Walking to her first class Monday morning, Melody was unhappy. For years, she had waited to strut down the hallway as a senior. Now that the moment had finally arrived, it just gave her an empty feeling. School just wasn’t the same without Becky, and nothing could fill the emptiness she had left behind. This was supposed to be their best year, full of fun and excitement before leaving together. Now, Melody was alone with no post-graduation plans. She walked into her physics class well before the bell and selected a seat. Depression had replaced the initial enthusiasm a new year had always brought. All Melody had to look forward to was volleyball season. Later, she was grateful to sit with some of her teammates during lunch.
Melody was happy to see Mrs. Gonzales and Mr. Shaddock again. She thought of them more as older friends now. Probabilities and Statistics would prove to be an easy math class, and her English teacher seemed like a normal person. Melody’s last class of the day was the new sociology course that was offered for the first time. Melody found the class interesting, and immediately developed a crush on Veronica Hauser, the attractive young teacher. After the final bell, Melody drove to work with a melancholy heart. Despite having a good first day, she had been unable to get Becky out of her mind. Melody thought it unfair that Becky would not get to experience her senior year after working so hard to deserve it.
***
On Tuesday, Claire had informed Melody that Coach Heucke wanted to see her after school. When Melody reported to the gym, she was surprised to see it empty, except for Coach Heucke. Standing by the volleyball net with a black mesh bag full of volleyballs, she posed an intimidating figure.
“How was your summer, Melody?” Coach Heucke asked.
“Good,” Melody answered. “How was yours?”
“Take the server position,” Coach Heucke ordered as she tossed a volleyball to Melody. After catching the ball, Melody faced the net while standing just outside the rear corner boundary.
“Alright, Melody,” Coach Heucke said. “Serve!”
Spinning the ball in her hands, Melody took a moment to survey the net, then imagining herself in the back yard, Melody took two steps back. With her left hand, she tossed the ball upwards to a lofty height. Then, with perfect timing, Melody trotted two steps forward, leapt over the boundary line, and struck the ball with the grace and power of a seasoned Olympian. With a grunt, Melody came down inbounds as the volleyball rocketed over the net, missing it by inches. It landed inside the opposite corner.
Coach Heucke tossed her another ball. “Serve to the other corner.”
Again, Melody performed her technique. With blazing speed, the ball whizzed towards the outside hitter’s position. It landed in bounds and bounced away.
“How is your control?” Coach Heucke asked.
“I can put the ball anywhere you tell me,” Melody answered with confidence.
“Oh really?” Coach Heucke asked with a hint of cynicism. She handed Melody the bag of volleyballs and walked under the net to the other side. After assuming a stance on the back line between position five and six, Coach Heucke said, “Hit me in the knees.”
Melody looked at her coach’s long, perfect legs and again served just as she had practiced all summer. After clearing the net, the volleyball struck Coach Heucke in the shins. Without a word, Coach Heucke moved to another position. Then, as she stood on the right edge of the court just behind position two, Coach Heucke put her right foot forward. “Hit my toe!”
Now, Melody was a little unsure of herself. She had not practiced serving at such an angle. After taking a moment to look at her coach’s white sneaker, Melody served again, this time putting a top spin on the ball with her open palm. With great velocity, the volleyball shot over the net and dropped suddenly. Then, there was the sound of vinyl hitting synthetic rubber. Melody jumped for joy at the sight of the ball hitting her coach’s foot.
“Hand me that bag!” Coach Heucke ordered.
Melody picked up the mesh bag containing four more volleyballs and ran to the net to hand it to her coach. Ingrid took the volleyballs and pointed to the floor. “Take position three!”
As instructed, Melody centered herself on the net. She watched with interest as her coach took another ball from the bag.
“It’s you and me,” Coach Heucke said as she backed away. “Don’t let the ball get passed you!”
Melody watched intensely as Coach Heucke stood in the middle of the court and tossed the ball high in the air. As the ball fell, Melody realized it was coming straight down on the net. She quickly got into position as Coach Heucke ran towards her. As her coach leapt to perform a spike, Melody extended her arms over her head and jumped. After blocking the ball successfully, the ball fell on Coach Heucke’s side.
“Again,” Ingrid ordered.
Coach Heucke tossed another ball in similar fashion, but this time, the ball was coming down on Melody’s side of the net. After making a quick adjustment to her left, Melody jumped for the ball as Ingrid attempted to block. Again, Melody got the upper hand. Jumping higher than her coach, Melody spiked the ball just over Coach Heucke’s outstretched fingers. With great force, the ball struck near the number five position and bounced away.
“Again!”
Melody returned to the center of the net and saw that this time, the ball was coming down on her coach’s side. Melody quickly positioned herself and waited to see what her coach would do. Instead of a spike, Ingrid slapped the ball over Melody’s head. Turning quickly, Melody dove for the ball and bumped it straight up into the air. Then, getting to her feet quickly, Melody used her forearms to hit the ball backwards over her head. The ball returned to the coach’s side, but Ingrid was ready. After bumping the ball to set herself up, Coach Heucke jumped for the kill, but Melody was too quick. Leaping like a deer, Melody swatted the ball, causing it to hit her coach in the face. The ball then hit the net, bounced off, and rolled out of bounds on Coach Heucke’s side.
“Oh my God!” Melody cried. “Coach! I’m so sorry!”
