Across the Net

Turned Down Again?

Be bold and courageous.  When you look back on life you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the others you did.

-H. Jackson Brown Jr.

~~~~

"Jacob cheated," Lana growled.

"Again," Geogina added, shouldering off her bag.

"I saw him leaving school with Andria.  Andria of all people.  They were..."

"Let's get on with it shall we?" Celia squealed unhappily.

"Anyways, let's start training," Lana said, brows still buried together.  "Meet your teammates everyone!"

I looked around and studied the group of people clustered around Lana.  Celia stood beside me.  I doubted if she had any skills in volleyball.  If I were to compare, her looks were much better than her brains.  Georgina was from the girl's soccer team and must had wanted to try something new.  Allison was vice captain of the volleyball team, and she stood beside Lana, her messy brown hair billowing as she read our faces.  The other four were people I had never met before, but they seemed tall and sturdy enough.  

"This," Allison pointed at one of the girls, "is Tasha and-"

"I'm Serena, nice to meet you," another girl said excitedly.

The other people stayed silent.

"Let's see what you've got," Lana seemed pissed as she threw a ball straight at my face.  I caught it instinctively.

"Alex, get the ball across," Lana folded her arms accross her chest.

"I-"

I didn't know what to do with the round object.  It suddenly seemed very heavy.

"I said GET THE BALL ACROSS!" Lana spat.  "ARE YOU DEAF?"

I gulped and looked at Allison for help.  She sighed, annoyed, and took the ball from me.

"You do it like this," Allison positioned one hand under the ball, feeling its weight, and swung her other hand at the ball a few times before launching it into the air and swiping it across the net.  The ball fell with a dull thud.  I could never do that.

"TAKE THE BALL!" Lana yelled at me.

I ran off like a gazelle and retrieved the ball.  I tried Allison's moves.  I swung once, twice, then released.  But before I could swing the ball accross, it fell with a thud right in front of my toe.  I felt humiliated and embarrassed.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Lana screamed in my ear.  "YOU BETTER GET THE BALL ACROSS.  NEXT!"

Celia came forward and confidently took the ball.  My views of her were wrong.  All wrong.  The ball flew across the net.  She was good at volleyball after all.

The others took their turns and were equally good.  I felt panicked.  I just couldn't get the hang of it.

~*~

Practice ended and I still hadn't gotten the ball across.  I felt useless.  I took my bag and left the field without a word.  To my surprise, I saw William standing in front of the exit.

"Hey," he said, raising his hand in greeting.

"Hi," I couldn't resist smiling.  "How long have you been here?"

"I've been waiting for you.  I heard that you were chosen for The Match and had practice today," he said quickly.  " I must have given you the wrong idea in Literature today.  I wanted to watch a movie with you as friends.  Not anything more."

I felt a rackety-rumph as my heartbeat sped up.

"I..."

A grin slowly spread itself on his face, lighting up his brown eyes.

"Yes?" he asked, moisturing his upper lip.

"What are you doing here?" it was Allison's voice.

"So, can you come?" William asked urgently.

I looked behind me and saw my friends listening in.

"No."

William's face fell, and my heart fell with it.  

He composed himself well enough to say, "Well, see you around then."

I turned around and my friends escorted me out.  At the corner of my eye, I saw William's shoulders sag as he watched us go, his hands flat on his book bag.

~*~

My friends and I parted once we left the school.  I walked myself home, watching my sneakered feet as they padded along the sidewalk.

The road seemed longer than usual.  Maybe it was just me.  I felt disoriented and angry at myself for turning down William.  Not once, but twice.  But popular people shouldn't mingle with nerds, should they?  

I finally arrived at the apartment I shared with a college girl who studied nearby.  She was my relative, I didn't even know how we were related, and was seldom home.  My parents were usually on business trips, and after my grandpa died, they had no where to put me.  This year, as I was already old enough and in high school, they let me stay with that 'relative'.  I felt grateful, really.  I usually had the place to myself and could do anything I wanted.  

Unlocking the door, I stepped inside and made a beeline for my room. 

Finally, after a whole day of drama and complicated stuff, I could fade into the world of fiction.  I dropped my pretense once and for all and started reading.

It was bliss.  This was one of the rare days where my friends didn't drag me to parties.  I could finally finish my book in peace.

RINGGGGG!

My bliss just had to be interrupted.  I sighed and picked up my phone.

It was Lana.

"Hello?"

"Oh hey Alex!  Sorry for being a jerk today at practice!" I could practically imagine her twirling her usual gold lock around her finger.

"It's okay."  It's not, really.

"I was just pissed because of what Jacob had done..."

I lay my head on my pillow and half listened to her talking about Jacob-this Jacob-that until she finally stopped and we said our goodbyes.

My book was in my hands in no time, and I dove once more into my imaginary world.

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