4: Admirer 💜

                                    

                                          
Taraji was the star point guard of her high school basketball team, which made her very popular. She was highly sought out by her peers. There was a rumor going around that she was a player on and off the court. But she couldn't help that guys and girls threw themselves at her. The truth was, Taraji didn't even date. She was so focused on ball that she didn't have time to. But having girls hang all over her after games gave her a bad reputation.







Fantasia was the captain of the cheerleading squad. And until recently, the girlfriend of the captain of the football team, Kendall. She was the girl that every other girl in school wanted to be. She broke things off with Kendall because he cheated again. She had forgiven him before, but she was tired of being made a fool of. He wasn't even all that. "They can have you. Because you're not even worth the hassle." She had told him and walked away.







There was a little over a month until Valentine's Day, and the seniors had convinced the principal to let them put together a Lover's Ball. It was their last year, and they wanted to enjoy every minute of it. Danielle was the class president and was in charge of the event. She lived for this sort of thing. She had also coerced her best friend Fantasia into helping with the decorating. So they were currently in the gym deciding how the setup would look.







Taraji, Mary, Sanaa, Tasha, and Regina were in the gym shooting some hoops. Their coach had finally cut them some slack and cancelled practice, but they wanted to get some shots up anyway just for fun. They were currently playing HORSE when Regina passed Taraji the ball, and it hit her in the face. "Damn, Gina! That shit hurt." Taraji yelled while rubbing the side of her face.







"It's not my fault your ass got distracted," Regina said. The rest of their friends co-signed by saying, "Right." They weren't wrong; Taraji had tuned them out, and her focus was on the girl across the gym from them. Fantasia Barrino. Taraji had the biggest crush on her, but unlike the rest of the girls at school, Fantasia didn't even seem to know Taraji existed. "Either ask the girl out or stop stalking her." Mary said and then shoved the ball into Taraji's hands.







Taraji hated that her friends knew about her crush on Fantasia. She walked around school like she was so cool and uninterested in everybody, yet she was simpin' over someone who probably didn't even know her name. "I'm not stalking, and she's not gay." Taraji said.







She threw up a trick shot that she was sure was about to make her friends lose. She might have been distracted by Fantasia's beauty, but she was still winning. She only had H and O while her friends were all on S. When the shot went through the basket, the other girls didn't even worry about attempting it. They just placed money in Taraji's hand. "I told y'all to stop betting against me," Taraji teased, holding the bills up to the light to make sure they were real.







Taraji and her friends went sat on the bleachers to cool down. And Taraji's focus was right back on Fantasia. She had heard about the girl's breakup and wished she could take Kendall's place. She was a ball player; she didn't mind being a rebound. She chuckled to herself at the thought of that. "Valentine's Day is coming up. You should be her secret admirer." Sanaa suggested to her friend. She knew Taraji had it bad for Fantasia. "We'll all help, and then if it works out like I think it will, you can ask her to the Lover's Ball."







Taraji loved the idea, but she didn't think she could pull it off. She wasn't that girl. She could be romantic, no doubt, but a secret admirer that would be new territory for her. But that's what friends were for, so she decided to do it and accept the other girls' help. Mary groaned because this wasn't her thing either, but Tasha, Regina, and Sanaa were excited.