On Sunday, Melody sat next to her father as they watched a baseball game on TV. Melody had come up with some ideas during the week and wanted her father’s opinion.
“Daddy, do mechanics make good money?” she asked.
“Oh, I suppose they make a pretty good living. Why do you ask?”
“I really like auto shop. I was thinking about maybe being a mechanic,” Melody answered.
“Not a bad idea. If I could do it all over again, I’d consider being a mech,” Douglas admitted.
“Really?”
“Oh sure, but if you want to go for the big bucks, get certified as a diesel mechanic. That’s where the money is.”
“I guess I could look into that. I could go to a vocational school,” Melody suggested.
“Well you don’t want to work under a hood all your life. After you get certified, get a degree in business, then you can open your own shop. Don’t work your life away for somebody else. Be your own boss,” her father advised.
This suggestion, which Douglas mentioned nonchalantly, took root in Melody’s mind. Since it was painfully obvious she was not going to Florida immediately after graduation, Melody had to come up with a realistic plan to eventually get there. As she sat quietly, Melody paid less attention to the Tigers and White Sox as she began to formulate a vague scheme. As the plan began to take shape, Melody thought it was reasonable, but knew she would have to begin researching. That week, she intended to spend her lunch periods in the library.
***
The first volleyball match of the season was a road game against the Paw Paw Redskins. Riding on the bus, Melody and her fellow Chieftains sat with nervous energy. Although Coach Heucke had painstakingly prepared them, each player remembered the embarrassing defeat the Redskins handed them last season. Melody, Claire, and the rest of the team knew that if they were to compete in the regional championship, they would have to get past Paw Paw. Both the starters and second stringers felt the weight of responsibility sitting on their shoulders. If they lost tonight, it would be a long, quiet ride home with a disappointed Coach Heucke.
After disembarking the bus, the visiting Chieftains entered the gymnasium to face the hostile Paw Paw crowd. These fans also remembered the last match between the two schools and expected another easy victory. Though some students and parents had driven from Dowagiac to support Union High, their cheers were easily drowned out by the frantic home crowd. Just before the game began, Coach Heucke stood in the center of a team huddle.
“Ignore the crowd. You will quiet them soon enough. The Redskins have no idea what is about to happen to them. Play as you have trained. That is all you have to do. We are not losing a set tonight. One, two, three, and we get back on the bus. Here… Tonight… We make our statement! Our championship season starts now!”
After the playing of the National Anthem, the Chieftains starting lineup took the court. As Melody assumed the server position, Claire took her spot directly in front of her as the right side hitter. Before the referee blew his whistle to begin the first set, Claire glanced over at Coach Heucke. Ingrid had her arms folded with two fingers on her left elbow. Upon seeing this, Claire immediately put her hand behind her back to show Melody three fingers. Recognizing the signal, Melody mentally prepared to serve the ball between defenders one and six. Just as the home crowd had worked itself into a frenzy, Melody heard the whistle blow. The season had begun.
Though she felt a touch of trepidation, Melody was confident in her abilities. Standing out of bounds, Melody tossed the ball high into the air, paused, took two steps, and leapt with her arm drawn back. As the ball came down, Melody pummeled it with a surprising show of strength. The volleyball went over the net as if shot from a cannon. With blinding speed, the ball bounced between two defenders, making them look foolish. As the two Redskins looked at each other in bewilderment, a hush fell over the crowd.
After the volleyball was returned to her, Melody got the signal from Claire and served again, this time hurtling the ball between positions five and six. Again, the Redskins were unprepared, allowing Melody to score her second ace. Melody went on to score seven unanswered points before the Redskins finally managed to return a serve. Unfortunately for them, this only unleashed the rest of the Chieftains who were eager to get in on the action. With perfectly coordinated bumps and setups, the front line scored at will as they repeatedly spiked the ball down on their opponents. In addition to watching her starters perform with perfect execution, Coach Heucke observed the desperate Redskins coach as she tried to rally her team with an inadequate game plan. From the start, Coach Heucke knew the Redskins were outmatched as her own team played at a collegiate level.
“Mein Gott!” she thought. “This is the team I’ve waited for!”
After the Chieftains won the first set 15-3, Coach Heucke pulled all her starters off the court. Now, she needed to gauge her backup players to ensure they could play when called upon. Coach Heucke trained everyone equally and held her reserve players to the same rigid standards as the starting team. For the second set, Coach Heucke sent out three seniors and three juniors. Though they fared better against the second string, the Redskins lost 15-8. For the third set, Coach Heucke sent in her remaining substitute players, ensuring everyone on the roster had an opportunity to play. The freshmen and sophomore Chieftains, dressed in the standard Union High gym uniform, participated in the only way they could, by cheering loudly for their teammates.
