Anxiety is For Nerds.....and Other Unavoidable Truths

Chapter 7 - Murphy

Craziness is never something you just wake up and do. It's starts at small, and then gets gradually bigger and bigger. Until one day you're shoveling sand in your mouth, laughing politely like its the most normal thing in the world.

"Vanessa!" I yell upstairs. "I'm leaving to volleyball. Do you need me to get anything while I'm out?"

Charley is trotting towards me, tail wagging, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He looks at me questioningly, wondering what all the ruckus is about. He's so cute, I just wanna gobble him up!

I'm dressed in my volleyball outfit, a ratty but cute pair of blue leggings that are comfortable, but still make my ass look AMAZING. Also a sturdy sports top to handle my boobs. An outfit that can take some damage on the volleyball court, but also look cute. I put my trucker hat backwards on my head and check myself out in the full-length mirror. I look approachable and adorable. Perfect.

I've adored volleyball since I was a kid. First of all, it's a great way to get off TONS of energy. My mom always said I was a little ball of frantic motion, and it was the purpose of my life to find a healthy outlet for it. Second, it was like the only sport I'm good at. I'm too slow for soccer. I have no coordination for basketball. Baseball is soooooo boring. But on the volleyball court, I can hold my own. For some reason, I have no hand-eye coordination anywhere except in volleyball. I excel at volleyball. Volleyball is where I feel like a CHAMPION.

"Vanessa!" I shout again, scratching Charley behind the ears as his tail thumps against the floor. "I'm leaving! You need anything while I'm out?"

Vannessa's voice comes from upstairs, where she's working on editing the latest episode of the Cheerful Pajama Chicks podcast. "I don't need anything, Smurf. I'll see you later."

I give Charley one last kiss on the head and head out to my little pickup, an old beat-up two-seater Ford. I start the car up, and hit the road towards the volleyball courts a couple of towns over. I'm part of a league - Bros and Babes Social Sports - that meets up in San Rodolfo, that has about three seasons a year. I've been a part of the league for about three years now. At this point, me and four other Bros and Babes have stuck together and followed each other from team to team each season. We like playing together, and a lot of these guys are newcomers to the San Rodolfo area. They're just looking for friends to volleyball and drink with. And I'm glad I'm on a team with them.

One of the girls, Christine, is doing stretches on the grass as I pull up to the volleyball courts and park my truck. She waves at me as I trot over. I wave back and smile.

Another girl, Angie, is standing close by with her husband, Nathan. They're a little older, maybe in their mid-30s or so, but they're super athletic, and can play volleyball like freaking professionals. They're also super friendly and easy to be around.

And standing close by chatting with them is our black teammate, James. He's really tall and athletic, and a super nice guy too. I've seen him serve and spike the volleyball like a madman, and I'm glad he's on our team.

"Murphy, girlfriend!" Angie hugs me as I come close. "Welcome back. We were just getting ready to meet the rest of our team. I just hope they're not sorry losers like last season's team."

"Hey, Murphy." James gives me a warm sideways hug. "I hope you had a good couple of months. Good to see you."

"It's good to see you guys." I smile at all of them, bouncing lightly on the tips of my feet. I realize how excited I am to see them, and how much I've missed playing this league. 

Nathan is handing out the team T-shirts. Each season, each team is given a different brightly-colored T-shirt for their members to wear, to tell the difference between teams on the court. It looks like the color for my team this season is going to be baby-blue. I frown a bit. Can I look cute in baby blue?