Wild Little Dreams

24

Jay parked in the school's parking lot after work, ready to pick up Kamryn from her volleyball practice. He'd hoped the email from Hailey got through to the coach and that her coach was able to talk to her and get her out of the funk she'd fallen into.

"Hey, kiddo," Jay said as Kamryn came out and jumped into the truck.

"Hey," she smiled, throwing her bag into the backseat before she put on her seatbelt.

"How was practice?" He asked, waiting for her to get settled before he started to drive back to the district.

"It was good!"

"Good kiddo. We gotta run back to the district for a little bit," he told her, putting the truck in gear and heading back toward the district.

"Did you catch anybody today?" She asked, looking at her phone.

"Maybe," he shrugged, "But you know I can't tell you more than that kid,"

"I know," she shrugged.

He smiled a little and pulled into his parking spot before they both went in.

"Kid in the house!" Kevin announced, pulling Kamryn close to hug her.

"Hey, Uncle Kev," she chuckled.

"How you doing, girl?"

"I'm good! Volleyball went a lot better today," she grinned, going to the break room.

"You got homework, kam?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. Gonna start it now," she nodded, pulling whatever homework she had out of her bag.

"Kam here?" Hailey asked, coming out from the interview room to see Jay.

"Break room," he nodded, pointing his pen behind him.

"Hey honey," she greeted as she got a new cup of coffee.

"Hi, mama," she smiled, looking up before she looked back at her homework.

"How was school?"

"Good. Volleyball was too. You emailed my coach?" Kam asked as she worked on her homework.

"I did. You were struggling, honey, and I don't like seeing that. So I emailed her to see if she could talk you out of whatever doubts were in your head," Hailey explained as she sat down.

"Thanks, mama," she nodded, hugging her tightly.

"I only do what I do because I love you," she said as she got up and kissed her head. "I gotta get back to work, okay?"

"Okay," Kam nodded, smiling at her before she looked back at her work.

Hailey smiled and went back to work while Kamryn stayed in the break room and finished what was left of her homework.

"Alright, kid. Let's get going. We're done for today," Hailey said as she entered the room.

"Can we pass the ball around when we get home?" She asked as she packed her stuff up.

"Yeah, after dinner," she nodded, grabbing a few things of her own before they headed off.

Kamryn helped them make dinner, and they all ate before Kamryn grabbed the volleyball, and they all headed out.

"Alright, let's do some low passes tonight so you can dive for them," Jay said, getting ready to send the ball her way.

"I'm in the front, Dad; I don't dive for it. Like ever," She chuckled, looking at him like he was crazy.

"I know, but there will come a day when you might not be the tallest, so it's better to know that you can dive for it," Jay explained, holding the ball up, "Ready?"

"Go for it," She nodded, getting into position and waiting for him to serve the ball to her.

As soon as Jay did, Kamryn went for the ball and managed to hit it but not quite hard enough to get it to Hailey, who was taking the place of the setter.

"Try again. Don't get frustrated. Just keep trying," He told her, catching the ball again as Hailey tossed it back to him, "Ready?"

Kamryn nodded and got into position, watching as Jay sent the ball her way. Once again, she missed it and groaned as she grabbed it and tossed it back to Jay.

"Try again, Kam. You got it, kiddo," He said again, going a little bit easier on her. "Ready?"

She nodded again and waited as he threw a ball that was somewhat easy to get, so in turn, Kamryn got it and hit it perfectly to Hailey.

"See! Third times a charm. What else do you want to work on?"

"Blocking," She nodded, looking between both of her parents, who both nodded.

"Alright, let's go ahead and do that," Hailey nodded.

Hailey and Jay both went to the opposite side of the net, sending Kamryn all over the place to try and get the ball. They had her block a few times until she felt confident and seemed tired out.

"Alright, kiddo, let's go in," Jay chuckled, watching as Kamryn yawned.

"Alright," she nodded, grabbing the ball and heading back into the house.

She immediately went to take a shower and then went to lay down in her room and play on her phone.

Hailey and Jay went to also shower and get ready for the night.

"Kam?" Jay knocked.

"Yeah?" She asked, getting off her bed and opening the door.

"Ready for bed?" He asked.

"Yeah, just about," she nodded, "Thanks for the help today. It was more fun than anything,"

"I know, kid. You got the beating yourself up gene from both Mom and me. But the biggest takeaway from it is don't let yourself get discouraged over something small. It's something you can fix and work on, and one day, it won't be an issue. You're 12 years old. You're just starting out. By the time you get into high school, you could be the best player on the team,"

"You think so?" She asked, sitting on her bed with him.

"I think so. And not just because I'm your dear old dad. Because I know you, and I know what you're capable of when you put your mind to it," he nodded before kissing her head, "Put your phone away before bed. Love you,"

"Love you too, Dad," she grinned, turning off her few apps and setting it on the charger.

She then went downstairs and told Hailey good night before going back upstairs and going to bed.