Survival Of The Fittest

<Private between myself and GameMaker>

(Imraan Al-Hariq continued from Twin Towers, yes in the same area, it's now several days later )

Big game coming up, big game coming up, big game coming up.....

Imraan was back in the gym, glad to be alone for a bit. The one half was sectioned off for some ninth-grade gym class, and since it wasn't one of the lunch periods, he had the other end to himself for the time being. Free periods. Man, sometimes those things were like gold.

And yeah, he might have been using this time to study, but he'd finally decided to straight up tell his boss that he was working too many hours with the state games coming up and exams and grad following right after that. And the boss had been cool enough with it, so Imraan was pretty sure that he could pick up those hours in the summer, no problem. So he could afford to leave the schoolwork for later, right now it was all about practice and working for the game.

Of course, they were ALL big games now. The first match in the state playoffs had come and gone on Monday, and they'd (barely) pulled out a win. The second one was coming up, and it was against that team from East Minny that was probably one of the faves to win the whole thing, and the scouts were definitely going to be watching that one with interest. One crap game and, well he wouldn't be totally done for or anything, but it would hurt. Yeah, it would.

He'd been tossing the ball at the basket from the perimiter, missing on purpose (not that he really needed to TRY to miss from that far outside, heh), so that he could rush forward and work on his offensive rebounding. It really wasn't the best of workouts since you ideally needed a partner to go up against, but given his duties, it was still more useful than just taking shots at the net. And he'd been sure to get in as much work as possible whenever he was with the team.

Yeah, that. Imraan knew he'd missed the last GODspeed meeting to get in that extra practice with Rob and J.J. and Mike. And he was probably going to miss this week's as well, since the game was coming on Friday. In retrospect, thank God that he hadn't been picked as the president. That would've been embarassing, and just another thing on his platter that he really didn't need right now. Between ball and GodSPEED, not to mention work and school and church and prom, he needed to set some priorities, and for a couple weeks some of them had to get the short end of the stick. That's why he'd cut down his hours, that's why he was resolving himself not to think about prom for now, and the group would have to join them. Well, they'd understand. After all, it was just a freakin' school group, he wasn't totally abandoning his beliefs if he wasn't there every week. AND it wasn't like he was skipping the meetings to go out and party or anything like that, this was IMPORTANT man, what, was God going to come down and chew him out for trying to get into a decent college?

He'd kept on playing as he turned all this over, ramping up the intensity on each drive to the net. On this one, the ball had lipped off the rip perfectly and Imraan jumped to tip it in, only to have the ball wedge itself in between the rim and the backboard.

"Ah, come on!"

Seriously, how often did that happen? Imraan grabbed another basketball from the floor and chucked it at the stuck ball to dislodge it, but it just bounced off harmlessly.

Man, just calm down.

Yeah, seriously. He had to keep control here, or he'd be a mess come gametime.

Just jump up and dislodge the thing.

Yeah, duh. What good was the crazy-tall guy for if not being able to reach the rim?

Jumping up, Imraan swatted at the wedged ball a couple times before it finally knocked loose and bounced towards the wall. He pursued it, trying to make sure to keep the intensity down a bit. Just clear your mind and get some smooth practice in. And who knows, maybe all the other stuff would just sort itself out.

Grabbing the ball, Imraan moved back to just outside the key, and started the routine up again.

"Hey mom!" shouted Kaitlin, walking in through the front door. She took off her shoes and put her backpack in the normal spot, proceeding into the kitchen. She saw her mom then, relaxing on the couch and watching Oprah on TV. When she saw Kaitlin walk in through the door, she practically jumped up from the couch, a smile on her face, and went over and hugged her.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Kaitlin's mother asked, grinning at her.

"It was pretty good, mom. Got an exam back for English today- aced it, 100. My teacher said it was one of the best essays he'd ever read." Kaitlin said this all, a smile on her face, but in the back of her mind, she was very anxious and nervous. Her thoughts were doing overtime back there, and she was surprised she was able to keep an authentic smile on at all. Her mom was... she would... well, suffice to say, Kaitlin did not think her mom would support her going to Prom. But Kaitlin had decided that she'd convince her mom- she wasn't going to go through all of highschool not doing anything with her friends. And this was Prom- Kaitlin had dreamed about going to Prom, about dancing in a beautiful dress, and about having some nice, handsome guy sweep her off her feet. But if she was going to bring it up... she might as well bring it up now.

