Basketball+Tryouts

Basketball Tryouts by: Ann Magne I am on the ground. Dang my head hurts!! I think my heartbeat is in my head. That girl that just knocked me down is going to pay for that later. Well, maybe not, since I’m 4’11” and she is what, 5’6”? I don’t want to get up. It’s too early to be playing basketball and its Sunday. The sun just became visible. This gym is old, the wood creaks, it has an echo and smells like mold. “Kate!!!!!! GET UP!!!” screamed an instructor, interrupting my thoughts. Ughhhh! Do I have to?? The instructor is coming towards me. “Are you ok?” she asked. “I’m fine” I replied. “Then get up and run down the court!” she yelled. I got up, slowly because my head was still weighing me down, and then sprinted down the floor. I found Hannah, my best friend and played some defense against her. Back and forth we went up and down the floor. Offense to defense, until, SMACK! I had just shot the ball, but that same girl, just came and blocked my shot. BAM! It just smacked my face. Ouch! I think I’m ok. I run down to the other end, the girl just scored a lay up. I get the ball and start dribbling down the court. Hannah is guarding me. I smile at her, but her expression is way far away from being a smile. Its almost like she is mad. I blink one time and look again, same expression. Then, she puts out her arms and steals the ball. She goes down the floor, shoots, but she misses. I run down to try to get the rebound, but the same big girl plows through me and I am on the ground, again. This time I hit my knee. I don’t think I can get up. “Kate!! GET UP!!!” screamed that same instructor. “ I can’t!” I yelled back. She came over and helped me up. I put my weight on her and limped to the side of the court. “What hurts?” she asked. “My knee” I replied. “Well just take a rest, and tell me when you think you can go back in,” she instructed me. “Ok” I agreed. I watched the scrimmage for a while. Hannah was doing really well! I was happy for her, but I was still confused by the way she had acted when she was defending me. I knew that she wasn’t going to go easy on me, just because I was her best friend, but I was expecting her to smile back at me. That big girl scored. Then I saw something that may have broken my heart, Hannah high fived her. Did she not see that the big girl was hurting me? “Nice shot Betsy!” congratulated Hannah. So that’s her name. I was starting to get scared that instead of it always being Kate and Hannah, it was becoming Hannah and Betsy, sometimes Kate. I am never going to forgive Betsy!! I think I am ready to go in! “I’m ready to go in!” I told the instructor. “Alright, just go on in!” she replied. I plan to get back at Betsy, but how? Too late, I didn’t notice that that everybody was charging down the floor. Of course, Betsy is directly in front of me. I try to get out of the way, but it is like she has a magnetic connection to me that just follows me. She runs into me. This time, I am sick of being on the floor. I run out of the gym. I hear Hannah and the instructor yelling my name, but I don’t turn back. I go get a drink at the drinking fountain to calm myself down. I hear the gym doors open. I look and see the instructor. “What are you doing out here?” she asked. I don’t know what to reply. I can’t say that I’m out here because I think my best friend is replacing me. I decide to say that I am not feeling good. “I don’t really feel that good” I say. “What’s wrong?” she inquires. Great. Now I have to answer another question. “My head is hurting. I think from when I banged it on the floor earlier.” I reply. She buys it. She just tells me to come back to the gym because tryouts are over. I walk back with her, she dismisses everyone and says that the teams will be posted tomorrow. Betsy comes over to me. “Hi. I’m Betsy. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for knocking you down all those times!” Did she just apologize? Hannah comes over. “I see you guys have met! Do you guys want to come to my house right now?” Hannah asks. Maybe tryouts weren’t so bad. And I think that Betsy and I can be friends, maybe. J