✅ My Sister's Problem

40. Triumph & Disaster

This chapter is dedicated to twilight, who's been supporting me on Patreon for as long as I've been there. Thank you! And everybody else thank her too, because she's given you an extra chapter today.

Five minutes before the end of the game, I knew I was too far from the action. Jaycen and Hugo were close to scoring, three rivals dancing between them and the hoop, where I had gotten left behind by a frantic exchange ten seconds before. I was out of position, and no use to anyone here. And even if I could get closer, when the action was moving so quickly with the ball juggled between two people who knew each other's moves so well, I didn't think I could be any help. And then I saw that I had been wrong. Hugo didn't call out, he didn't make any kind of signal, but for a second I wondered if I knew what he was thinking. He passed the ball to Jaycen, who took two steps and passed it back. They were both close to the back wall, only one pace between all five players.

Hugo didn't turn. He made a sudden pass to Jaycen, that his friend didn't even try to catch. The ball went between his legs and bounced high, out of reach of everyone. Everyone except me, as I danced back and to the side. Desperate to catch this long pass. And then it was in my hands, and a half glance down at the lines by my feet confirmed that I was in the right place. I took a step and leapt, throwing the ball from the highest point. Time stood still for a moment, while Max raced a couple of steps but couldn't turn in time.

It bounced on the backboard. The hoop rang out like a bell, and then the board again. And the ball perched in the edge for an agonising half second, threatening to fall either way. And it went in. Three points, so close to the end.

The last few minutes were pretty uneventful, and I think nobody was surprised when Chain called out "Okay, that's it guys!" I did wonder why he had a whistle if he wasn't going to use it, but I guessed that was one more in-joke that I hadn't come across before. And we'd won; one point in it at the end.

"You did good," Jaycen smiled. "That last shot was just what we needed."

"You knew exactly where I was," I still couldn't believe it. "How did you do that? That crazy bounce pass without even looking in my direction."

"I always know where my team are," Hugoo answered, still serious, but smiling. "Awareness is important. And we needed you to be unguarded, so I hope you don't mind that we neglected you for a couple of minutes. Had to draw them in."

"It's his super power," Jolly Roger added, with a grin that lived up to the name. "You'd think, just once, I wouldn't fall for that trick. It's hard to know where this guy's attention really is."

"I know that," I said, sharing in the euphoria of the victory celebrations. We were in the break room at the community center now, with cakes and soda. Somebody had brought in a case of beer as well, and the staff here had somehow failed to notice that none of us were old enough to drink. I declined; but allowed myself to lighten up a bit when Hugo offered to share a can with some lemonade. Just one drink wouldn't hurt; although after tasting it I wondered what all the fuss was about.

It wasn't long before we were heading home, still feeling on top of the world.

"My first real game," I said again. "Thank you."

"And thank you. I was starting to wonder if you were taking dating tips from your friend Nadine. But with that performance, improving so much so quickly, there can be no question about your dedication. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"And you. I hope Nadine will start talking to you again; you're both important friends to me."

"Friends," he nodded. And I couldn't tell anything from his tone. Was he hoping I'd think about something else as well? And if he was, how would I feel about it? He was cute, nobody would deny that. It was hard to believe there was less than a year between our ages, he looked so mature. And any girl would throw herself at him, as the groupies at school had shown. But now I looked at him and I thought about the time he'd spent teaching me; the hobby we shared. I could imagine him as a boyfriend, if I tried. But now we'd become such good friends, I had no idea if it was actually something I wanted.

It wasn't until I got home that the adrenaline rush from the game finally wore off, and I realised how exhausted I was. We'd been up early this morning because Mum had needed to go visit Uncle Matt, who was preparing to move house and had found three crates of stuff that he thought was mine and Lindy's; toys and stuff left behind at his house or at Grandpa's when we'd visited so many years before. The morning had been a hectic chaos of nostalgia and forgotten trinkets, trying to work out how much of this stuff was actually ours. And before an early morning there had been a really late night, trying to reassure Mum about some things she'd heard from Mr Newman, and then needing to stay up another hour and a half looking up things that I'd promised I would help Nadine with tomorrow.

It felt like I'd fitted a whole summer of work into two days, with too little sleep in between. This afternoon's game wasn't work, but it was no less tiring for that.

I decided that it would be easier to finish sorting things out for Nadine if I sat in the lounge to write a shopping list. It didn't really need a desk, and I had constant stimulation from Lindy, lying on the floor surrounded by coloured paper, crayons, and marker pens that had probably been in Matt's attic for more than half her life. She was laughing, using the art tools she'd had as a little kid, and comparing her drawings now to what she had done when she was just a toddler. Even with crayons she could make a masterpiece. And she had to keep asking me what to draw, a game we both vaguely remembered from those long-ago Saturday afternoons. It was a little distracting, sure, but it kept me from nodding off while I still had important things to do.

"Okay, that's a dolphin on a unicycle," Lindy giggled. It was great knowing that she was so happy. Content with her work, even when she'd ended up recreating a childhood memory. Maybe there were bits of her toddlerhood that she could still enjoy after all. I considered making some joke about it, but I didn't want to upset her. She deserved to stay happy, and she didn't need to think about it. The picture was probably good too, but I couldn't see it to form an opinion. I wondered why that was for a few seconds, my thoughts oozing like treacle as they approached a conclusion. "Do you like it? What should I do next?"

I tried to think of ideas, but there was nothing I could reach. No words came to mind, no thoughts. The only thing on my mind was that I wasn't quite comfortable here. But my body was too heavy to move. I'd worn it out completely. That explained why I couldn't see, too. My eyes were closed. I should do something about that, but they were so heavy. Maybe after a little rest I could try again.

"Awww!" Lindy squeaked and giggled. "Little sis is all tuckered out. Do you need an afternoon nap? You really are a baby, aren't you."

I might have blushed at those comments, if my mind was still close enough to the surface for signals to reach my body. I might have smiled too; I didn't know. I was too relaxed to care, and my body just didn't want to move. I was vaguely aware of a voice saying something about how Mum didn't believe her, but thinking about it was too much work for right now. In a minute or two I would understand what she was saying. I just needed to...

...

"SALLY!? What the hell?"

I jerked awake, confused and momentarily terrified by the sudden volume. I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard Mum yell like that, and there was no mistaking that I was the centre of her attention. In her voice was a mixture of anger and surprise, and questions like 'What's wrong?' and 'Did I do something?' spun around my mind, mixing with the more obvious ones like 'Where am I?' and 'Do I need to get up?'.

I started to wake up, rushing to make sense of the situation. My neck reported that it was going to hurt like hell when I tried to straighten it, after falling asleep with my head hanging to one side. My hand said that it was cold. Wet too, and once I realised that, I quickly became aware of what else was wet.