"Mom... what do you think of, um... Prom?" Her mom stiffened, and stepped back from Kaitlin. The look she gave Kaitlin was cold and bitter, and before she even opened her mouth, Kaitlin knew this was going to be a no. "Prom is an awful place. It's where guys go and get drunk and get in fights, and girls go and get drunk and get pregnant. Do you have the essay with you, Kaitlin?" She smiled as she mentioned the essay, and Kaitlin could see she was trying to avoid the subject. This was going to be hard. But then again, did Kaitlin ever think it wouldn't be?

Kaitlin gave her mom a weak smile back, and sighed. "Mom, I asked because I wanted to go to the Prom." Her mom's smile flickered for a second, giving way to a look of anger and frustration, and then quickly came back to a smile, this one a lot more forced. At the same time, she stepped forward, one hand on Kaitlin's shoulder, and the other caressing Kaitlin's hair. "Now now, Kaitlin... why would you want to go to Prom? I just told you, that place is no good. All people do there is get into trouble!"

"Mom, I want to go to prom because all my friends" What few I have, anyway, Kaitlin thought "are going there- it should be fun. I want to dance, Mom, I want to have fun there. I want to see what this kind of thing's all about. I want to go out and enjoy myself, mom, and I'm sick of trying to have fun in this house." Her mom's smile disappeared, and she gave her the same cold gaze as before. She stepped back, and both of her hands went to her sides.

"Well, no, Kaitlin. You're not going to Prom. I'm your mother, and I'm forbidding it... there's nothing but bad things out there for you." Jessica Anderheim turned her back to Kaitlin, and started walking towards the couch. "But trust me, it'll be fun- we'll watch a movie, or we'll-"

"NO."

Jessica turned around, the look on her face one of surprise and shock. Kaitlin took a savage pride in seeing that face- her mom would never have expected her to interrupt her. But it was over, her mother telling her what to do. For gods sake- she was eighteen., she'd be going to college in less than a year, and her mom still thought she could run her life. Kaitlin continued, her voice filled with determination and a little anger. "Mom, I'm going to go, and I am sorry that you're not going to support me. I don't want to hurt you, Mom, I don't want you to worry about me- but you got to accept that eventually, I'm going to have to do my own thing, look out for myself. I might as well start doing it now."

Her mom just kind of looked at her for awhile, not saying anything, her mouth open and her eyes wide, almost unfocused. Then she began to smile, and this was a savage, angry smile. It was weird- it was a look Kaitlin had never seen on her mother's face before. Then she opened her mouth, and the voice that came out was a loud, quavering shout. "Fine! I see how it is now... after all I've tried to teach you, you want to go out there, buy some awful dress and prance out like a slut? Like a goddamn whore?! And just where are you going to get the money for this? I give money to my daughter, not to some fucking proud bitch who thinks she can go 'do it all on her own'!"

Kaitlin went back a step when she heard her mother start talking, and as she continued, Kaitlin felt her eyes begin to water. How could her mother say this about her? She didn't... she didn't want to be a slut. She just wanted to have some fun. What was wrong with that? ....No, she was going to go. And if her mother wanted to play rough, she'd play rough. Kaitlin looked at her mother in the eyes, a look of fury on in her face and tears welling in her eyes. She grabbed the heart necklace, and she opened her mouth, a voice coming through even louder than Jessica.

"You're not my only parent, mom! If Dad was here, he'd let me go- he wouldn't let you call me names like that, either!" One look at her mother's face told her the comment had hit home. Her face crumpled for a moment, and then the anger returned to Jessica's face, seemingly even more intense than before.

"Get that fucking thing off your neck!" Jessica reached out, grabbed the necklace, and pulled hard. It strained, and then Kaitlin pushed back against her mother. This... this was too much. That... and Theodore... were the last things she had to remember her father by. Her mother had taken away most of her friends, any potential boyfriends, any chance of a normal highschool life. Kaitlin was not going to let her take the necklace away too, not if she could do anything about it.

"That's the only picture I have of Dad! You're not going to take that away from me, you fucking overprotective hag!" Kaitlin said this, and Jessica's hand flew up, quickly. The side of Kaitlin's cheek erupted in pain, and she stumbled backwards, landing on the ground hard. The heart part of the necklace hit the ground, and popped open. Inside, there was a photograph of a boy about Kaitlin's age, holding a young baby. He was smiling, and looked like he was the happiest he'd been in his life. The tears were flowing from Kaitlin's face freely now, and she reached out for the necklace, her heartbeat pounding. Her mother... her mother had slapped her. She looked up, an expression of indignant rage, and saw her mother standing over her. She was furious, but underneath it, it was an expression of bitterness, of a deep sadness.

