Stephanie and Ashley both look at each other and then lean forward with big eyes. “Tell us,” Ashley says.
I laugh and then proceed to tell them my woeful tales of basketball and a coach that hates me. “That’s terrible,” Ashley says when I finally finish.
“Want us to do something?” Stephanie asks with wide eyes.
“Like what?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“I don’t know. We could,” she pauses. “I don’t know; I’ve got nothing.” She looks at Ashley.
Ashley just shakes her head. “Don’t look at me. I don’t have any ideas.”
I laugh. “I’m good. Thank you, though.”
“Well, if you need a commiseration party tonight, let us know,” Stephanie says.
“What in the world is a commiseration party?” I ask.
“It’s when you get together to be sad about something and maybe complain about it.”
I laugh, especially when I realize she’s serious. “That totally sounds like a Tessa thing.”
She nods. “Yeah, she’s the one that told me what it was.”
“That tracks,” I tell her with a smile.
“Well, we will totally be available for that or a celebration party,” Ashley says, enunciating the last two words carefully and looking over at Stephanie. “Because she’s going to make the team.”
Stephanie plasters on a big smile. “Oh yeah. Yeah, you are!”
I grin and push my chair back. “All right. I will keep you updated on whether we’re commiserating or celebrating.”
“Totally celebrating,” Ashley says, lifting her water bottle in a toast to me.
“Thanks,” I tell both of them before I pick up my trash, toss it, and head to my next class. It’s my last class before I need to head to practice. I can’t say that I pay any attention in class. But finally, it’s time to head to practice. I make my way over to the gymnasium. I head into the locker room and make quick workof getting changed for practice. When I make it to the gym, I see Star shooting on our side hoop. I grab a ball and move over to her side. “Hey,” I call out when I get close.
“Hey, Riley.” She keeps shooting. I spend several minutes warming up and stretching before I start my shooting warm-up routine. “You ready for today?” she asks after a little while.
“Yes. Are you?”
She nods. “Yes.”
Both of us are locked in. We both know how important today is. For me, it’s the last chance I have to prove to Coach that I deserve a place on her team. For Star, it’s her one shot to show Coach that she deserves a spot as well. I keep an ear tuned for Coach Parella. As soon as I hear that whistle, I run to the middle of the floor. Coach Parella and her coaching staff stand at half court, spread out. Each of them carries a clipboard. I force my nerves aside and keep reminding myself of what Reid said. I do come alive when I’m on the court. I love basketball; I was born to play the sport. My parents have always told me. Now, I just have to prove it.
Coach Parella looks at her clipboard. “Sasha, Brene, Angie, Jaida, and You.” She points to me, and I'm ready. “Let’s go. Same positions as yesterday.” I take that in stride. It’s what I prepared for. I mentally do a checklist of all the moves Zane and Reid made me do over and over again. The coach for the guys’ practice squad sends out his players. Cameron comes over to stand next to me.
“Riley,” he says as he takes his spot.
“Cameron,” I return. That’s all we get before we start. Brene brings the ball down the court. She’s one of the returning players this year, a senior. And just like that, we’re in the game. I post up, pretending Cameron is Zane. I push against him and give Jaida a target to hit. She doesn't even look at me but passes it back to Brene. The ball swings around to the other side of thecourt, and I cut through the middle and set a pick for Sasha’s defender. She rolls right around and lays it up.
“Nice one,” I call out to her as we run down to the other end.
“Thanks for the pick,” she calls back. And then we find our places for defense. We’re starting with a zone offense, so Sasha takes the center. I stay on the left side, down low. It’s my job to block any shots coming from this lower left side. I also have to help when somebody comes through the middle. Their point guard ends up shooting a three from the top of the key. Coach Parella yells at Angeline and Jaida for not getting there in time to stop it. And then, we head to the other end for offense. Once again, I post up and give Jaida a target. She doesn’t even look at me. She ends up taking a shot, misses, and Sasha gets the rebound. She tries to go back up with it, but she’s stopped and the ball goes out of bounds. It’s the guys’ ball, so we head to the other end. On our end, Cameron gets the ball down low and uses one of the moves Reid drilled into me. I know exactly what he’s trying to do, but he still gets it in. Coach yells at me for that, and I vow to stop his next one no matter what.
At the other end, I post up, but Jaida never even looks at me. We miss again, and the guys get the rebound. They send it down court fast. I race after them, but their point guard had too much of a head start. He lays it up easily. Frustration burns through me, and I run past Jaida. “Hit me with the ball down low.” She doesn’t respond in any way. I post up. The ball goes to the other side, and I cut through the middle. Sasha looks my way but can’t get a clean pass. I run back over to my side and post up as the ball swings that way. “Here!” I shout, giving Jaida a clear target. She dribbles forward and takes the shot. It circles the rim and bounces out. I go up for the rebound, but the center for the guys’ team pulls it down.
The whistle blows, shutting down the play. “Is there a reason you’re not passing it down low?” Coach demands of Jaida. Shedoesn’t wait for an answer. She turns to look at the line of girls on the sidelines. “You!” She points at Star. “Take Jaida’s spot.” Star runs out on the court, and Coach blows her whistle again. “Girls’ ball. Let’s go.”
Brene takes it to the top of the court and passes to her right. The ball swings down to Sasha. Star cuts through the middle but nothing comes of it. She goes back to her spot above me. The ball swings to our side. I post up, pushing into Cameron with my body, and give Star a target. She passes hard and fast. I don’t let myself think. I fake to my right and then go left, power dribble, and go in for the layup. It goes in, and I’m running towards the other end before it really hits me. I find Star as I run past. “Good one.”
