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"FIRST SIGHTINGS"
september, 2023
MOVING INTO THE DORMS AND adapting to the facilities at UConn was fairly simple for Le'ana. Being a new transfer, she had a dorm all to herself, seeing as the rest of the team were already paired up or living in apartments across from the school. Her flight had landed late and so there wasn't time to do much or find friendship in any of the girls, leaving her to her thoughts.
It was harder than the girl let on. Not moving. The bit where she had to leave everything behind - that was hard. Seeing the same girls she'd stood by and defended for three years, not even bat an eye in her direction when arguing with Kim about her position on the team, or seeing them rush to trash-talk on social media as if she wasn't their main source of joy these past few years had taken a toll on her.
What do you do when you're in a new town, with no friends and no clarity about if you've even made the right decision? The answer is to do what's most familiar to you and for Le'ana that came in the form of an orange and black ball which she rolled across the slippery court.
It made sense to familiarise herself with the place she'd most likely be for the rest of the year. Upon entering she was quick to notice the differences between UConn and LSU. As she shot threes and imagined plays like she was in the game, Le'ana stopped seeing the faces of Angel or Flau'jae and instead saw no one. Every time she went to pass the ball, it was as if not a single soul showed up to see her play.
Her footsteps echoed across the empty arena, a stark contrast to the cheers of fans she once knew. The same fans she was certain wouldn't look in her direction anymore. Le'ana could feel the weight of solitude pressing down upon her, amplifying the emptiness that entered her surroundings. Despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins with each move, a sense of isolation hung heavy in the air, casting shadows on the court.
As she sank basket after basket, Le'ana couldn't shake the feeling of being adrift in a sea of unfamiliarity. The squeak of her Kobe's against the floor seemed to underscore the solitude that surrounded her, each sound a reminder of the distance that separated her from the camaraderie she craved. In that quiet moment, with only the soft hum of the stadium lights for company which found themselves flickering like a bad horror movie, Le'ana realized that even amidst the thrill of competition, loneliness could still find its way into the most unexpected places.
As she stood alone on the court, she had to have been hallucinating. The presence of a face with beauty beyond compare found its blue eyes tracing hers, flaunting the iconic two braids tied into a ponytail on the back of her head. She wasn't sure if what she saw was true or completely a figment of her imagination until the girl spoke up.
