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“Hey, everyone sit down!” Ordered the coach. She seemed a little too nervous. I would even say she was frustrated, but she tried not to show it. “Next week we will have Belinda's anniversary and the dean, along with the mayor, asked us to perform, so I thought we would do a simple pyramid. We will practice this starting in the morning, it will go smoothly,I promise. So, after this presentation, we will return with full focus to Daytona. Agreed?”

“Yes, coach!” We all responded almost in unison.

“Dismissed.” She turned to Evan before shifting her attention to Sidney and Jazmine, asking them to let Kendra know she needed to return to practice. The blonde’s two roommates nodded in agreement.

I grabbed my bag, digging for my phone inside to check if Kendra had shown any signs of life. With her mom in town, I knew we wouldn't have much free time, but I wanted to know how she was doing. So, I decided to message her.

VERONICA:Hey, Ken! Are you alright? Can I see you today?

KENDRA:Hi, Roni! I'm going to the hospital to see Colleen, I think she's discharged today so we're taking her back to the dorm. I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything.

I read the message with a little frustration. It wasn't like I hadn't expected it, but even so, the confirmation was painful. I felt obsessed with seeing Kendra, with being with her. And not having that on the last days was bad.

I adjusted my backpack and walked with a slightly euphoric Emily to the accommodation.

“Even after this shitty practice, you are still cheerful?” I teased her.

My roommate looked at me, smiling.

“I'm just feeling good, nothing much.”

“Did you drink energy drinks today?” I asked, curious.

“A little...” She admitted and I laughed. It was obvious, because all she had to do was jump around like a squirrel.

We continued walking until Logan caught up to us and asked if he could talk to Em. Since Halloween, the two of them had been chatting a lot… And I supported them. She already had a crush on him, so I was happy that it was working out.

They went away and I put my hand in my hoodie pocket and walked until I was in the warm environment inside the dorm. I decided to get a salad from the machine and went up to my room. Miraculously, I was alone there. Troian wasn't having sex with Becker and Emily wasn't there being her perfect self. I sat down on the couch and took off my sneakers, feeling a certain relief. There was something private and satisfying about being in my own company.

I had lunch listening to one of the episodes of theCall Her Daddypodcast and then went to the showers. After I was clean and my hair was dry, I thought about studying, but for some reason I couldn't concentrate very well. Every time I tried, Kendra came to my mind.

Eventually, I gave up.

I took out my phone and decided to call the blonde. On the second ring, she answered.

“Hi, Veronica.” Her tone was kind of blunt.

“Hi, Kendra… Are you okay?”

“Yes… I'm already arriving at the dorm, my mother will drop me off in front of the building soon. I can stop by your room to talk, what do you think?”

A curious surprise came over me when I noticed that she had said all that with her mother in the driver's seat. I smiled, a littleproud, even though, to someone watching from the outside, the interaction would seem meaningless.

“Of course, I'm waiting for you.”

“Ok…” And she hung up.

I went to the full-length mirror in the room and checked my condition. It wasn't the best, but I didn't want to put on makeup.

I ran my fingers through my hair and tidied up the room a little, as I had left everything in a mess after arriving from training. As I was throwing things in the trash, someone opened the door. To my frustration, it was just Troian.

“Oh, it's just you...”

My friend looked at me, puzzled.

“What do you mean “it’s just you”? Not cool!” She complained. “Who are you waiting for?”

“No one...” I lied, but I wasn't very good at it.