"Are you kidding me?" Ved questioned in surprise.
I shook my head and showed off my new jersey as if I won an Oscar award. Nikhil and Parth kept scolding me to stop pranking them, and when I told them the whole story, they still didn't believe me.
"I am not joking, guys." I pointed at my name written on my back. "Coach herself gave me this."
"So, would you be playing today?" Nikhil asked.
"Nope. I might be called to replace someone in case of an injury."
"It is okay. I am sure they must have something in mind to put you on the team so early," Ved reasoned, and Parth agreed.
"I think there could be one more surprise for you in store," Parth said excitedly and told me to give them a treat.
I rolled my eyes and since I knew Parth wouldn't let me leave before completing his wish, I bought some snacks for them and went to sit with my teammates who were gossiping about the host college's volleyball team.
"Don't take too much stress. If they try anything on us, they will be disqualified," Payal said and told others to eat.
"But don't you think they should have been disqualified in the second round itself?" I asked.
Everyone nodded and one of the girls told us that because it was the main college which was hosting the whole tournament, there was supposed to be some bias towards their own teams. She was afraid that we might face the same situation and lose the match.
"There is no use fussing over it. We can only work hard and show them that they can't mess with us," Payal growled and cracked her knuckles.
Wow, she is so cool. I will keep a close eye on everyone and learn as much as I can.
With a last word of encouragement, we left for our semi-finals. Just like Payal had said, the host team was making a lot of fouls but judges were ignoring each one of them. It boosted their confidence more and the other team was suffering even after playing their best.
As a result, which looked well scripted, the host team won and secured a spot in the finals. Our captain shook her head and told us to just keep calm and go with the flow. If anything serious happened, she would deal with it and wouldn't let anyone get harmed.
We nodded and got ready for our match. Fortunately, all the other teams played fairly and had the same views on the tournament like us. Thanks to Payal's leadership and great team work, we made it to the finals; I would have danced on the spot to celebrate but I was worried about our next match with the team which was taking advantage of every situation.
Usha Mam assured us and told us not to get afraid of them. She didn't have the outcome in her hands, but she had faith in us and reminded us not to break the rules in the heat of the moment - that's what the other team was banking on.
After ten minutes, the whistle blew and the duel to score more points began. As expected, the host team was using the same tactic and trying to hurt my team members along with scoring points; they were trying to intimidate us.
We were lagging behind and Usha Mam was sporting a pissed off expression. She was glaring at the other team and their Coach, who was encouraging her team to smash us for once and all.
What the actual fuck?
I was relieved when the half time was announced and we were gathered to discuss our play in the first half. Payal and Vice-captain complained about not getting their opinions being considered and other players getting hit by the ball most of the time.
"Can't we raise this issue to the authorities?" I queried.
"There won't be any use, Sandhya. Everyone is corrupted and even the judges are either from the same college or being bribed. That's why even when other teams went to complain, their pleas were not considered. In conclusion, there is nothing we can do," Usha Mam sighed.
"We will lose at this rate!" Payal raised her hands up and went to punch something.
"I am sorry, girls. I also want to crush that bitch of a Coach's face but that would disqualify us," Usha Mam grumbled.
"We can do that after the match," one of the girls commented and everyone broke out laughing.
"There is no use mulling over it unnecessarily. Let them do what they want; we will play according to the rules," Vice-captain said.
"We can form a gang and beat up those girls too," I added which made everyone double up in laughter.
We agreed, and Payal also returned after bashing up some lockers. We chanted our team's war-cry and decided to dismiss the issue and enjoy rest of the match. When there were five minutes left for the break to get over, Coach told us to get back on the court.
Everyone began filing out of the room, but Coach stopped Payal, Vice-captain and me. She waited for others to leave and then curled her lips in a sinistrous smile - I never knew she could smile like that too.
"Can we get over with the suspense already?" Payal grunted.
Coach smacked her behind the head and told us to listen carefully; we huddled together even though we were alone in the room. Usha Mam began telling us what she had in mind and as she progressed, our eyes widened in shock - mine were the biggest.
"Have you gone insane, woman?" Payal yelled and received another hit from Coach.
"Come on. The other team is having a lot of fun by grilling us; it is time we showed them who they are messing with. And I have the right person to complete my mission." Coach rubbed her palms like a witch and glanced at us.
"Who?" I enquired.
Usha Mam grinned at me and wrapped her right arm around my shoulders. "It is you, kid."
What?! Has she really gone mad?
"Are you planning on putting me directly in the finals? I can't do it!" I backed away and hid behind Vice-captain who pushed me forward instead.
"Why would you sacrifice her like that? I know she is a good player, but she will get hurt-"
"She won't." Coach pulled me closer. "It is time to take out my ace."
"She is the ace you were talking about since last week? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Vice-captain squealed.
Usha Mam laughed like Gabbar, and soon, Payal and Vice-captain also joined her. I was the only who was confused - were they really talking about me?
(Gabbar👆is a villain from the Indian movie "Sholay")
Payal exited the room with Vice-captain in tow while I was still recovering from the shock. Usha Mam braced her palms on my shoulders and told me to take deep breaths. I did as she instructed, and she gave me an assuring smile.
"There is no need to be scared, okay? I have faith in you and so do other girls. It doesn't matter if we don't win the tournament, but we can't let the host team walk all over us and just get away that easily. We will teach them the lesson in the language they understand."
