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“Don’t tell Coach, but I feel like shit.”
Shay turned to her and whispered, “Flu?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m kind of a hypochondriac, and my mom called me today to talk about it, so now, I’m worried, and I don’t even know if I have it or if I’m just convincing myself I do. I just feel like I could go to sleep right now, and this is the most important game of my life.”
“Well, don’t do that. And if you can’t shake it, tell Coach you can’t go back out there. Don’t let us lose because you’re not feeling well, Martin.”
Martin wiped her sweaty face with a towel and said, “I’ll let the adrenaline carry me through.”
When the crowd cheered, Shay turned her attention back to the game. Roy had scored. Shay checked the score and saw they were only down by four.
By halftime, they were down by six, but Coach told them that they’d probably be down at half because their opponent was very much a first-half team. Dunbar would be able to make their moves in the second half. Shay listened as Coach walked them through a few adjustments, and as she did, she realized she’d pictured herself running point without paying attention to the fact that Coach was actually telling Layne Stoll what adjustments to make. Roy was also starting the second half with Michaels, Jameson, and Ledger.
Shay had never been sitting on the bench when they’d restarted after halftime.
“Coach?”
“Yes, Amos?”
“I’m not on the court?”
“Not right now.”
“But I’m okay, right?”
“Yes, Shay. You’ll go in for Roy when she needs a breather.”
“Okay. Yeah,” she said.
The teams went back out onto the court, shot the ball around, but Shay felt like she was in a daze. This was supposed to be her night. There were scouts there from the WNBA teams she wanted to be a part of in just a few months, but she’d only played seven minutes so far, and if they lost, there likely wouldn’t be another game for them to see her play. She took her spot on the bench, trying to keep her head held high because this wasn’t about her. It was about her team.
Two minutes in, she was subbed in for Roy, and Layne passed her the ball. Shay shot a jumper and missed, but Hilton was back in, and she’d gotten the rebound, putting it in for them. Shay was playing well on defense until the fourth quarter, when she committed her third and then, fourth foul in under a minute. She was pulled out, and Roy went back in for her.
“You’re reaching,” Coach said when she walked by her on the way to the bench. “You’re faster than her. You don’t need to reach.”
“I know. Sorry, Coach.”
Shay sat down and took the water bottle that was handed to her.
With a minute left in the game, Layne needed a break, but it was clear that Coach didn’t want to pull her, so she called a time-out to give Layne a breather. Shay then handed her a water bottle and towel. It was an odd change in roles, but as long as they won, Shay could take the hit to her ego.
“Thank you,” Layne replied and handed them back to Shay.
“No problem. Go. Win.”
Layne smiled at her.
“Shay, get ready,” Coach told her.
Shay sat down next to the assistant coach and watched Layne hit a three-pointer, which meant that Dunbar had tied.
“Shay!”
Shay hurried to stand by the coach.
“Go in for Roy, but tell Layne you’re running point. They won’t be ready for you. Run three,” Coach said of the play number. “And get back on D.”
Shay hurried to the table, checked in, and sat in front of it until the buzzer sounded. She pointed at Roy, who nodded and headed to the bench after giving Shay a high five.
