Vacation

Chapter Eight

"What if I mess up on my serve again?" Allison asked Josh. It was noon on Thursday, and they were going to the volleyball game on the beach.

"You won't," Josh said. "I'll teach you how to serve when we get to the beach. I believe in you, and you need to believe in yourself, like Patty would say."

Allison laughed. "Alright."

They arrived at the beach and grabbed a volleyball to practice with. Josh showed Allison what to do when she served so that the ball would go over the net. Allison tried it for herself a couple of times. After a few tries, she finally got it.

"Good job," Josh said. "Now do that in a game when it's your turn to serve."

Allison bit her lip. She had butterflies in her stomach from nervousness. She had to serve correctly. She didn't want to fail in front of the team again. That would be doubly embarrassing.

The opposing team arrived. Both teams got in their set-ups on each side of the net. Allison and Josh's team won the coin toss, and Kylie wanted to serve first. Allison noticed that Kylie's serve sailed across the net perfectly.

During the game, Allison mostly let the other players get the ball, but it went straight to her one time and she hit it. She didn't hit it over the net, but she hit it hard enough so that Josh, who was in front of her, could spike it. Their team got the point.

When it was Allison's turn to serve, she felt the butterflies in her stomach come back. I believe in myself. I did it when I practiced. I can do it again. She heard Kylie say something mean about her and her serving. I did it before. But can I do it again? Allison decided that the only way she could ever serve properly was if she ignored Kylie and anyone else that was making fun of her. All that mattered was her own opinion, and Allison wasn't going to let anyone change it. I believe in myself.

Allison grabbed the ball and held it up like Josh had taught her. She threw the ball up into the air and made a fist. She hit it just like she had when she had practiced. It crossed over the net.

"Good job," Josh told her.

"Thanks," Allison said, smiling. She was so proud of herself for having enough confidence that she served the ball properly.

The went of the game went smoothly. Allison and Josh's team won. They started walking off of the beach, but Kylie ran up to them.

"You did a good job, Allison," she said. "You had a good game, and you did a nice, clean serve."

"Thanks, Kylie," Allison said.

"Mmm-hmm. You did a good job. But not better than me," Kylie smirked as she ran off in the opposite direction.

Allison looked at Josh and laughed, unaffected by Kylie's last comment. She didn't care what Kylie said, because she knew that she did a really good job. She served the ball perfect, and she believed in herself and achieved a goal that she had.

"We should go see Patty and tell her about how you believed in yourself and served well," Josh said.

"Yeah," Allison said. "Let's go tell her."

They walked to the restaurant and entered it. They didn't see Patty, so they figured she was in the kitchen. They walked up to the front desk.