Dating: One on One: Eastridge Heights Basketball Book 1

by Stephanie Street

  “You guys can sit here. Are you going to coil as well?”

  Drew shook his head. “Nope, just here to help Kittie.”

  “Okay, well, everything she needs is right there on the table.” I examined the contents of the table, reassuring myself that everything really was there.

  Kittie tugged Drew’s sleeve, a question on her face.

  “She said everything you need is here.” Drew spoke and signed at the same time before gesturing toward the tools and clay on the table.

  “Okay, so I don’t know how this works-” I wrung my hands in front of me.

  “Piper, don’t worry. Just talk to Kittie like you do your other students. I’ll translate. Usually, I speak and sign at the same time so she can read my lips but since you will be speaking, I will just sign, alright?” He’d been signing all of this and at the end he and Kittle both watched me for my response.

  “Alright, sounds easy enough.” I pointed to the cup on the table and spoke to Kittie. “You need to fill that halfway with slip from the bucket.”

  Kittie kept her eyes on me until I finished speaking, then looked to Drew. He signed the instructions as he sat in the seat behind the table, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

  Kittie signed to Drew.

  “She wants to know what slip is?”

  “Oh, slip is like liquid clay. It’s used between layers of clay to make them stick better.”

  Drew signed the answer. Nodding after his explanation, Kittie then skirted the table with the cup in hand and went to fill it.

  Wondering what kind of alternate universe I’d been transported to, I returned to the front of the room and began preparing the projector.

  “It’s good to see everyone again,” I greeted. “We have a new student today who registered a little late. Her name is Kittie Thompson and beside her is her brother, Drew. He will be interpreting for Kittie.” My voice sounded shaky to my own ears and I hoped I was the only one who noticed. “Let’s go around the room and everyone introduce yourself. Janice?”

  Janice turned in her seat until she faced Kittie who had returned to her seat with her water. She watched as Janice said her name and then turned to Drew who signed. Once everyone had been introduced, I began my instruction.

  After turning on the projector, I took a golf ball sized hunk of clay from the larger slab I’d put at my table earlier.

  “So, last week we talked about what kind of design each of you wanted to do. Has anyone decided?” I glanced up from shaping the clay to see what everyone had to say. No one said anything and most of them had blank looks on their faces. “Okay, well, in that case, how about we all do the same design? Of course, no two will look the same but everyone will follow the same instructions. Sound good?”

  I breathed a sigh of relief when all eight heads nodded. I forced myself to avoid looking directly at Drew, but it wasn’t easy. I’d never put much stock in the idea of magnetism between two people, but Drew had made me a believer.

  “We’re going to make a simple pot with coils. We only need a few tools. We went over them last week, but let’s review.” I held up each item on the table in front of me, naming each one in turn. “This loop tool is used for trimming clay. The wooden tool for scoring each layer. Remember we talked about scoring, or making little marks all around each coil to help them stick together better. Of course, we have our cup of slip and brush. The slip will be used to weld each layer of coils together. And that’s about it. So, let’s take our first ball of clay and form the base for our pot.”

  I demonstrated under the projector how to flatten the ball of clay into a disc and then trim the edges with the loop tool until it was as round as I could get it without using a circle cutter.

  “Now, take another hunk of clay and roll it in front of you until it has formed a long rope. Don’t worry if you have a hard time making your rope uniform. That’s one of the really cool things about coiling- it isn’t a perfect process.”

  I modeled rolling my clay into a long rope and then showed them how to score each edge before placing the rope onto the base we’d created. “Don’t forget the slip!” I demonstrated, painting a thin layer of moisture on the base before adding the rope of clay. “Now, here is where your own creative interpretation comes into play. You can leave your coil rounded and add another rounded coil to it until your pot is complete. Or you could smooth the edges using your fingers or this wooden tool and water. If you don’t smooth the edges it will look this.” I switched the view on the projector to display a picture of a coiled pot that hadn’t been smoothed that I’d found on the internet. “These can be really cool, so if you are into this look, don’t smooth your coils. On the other hand-” I switched to a different picture of another coiled pot that had been smoothed. “You can make your pot look like this.”

