“Heads up!”

Tiffany turned around just in time to watch a large orange ball hurdle toward her in slow motion.  As if waiting for the inevitable to happen, Tiffany froze in place, unable to heed the frantic shouting coming from across the court.

The next thing she knew, she was staring up at the gym ceiling as an unknown girl hovered over her, repeatedly asking if she was okay.

Without a filter, Tiffany blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Hey y, how are you doing?” she said, with a somewhat goofy grin on her face. 

The mystery girl let out a small chuckle before clearing .

“Seeing as you’re the one on the floor, I don’t think you’re in a position to ask how I’m doing,” she quipped.

“I’m fine.  Really.  I’m usually good at dodging balls that randomly fly at my face.  This one just got away from me,” Tiffany babbled as she squinted from the bright lights shining above.  

“Okay David Beckham, you convinced me.  Now let’s try standing up,” the other girl said as she grabbed Tiffany by the hands, slowly helping her to her feet.    

The unexpected contact caused Tiffany to inhale sharply as she felt her stomach flutter. 

The feeling was cut short as the taller girl placed a hand on her head.  Tiffany flinched slightly but it went unnoticed.

 “Hmmm….how’s your head?  You took quite a hit there.  Sorry, that was totally my bad,” the girl continued.   “Brain functioning okay?  Quick, what’s eighty-seven times ninety-two?”

“Huh?” was all Tiffany could say as she kept thinking about the soft touch of the girl’s hand.

“I’m just playing with you,” the girl said smiling.  “You still look a little out of it.  Why don’t we go sit down for a while?”

With one arm wrapped around her waist, Tiffany couldn’t help but lean into the other girl as they made their way to a bench nearby. 

After silently watching the other girl as she followed the happenings of the basketball game, Tiffany reluctantly spoke up.

“I’m okay now,” she stated rather convincingly.  “Please go back to your game.  I’ll feel bad if I’m the reason why you don’t get to play…ummm…”  

“Yuri,” the girl said, not taking her eyes off of the game.  “It’s Yuri.”

“Okay, Yuri.  I really do feel much better now. I’ll just rest here a little more….I’m Tiffany, by the way,” Tiffany said smiling meekly. 

Waiting for a response, she turned to face the other girl.

“Yah, Yujin!  Are you here to sleep or play basketball?”  Yuri shouted to a player passing by.  Tiffany noticed it was the same girl she saw Yuri hugging right before she decided to haul it out of there.     

As if Yuri could hear her thoughts, she shifted her focus away from the game.  “So, why were you leaving in such a hurry?”

Tiffany stiffened.  “You n-noticed me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Yuri said with a smirk.  “It’s not every day that someone comes to the gym wearing a sun dress and sandals.  It was almost impossible not to notice you,” she said with a laugh.

“Oh.  Well, that is, I didn’t come here to play basketball if that’s what you’re asking,” Tiffany shot back as she folded her arms.  “If you must know, I stopped by to see if a friend was playing, that’s all.”  Feeling her face grow hot, she couldn’t bring herself to admit the real reason she was there. 

“Sure, a friend.  Just like how I sometimes go to a strip club to see if I know anyone working there,” Yuri said with a wink. 

Tiffany playfully slapped Yuri on the arm as she laughed out loud.  “You’re a dork.”

 Her smile quickly faded when she saw Yujin steal a glance at the two of them.

Trying to bring herself back to reality, Tiffany attempted to reason with Yuri one more time.

“I really think you should….” Before she could finish, a girl yelled out to Yuri as she ran by.

“Hey, Team Captain!  We could really use your help over here.  That is, if you’re not too busy,” the girl said, giving Yuri an annoyed look.

“It’s like you can’t do anything without me!” Yuri shouted back as she stood up.  Looking back at Tiffany, Yuri felt somewhat responsible for her.  “Will you be okay here?  The game is almost over.  Wait for me and I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh, that’s not necess-,” before she could finish, Yuri ran off to join her teammates. 

With a heavy heart, Tiffany decided to leave.  Even though the girl she had been crushing on for the last two weeks was already involved with someone, she had no regrets.  After all, she was able to talk to the girl she had come to like.  Even if that meant being knocked out by a basketball.   

Lost in thought, she slowly made her way to the exit, tuning out the game behind her.  All of a sudden, she heard Yuri’s voice above the noise and quickly spun around.

Just as she did, she saw an all too familiar object moving toward her.  When she opened her eyes, Yuri was hunched over her. 

“So, we meet again,” she said with a laugh.

“Funny,” Tiffany managed to say, still a little dazed.  “You really need to work on your shooting.”

“I…well…this time it wasn’t entirely an accident.”  Yuri scrunched her face in anticipation of Tiffany’s reaction.         

After a few moments of silence, Tiffany’s eyes widened as she sprang up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.  It almost sounded like you said you did that on purpose.  I think my hearing has been affected from BEING HIT IN THE HEAD TWICE IN ONE DAY!”  Tiffany’s raised voice echoed through the gym.  

“But, but you went all ‘Runaway Bride’ on me!” Yuri shouted in defense.   “I kept yelling your name, but you didn’t hear me.  I couldn’t think of anything else!”

“Ever heard of running over to someone and tapping them on the shoulder?  It’s really not that hard,” Tiffany said somewhat mockingly.

“If it makes your feel any better, I wasn’t aiming at your head.  I was trying to go for your leg,” Yuri said with a childish grin. 

“Well, your aim is horrible,” Tiffany said in a huff.  “The least you could now is help me up, Top Shot.”

Yuri took hold of Tiffany’s outstretched hands and helped her to her feet for the second time.

“Now you really owe me,” Tiffany said out loud, surprising the both of them.

Yuri found Tiffany’s unexpected forwardness amusing and decided to go along with it.  “You’re right.  It’s the least I could do for all of the bodily damage I’ve caused,” she lightly joked.

Remembering her current situation, Tiffany silently wished she could take back what she said but it was too late.

“Since I have another game tomorrow why don’t you meet me here around 6 and we’ll go out to eat after?  And if you come early, you can always stay and watch the game.  I know how much you just looooove to watch me, I mean your friend play,” Yuri said teasingly.

Instead of making a quick comeback, Tiffany was left speechless, completely confused by Yuri’s mixed signals.  “Oh….I….uhhh….” she stuttered, trying to stall as she grasped for words.   

“Oh, and I feel like I should mention that Yujin is my cousin.  But by all means, please continue to be jealous,” Yuri said with a grin.

“What?  Oh, I thought she was your….” Tiffany quickly looked away, her face completely flushed.

“Okay, it’s settled then.  I’ll see you here tomorrow,” Yuri said with a smile.

“Okay,” was all Tiffany could say in response.

“I hope I remember to bring a helmet to the game,” Yuri added with a worried look on her face.

“A helmet?  For what?” Tiffany asked inquisitively.

“For you, of course.  Wouldn’t want you to be all half conscious by the time we have our first date,” Yuri said as she ran away, narrowly missing Tiffany’s fist.