"Are you confident about me playing?" I asked.
She nodded and patted my back loudly. "Don't hold back, Sandhya."
I replayed her words in my mind and joined my teammates on the ground. The game started and just like Usha Mam had planned, she replaced one of the players, who got slightly injured yesterday, with me. My team members who were unaware of the decision were surprised, but they quickly understood what was going on.
"Show them who is the boss!" Our Coach shouted, making me turn into a tomato due to embarrassment.
My hands were sweating as my feet touched the wooden floor; I was feeling a lot of emotions at the same time. Payal gave me a thumbs up and pointed at the captain of the other team. I took a good look at her and her teammates - it was time for some prey hunting.
"Who is this little mouse?" One of the rival team's players commented.
I gave her a smirk and told that my eyes were on her too apart from their captain. Other players furrowed their eyebrows and dismissed me as a wannabe. I shrugged my shoulders and glimpsed at my Coach who was looking like a serial killer.
As soon as the whistle blew, the volleyball went past my face at lightning speed, and I saw the rival Captain shooting an arrogant look in my direction.
Okay, so they were targeting me as soon as I came?
After passing the ball among us a few times, Payal smashed the ball over the net, but one of the rival players caught it and hit it back in our direction. I was on defense, so I was positioned in the back, in the left corner.
I noticed the opening where the ball was directed and moved my feet. It was a huge distance to cover in a short period, but my left foot reached there in time to bounce off the ball and one of my team players caught it and passed it to other.
I was not supposed to leave my spot, but after getting an approving look from both Captain and Vice-captain, I assured that I was allowed to take both defense and offense - which the other team didn't know.
Just like that, whenever the ball was passed to the offensive players on my team, they passed it to me, and when the other team thought that I would just bounce the ball back to my teammates, I would smash it over the net, taking them by surprise.
And that wasn't the only thing I did; I made sure to scare them as much as I could. I took a look at the score board; we were still behind but the difference between the points had decreased drastically.
I nodded to myself and moved my head away in a flash before the ball hit my face. The player behind me caught the ball and scored a point after jumping up and smashing the ball at a vacant spot on the rival team's part of the court.
"Is that all you got?" I mocked the host team.
The other team huffed, and I was enjoying them seeing pissed off. Their Coach yelled at them to get their heads back in game and stop being wimps. I locked my eyes with their Coach, who glared at me in return, but I didn't look away.
I couldn't blame the team entirely; they were just following what their mentor had taught them.
I gave her a mocking smile which made her flabbergasted and avert her gaze few seconds later. I took a deep breath and let my aggression play in a controlled manner. Soon, all the rival players were getting a taste of thier own medicine - we didn't injure them but made sure to make our every move look like that.
The expression on their Captain's face was priceless when the volleyball grazed her left cheek and the player behind her dodged it before she got hit too. That resulted in us gaining more scores and them looking like pale as a ghost.
The match was nearing the end, and we were playing without worrying about the outcome. Coach was enjoying too and cheering us up. As the clock turned its hands, moving towards the final outcome rapidly, the volleyball was getting passed between the teams and everyone was trying their hard to win.
The ball came in our court, one of my teammates bounced it and Vice-captain caught it. She passed it to me and just like earlier, I was going to take the hit but at the last moment, I threw the ball towards Payal who had already read my mind.
She took the ball, leaped forward and smashed the ball towards the rival team. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion as the host team's players ran to save the ball, and we waited in anticipation. The ball missed the hand of the players, passing by each one of them and hitting the court with loud force.
"Hurray! That was awesome!" I shouted and hugged Payal.
Others followed and piled up on us. We started dancing on the floor and yelling our team's song. Payal hugged all of us and patted our backs proudly. She grabbed me and ruffled my hair, and our whole team gathered on the court along with Coach.
"You girls made me proud!" She called us for a group hug.
"What the fuck? You guys lost!" The rival team's Coach shouted and pushed her team's Captain to the side.
"So what?" Payal shrugged and continued dancing with us.
Yup, we lost by just one point, but we didn't care. We had the best time playing and butchering the other team.
The rival team looked displeased even though they won and it was better than getting that gold trophy. The felicitation ceremony was in the evening, so we refreshed ourselves and kept gossiping about our earlier match in our changing room.
"You played really well, Sandhya," Vice-captain praised.
"Thank you." I grinned.
"Keep that spirit up. I would like to see you more on the field," Payal commented.
I nodded and thanked everyone for putting their faith in me. We hugged each other again and when it was time to leave, Coach entered the room and began chuckling like Mogambo.
(Mogambo👆is a villain from the Indian movie "Mr. India")
"Did you see the look on that bitch's face?" She asked.
Payal pursed her lips and told Coach to stop being dramatic. Usha Mam ignored her and gave us a summary of our gameplay. She excused us after fifteen minutes and told us to rest and do whatever we wanted before we left for our college tomorrow.
"You have improved a lot, kid," she told me.
"It is all thanks to you and the team, Mam," I replied.
"Just wait and watch. I am going to turn you into a beast." She smiled mischievously.
I shot a concerned glance at Payal who told me to just bear with our Coach. I nodded and let Usha Mam enjoy the moment; she was really enthusiastic even after the match ended.
Honestly, I was too. I played my first official match today and enjoyed beyond my expectations.
I wonder how Natural Heater's team was performing. Who the hell am I kidding? Ved is not used to losing - ever.