"Your 'dad'?! Your father was an asshole, a bastard, a failure of a man! He fucked me, he got me pregnant with you, and then he fucking left me when I needed him the most! When we needed him the most!" Tears came flowing down Kaitlin's mother's face as she shouted this. "And you carry around that picture of him on your neck like he's some fucking... messiah or something! Who do you think got you this fucking home, you ungrateful bitch, who do you think put you through school?! ME, the "fucking overprotective hag"! It was all me! I was the only one fucking left! So why?! Why does he matter so much to you?!"

"Because I love him, just as much as I love you." Kaitlin said this softly, looking fully into her mother's eyes. Was this how her mom truly was? Someone who hated the life they were forced to lead? "Because like you, he's one of my parents- he's my father. And I love him because of that- regardless of what he did, or the person he might have been." Kaitlin closed the necklace, and slowly got back to her feet. She would have to put some ice on her face to stop the swelling on her cheek.

She turned around, ready to leave when her mother didn't say anything. She got a bag from the cupboard, ice from the fridge, and got ready to go to her. But before she did, she took one look back at her mother. She was still hysterically crying, but she was looking at something she had pulled out of her purse. Kaitlin got closer, and as she did, her mom turned around, and looked Kaitlin right in the eyes.

"Get out of here!" Unlike the previous shout, this was not controlled, simply a hysterical scream. Her eyes were wild- filled with so many raging emotions that it scared Kaitlin. "GET OUT OF HERE!

Kaitlin left in a hurry, beginning the trip upstairs to her room. But she had seen what her mother had been looking at. And she remembered something, too. Her mother telling her that they didn't keep any pictures of her father around the house- that he had abandoned them, left them behind, that she didn't need any more memories of him.

Her mother had been looking at the exact same photograph that was in Kaitlin's necklace.

That was three days ago. Kaitlin hadn't spoken to her mother much after it happened. When they were home, Kaitlin mostly went up to her room and studied, or wrote, or listened to music. But it was a free period right now- a rare time where she didn't have to worry about her mother or the school. So, she went outside. She might as well enjoy the great weather and the fresh air; plus, she might see someone who she could talk to.

That was another thing- after what happened with her mother, she'd decided to start talking to more people. It was... something that was hard for Kaitlin to do, something that was scary, but she was determined to do it. She wanted to get to know them- and after she confronted her mother, by comparison, everything was easy. Not that that's a good thing....

She saw someone playing basketball outside- and he was.... wow, he was huge. Then she realized who it was; he was a little easy to spot, being that tall. It was Imraan, a kid from her English class. She'd talked to him once or twice when they'd had to work on an English project, and he had seemed nice enough. She had always been scared of him, though; he was so much bigger than her! But, well, if she was going to start talking to other people, now might be a nice time to start....

"Hey, Imraan! You're, uh, playing really well!" Kaitlin shouted, a smile coming to her face. She had hoped for it come out sounding nice and spontaneous. From the way she phrased it, and the way her voice was, it came out sounding forced and awkward. God, now he's going to think I'm a complete freak...

He'd gotten a pretty good rhythm going, and Imraan was feeling like it was nearly time to give it a rest. He'd been lucky enough to get through a workout relatively undisturbed, and he was feeling better overall, so he'd have to say that the drill was a success. Besides, he's gotten about all he could get out of a solo practice anyway, it was probably time to get some free-throws in and then get ready for his next class--

"Hey, Imraan! You're, uh, playing really well!"

Imraan turned around and it took him a second to recognize Kaitlin Anderheim standing there, simply because she was about the last person he'd expect to call out to him while he was shooting hoops. Sure, they'd been in the same group in English class, but that had been last semester and they weren't exactly in each other's address book or anything like that. He liked Kaitlin well enough though, even if it was just from class and everything. Really nice girl, but super-quiet, she reminded him a bit of Sapphire from GODspeed. Heh. Sometimes he actually envied the quiet ones who could just fade into the background. But why'd she be looking to talk to him?

"Oh, hey Kaitlin." he said, smiling at the girl. 'Course, he didn't actually know anything about the girl, maybe she was just a basketball fan. "Yeah, thanks, we're in the middle of the state finals so I'd better be playing good." He grinned a bit at the end part there. "So uh, what brings you to the gym?"

Kaitlin walked towards Imraan, again just astonished by how tall he was. He was- my gosh, he was gigantic. He had more than a foot on Kaitlin, and Kaitlin felt almost as if he could just step on her and squash her. But at the same time, looking up at his face, she thought his smile was geniune. It was a warm, kind smile- there was nothing fake about it. He seemed... very happy. Very nice. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all....

