KAYLA'S POV:
(Day 2)
After practicing all day yesterday, I finally got the hang of some of it. Because, as I said, there's nothing I can't achieve or beat. In the coming days, I would master it completely before the match.
The coach came toward us while we were practicing.
"Students, pay attention!
I have a very important announcement to make!"
We all gathered in front of him.
He continued,
"As you all know, the match was supposed to be held next week… but the date has been postponed because of the upcoming holiday…"
He paused.
"So the match is tomorrow."
*Our eyes widened in shock.*
"One day?!"
"How are we supposed to practice in one day?!"
"I know, I know… that's why you're allowed to stay late tonight for practice, if you want."
And with that, he walked away, leaving us in shock and anxiety.
I'm not good at this, and the match is tomorrow… how am I going to do it?
Come on, Kayla. There's nothing you can't achieve. You can do it. You can do everything.
I tried calming my inner storm.
As we practiced all day, I forced myself to focus on the ball every time it came toward me and for the first time, I finally hit a proper shot.
When I went toward the ball machine after it stopped running, Atasha came from behind and purposely tripped me. I fell hard, and my ankle flared up with sharp pain.
She laughed.
"Oh, I'm sooo sorry… someone thought they could get everything they wanted."
After she left, a hand reached out to me. I looked up it was Hari. I froze for a moment, then took his hand and tried to get up, but failed.
"I can't…"
He sat down in front of me, his back facing me.
"Come on."
"Come on what…?"
"Get on me."
I hesitated, then wrapped my arms around him and climbed onto his back. As I settled into the piggyback, he carried me out of the school gym. All the girls stared, eyes wide with jealousy, even Atasha's. I rested my head against his shoulder as he took me to the school nurse.
---
When we reached the nurse's room, he gently placed me on the patient bed and went to the drawer to get some medicine. When he returned, he carefully lifted my foot onto his lap and started applying the cream slowly.
I flinched in pain for a moment.
"It's okay… be calm."
His voice sounded like soft, soothing music to my ears.
When he finished, he spoke again.
"Get some rest and forget about the match."
"Why? I want to play."
"How can you play like this? This will take at least a week to recover. Until then, don't participate in anything. Just rest."
Our eyes locked for a moment that's when my friends Sevi, Theo, and Annie rushed in.
"What happened?!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Who did this?!"
Seeing Theo, Hari quietly stepped outside. Theo ignored him as always. I don't know why, but something was never right between those two. They'd been in the same class since childhood, yet never got along, not even for a second. They looked like sworn enemies without ever saying a word.
"I'm okay. I just tripped…"
Theo said, "Atasha did it, right? I'm going to teach that bitch a lesson...."
I grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"No need to create a fuss."
"Fuss? Look at what she did to you!"
"It's okay… she's a bitch. What else can we expect from her?"
I sighed.
"I'll take care of it. You know me, so don't worry."