My Notes To You

18 | Tickets

Aliya

Zayden is hugging me. I don't understand why he has hockey practice. He should be at practice not hugging me.

I think I'm imagining this. I blink once, then twice, until I'm repeatedly blinking. He doesn't let go. Zayden just stands there, lowering himself to my height and hugging me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, pulling away from him.

"I'm here for you" he responds, a smile crawling up his face.

"Why?" I question. "Don't you have hockey practice? And isn't your coach strict about missing practice without a good reason?"

"Yes but I had to see your first game, I couldn't miss it"

"But can't your coach bench you or something?"

"Technically yes, but he probably won't because I'm one of his best players. And I'm the captain too."

"Still-" I try to talk but get interrupted.

"That doesn't matter right now," he says bluntly. "What matters is that you get in there, and have fun. If you don't win it's not the end of the world, what matters is you have fun doing something you love."

"And don't worry about messing up, it's a part of life. Everyone messes up but they will always find their way back, trust me you will do amazing. I know you will beat those girls."

That was very motivational.

"Thank you, Zayden" I thank him, pulling him into a tight hug. I am very grateful to have him.

"Now get out there and kick their asses," Zayden says in between laughs.

Zayden's laugh causes my laugh to trigger and I laugh with him before heading to the game.

I have to serve first and I'm very scared I'll mess up but I remember what Zayden said. As I toss the ball up with my left hand and spike it with my right, it immediately flys above the net to the other side.

The girls on the other team didn't react fast enough because the volleyball reached the ground before they could dive for it.

Sudden cheers and applause from the crowd flooded through the room. It was mainly from Zayden, Lukas, Aurora, and my parents.

My biggest supporters.

My teammates hyped me up before getting into a new position.

❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

Both teams are currently tied. It all comes down to this last round. The other team is starting with the ball.

As the player serves it, it comes in my direction causing me to immediately bump it up. I almost missed it.

The ball goes up in the air after a teammate sets it and I run up to spike it. When I spike it, it immediately travels to the other side and hits the ground.

We won. Half the crowd goes wild while the other half looks disappointed. Lukas, Zayden, Aurora, and my parents all stand up to cheer for me. A little embarrassing but it's fine, at least I have them supporting me.