As if nothing happened, Coach Heucke turned and walked away quickly. With her back to Melody, she commanded, “Pick up these balls and bring them to my office!”
Obeying instantly, Melody grabbed the mesh bag and ran about the gym collecting the volleyballs. After retrieving the last one, Melody ran to her coach’s office. When she walked through the open door, Melody looked to her right and stood in awe. On the wall, were two rows of perfectly spaced, 11x14 photographs in beautiful wooden frames. The pictures included herself, Claire, and most of last year’s seniors. The action shots were captured perfectly and amazingly clear. The far right photograph, on the top row, portrayed Coach Heucke standing on the sideline like a Field Marshall. Melody was so taken with the photographs; she dropped the bag of volleyballs at her feet.
“She had a good eye for photography,” Ingrid said.
Melody turned to face her coach. “It’s what she wanted to do. She was going to be a photographer and work for the music magazines.”
Coach Heucke nodded. “She knew her calling. I have no doubt she would have been very successful.”
Melody nodded.
“Sit down, Melody.”
Melody took a seat and faced her coach who had taken her own seat behind her desk.
“I want to thank you,” Coach Heucke began. “It’s clear you worked hard this summer. The results far surpassed my expectations. I could not be more impressed.”
“Thank you, Coach.”
“I believe this is our year, Melody,” Coach Heucke continued. “Not only are we going to regionals, we are going to win. To do this, I must push you girls like never before. You just had a small taste of how practices will be conducted this year.”
“I’ll do whatever you say, Coach.”
Ingrid finally smiled. “It’s not the championship I’m concerned about,” she admitted. “It’s your future. Yours, Claire’s, Nancy’s, everyone’s.”
“What do you mean?” Melody asked.
“I’ll be inviting university scouts this year,” Coach Heucke began. “You won’t know who they are or what games they will attend. You just play as if everyone in the crowd is a scout. I believe this team will get their fair share of scholarships. Have you decided on a college?”
“No,” Melody admitted. “I guess I should start getting on the ball.”
“Senior year flies by,” Coach Heucke advised. “One moment, it’s Labor Day, the next, you are graduating. So start looking into colleges.”
“Yes, Coach.”
Coach Heucke sat silently for a moment, then said, “Melody… I have something for you.”
“What? What is it?” Melody asked.
“What I have may upset you,” Coach Heucke said. “I have been waiting for the right opportunity, but last year, I never found an appropriate moment. I don’t want to shock you, but I have some things that belonged to Becky.”
Melody’s eyes widened. “You do?”
“Yes,” Ingrid said, reaching down to open the bottom drawer of her desk. From the drawer, she pulled out a white sweater, two notebooks, and an orange “D” with a lacrosse emblem pinned to it. She placed them on her desk for Melody to see.
Melody immediately jumped to her feet. “Becky’s letter,” she murmured. With a shaking hand, Melody reached for one of the spiral notebooks. Upon opening it, she saw her name written dozens of times on the inside cover. There were also drawings of hearts with ‘B’ and ‘M’ written within them. Dropping the notebook, Melody brought her hands to her mouth as she began to tremble.
“Melody!” Coach Heucke said with concern.
“I’m sorry,” Melody mumbled. “It’s just that… For a moment, it felt like she was still alive. I swear, I’m never going to get over her… Coach, how did you get these?”
“The police came to our school and cut Becky’s locker open after the body of her stepfather had been discovered. They emptied the contents and took everything back to the station as part of the investigation. Of course they found nothing, but nonetheless, they had a murder on their hands and had to be thorough. I was in the administrative office when a policeman returned everything after the case had been officially closed. One of the secretaries signed the forms and put Becky’s things into a milkcrate. Before I left, she thoughtlessly placed it in the storage closet before going to lunch, as if it was no longer anyone’s concern.”
Ingrid paused. She walked around to the front of her desk and leaned on the edge before continuing.
“That very afternoon, I paid you a visit. When I saw the photograph of you and Becky, it was obvious to me the two of you were much more than friends. It certainly explained your strange behavior. After you began acting like yourself again, your teammates asked me about you. Of course, I told them nothing. Your relationship with Becky is nobody’s business.
Melody nodded.
“I returned to the admin office early the next morning and was very much relieved to see the crate had been undisturbed. I took everything but the textbooks, though I did look through them. Everything has been in my possession ever since, and no one ever asked about them. I wanted to give them to you immediately, but I thought it was too soon. Perhaps it is still too soon. This has troubled me greatly. No matter the pain I’ve caused, I know I did the right thing. I know you will cherish these. Maybe one day they can even bring you some comfort.”
Melody wiped her teary eyes but remained silent. She never knew Becky had received her letter. Why Becky did not tell her would remain a mystery, but Melody reasoned she would have shown it off to her shortly after ordering her jacket.
“Thank you,” Melody finally managed to say as thick tears settled along her jawline. “You were right. I would not have been ready to see this last year. I can’t say what it would have done to me. Even after all this time, I love her so much.”
Surprising herself, Ingrid reached out to embrace Melody. Melody hugged her back and felt comfort in the strong, muscular arms of the woman who had unlocked her special abilities, skills she would have otherwise never known. Melody was grateful but could not get the words out. Ingrid held her until she stopped crying. After releasing Melody, she held her at arm’s length.
“I’m very proud of you, Melody,” Coach Heucke said. “You’re not a quitter. You’re a fighter. Keep fighting. Keep Becky in your heart and make her proud!”
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