Chapter 3 #2
Coach Grant blew her whistle just as Keira put up a three-point shot.
Everyone retrieved their balls and jogged to the centre circle.
Keira watched her shot fall slowly towards the basket before hitting the outside of the rim and pinging unexpectedly towards the other courts.
She sprinted after it, shoes screeching on the floor as she skidded to a halt, grabbed the ball, and returned to her team, who huddled around the centre circle.
They immediately parted to make room for her to join them, her cheeks warm.
“Thanks,” she whispered to those who had moved for her.
Glancing around the circle, her gaze arrested on piercing blue eyes that mirrored her own shock.
For a few seconds, Keira stood transfixed, Coach Grant’s voice fading into obscurity.
The woman from the park twitched her lips into a tentative but warm smile that electrified the butterflies in Keira’s stomach.
This explained why she’d seemed familiar when they’d collided in the park — Keira had seen pictures of her when researching her new team.
Keira suddenly realised she was gawping.
In a panic, and much to her own surprise, she winked at the other woman.
Her cheeks immediately burned. She snapped her attention back to Coach Grant, hoping no one else had noticed the exchange.
Coach Grant placed her hand on the shoulder of the tall man standing next to her.
With rich umber skin, dark brown eyes, and clipper-cut ebony hair, he grinned at the group.
“Turning semi-pro has allowed us to have an assistant coach this year, and TJ has kindly agreed to take on that role, for his sins.” There was a polite smattering of applause, while Lucy whooped and hollered.
“Yeah, TJ!”
Those near him reached out for low fives. TJ grinned as he returned each of them.
“Also, Amelia has agreed to be our captain again this year,” Coach Grant said.
The woman from the park smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.
“And I know what you lot are like.” The coach made pointed eye contact with Lucy and a couple of the others.
“Please go easy on her this year.“ The returning players all chuckled, and Sienna looked rapidly between them all, like a confused but excited puppy.
Amelia. Keira rolled the name around in her mouth like an unfamiliar dessert from a foreign land. She risked a glance in Amelia’s direction, who studied her right back, curiosity etched on her face.
“I’d also like to welcome our two new players, Sienna and Keira. I know you’ll all help them feel at home,” Coach Grant continued, pointing to each player as she named them. Keira nodded, her lips pressed together, grateful when Coach Grant took the attention off her by continuing.
“And finally, we’re going to do things a little differently this year. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard, so we’re going to start training under fatigue as much as possible. So, with that in mind, folks, please report to the baseline…”
The entire circle groaned, knowing what was coming, but everyone dutifully followed orders. Coach Grant and TJ moved to the side, the latter chuckling good-naturedly. Keira wished she’d managed to squeeze in some more speed work since she’d been back.
“We’re going to go easy on you to start with. Three sets of five reps,” Coach Grant proclaimed. “A minute rest between sets. Time it yourself.” She pointed to the scoreboard on the wall, just as TJ turned it on, the seconds and minutes now able to tick over.
“We’ll go on the minute,” Coach Grant said, whistle poised. They all watched the board.
Once the shrill blast of Coach Grant’s whistle sounded, the group sprinted forward like a wave swelling at the shore.
Keira bent to touch the first line, in line with the free throw line, then ran back to the baseline.
Next was the halfway line, and the dozen players touched it at roughly the same time.
By the far free throw line and back, small gaps had appeared between players.
By the end line and back, Amelia had a noticeable lead.
Keira tried not to think about her position in the pack.
By the time Keira started the penultimate sprint of her final set, Amelia had already finished, despite visible strapping on one of her ankles.
Keira’s legs burned with the effort and her lungs begged for more air.
Each breath was laboured, like breathing through cloth.
Patches of sweat soaked her t-shirt, and she regretted not wearing one of her many cooler basketball vests.
Amelia stood on the end line, shouting encouragement for everyone to dig a little deeper. She cheered them on, clapping the next players over the line. On her final sprint, Keira glanced up; Amelia was looking directly at her. Her aquamarine eyes twinkled under the lights.
“Come on, Keira, last effort!”
Keira almost stumbled at being addressed directly.
But the encouragement did help her find a spark of extra energy; she propelled herself forward.
The end line was slightly blurry from the sweat that had trickled into her eyes.
A few more staggering steps and she crossed the line, barely stopping before she crashed into the wall.
Placing her hands on the rough bricks, she closed her eyes, taking many deep breaths.
Someone clapped her on the shoulder and spoke quietly beside her.
