persona || paige bueckers

Chapter 14

"Kaz!"

Kazzi peeked up, a smile stretching across her face when she saw Azzi waving at her from all the way across the court. KK and Nika were standing nearby, heads turning up at the outburst, before giving Kazzi their own greetings. There were a couple other players present, already on the court and shooting baskets. Lili trailed behind, and Kazzi turned her head to give the other a reassuring smile.

"How you doing?" Azzi grinned, opening her arms and embracing Kazzi as the latter replied, "Alright, you?"

"Totally amazing," Azzi answered, before her eyes flickered to Kazzi's companion. Lili waved, a soft smile adorned on her face as she said, "Hi, Azzi, was it?"

Azzi nodded, brightly grinning, "Yep! And you are..."

"Lili. Lili Valdez."

"Well, Lili, it's nice to meet you! I hope you're ready for today's game, it's gonna be crazy."

Lili giggled, more at ease due to Azzi's enthusiasm. Kazzi was glad the overall joyful atmosphere here was able to lift the former's spirits, Lili needed a pick-me-up, and this was perfect. Kazzi looked around, scanning the premises for a certain blonde basketball star. She tried not to feel dejected when she couldn't find who she was looking for, deciding she should quickly head to the bathroom before the game starts.

She excused herself, Azzi and Lili hitting it off at a surprisingly quick speed and barely registering her leave. Kazzi even did a double take before she left, noting the way Lili's smile had started to reach her eyes and Azzi seemed to be completely enamored with the other despite only speaking for mere minutes. Weird.

Kazzi made her away across the court, eyeing the players doing shooting practice. She recognised Aaliyah, who barely spared her a glance before returning her focus to the ball. Aubrey now seemed to be talking to Nika, who acknowledged Kazzi with a nod as she passed. Kazzi wasn't sure where the bathrooms were, but she was sure she'd figure it out once she made it out of the gym.

Boy, was she wrong. You would think such a large building would have bathrooms at every corner, but as Kazzi twisted and turned in the halls, she couldn't – for the life of her – spot the toilets. She was perplexed, following her gut as she traversed these unknown grounds, mentally refusing to acknowledge she was lost. She must have done a lap by the time she finally caught sight of another person.

As she neared, the silhouette seemed more and more familiar, although Kazzi couldn't quite place it. The other had their back facing Kazzi, hands on their hips as they stared at the vending machine. They seemed to be in a predicament, unless staring unblinkingly at vending machines was considered a normal pass-time. Kazzi's footsteps alerted the individual, and Kazzi almost tripped when she made eye contact with none other than Caitlin Clark. She knew she would be seeing the superstar play on the court today, but she was not prepared to be confronted with Caitlin's appearance so soon, especially one on one. Now that the two of them were aware of each other's presence, Kazzi couldn't just ignore the other, that would be awkward.

Kazzi cleared her throat, coming to a stop a respectful distance from Clark, "Hey, are you having trouble with the vending machine?"

Despite being a rabid Paige fan, Kazzi could never bring herself to dislike Caitlin Clark. The rivalry between the two players only made Kazzi admire Caitlin more, often finding herself genuinely happy at the other's achievements. Now that Clark was standing mere meters away from her, Kazzi didn't quite know what to do with herself. Should she ask for an autograph?

Caitlin sighed, a defeated smile stretching across her lips as she gestured towards it, "Yeah, I mean, this thing won't give me what I paid for."

Kazzi winced in sympathy, already starting to share the other's frustration. Kazzi took a step closer, noticing the water bottle that had fallen against the glass, and was now jammed.

"I forgot my water bottle and came here to buy one but..." Caitlin trailed off, heaving another sigh. "I'll just buy another one, maybe both of them will fall."

Kazzi hummed, eyes narrowing at the vending machine. According to the law of gravity and common sense, one hard kick should jostle the bottle enough to fall. And so, she straightened up, turning her head to look down the hallway on both sides, making sure no one was looking, before sending her foot hammering into the machine.

The sound was deafening, causing Caitlin to jump back, obviously alarmed as Kazzi kicked the infuriating object again. The collision echoed through the halls.

"Wait, you–"

Kazzi sent one more, a particularly well-aimed kick that shook the machine enough for the bottle to tumble down. Kazzi immediately whooped in victory, reaching down to retrieve the fruits of her efforts. She twirled around, bottle in hand and smiled wide as she extended it to the superstar basketball player, who was now gawking at her.

"Here," Kazzi said, shoving it into Caitlin's hands, "Your bottle."

"I–" Caitlin started, before pausing. Her face shifted through a variety of expressions, before she laughed in disbelief, "Thanks? I honestly don't know how to react, that was...unexpected."

Kazzi giggled, waving her off, "You're welcome, I was just thinking how the bottle looked so close to falling. I couldn't help myself."

Caitlin offered Kazzi a grin, holding up the bottle, "Well, you managed to get it in the end. Nice work." Her words warmed Kazzi's insides, and she shot Caitlin a smirk.

"For sure, I'm a pro in this field."

Kazzi started walking, Caitlin now falling into step with her as she chuckled, "You kick vending machines often?"

"Only when they don't give people what they paid for," Kazzi replied, suddenly perking up when she hears loud voices in the distance. She never ended up going to the toilet, but her bladderworks weren't particularly important right now, she was just glad she managed to find her way back.

"I don't recognise you. You're not on the team, right?"

Kazzi doesn't know what came over her, but she shot Caitlin an innocent smile, humming, "Of course, I am. I'm on the roster."

Caitlin looked slightly confused for a second, scanning the former's face, before she spotted the twinkle of glee in Kazzi's eyes. Clark huffed, shaking her head lightly, before remarking, "Oh, really? You must've been forgettable, if I don't remember."

Kazzi faux gasped, placing a hand on her chest as Caitlin raised a brow – amused, "How dare you? I am the number 17 from UConn, best shooter in the nation?"

"I thought I was."

"Wrong," Kazzi argued, holding a hand up to a snickering Caitlin, "You can't compare to me."

"Right," the other agreed, smiling wide as she jokingly swatted Kazzi's hand out of the air, "How could I ever forget you? Ms Best Shooter in the Nation."

Kazzi was pleasantly surprised at how easy-going Caitlin was, they seemed to click abnormally fast. It wasn't often Kazzi felt so comfortable with someone having met them moments prior.

"You should be ashamed," Kazzi quipped, opening the doors to the gym and allowing the influx of noise to surround her. Caitlin was still smiling with mirth, and for some reason, Kazzi wanted to keep that smile on Caitlin's face. Kazzi threw her hands out, gesturing to the gym, "Welcome to my training grounds, Clark. It's where the magic happens."

That pulled a startled laugh from the athlete, and Kazzi felt inexplicable pride in managing to make the other laugh. Caitlin's eyes roamed the court, mouth quirking upwards as she brushed past, "Not bad, number 17. I look forward to playing you."

"Oh, you're so going down, Caitlin."