CHAPTER 10: SEX AND THE “UNDERGROUND”

SUNDAY

8:13am @ The Planet

It was a typical day outside – the air was cooler at this time although the sun was up there; some people were walking their dogs down the street; others were buying a copy of the latest newspapers and tabloids; still, a few more were going in and out of shops to check out what new clothes were hanging. Yet, no matter how the everyday, boring life went on on the streets, there was this immense factor of great excitement within a group of teenage girls sitting at the far corner of this specific café.

“How much is it gonna be this time? 20 grand?” Helena was snapping her fingers. “Hoo, boy.”

“It’s gonna go higher than that, Helena. This is Shane’s and Tasha’s senior year. It’s an easy 25 to 30 grand. Easy.” Moira said, matter-of-factly.

“Money’s not gonna be a problem if it went that high. We all saved up for this, right? Problem is, which rookie are we going to have to trust? It bothers me. We can’t make a mistake – we need someone that would keep this to herself. We’re already drawing a large crowd; it’s getting bigger year after year. It amazes me how no one from the authorities both in school and out couldn’t seem to track us down.” Grabbing her soda, Shane gave herself a generous gulp. “We can’t have them breathing down our necks.”

“It’s not that they don’t know anything about this shit. I don’t think they’re trying to stop us from doing this ‘cause no one has reported something so bad out of it, though it’s purely illegal. Man, my palms are sweating. This is stressing me. I can’t wait.” Papi was looking straight at the piece of parchment paper with written guidelines on how they should go about the underground game laid flat on the table.

Bi-annually, St. Bridgette’s and Miriam High Schools held underground basketball games for the enjoyment of the alumnae who had the money and leisure to watch two teams battle it out on the court; and it turned out to be even more than just pure entertainment. It was a clandestine tradition that was formed a decade and a half ago. Only a select few were welcomed with open arms – excluding the players from both parties. Those who were more than willing to pay a huge sum of greens to keep their mouths shut and their eyes open for what was going to occur, have a 50-50 chance of being accepted into this elite secret society.