Trying Again

A Dream

Sarah settled into the stands in the university gymnasium. She wasn't the youngest member of the audience, but she was almost certainly the youngest lone member. She carried a sports bag with a few changes of clothes inside.

The teams took to the field (or was it a court?) and started warming up. Rachel wore the uniform she'd worn when they went rock climbing, her hair pulled into a ponytail. She didn't notice Sarah, focused on tossing and hitting the balls.

Alyssa wore a green jersey rather than the blue of her teammates. Sarah recalled that meant Alyssa was the libero. Alyssa's hair had been bunched into a messy bun. She scanned the stands while warming up, flashing Sarah a smile when she spotted the young girl.

After everyone warmed up, the game started. Rachel played with a serious, determined expression that Sarah hadn't seen before. That alone made coming to watch worth it. Rachel had a sharp focus, her playing clean and accurate.

Every time they scored a point, the team collapsed into a huddle, everyone giving words of praise. When they gave up a point, they did the same, but with words of encouragement. Sarah had a brief thought of how nice it would be to be there.

Before long, Rachel worked up a sweat, her face flushing a bit, her breaths heavy. It wasn't the first time Sarah'd seen Rachel like that, but now that her feelings for Rachel had developed, it looked a bit risque. Her imagination ran wild.

The first game ended with Rachel's victory. The teams received a short break. Alyssa announced that she'd go buy drinks and ran out of the gymnasium. The rest of the team settled on and around the benches, catching their breath, most of them drinking water.

A few minutes later, Alyssa approached Sarah in the stands, reaching into a plastic bag full of various bottles.

"Hey Sarah," Alyssa said, holding out a blue sports drink.

"Hello," Sarah replied, accepting it.

"Go press that to Rachel's neck."

Sarah cocked her head. "Is it okay for me to go over there?"

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Alyssa replied with a smile. "It'll be funny."

"Well, okay."

Sarah followed Alyssa over to the bench and stealthily placed the bottle against Rachel's neck. Rachel yelped and jumped, twisting around, growling. "Damn it, Alyssa —" Her eyes met Sarah's and her anger dissipated. "Sarah?"

"It's me," Sarah replied. "Here's your drink."

"Oh, thanks." Rachel took it and unscrewed the cap, peeling off the seal. "Why are you here, though?"

"I was free," Sarah said with a shrug.

Rachel turned to Alyssa. "This is your doing, isn't it?"

"Why would you suspect me?"

"Who else could it be?"

The member beside Rachel spun around to see what everyone was talking about, a flat girl with floppy brown hair. "Who's this? Your sister?"

"Nah," Rachel replied, taking a few swallows of the liquid. "She's a friend I've been looking after while her parents are out of town."

"Ooo, I never took you to be the responsible type!"

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, wait, is she why you've been cancelling for the past few weeks?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah."

Sarah blinked. The past few weeks, when Rachel had said she was free, she'd actually been cancelling other plans?