Basketball Captain
New Member
I ran down the court, trying to shake the defender trailing me. I couldn't remember her first name but her last name is Starr. Just as I was crossing the three point line, Starr jumped in between me and the basket. Instead of crashing into her, I rolled around and made a neat layup. That scored the last point that won my team, the Bonny Eagle Scots, their first game of the season. I cheered as my team mates, my family, ran at me. They lifted me into the air, which was a spectacular feat. I'm no pixie. Well, unless pixies are made entirely of muscle with black hair and are extremely tall. Which, they aren't, so I'm not.
In the locker room, Coach Reflex (I know, it is an entertaining name for a coach) congratulated us on a game well played. At that we all cheered, our voices echoing down the hall. There is eleven of us on the team. There's Beth, who plays a wing with number three, Lisa, who plays wing with number seven. Jess, Sabrina, and Ebla all play base. I, Samara Maxwell (Sam), play at point with the number eleven. Coach clapped her hands together to get our attention.
"So, I have something to talk to you girls about." We all looked at Coach Reflex expectantly.
"We are going to get a new student and team mate tomorrow!" Everyone goes silent.
"What do you mean, a new team mate?" Ebla asked.
"Tryouts ended a while ago. It was us eleven that made it through in the end," I said, my voice raising up a little bit.
"Sam," my coach said. "We only have enough players to be on the court and then one sub."
"So? We won tonight with only eleven people. Who says we can't do the same every game?" I asked, my captain attitude kicking in. Coach Reflex stood up and walked toward the door, signaling that we could leave. As I walked to the door, Coach stuck out her hand to stop me.
"Think about your team, Sam. What happens if two people on your team get injured? What then? Do you forfeit the game?" Coach Reflex turned and walked out the door.
I lived close enough to the school that I was able to walk home. My dad had come to my game but I told him I wanted to walk home alone. I thought about all the secrets this new girl would have about Portland. Maybe, if I pretended to be her friend, I could lead the team past Portland and straight to the finals. I smiled at the thought of going farther than any other girls high school team had gone. I cracked my fists together. Tomorrow, I would work to learn all the secrets of the Portland high school girls' varsity team. All thanks to the new girl.
In the locker room, Coach Reflex (I know, it is an entertaining name for a coach) congratulated us on a game well played. At that we all cheered, our voices echoing down the hall. There is eleven of us on the team. There's Beth, who plays a wing with number three, Lisa, who plays wing with number seven. Jess, Sabrina, and Ebla all play base. I, Samara Maxwell (Sam), play at point with the number eleven. Coach clapped her hands together to get our attention.
"So, I have something to talk to you girls about." We all looked at Coach Reflex expectantly.
"We are going to get a new student and team mate tomorrow!" Everyone goes silent.
"What do you mean, a new team mate?" Ebla asked.
"Tryouts ended a while ago. It was us eleven that made it through in the end," I said, my voice raising up a little bit.
"Sam," my coach said. "We only have enough players to be on the court and then one sub."
"So? We won tonight with only eleven people. Who says we can't do the same every game?" I asked, my captain attitude kicking in. Coach Reflex stood up and walked toward the door, signaling that we could leave. As I walked to the door, Coach stuck out her hand to stop me.
"Think about your team, Sam. What happens if two people on your team get injured? What then? Do you forfeit the game?" Coach Reflex turned and walked out the door.
I lived close enough to the school that I was able to walk home. My dad had come to my game but I told him I wanted to walk home alone. I thought about all the secrets this new girl would have about Portland. Maybe, if I pretended to be her friend, I could lead the team past Portland and straight to the finals. I smiled at the thought of going farther than any other girls high school team had gone. I cracked my fists together. Tomorrow, I would work to learn all the secrets of the Portland high school girls' varsity team. All thanks to the new girl.
