Sitting in class, staring at the board, wishing the day was over, I asked Kelly, “Are you excited to go watch basketball tonight?” Towards the end of a snowy white winter, boys’ basketball tournaments had made their way around. Kelly and I established that night we wanted to go watch regional finals hosted at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green. We had really wanted to watch some basketball because our season had ended, and the boys had been booted out of tournaments. It was the first week of softball practice. After practice we quickly dressed ourselves. I called my mom and asked,” Hey Mom, is it all right if I go?”

 Then, Kelly and I went on our way chatting about the most unusual topics, jamming to some of our favorite songs. When we neared Bowling Green, we had to hop on 75, a highway that is extremely busy. Kelly was freaking out and super nervous because she had never been this far away driving on her own. 

We finally made it to Bowling Green, and we arrived at the Stroh Center. Before pulling into the parking lot, it cost five dollars for parking. Kelly and I argued about who would pay to park. 

I asked Kelly, “Why do I have to pay?” 

“Because I brought you here,” Kelly responded.

We struggled to find a parking spot because we arrived with only about fifteen minutes before the game was about to start. We drove around and around for what seemed like forever, trying to find a parking spot. Luckily, we found a spot, and we quickly walked up to the doors. We finally found a spot in line, the air extremely chilly, then it began to lightly sprinkle which made it even worse. Our fingers were icicles. We just wanted to be inside, so we could warm up. 

We walked into the building then went up the basketball orange stairs. It was a struggle to find a seat because the gym was packed tight like sardines in a can, but we located a seat in the top row. We missed the first quarter because we stood in line for what seemed like an eternity. 

It was an even matchup between Crestview and Toledo Maumee Valley Country Day, and both teams battled back and forth. The crowd was loud shouting and chanting. The Crestview fans screamed loudly, “Go Knights,” while the Toledo Maumee Valley Country Day fans constantly yelled, “Go Hawks!” The game went back and forth between the teams, and it was exciting and nerve racking at the same time. It was getting towards the end of the game, and the score was close. Who knew which team was going to win? The clock ticked down to it’s final seconds. Finally, the buzzer rang, ERRRRRRRRRT! The backboard lit up ruby red, and the game was over.  The score board showed a score of sixty-six to forty-nine. Crestview won and would be going to state that year. They even ended up winning the state tournament.

Now, we had a long freezing stroll back to Kelly’s navy blue car, and it was a mess leaving the parking lot because there were so many other people trying to leave. We ended up making a wrong turn down this one aisle that we couldn't exit out of. We had to turn around and navigate another way out of the parking lot. We finally exited the parking lot.

Before heading home, we stopped at McDonald’s. We both ordered mouth-watering chicken nuggets and fries that were delicious. Then we sat and gossiped for a while. Next, we spotted a Starbucks next to us, so we stopped to get coffee. I exclaimed, “We're basic white girls!”

 It was time to start heading home now, so we picked this route that was a few minutes slower than the other two routes. It took us down all these back roads. This one bumpy road we drove on, and it was like the moon with all the craters it had on it. I remember constantly repeating, “We’re going to die! We’re going to die!” Both of us couldn’t stop laughing over it. 

I finally arrived home safely, close to midnight. The night appeared pitch black. I stepped out of the car and walked up the wooden stairs onto my porch. I twisted the handle to walk inside my house, and headed straight for my room. I changed quickly because I was exhausted. I climbed into my cozy bed under the warm blankets, watching my fish tank as I slowly dozed off, knowing I had softball bright and early in the morning.