I stepped up to the line. My teammate jogged up to the smooth, maroon line and we put our hands together. The ref nodded and I stepped into the court, my arena, a place to test my skill. I went up to the setter position, bent down, and prepared to play. "Serve receive!" Someone yelled. "Ball's up!"
It seemed like an hour instead of a few seconds. The ball was falling onto our side. Hailey bumped it over and it landed neatly on the other side. My turn. I thought. Music was playing in my head as I walked backwards to the serving position. I slammed the ball onto the floor a few times with the inside of my fist.
Before the game, we had practiced serving until we had to get off of the court. I thought to myself, it's just like I practiced. I can do this. I swung and the ball sailed over to the opposing team's side. Bump. Set. Spike. They hit it right outside the court. I serve again. It lands close to the line and one girl is scrambling to get it. I catch the ball as it flies under the net to me. I take a step back. Thump, thump, thump. I hit the ball on the ground. I get ready. I hit it over the net and... it lands outside the court. I hear cries of "You'll get it next time," and "Good try Lexi." I felt defeated, but I got my head back into the game. The other team serves and it heads toward me and I bump it to the setter. She hits it over. A little later, I hit it over. Immediately after, I look over at the scoreboard. We won! Energy raced through my body as I celebrated with the team.
After we said "Good game" to the other team, I went to get a snack from the vending machine. A girl that was a libero for the other team walked up to me. "So this is the girl that ruined our game. Whats your problem?" she said before shoving me into the vending machine. "Ow!" I exclaimed. "We were supposed to win. We always win." She said. Her teammates joined her, but the one with long auburn hair held back. Hailey tore away from the rest of our team and joined me. She faced the libero and said, "What's her problem? Lexi's the one who won the game for us." as Hailey shoved the girl lightly, Hailey's black curls bounced. The one girl that held back before came over. "Why are you being so mean to her? What did she do to you?" she isn't talking to Hailey, she is talking to her own teammate! "I'm team captain. How dare you talk like that to me? I will kick you off the team!" said the libero. I turned to the girl that just defended me and asked, "Has this girl been bullying you?" She glanced at her team captain, paused, then nodded slightly. I turned back to the libero, "Why?" I asked her. I wanted to know why she was bullying that girl. I hate bullies. "What do you mean 'Why?"" she said, her voice growing louder, drawing the some of the attention of some of the parents. She continued, "You think I'm mean? You're the mean one! I win. I always win." she said loosing her power over her teammates. They were starting to back away. "Yah, you said that already, Mackenzie. I think you're over reacting a little..." said a girl with freckles, trailing off. "I don't have time for this!" said the team captain, Mackenzie, then she stormed off. I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. One of her teammates started to follow, but then stopped, probably thinking that she doesn't want to be like her.
"What's your name?" I asked the auburn haired girl. "Kate. And you're Lexi?" she asked "Yes. Do you know why she was being mean to you?" I questioned. "Well, she found out that I'm going to transfer schools. What she didn't know that it is because of her." she confided. "And since you're such a good volleyball player, she's bullying you into staying." I finished. I could tell by her blushing that I was right. "Which school?" I asked. "Umm, yours." she said tentatively. Hailey walked over and put her arm around Kate's shoulders. "Welcome to the team." she breathed. THE END
