my long-awaited basketball story!
Chapter 1
"Lynch!"
I glanced over at coach, messing up my shot slightly so it went in off the backboard. I winced and walked over to him.
"Yeah, Coach?" I said hopefully. He stared down at me with a hard expression. Then shook his head. My smile faultered.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "No one? Not even one?" He shook his head again.
"Not one, Lynch," he said. "Sorry. I guess you're just not good enough." I flinched. Ouch.
It's bad enough that today's the last day of high school, meaning I'll be leaving all my friends for college. The thing is, I was suppose to get a scholarship to UConn. I'm really good at basketball, so I jsut don't understand why no one would want me. I'm the starting point-guard, and Coach, even with his hard-ass attitude, loves me. I pull us through games all the time.
Him telling me I'm just not good enough, well, that's a huge hit to my pride. Not good enough? Wasn't I good enough last year in the championship when I made the pass to win the game? Wasn't I good enough to score the winning three-pointer this year against our rivals? I guess none of that matters now. All that matters is that I wasn't good enough. Scratch that; I'm not good enough.
My shoulders slumped in defeat. I shoved the basketball at him and stalked to the showers. I thought I was good at basketball. I guess I thought wrong. I pulled my clothes off with a wry smile. My enemy, Jen, got a scholarship just because she's tall. The only reason why she ever got any shots was because I passed her the ball.
Okay, harsh. There was that one time she managed to get down the court for a layup without someone stealing the ball. But, seriously. She sucked. My best friend, Amelia, even thinks so. Jen hates me because I'm so much better than her at basketball and she hates it.
I toweled my hair off as I thought about all the mocking I was about to get from my brother. He has a scholarship to New York, and just because of that, he thinks he's so much better than me. I sighed. Amelia caught up to me.
"Did you get it?" she asked anxiously. I looked at her sadly. She grimaced. "I guess not," she said. "Look, Savannah, don't feel bad. Lots of aspiring basketball players don't get scholarships."
I sighed. "I know," I said. "It's just that I thought I was better than the 'aspiring basketball players'." She wound her arm around my shoulders.
"Sorry, basketball girl," she said. "I guess you're just going to have to wait and see what happens."
{~~}
I threw my keys down on the couch and groaned. Both Mom and Ethan aren't home yet. I turned on the TV to see the Celtics and Lakers were playing. Celtics all the way! Just as the game was getting good, someone turned the screen off. I made a noise of protest and turned my glare to my brother.
"So," he said, oblivious to my glare sent his way. "Did you get it?" I slumped back in the couch and made a negative noise. He laughed. "Does that mean yes?" he asked, settling down on the couch next to me. I shook my head, a set of tears coming to my eyes.
"I didn't get it," I said. "No one wanted me." His smirk faded. He didn't make fun of me like I thought he would. He stared at me for a few moments.
"Funny joke, Savannah," he said. But his face was anything but happy. "You're kidding, right?" I shook my head, a few tears falling.
"It's true," I said. "Coach said I wasn't good enough." He pulled me into a hug.