  Whispered chatter erupted between the table partners as they each discussed their preference. Drew and Kittie discussed, hands flying, and I was momentarily distracted by the beauty of their quiet conversation.

  “Piper.” Drew’s voice pulled my gaze to him and his lips. My cheeks warmed.

  “Yeah?” I cleared my throat when my voice cracked halfway through the word.

  Drew smirked and I wondered if he knew I was thinking about kissing him. “Kittie wants to know if you are going to show everyone how to smooth the layers?” He signed as he spoke.

  “Yep. Let’s smooth down the first layer.” I dipped my fingers in the cup of slip and then used them to shape the first coil how I wanted it. “I’m going to make the bottom wider than the top and then flare out the next layer so it has a base that isn’t rounded.”

  I molded the clay how I wanted it and then began rolling another rope. “Don’t forget to score the edges,” I reminded them as I scored my own edges and then painted a layer of slip onto the first coil before placing the second.

  Everyone worked to roll ropes and coil for the next hour. I stopped after three coils on my pot and walked around to observe how everyone else was doing. This was always my favorite part of class, seeing the unique projects everyone came up with even when we were all doing the same thing.

  “I love it, Janice.” I nodded my head approvingly. She had left her coils rounded and layered them in, then out, then in again while the overall look was straight up and down like a tall soup can.

  I stopped at Brad’s table and he had gone a different route, smoothing his edges and making a pot that looked like a small beach ball with the top two-thirds missing. “Wow, that looks amazing.”

  Brad stopped working, eyeing his pot critically. “I think I’m going to begin moving it back out to make a flare at the top. What do you think?”

  “That’s gonna be cool when you’re done. Good work.” I moved onto the next student, Hannah, admiring her creativity. “Ooh, I really like the loops.” She had raised portions in her coils, creating holes intermittently in the pot.

  “Thanks, Piper.” Hannah smiled as she rolled another rope. I had a feeling Hannah was hooked. I was pretty good at recognizing when someone had become a potter at heart and Hannah had all the signs.

  I stopped at Kittie and Drew’s table last. I’d had to work up the courage first. They had been joking and laughing throughout the lesson, not in a distracting way, but I could tell they were both having fun.

  Drew

  It had thrown me off balance, walking into Kittie’s pottery class to find Piper. I knew Piper was into pottery but in never occurred to me that she would be at the art center this morning. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to be Kittie’s interpreter. Mom and Dad often volunteered me and I never complained. I enjoyed hanging out with Kittie and I figured it was a way to earn some of the allowance Dad gave me. Not that he didn’t owe me.

  Piper was mesmerizing, though. I tried not to let my fascination with her be so obvious. Curiosity had been oozing from Kittie’s pores since she realized I knew her instructor. She’d been elbowing me in the side every time she caught me staring at Piper. My ri
bs were going to be sore by the time this was over. And there were six weeks of this class left.

  You like her.

  Stop. You’re supposed to be working.

  Teasing you is more fun. How do you know her?

  She goes to my school.

  She’s very tall. Does she play basketball?

  Yes.

  Kittie processed that information as she smoothed down the sides of her coiled pot. It was kinda cool and it made me wish I was making one of my own since I had to be here anyway. But that wasn’t the point of this. I was here for Kittie.

  That didn’t mean I couldn’t watch Piper as she moved between the tables, praising each of her students for their work. I appreciated the way she showed genuine admiration for each of them. I didn’t appreciate that Brad guy, though. He’d been eyeing Piper’s legs and even her behind since she’d begun walking around the room. Not that I blamed him. But when Piper leaned over to look more closely at Hannah’s pot, Brad’s eyes had lingered a little too long on Piper’s curves and I had to squelch the desire to gouge his eyes from his head so he could never look at Piper again.

