I am Sarah

Chapter 1: The Begining of My Disasterous Habit

"Love; When I look at the ball and how perfect her backspin is as she shoots. I swear I can hear only hear the sounds of the ball itself; none of the crowd cheering from the stands. She lets out a sigh as the ball falls perfectly through the hoop. She smiles back at the net, thankful for that swish before heading back to defense. When I think of love, I think of Life, and when I think of Life, I think of basketball."

I read calmly from my notebook to the entire class; A smart blend of upper and underclassmen. It is my first week in this class; Writing In Action. I like the atmosphere, but the teacher seems ignorant. I am actually glad that they didn't cut this class like the Music Appreciation and Choir. The class clapped as they always did, and the teacher, Mrs. Turner, began to critique.

"Well, Sarah, I am so glad you decided to actually participate. Your spot in the back of the room made me think you were just here for an easy credit. Well, I liked the use of first person narration instead of third like most of the class used. I have to ask though, was this really your favorite thing that you did over the past summer; watch someone shoot a basketball?"
"Well, no." I replied shyly. She didn't get it.
"Okay. Can you explain then?"

"You see, this was a dream. I was watching myself shoot my last free throw before we moved. I was playing on my city team with my best friends; I was the Post, Kim was the Baseline, Haley was the Wing, Lizzie was the weak side and my best friend TeLiah was the point guard. Number 32 on Richmond team had slapped my hand when I went up for a shot. We won that game by three points which were scored in the last seven seconds of the fourth quarter. The girls threw me a party that night in my empty room. We set up some sleeping bags in my old room and used my projector to watch "The Winning Season", "Mighty Macs", and "Space Jam" which we played on the ceiling. When I woke up we stuffed my sleeping bag, projector, and movies in a cardboard box and they watched as I got in the pick-up and drove away."

"I see. Well, that was a good story, Sarah. Now, class, the hour is almost up and for your homework--"

The class, aside from me, erupted in a chorus of sighs.

"Now, this the only assignment of the week and it is due next Monday. I am giving you three days. You will live. The assignment is to document one day as detailed and accurately as possible. I will not be judging on how exciting your day is, I just want to feel like I'm there. I want to see how well you can put detail into your writing. See ya Monday for whatever it is we do in here." She finished as the bell rang.

Finally, the school day was over. I just wanted to do my one day of practice and then go home to sulk and do this stupid assignment.

I went into the locker room and changed quickly before walking out and into the gym. I grabbed a ball from the rack and began dribbling around as every else got out. I leaned against the wall as the rest of the team sat down and the coach had us all announce our names and something about ourselves. I didn't really pay attention to much, but the names I remember were Amanda Buckley, Samantha Warboro, Rachel Wilson, Hannah Satler, and Dakota Aaron. When the coach got to me I said the simplest thing possible.

"My name is Sarah Elizabeth Mueller and I will be 15 in December."
The coach, obviously wanting me to feel welcome, suggested that I say more.
"Okay, umm. I lived in Oklahoma. I ride both horses and ATVs. So, yep."
"Alright then, let's go. Get on the line girls and give me two warm up ladders." the coach instructed.

I did as I was told and surprisingly for being a post, I was one of the faster players. After going to the half court line my second time, I saw a woman come through the doors of the gym.

She was pretty, but in the natural and flawed way. She had really light, but not platinum blonde hair. Her face wasn't what most would call beautiful, but I thought it had a unique sense of beauty and mystery to it. I smiled at her and I headed back again, but this time she smiled back. I was startled by her smile; it was gorgeous. I then lost my footing and I totally wiped out.

I have to admit, this was the start of a very dangerous career of falling down. By the end of the year I was know more for my falls than for my faults, but we will get to that later.

Lucky for me, she was the one who picked me up. She held out her hand and helped pull me up. She then took me into the lobby to ask if I was okay. Not so lucky for me, I was too distracted by the perfection she seemed to represent.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asked.
"Oh, yea. Sorry. I got distracted." I tried shyly.
"That's okay. So you are not hurt?"
"No, I feel fine."
"Good. I'm Coach Law." She introduced as she held out her hand again.
I took it and shook it before returning it and replying, "Cool. My name is Sarah."
"That is a pretty name."
"So is Coach Law." I joked.
"Yea. Well, sometimes, when they need it, the girls call me Jess."
"Why?" I laughed.
"Well, sometimes they just need advice, other times they want me to convince Alex to do something."
"I meant why do they call you Jess? And who is Alex?"
"Oh. Alex is the head coach. My bad; call him Coach Harris. And they call me Jess because my name is Jessalee."
"Jessalee? That is unique and mysterious. I like it."
"Alright, Sarah. We best be getting you back on the court."
"Okay." I replied as we got up and walked over to the court.

I ran to the back of the line and caught on to the drills rather quickly, but what surprised me was that when I couldn't catch onto the drills, Jess would be right by my side; showing me what to do.

I'm not sure if she liked me or if she felt sorry for me, but honestly, I liked to attention. As practice came to a close and everyone went home, I watched as Jess shot from the free throw line; perfect backspin.

"Hey, Sarah. Do you have a ride home?" Coach Harris asked.
"Oh, yea. My mom will be here in a few minutes." I confirmed.
"Jess! Can you stay until Sarah's ride gets here; I have to get home to dinner with my wife?" Coach Harris shouted.
"Yea. Go home Alex. I got her." Jess confirmed before Coach Harris told me goodbye.
Jess looked over at me and shouted, "Come here."
I obeyed and we were both standing at the free throw line.
"Shoot me one." She ordered as she bounced the ball to me.

I nodded and moved to the center. I bounced the ball, spun it in my hands and shot it. It bounced off the backboard and into the hoop. I looked over for her approval.

"Well, it may have gone in, but it was an ugly shot. We'll have to work on that." She smiled and in the corner of my eye I saw the glare of car lights.

I sighed, "My mom is here."
"Don't be sad." Jess joked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, moving is tough, and you seem sad. Don't worry, it always gets better. And I'm here. And if I'm not here, the court, the ball, and the game of basketball will always be your sanctuary."
"Why would you think I even like basketball?" I asked.
"Just the way you look at it. You are thankful for getting put in; even during our scrimmage today. You look at each good shot and you analyze it. You smile every time the ball even goes up. Trust me, I know. You are a lot like I was. Now you best be getting home." She explained.

I said my goodbyes, grabbed my bag and waved goodbye before starting to open the door. She waved back and the put up a shot; it went in because of a little bit of backspin. Such a perfect shot really.

I think I might try one more day...