𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐞𝐭, 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐤𝐞!! ʳᵃⁿᵇᵒᵒ

PROLOGUE.

"fuck!"

i quickly moved my body back, but kept my focus on the ball. i watched as the hard rubber flew towards me, however this wasn't 5th grade, i wasn't new to the sport anymore.

"HA!" i jumped and hit the ball without flinching.

the ball flew over the net, and made a b-line to the court's floor. i smirked as the girls on the other side of the net groaned.

"again? cassie, how many times are you going to beat us?" lydia crossed her arms and pouted jokingly.

i just simply shrugged and wiped the sweat off of my brow. i turned on my heel to grab my waterbottle, and locked eyes withe coach, who was gesturing to me.

"hey, boyer!" she called out, "come 'ere a sec!"

i nodded a quick goodbye to the other girls and jogged over to the section of the gym that coach lee and a few others were. "what'd you need?"

"boyer, these are some of the boys from the other volleyball team. james cook broke his leg, meaning the boy's varsity team is down an outside hitter, and the tournament starts this weekend."

"are you asking me to compete in the boy's varsity tournament? isn't that like— against the rules?" i stared in disbelief.

"in the case of an emergency, you can substitute a player with anyone else, as long as they are varsity level." coach was presumably done talking, as she tossed me a jersey that looked far too big for me. "i'll see you at practice after school."

i furrowed my brows as i watched coach walk away, the boys following her like lost puppies. i sighed and went into the locked room to put the jersey away. the sound of rubber soles on the waxed hardwood floor followed me as vivian chased
after me.

"what was that about?" viv sat on the bench in the middle of the locker room.

"coach wants me to be a temporary replacement for james," i sighed. with a glance at the time, i began to undress out of my gym clothes, taking advantage of the basically-empty locker room.

"wait, really? thats sick!" she stood up and began to change as well.

"not really," my voice muffled as i shrugged on my t-shirt, "sweaty boys all trying to show off and carry the team just because a girl is replacing their outside hitter? no thanks."

vivian only hummed in response as the locker room began to fill up with other girls. i grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, glaring at the balled up boy's jersey that i carelessly threw in my gym locker.

 ' , —

the final bell rang and with a grudging sigh i left the ap world history classroom and began the trek to the gym. coach lee greeted me with a smile as i walked in, almost like she didn't think i'd actually come. the girls locker room would normally be packed for after school practice, but the odd sensation of a quiet, dark room welcomed me.

i changed into the jersey that i had haphazardly thrown into my locker earlier in the day. i quickly put on a fresh layer of deodorant and walked out of the locker room.

"ay, boyer!" the voice of an annoying jock to my left pierced my ears, "think fast!"

of course. why wouldn't they try to make a fool of me before we even began practice. without bothering to turn my body, i caught the volley ball with my left hand.

"thanks for the ball," i smiled innocently at the boy, who's face was now flushed pink with shock.

 ' , —

the stench of b.o. and five hour energy burnt my nostrils. my airpods did their best, but couldn't quite tune out the noise that is highschool boys on a bus. thankfully, they all ignored me, only teasing me when they deemed fit (which by now wasn't often. after i beat some of them in a 5v1 match, they gave up).

a soft sigh escaped my lips as i saw the large venue come into sight, just beyond the exit of the freeway. a chorus of cheering premature males rung in my ears, causing me to slightly smile at the idiocy.

the venue, as always, was the community college right in the center of the state's majority of high schools. we all got off the bus, the boys more excited then i was. this was the final bracket. three weekends of matches against other schools, and two weekdays of strenuous practice all led up to this.

ridgeworth high school's boy's varsity team vs. port redford high school's boy's varsity team (+one girl. all because of fucking james cook).

with a tired groan, i followed into the gym for warm-ups. the other team was already there, giving me side glances as they did laps around the gym.