  That particular jab from Kittie might have broken a rib.

  “How’s it going back here,” Piper asked, her long hair falling like a curtain when she leaned over Kittie’s pot.

  Kittie responded by pushing her pot a little closer to Piper.

  What do you think? Kittie signed for Piper.

  “She wants to know what you think,” I interpreted. A fiercely protective feeling swept through me, just like it always did where my sister was concerned. I knew Piper would be kind, the emotion was a reflex at this point.

  “I love it. If you wanted, you could make a set for cereal bowls. I have some a lot like this one. I gave them to my mom for Christmas last year.”

  I signed the words to Kittie as I tried to imagine my mother with her perfect designer dishes eating anything out of the slightly misshapen bowl Kittie was making out of clay, let alone cereal. An involuntary snort escaped.

  Piper’s eyes snapped to me and I felt bad. Most mothers would love a handmade gift like the one Piper was suggesting. But my mom wasn’t like most.

  “That’s a great idea,” I said and signed.

  It was Kittie’s turn to snort. She rolled her eyes and tapped my arm to get my attention.

  Maybe for Grandma.

  I smiled because she was right. Our dad’s mom would absolutely appreciate a handmade set of bowls from Kittie.

  “That’s a great idea,” I told her.

  Piper watched us with question in her eyes, so I explained. “Mom’s a snob and wouldn’t be caught dead eating cereal and certainly not from a handmade bowl, not matter who made it or how amazing they were.” I stopped considering. “Unless of course someone famous and fashion forward had recommended it first. But Grandma, on the other hand, would love some bowls a-la-Kittie.”

  It’s a great idea.

  I nodded my agreement. “And easy to make.”

  Kittie slapped my shoulder. For you.

  Piper laughed, apparently, she’d followed that bit of our conversation on her own. “Are you kidding? All this interpreting stuff is exhausting.” Sagging back in my seat, I pretended to be worn out.

  Piper and Kittie both laughed.

  For the next half hour, Piper helped her students with technique or answered questions about other types of pottery and then the class was over.

  With me helping her, Kittie should have been the first one done cleaning up her station. Instead, she dawdled, her gaze flicking back and forth from me to Piper. I gave her a look.

  Let’s go.

  Kittie just smiled, her expression mischievous. She jerked her head in Piper’s direction and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

  I just shook my head.

  Finally, the older lady who sat at the front, stopped talking to Piper. I’d eavesdropped on their conversation a little and knew the older woman was attempting to talk Piper into going on a blind date with the woman’s twenty-seven-year-old son.

  Piper had been patient as she explained that she was only seventeen as well as expressing her doubts about a twenty-seven-year-old wanting to go out with her.

  I wasn’t so sure.

  Piper straightened some things on the table at the front of the room. Kittie hurried to finish wiping down her work surface, her eyes eagerly darting to me. Sighing, I prepared myself for what was bound to be an awkward conversation.

  Piper collected her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She checked the projector one last time and then walked toward the back of the room.

  “You guys ready to go? I have to lock up this room.”

  I signed Piper’s words to Kittie who nodded and picked up her own bag. Finally.

  I shouldn’t be so indulgent. I should have yanked Kittie out of the room ten minutes ago, but she would have been disappointed. She hadn’t made many friends in Indiana, even at her new school. I hated to deny her any opportunity to meet someone new, especially Piper who I knew would be kind to her. We followed Piper out of the room and then out of the building into the parking lot.

  Piper smiled. “It was so good to have you in class, Kittie,” she said and would have gone toward her Jeep, but Kittie had other plans.

  Thank you. I had a lot of fun.

  I interpreted.

  Piper’s smile grew. “I’m glad.”

  But what I really want to know is how you know my brother?

  Groaning, I dropped my face in my hands. “Kittie- oomph- Hey!”

