Let's Play A Game

Chapter 21

The rest of the week was completely crazy. I had a different test to study for every day, loads of homework, and exhausting myself at practice. The practice would pay off though. The big day was finally here. It's state championship day and I'm ready to kick some ass.

The stands were filled with students, teachers, and parents from each school. This was a big deal for us. This will be the first time in seven years our volleyball team has won states if we do. I'm giving it my all tonight. Blood, sweat, and tears have been put in to these practices. And I'm not going to let them go to waste.

Both teams filed out on to the court. We got in our positions and waited for the buzzer to ring. The buzzer sounded signaling the beginning of the game. The other team set the ball and passed it to our side. It's time to play.

It was half time. We were walking in the locker room with our heads hanging down. We were down by five and we're playing a terrible game. Coach hit the lockers and slammed her clipboard on the bench.

"What the hell are you doing out there! we've worked so hard to get where we are and you're letting it slip through your fingertips. Get your heads out of your asses and play this game the right way." She shouts at us.

I stand from my seat on the bench. "She's right. As team captain, I take responsibility for this. We've worked do hard in the past few weeks to make it here. We put our bodies through hell at the practices to the point of having difficulty getting out of bed. Pull it together, girls. This is our year. We can do this. Hands in." One hand on top of the other, we chant and break apart.

We run out of the locker room, hype from the adrenaline rush. This game was going to get serious fast.

Carly sets the ball, sending it to the other side. We hit the ball back and forth between the two sides. A blonde thick girl ontogeny opposing team dives for the ball but misses. We scored but we weren't too excited yet. We're still losing.

The ball was hit back and forth between our team and their team multiple times. We scored up until that last few seconds of the game. We were tied and going in to overtime.

My team took a seat on the bench, hydrating theirselves with water. Exhaustion was beginning to show on everyone's face. But we can't give up now. We're so close and we're not giving up now.

Both teams stand in their positions in the court again. Madison, our server, hits the ball to the other side. We hit the ball back and forth a few times. When it gets over to our side, Carly begins setting the ball. A spike was coming my way. Carly hits the ball towards me. I jump and hit the ball as hard as I can to the other side. Time seems to stand still as I wait for the ball to hit the floor. The buzzer sounds and my heart sinks. We lost.

I hang my head in shame as I look at the other girls. Their mouths are hanging open, staring at something on the other side of the net. I turn around to see what their attention is focused on. A girl is on the floor with the ball rolling beside her. We didn't lose; we won!

I turn to the girls as they stand still in shock. "We just won states!" I yell, throwing my hands in the air and jumping around with the team. They surround me and lift me on their shoulders. I'm assuming in MVP of the game.

The crowd on our side goes wild. We all chant the school mascot name as we clap and cheer. We totally kicked ass. I knew we could do this.

Coach gave us a victory speech in the locker room after. She told us she was proud of us and she knew we had it in us. She thanked me for pushing the team as far as I could to this victory.

Canyon was waiting for me outside the locker room. His face lot up when he saw me. I ran to him. I jumped in his arms as he spun me around.

"I'm so proud of you!" He kisses my forehead and hugs me tight. I slide out of his arms until my feet are on the ground again. He pulls me closer by my waist. Our eyes meet and our lips touch gently.