Alex Reborn

Chapter 12: Happy Bench-Warmer

The next day we repeat our normal Monday routine of Ma waking us up. Me grumbling about having to get up. Jen and Nic fighting over the mirror in our room and Mark and I well just verbal sparring as usual.

"Allie don't forget to grab your sports bag that has all of your volleyball gear along with your book-bag."

"Yes, Ma'am" I reply.

"Are you excited about returning to the team" she asks?

"I guess so, I just don't know anyone on the team. I know that Lisa is on the team, but I really don't know her too well yet."

Ma comes by and gives me a peck on the forehead, "I think you will know more people than you think, and I have a funny feeling you will be surprised."

The next four days is a blur between my honors classes, volleyball, and restarting my friendship with Lisa. It turns out, between my body's muscle memory and all of the beach volleyball that I played as Alex; I was pretty damn good at volleyball.

Lisa and I hit it off. We both love all things sci-fi and fantasy. Like me, she is the oldest daughter in a strict Catholic family. She has two older brothers; Luke Jr., who will be graduating in May with Blake and goes by Junior; and Liam, like Mark, a sophomore (AKA The Class A Jerk). She has one younger sister; Laura, who was in eighth grade; followed by Logan, who was one year older than Nic.

I also find out that she and Laura are super tight, like Jen and I are. We soon became inseparable. Wherever I was, Lisa was close by, or vice versa.

Most schools have a varsity and a junior varsity volleyball squad, we don't. We have fourteen girls on our team and most of them are freshman and sophomores. Five of us are freshman, with two sophomores, three juniors, and four seniors. Two of the seniors are starters as is two of the juniors, one sophomore, and surprisingly two freshmen. According to Lisa, Candace the starting sophomore is good at either defense or offense but not both. Coach Guyton will sub in us bench warmers as needed depending on what is going on. I was happy to see that my new friend Lisa was one of the freshman starters.

Mom was right, besides Lisa, I forgot that my sister Jen was also on the team as well as a few other girls from my classes Riley, and Celina. When they saw me coming into the girls locker-room on Monday to get ready for practice they looked like they were happy to see me.

Coach Guyton thought I was doing well in practice, but wanted me to watch a couple of games before she would consider putting me back in the rotation. It was hard sitting on the bench, not being able to play for those first two games that we had on Wednesday. That all changed on our last game of the week on Friday.

I had a hard time getting up on Friday. Coach Guyton had been practicing us to death, and she had a new favorite target, me. She kept yelling at me to move faster, focus. I felt like I was doing better. This kind of volleyball while fun was different than the easy-going beach volleyball games I am used to.

"Allie get your ass up now, this is the third time, I've come in here, there won't be a fourth. Jen and Nic you two need to move it too."

"But Ma, I just want a little extra sleep. I am so tired."

"You know what will do the trick get up, and meet me in my bedroom right now."

The last time I was in there Ma had skinned me alive for misbehaving at school. I was finally able to start sitting comfortably yesterday after Dad's blistering of my butt on Sunday which I still don't think I deserved. 

When Ma said that both Jen and Nic quickly got dressed and went to the dining room as did my brothers.

I got up and went into her bedroom. "Ma why am I getting a spanking for not getting up? I didn't think I did anything too bad besides being my normal grumpy self."