Justin hopped out of the rental car, a '97 Ford Probe and started into the hotel. With the other guys out, he would have a chance to think. All he wanted was some peace and quiet. The conversation that he was having with himself started to spill from his mouth as he entered the hotel room and threw his bag on the floor.

" I cannot believe this. This has to be the worst day in history. Well, other than that holocaust thing…and all those years of slavery. Yeah. But this is a close third! Man, I lost! To a girl! Not just any girl…Symone! Dammit, this sucks! I really liked her! Dude, she was using you for Lance! Why do I always get stuck with the cheating chicks with no morals! I think I'm cursed…" His monologue continued recounting every moment, every feeling every recollection of the past two days. He walked into the bathroom, and took a shower. As he dressed, he remembered the stifled laughter in Sam Goody when he had mentioned the game for the first time. " I am such a fool!" He kept talking and talking, his voice growing more irate. He was practically yelling into the open room, so loudly that he didn't hear the door open.

"Justin, chill out! What the hell is your problem!" Joey stared at the younger man, as if he should be institutionalized.

Justin continued to mumble under his breath, not bothering to look up at his friend. "You wouldn't understand Joe." He replied a few seconds later.

"Oh, really? Well, I know it has SOMETHING to do with a girl, because of the look on your face. And my guess is it has something to do with Symone, cause she's the only girl I can remember you talking about in the last few months. Either that or you lost to that chick today…" Joey replied. Justin finally took his attention away from his hands to shoot a look of disgust at him. He stopped short when he saw his hair.

"Um, Joey, I don't know if you are aware of this…but dark blue…it doesn't look like brown." Justin was shocked at the natural dark brown color of his friend's hair.

"Yeah, well…I decided that the natural look worked better for me."

Justin almost laughed, but remembered his anger and confusion and caught himself. "Jessica said she liked brown, huh?" he said, tired expression transfixed on his face. Joey shrugged. "Dude, today I realized one important fact. Girls suck."

"OK, what happened with Symone?"

"Absolutely nothing. Except I learned that she's the girl who said she had more game than I did." Justin nodded at the shock that registered on Joey's face.

"And she proved it." Lance said entering the room.

Suddenly Justin's expression turned to a scowl. "Shut the hell up Lance. Shouldn't you be out on a date with her or something?"

"What?" Joey realized that he missed a lot by not attending the game. He felt out of the loop. "Aren't you going out with her tonight?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you Joe? Seems she wanted Lance the whole time. She kissed him right in front of me!" Justin venomously stated. " I broke the date."

"Lance? You kissed Justin's girl?" Joey found that a bit hard to believe; Lance was the most trustworthy guy he knew.

"No!" Lance retorted, at the same time as Justin said, "She's not my girl!"

"Woah, OK, I am missing something. One of you please explain." Joey was confused, as usual. Lance spoke up first. "Symone kissed me. She said something about using Justin to get to me."

"Thanks PooFoo, rub it in. You know what, that was sick just to kiss her back like that."

"Justin, it was a 2 second kiss. She barely touched me, let alone give me time to respond!"

"Oh, so you would have kissed her back! Dammit Lance, you are supposed to be my best friend!"

"J, I am your best friend, calm down. I wouldn't have kissed her, I know that she means a lot to you…" Lance was trying very hard not to yell a Justin for being so dense.

"Whatever. You know you would have. Just…could you please leave me alone right now?" Justin hated the idea of fighting with Lance. But he was hurt. He felt the best way to avoid the conflict brewing in his stomach was just to stay as far away from Lance as possible.

"Sure. Justin, I'm really sorry, if that counts for anything." Justin gave his friend a halfhearted smile and watched him walk from the room.

Joey also began to leave. "Justin, I might not know to much about relationships, but I can tell that you have it bad for Symone. So, my advice is that you should tell her. Even if she likes Lance, it will make you feel a whole lot better."

"Thanks Joe, but I think its better if I just forget her. She out of my life forever now." Justin replied.

"She is?" A female voice called from the connecting doorway. "I thought you had a date with her tonight?"

"After what she did? I don't think so Terri. It's over between us. I frankly never want to see her again." Justin sighed deeply. He felt betrayed; he knew that. But, somehow, he just wanted to move past all the hurt…and try to regain all that he had almost had with Symone. 'NO!' his brain told him. 'She doesn't like you, remember? Symone used you! She is just like Kayleigh!' His heart, however, had a different agenda.

Terri saw all of the bewilderment on Justin's face. The words he had spoken were decisive. She wasn't sure that she believed him, though. "Justin, I have known Symone for 3 years now." She started.

Justin looked at Terri, noticeably shocked. "You have?"

"Yeah. She was a freshman at Olympic Heights when I started teaching there. The only freshman girl on the boys' varsity basketball team. She has to be the most motivated young person I know. Besides, possibly, you. You two are very much alike, I don't know if you realize just how much. But, Justin, you don't know what she had to go through for that spot on the team. She had to prove herself to every one of those guys. And, yet, they still didn't respect her. She got extremely fed up with it. Symone doesn't put up with crap on the court. Did she have to use Plan B on you Justin?" Terri was attempting to explain her student's actions.

Justin was listening attentively. "What? What's Plan B?"

"Well, that was something I taught her. If a guy won't guard you, or plays halfheartedly just so he can say he let you win…well, that really hurts a girl who is a serious athlete. Plan B is simply this. Make the guy mad. Find his weak spot. If he hates you, he will play you." Terri had used this tactic many a time in all the sports she played in high school. It didn't make you the most popular girl on campus, but it made for some pretty interesting games.

It dawned on him. "She told me she didn't like me. She said she was using me to get to Lance." He gulped. "She kissed him."

Lance reentered the room. "Like I was saying before Bounce…Symone doesn't like me. She told me so. Looks like she fooled you into playing." He said softly, as not to start another fight.

Terri hoped she wouldn't have to hear this. "Justin! I can't believe you made her do that!"

"What?! May I remind you guys that I am the victim here!" He was upset by Terri's comment.

"You treated her like a girl. That hurts…especially to someone like Symone. And you broke your date with her, to top everything off! That is the final straw. She is probably curled up on her bed bawling right about now. You have to go over there and apologize JuJu." Terri began to write directions to Symone's house on the hotel stationary.

"I cant…it still…hurts too much." Justin replied, deep breaths coming before each of the words.

"Please, Kid? If not for you, and not for her, do it for me. Kind of an engagement present?"

Justin was silent for a few seconds. Minutes. "Ok Ter. But just for you." He picked up the keys to the rental, and the directions and walked out of the room, shaking his head, still mumbling.