For Coach Heucke, this third set was the most important. By sending in her last eligible players, she could evaluate the depth of her well. Coach Heucke did not believe in the bench-warming concept. Quite the contrary, she felt it necessary that every member of her team contribute. Ingrid knew from experience that first and second stringers could sustain injuries or have family emergencies, causing them to miss games. Because of this, there was always the possibility she would have to rely on her weakest players. Coach Heucke watched closely as her four remaining players took the court alongside Claire and Melody.
Under Claire’s leadership, the Chieftains won a hard-fought third set, 15-12. Claire and Melody did most of the scoring as their teammates assumed supporting roles, bumping and setting up for the two starters. However, this did not mean they were any less enthusiastic. Aware of their limited abilities and talents, the substitute players performed adequately, earning Coach Heucke’s nod of approval. Confident now that she had a well prepared squad with plenty of backup, Ingrid knew her team would give Union High it’s best chance to win its first regional championship in school history. As the Chieftains and Redskins shook hands under the net, the opposing coach walked across the court to meet with Coach Heucke.
“My God, Ingrid! You’re team! They’re unstoppable!”
Coach Heucke shook her opponent’s hand. “Good game, April. Good luck this year.”
“You too,” Coach Roberts replied before returning to her side of the court.
***
On Friday, during her lunch period, Melody was in the library researching vocational schools specializing in diesel engine repair. Both Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo had several courses lasting from eighteen months to two years. Writing in her notebook, Melody jotted down the addresses to the schools’ admission departments. Later that afternoon, after volleyball practice, Melody drove to the general store before going home. While there, she purchased a box of envelopes, a pad of lined notebook paper, and a book of stamps.
Saturday morning, Melody was busy in her room, writing letters to the schools she had researched. Each polite letter was the same, expressing interest and requesting further information concerning curriculum and tuition. After thanking each of them sincerely for their time, Melody signed her name to each letter and printed her name and address underneath her signature. Saturday night, after work, Melody stopped by the post office and dropped off twelve letters. She hoped she would start receiving responses after a week.
***
Early Wednesday evening, the Union High Chieftains hosted their first home volleyball game. After parking the Aspen, Barbara walked through the parking lot toward the gymnasium. Upon entering, Barbara climbed the bleachers carefully, walked past the softball team, and selected her seat among the other parents. The Ross Beatty Rangers, from nearby Cassopolis, were the visiting team. They brought a respectable crowd with them and Barbara began to feel a touch of anxiety as the indoor noise grew louder. Focusing her attention on the floor, Barbara watched Melody interact with Claire Thompson and her other teammates. She noted her daughter conveyed an aura of confidence as her face portrayed a look of determination. As the team gathered around Coach Heucke, Barbara hoped the Chieftains would be able to make a good showing. She needn’t had worried. Barbara, along with the rest of the crowd, was about to witness Union High School’s phenomenon of the year.
The Rangers served first, but the Chieftains formidable front line answered with a kill and the ball was given to Melody. Barbara watched her daughter bounce the volleyball twice, then wondered why she threw the ball so high into the air. A moment later, she gasped as Melody’s serve shot over the net and hit a surprised backline defender square in the chest, knocking her back a step. Barbara sat in stunned silence as the home crowd broke out in thunderous applause. After Melody’s second unanswered serve, Barbara heard a voice to her left exclaim, “Holy shit! Who is that girl?”
As the game went on, Barbara became more uncomfortable as the home crowd became increasingly raucous. At first, she thought she had a biased view, but it became evident others shared her opinion concerning Melody. She was the Chieftains star player. If she was not terrorizing the Rangers with her serves, she was spiking, blocking, or otherwise involved in a play that continuously kept the Rangers off balance. Melody certainly did not carry the team, but she was the spark that lit up the court. Even Barbara could tell Melody was an inspiration to her teammates who stepped up their game to keep up with her.
Despite the noise of the crowd, the excitement of the game, and Melody’s performance, Barbara sensed something awry. For awhile, she could not put her finger on it, then suddenly, she realized Becky was missing. Barbara’s eyes scanned the gymnasium from left to right and realized volleyball games would never be the same without Becky pacing the sidelines, taking pictures through her telephoto lens. As Barbara’s attention focused on Melody again, she was sure her daughter had the same thoughts.
After the Chieftains won the first set 15-6, Coach Heucke pulled her starters and sent in her second string team. Despite the best players remaining on the bench the rest of the game, the crowd was no less enthusiastic. Barbara watched Melody, Claire, and the rest of the starters cheer exuberantly in support of their teammates. As they had done on the road a week ago, Union High School defeated their rivals in three sets. While the home crowd continued to act high-spiritedly, Barbara sat quietly, pleased to see the look of excitement and happiness of Melody’s face.
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