“Great job, Keira.”
The hairs on the back of Keira’s neck stood on end.
Keira turned as Amelia returned to the baseline to cheer the final runners over the line. Keira was glad she wasn’t last, but her regret at not doing more training resurfaced tenfold.
An hour and a half later, tired bodies jostled for position at one end of the court.
The communication levels had been slowly dissipating as their energy levels dropped.
Sweat trickled down Keira’s back as she wiped her face with the front of her shirt.
Coach Grant was definitely putting the team through their paces, going over an offensive play that involved a lot of ball movement and multiple screens.
They’d done a crash course in a few different plays and Keira’s head was swimming.
Sienna, whose under-eighteen team had used the same tactics, was slotting in fine.
Keira felt about as useful as corrosion in a complex, well-drilled machine.
As she desperately tried to remember the next part of the play, she caught something in her peripheral vision and turned just in time for the basketball to hit her square in the nose.
The pain was instant.
Keira grabbed her face as she staggered backwards. Tears pooled in her eyes and blurred her vision.
“Oh, shit, sorry!” Lucy’s voice darted through the air.
“That’s why we always put names on passes, everyone,” came the exasperated voice of Coach Grant. “Congratulations, Lucy, you’ve just earned the team another set of shuttles…” Coach Grant’s voice trailed off as someone took Keira by the elbow and led her off the court.
“C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Keira allowed herself to be guided to the chair in Coach Grant’s office. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, and saw Amelia squatted down in front of her. She was holding out a handful of tissues.
“Thanks,” Keira said stuffily, taking her hand away from her face to accept the tissues.
There was a smattering of blood on her hand, and now that the shock had worn off, she became aware of the warm liquid dripping onto her top lip.
She wiped her face and went to press the tissues to her nostrils, when Amelia’s hand reached out.
“May I?” she asked, and Keira looked at her quizzically. “I’m a doctor.”
Keira nodded, but instantly regretted it, since it made her nose throb more. Amelia examined the bridge of her nose, gently pinching up and down the length. Keira winced.
“It doesn’t look or feel displaced, so I think you’ve just taken a knock.
Lean forward a bit and pinch it just here,” she said, using her own fingers to indicate the correct location.
Keira complied, trying not to think about how the stranger from the park had just given her an examination, and the trickle of blood soon slowed.
So much for making a good first impression.
Keira took the tissue away from her face a few minutes later, and no fresh blood trickled out
“Better?” Amelia gave her a clean tissue to wipe her face.
“Yeah, thank you”
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she joked, making Keira blush.
“I am so sorry about the other day.” The memory alone was enough to make her uncomfortable.
“Eh, no harm done.” Amelia shrugged, moving from her squatting position to the plastic stool where Keira had sat earlier.
“Oh, yeah? How’s the ankle?” Keira asked suspiciously, looking pointedly at the strapping.
“It’s nothing, just a slight sprain.” Amelia smiled, but it seemed forced.
Keira was about to challenge her on the likely understatement when a sheepish figure appeared at the doorway, cheeks red, breathing hard.
“Are you okay? I’m so sorry,” Lucy asked, eyeing the bloody tissues in the bin.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Keira tried to reassure her. Lucy looked her over before turning to Amelia. “Michelle said we’re going to scrimmage for a bit if you want to join?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
“I’m good here,” Amelia replied with a smile. Lucy shrugged and disappeared as quickly as she arrived.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Keira said guiltily. She’d already potentially injured her new teammate, the captain no less. And now she was missing training because of her.
“I never leave my patients when they need me,” Amelia said, with a twinkle in her eye. Keira couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Ow.” She instinctively returned her hand to her nose.
“You should probably ice that when you get home.”
Keira grumbled her assent. Amelia looked at her kindly, a few strands of loose wavy hair tumbling down the sides of her face. Keira felt a small tug below her ribcage, pulling her forward. The feeling surprised her so much that she nudged herself backwards on the swivel chair to get away from it.
“Are you coming to the meal at the end of the week?” Amelia asked, seemingly oblivious of Keira’s panic.
“Oh, er, I’m not sure yet, but probably not.” Thinking of the limited funds in her bank account was like having a bucket of ice water dumped over her. She could have sworn she saw disappointment flash across Amelia’s face.
“That’s a shame, it’d give you a chance to get to know the team.”
Right. Team bonding. If Amelia was disappointed, it was for team unity reasons.
Not that it matters. You’re here to work, nothing else.