"So uh, what brings you to the gym?" Her mouth gaped open at the question, and she was taken aback for a moent. Subconsciously, her hands feel to her hips, almost reaching backwards towards her backpack. Theodore was in there- she felt bad about not carrying him around in the daylight, keeping him trapped in the dark, but she couldn't hold him. She had learned that early... she felt bad about keeping him in the dark, but she even worse knowing other people were snickering about her and talking behind her back.

"I just... wanted to get some fresh air. I was bored being inside by myself- wanted to go outside and have fun." She smiled back at Imraan, the grin on her face matching the one on his own. He was as nice as any of the other guys. He would be nice to her, wouldn't he? Hmm... and if she was scared of him at first.... she wondered how her mom would react. Her mom would freak out if she saw this guy- she'd hate him. Could it.... no, don't think it.

The thought raced through Kaitlin's head. A prom date? Just... as friends? That- that could work. Get back at her mother- show her mom that Kaitlin was going to do whatever it was she wanted. Kaitlin gathered her courage.... this was making her nervous. She could just... build her way up to? Joke about it? Ask him if.... Just do it. That's the best way to do it.

"Umm, Imraan, will you.... Uh, do you.... Can I.... Imraan, do you want to go to Prom with me?" She blurted it out, and blushed when she did, turning to look away, to look at the ground. This was a big, big mistake. He'd say no, he'd tell his friends. They'd laugh at her.... that was a bad, bad idea.

Imraan was idly passing the basketball between his hands while he waited for Kaitlin to speak up. She was obviously nervous about something, but he sure had no clues about what. Well, he knew that she was generally nervous around people, and he knew full well that having about the tallest guy in school look down on you could be intimidating, there just wasn't anything he could do about it. Maybe she just needed help with some--

Imraan, do you want to go to Prom with me?

Wait, Kaitlin Anderheim was asking him to the prom?!

Whoa. That was something Imraan... hadn't see coming. Heck, if he were to bet on the LEAST likely girls from the school who would be asking Imraan Al-Hariq to the prom, he'd have been hard pressed to think of anyone less likely than Kaitlin. Ha, Victoria Logan, maybe? Laverne Falciender? That weird girl with the pink hair that was into astrology and stuff?

Plus, after the whole thing with Jessie and then his talk with Rob, Imraan wasn't exactly thinking about prom. He figured he'd be with someone, but it seemed that there were less options left than he'd have expected, given he was a star ball player and all. At first he'd considered asking Maddy or someone else from GODSpeed, but most of the them already had dates set up, not to mention that he wasn't sure how well they'd hang with the jock crowd and all. He'd been thinking about asking Courtney Bradley, they ran in similar crowds and were friendly enough... but to have a girl come straight up and ask him hadn't been in his gameplan.

And Imraan was suddenly aware that he said anything in response.

"Ummmmmmm......" He broke out into a chuckle, mostly out of having no idea how to react. "Sorry, sorry Kaitlin, I just uh, didn't see that one coming." Did she have a crush on him or something? That'd be a first, heck the girls didn't think he was outright ugly or anything (or so he'd heard and hoped) but the Arab guy with the big ears wasn't exactly the best looking guy in the school, and that whole thing about girls liking tall guys, well it only went so far before it got a bit scary to them. But what was he gonna say?

"You know what, uh... well I ain't gonna bore you with the details, but I'm not really looking for a, well you know, a relationship right now. Got enough on my plate as it is."

Of course that only meant anything if that was what she was actually looking for.

Come on man, do you really think she's crushing on YOU? You ever consider that she just wants to go to prom?

OK yeah, there was that. Prom, well it was still prom. Most everyone wanted to go, and just because Kaitlin had some problems with being shy didn't mean she was any different. Maybe she wanted to go with a friendly face. And it wasn't like he had a burning desire to go with anyone else. Well, anyone else that was available, at least.

Another thing, too. Kaitlin might not be in the cheer team or anything like that, but she was pretty. REALLY pretty, actually. And she wasn't some burnout or the self-centered type that ran with a pack of mean girls or anything like that. She was... solid was what she was..

Sure. Why not? Heck, this wasn't some ugly duckling date or anything like that. She was a girl that deserved to get some attention.

He smiled a bit and continued. "But....... hey, if you just wanna go as friends, hey, I'm up for it. Yeah, I will."

There was one thing Imraan figured he needed to mention, though.

"I mean, as long as you're sure you can handle sittin' with the basketball team and all. Don't worry, we're uh, all good enough guys once you get to know us."

Well..... he hoped Katlin didn't know too much of JJ's reputation, at least. He'd cross any bridges like that when he came to them.