Chapter Three
The Ball Game
Stalia
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I woke up to my alarm that blared through my room at 7:00 in the morning. I groaned as I got up, sagging out of my room and into the kitchen. Mom was up and making breakfast. She looked at me with dark eyebags under her blue eyes. She smiled at me. “Good morning sweetheart. You have a big day today,” I sat at the counter as she handed me a plate of pancakes and eggs. “Thanks,” I told her as I started to eat it. She nodded and turned off the stove. I finished eating and grabbed my things for school. I hopped in my silver Toyota. The engine roared and started fine as I started to drive the route to school. My mind flashed a picture- I wanted it to go away, but my mind forced itself to play it. It was our family picture. Before there was any death or darkness or hate. Before our family got torn apart. I slammed on the brakes in anger. Cars honked behind me as they passed.
I sighed and bumped my head on the steering wheel. I had to make it through today. As I reached the school parking lot, kids were all over. Some were throwing footballs while others were on their cellphones. I parked the car and walked out. Shouts and laughter escalated around me. Something vibrated in my pocket. My phone. I stopped to look at it, then I walked into the school. Julie, my best friend, met me immediately in our biology class. “Did you hear?” Julie’s bracelets jangled around her wrists as she grabbed her phone from her bag. I gave her a confused look and moved my long hair away from my face. “There’s a new kid! And honestly, he’s kinda cute. You could go for him,” She elbowed me as she spoke. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, thanks but no thanks. After Erick, I’m not really looking to date anyone anytime soon,” I told her. She shook her head. “You should. You could pull a ton of guys.” I laughed. “I don’t think that’s true. I mean it’s not like I’m-” Something hit me then, and it made my head pound. I groaned as it pulsed through again.
I touched my temples and rubbed hard. Suddenly, it went away. That was weird. If it was a headache it would last longer. I looked around the room. My eyes met with a pair of new eyes. It must have been the new kid Julie was talking about. As we held gazes, his cheeks grew red in color and he looked away. Did he have something to do with it? No. He couldn’t have. I sat down in my seat next to him as Mr.Carter started the class. I gazed at the boy every once in a while, but his eyes were focused ahead of him to the front of the room where Mr.Carter was.
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“Are you ready for basketball?” Mom asked as I hopped in her car after school. This was gonna be the biggest game of the season. I’ve been waiting for this forever now. My hair was up and wavy. I wore a jersey with our team’s logo on it with matching shorts that we had to wear. “Yes. I am.” On the way there, I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened earlier in class. Maybe I should start talking to him. It didn’t look like he talked to anyone very much. And who was he anyway? I fidgeted with the necklace of a beautiful black swan that rested along my collarbone. My father had given me it before he passed. He said it was used for good luck. I wear it every game. I haven’t lost a single game with it. We reached the gym and mom parked the car. I slung my bag around my shoulder and grabbed my ball, exiting the car. Julie and Ruth, members of the team, greeted me when I reached the court we were playing on.
“I’m so nervous,” Ruth said as we were warming up. “Don’t worry, we have Stalia on our team!” Julie said as I and Ruth started to laugh. “I’m not THAT great,” I said as I started dribbling. “Are you kidding?! We haven’t lost a single game with you,” Ruth nodded in agreement as our coach came over with the rest of the team. “Alright you punks listen up,” Coach Maddy told us as she flipped around some papers, scanning each of them. “Our strategy is going to be defense all the way. McCrew, don’t let your guard down. Jones, keep working on that offense. Park, just work on playing alright?” She continued on until everyone on the team was called for.
And then the game started, and the cycle began. The player on the opposite team started with the ball. We ran and ran until we eventually shot the ball over and over. The game was going great. We were up twenty-four to nineteen. It was my turn to shoot. I readied my stance. The ball got passed to me at a rapid speed. I gripped the ball and took my chance-a perfect shot! Instead of making it in the net, the ball flew towards me, out of control-like. The audience roared with “oohs” and faint whispers. Coach Maddy shook her head. I stared at my hands. What just happened? I had never missed a shot! That wasn’t anything normal. Eventually, the ball got passed back to me. I focussed on the ball- in fact, I was focussing on it so hard that my head started to hurt. I could hear the crowd start to rant. Suddenly the ball froze. It hung in the air. Gasps echoed around the field. Whispers whipped around the air like the wind. I dropped my hands to my sides. My gaze was still locked on the ball. In that instance, I felt like there was no one else there. Just me and the ball.
I reached my hand out in front of the ball. My mind focused back on reality and the ball flew right into my face. I fell to the ground in pain as I rubbed my mouth. “Foul! Foul!” Maddy screamed. “McCrew! Take a break!” Maddy pulled me from the ground and into the sidelines. “How did you do that?!” Ruth asked and scooted closer to me. Her dyed red long hair moved with her. “Do what?” I asked, pressing my hand to the side of my mouth where the ball had hit. “Don’t play dumb,” Julie piped in, just coming onto the sidelines. “You stopped the ball!” Ruth continued. “I….Don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about it.” Julie and Ruth exchanged looks but shrugged and ended the conversation. “Julie, can I come over tomorrow night?” Ruth asked. Julie bent down to tie her laces. “Sorry. Tomorrow is my family’s pyeonghwaui chugje. Only family is allowed.” Ruth and I stared at her blankly. “A “ping-yong-chi what?” Julie sighed at Ruth’s question. “It’s a Park-family festival. It’s about our ancestors. You know, since I’m Korean and all.” Maddy called her out and she switched to defense.
The game ended and mom took me home. Today was one long, crazy day.
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