  Tell her. Kittie’s expression was fierce and as I rubbed the spot on my abs that she’d smacked, I tried to remember how frustrating it could be for her not to be able to communicate and that even though I was her brother and she was taking horrible advantage of this situation, my responsibility as her interpreter was to interpret.

  “I can’t believe this,” I mumbled under my breath before facing Piper who was grinning unashamedly at my discomfort. “Uh, she wants to know how we know each other.”

  Piper’s eyes widened and her smile fell. Ha. It wasn’t so funny now. Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited, wondering what Piper would say.

  “Oh, well, um. We go to school together,” Piper finally stuttered out.

  School, I signed to Kittie who squinted her eyes at me. She knew I’d simplified that answer and wasn’t happy about it. Whatever. Piper’s discomfort didn’t need any interpretation.

  Kittie’s expression turned more impish if that was even possible. She turned to face Piper and signed, Drew likes you.

  Good hell. There was no way I was telling Piper that. “Okay, that’s enough of that.” Without ceremony, I picked Kittie up around her waist and headed to my car, leaving a bemused Piper in my wake. “See you at school, Piper.”

  “Oh, okay. It was nice to meet you, Kittie,” she called out. Of course, Kittie could read lips enough to tell what Piper said and shouted over my shoulder, “you, too.”

  Shaking my head, I deposited my sister into the passenger seat of my car and slammed the door in her grinning face.

  As I walked around to the driver’s side, I glanced to where Piper still stood, watching the whole thing with her mouth gaping and I couldn’t help but smile. I slid into my seat and started my car with a roar, determined to get out of there before Kittie made things worse.

  Chapter 18

  Piper

  “Now, for your six o’clock news with Debbie Hammer.”

  “Thanks, John…”

  “Ugh, why are we watching the news? It’s so depressing.” I just finished the dinner dishes and made my way into the living room. One of our favorite reality shows was going to be on after the news, but that didn’t mean we had to watch the news.

  “There’s a segment I want to see,” Mom mumbled around the pencil clenched between her teeth. She held a massive crossword puzzle book in her hand and she was snuggled into the corner of the couch close to the lamp resting on an end table.

  “Is i
t almost time?” Luke jumped over the back of the couch and made himself comfortable between us.

  “Luke, don’t’ jump on the furniture,” Mom said without even looking up from her puzzle.

  “Really, Mom? I forgot to water the garden and now I have to take over dinner dishes even though it’s Luke’s week and he vaults the back of the couch and gets a distracted reprimand? Favoritism is not cool, Mom.”

  “I’m too tired to argue with you, Piper.” Mom filled in another crossword entry.

  Luke grinned.

  I sat back in the couch cushions, determined not to let Luke ruin my evening and focused on the news.

  “In other news, a group of high school football players from California are facing assault charges after targeting girls at their school in a new hazing ritual. According to sources, the football players chose girls who fit a particular profile, usually shy or otherwise targeted for bullying. Then, using pillowcases or other types of bags thrown her head, the young men take her to hidden locations and assault her- kicking and punching as well as sexual assault, although it has been determined none of the girls were actually raped. Five different teenage girls were assaulted before authorities became involved. The young men have been expelled from school and are being held at a juvenile detention center until further investigations can be completed.”

  “Wow, Debbie. That’s just terrible.”

  “It is and the worst part is that there have been three separate instances of copy-cat crimes committed since school has resumed this fall. Incidents have been reported in Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio.”

  “If you hear about hazing of any kind in your school or community, please contact your local police.”

  “That’s just sick,” Luke said, his face scrunched up with disgust.

  “No kidding. Who does that?” Luke and I shared a look and I knew we both could think of a few of the guys at our school we wouldn’t put it past to do something horrible like that. In fact, a few years ago there were several athletes at our school who were expelled for hazing freshman on the baseball team. Our school had put in place several programs, including first of the year assemblies about bullying and hazing. It hadn’t completely stopped the incidents, the fact that I still couldn’t use my hall locker was a prime example, but they’d curtailed them.