Girl's Got Game

Part 15

Summer AAU tryouts are tomorrow. This is where it all counts. Go hard or go home, or get knocked flat on your back. The past two weeks have been the physically hardest in my life.

After telling my family what I was planning to do, they were all unanimous in their decision: yes. Even Mom was on board, which is strange. I was kinda freaked out at first. Knowing she would usually be the one to persuade everyone this was a bad idea, I asked her why she agreed.

"Because all the girls like you need a say in what they normally aren't allowed to do." She replied. "Normally, girls your age are expected to follow the status quo, be ditzy and girly and not have much of a brain. Women are looked at as weak. You, dear, have embodied what a woman should be. You're strong but beautiful. You mix being a girl and being strong perfectly. You can wear a skirt and throw a Hail Mary at the same time. And beat a guy up right after. Girls these days need to know that they CAN do what guys do and still be proud of who they are."

I didn't expect that from Mom. She was raised to be prim, proper, and not fight back. I guess what she's been bottling up all these years has finally come out.

"Mom, did you want to play sports when you were younger?"

She looked out the window from where she sat with her book. "Yes, I did. I wanted to run track, but I wasn't allowed because girls weren't supposed to do sports, according to my mother. But I did anyway." She laughed a little.

"You went against Grandma?"

She laughed a little harder. "Yep. And when she found out, which was the last meet of my senior year, I was grounded for a month. Your grandfather was surprised, though. He thought the only athletic ability in the family was from your Uncle Joe." Uncle Joe was a star running back years ago for a college team.

"I want you to have a say in your life. I realized after that street fight that you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. Yeah, I will always worry about you, but that can't let me stop you from doing great things."

Ok, I'm not the emotional type. But that little speech made me cry a little inside. Not on the outside, though, cuz I DONT cry.

After that, I hugged my mom for the first time in months.

The next two weeks were tough. The only AAU team I had ever played on was for basketball, which I held a starter position on for the past five years. And we all know, basketball and football are two VERY different sports. All of my brothers helped in getting me ready. It's the perks of having a football family.

Since I'm a girl, we registered my name under Toby McAllister. Only the athletic director knew I was a girl, and he gave us the brilliant plan of disguising me as a guy until they call out the lineup for the team. Once I'm on the team and they find out I'm a girl, they can't kick me off. Oh, and did I mention the director is Chase's dad?

The only guy out there that knows who I am is Chase himself. He's actually surprised I'm trying out. The kid's probably scared that I'll take his QB position, so I agreed to try out for wide receiver. Too easy.

I just hope it all works.