 and it's only a 5 minute drive to the gym. I decided I wanted to get some shots up after the meeting so I packed a bag with my Kobe 6 Grinches and workout clothes. I was planning to drop my gear off at my locker and just bring it home after I was done with my workout. After I finished packing I scrolled a little and decided to try to find Aaliyah since I haven't seen her since I got to campus. I went to her door with my bag slung around my arm and knocked.