excited.
The picture changed. There was a man standing on a
stage, but she couldn’t see his face. Music played and confetti
fell from somewhere up above. People cheered loudly, waving signs
bearing the name ‘Stevens.’
Paivi awoke suddenly with a gasp. She rolled over
and checked the clock. The neon green numbers showed 2:37. The
house was still, silent and dark.
She smiled to herself. She was going to be on
varsity! She had thought she would make the freshman team, but
varsity! This was unbelievable! She hugged the nearest teddy bear,
Mr. Stinky. She lay back down and rolled onto her side, snuggling
into her pillow. Her mind fell briefly on the other vision.
So the jerk wins, she thought. Maybe Crystal wasn’t
half wrong. Maybe the guy could at least stop the terrorists.
Paivi pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind,
closed her eyes, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
* * *
The election came and went the following week with
Senator Stevens winning in a landslide. Aside from Dr.
Hasenpfeffer’s lively classroom discussions on the topic, life
returned to its usual concerns.
Paivi was more focused on basketball than anything
else. It was a few days before Coach Espinosa offered her a spot on
the varsity team. Paivi was relieved, but also nervous. She liked
the girls on the freshman team and she didn’t know any of the girls
on varsity.
Friday was her first day of practice with the
varsity girls. She had tried to take everything in but there was so
much to learn. The girls were working so hard; there wasn’t much
time for socializing.
Paivi found herself paired with Leyla Bianchi, a
junior forward, for a particularly challenging drill. Paivi had to
turn her back to Leyla, and then pivot around to catch a pass.
Leyla was supposed to tell her to turn to the right or left and
then throw the ball, which should meet her as she turned.
“Left,” Leyla called out, her voice echoing through
the gym.
Paivi swung to the left, but before she could
complete her turn, there was an explosion of pain in her face as
the basketball crashed into her nose. She flew straight backwards
onto the floor.
“Oops!” Leyla giggled, covering her mouth with her
hand. Shay Montgomery, the team’s point guard, joined her.
Her face throbbed making it difficult to open her
eyes. Blood dripped down from her nose and pooled into her cupped
hand.
“Paivi, are you bleeding?” Coach Espinosa ran over.
“Off to the trainer’s, let’s go.”
She helped Paivi up and pointed to the door of the
gym. Paivi looked back to see Leyla still talking to Shay and
laughing. Paivi glared at them and turned her back as she headed to
the training room. She felt the energy building up again, her anger
forcing it through her. She made no attempt to control it this
time. In the gym the girls let out a shriek as a light bulb burst,
raining glass onto the hardwood floor.
This is just the beginning, she thought to herself,
trying to keep the blood from running onto the floor.
Saturday morning’s practice was still unpleasant,
but at least it was not as physically painful. Her nose still ached
from the day before, and her eyes were slightly black underneath,
but Paivi didn’t want it to look like she was weak, or worse,
afraid of Leyla, so she tried not to shy away from any of the
drills.
Leyla Bianchi didn’t throw a ball in Paivi’s face,
but she made her presence known. When Leyla picked teams for a
scrimmage, she chose Paivi for her team, and then never put her
into the game. When Coach Espinosa noticed and subbed Paivi in,
Leyla made sure she never got the ball. Paivi could see she had no
supporters on the team. Leyla had a group of about five girls that
stuck to her like glue and the other teammates just ignored
her.
She was glad when practice was finally over. She
found that she was dreading meeting Christian less than she was
dreading Monday’s practice. It was a sunny November day and
unseasonably warm. Paivi decided to walk
The picture changed. There was a man standing on a
stage, but she couldn’t see his face. Music played and confetti
fell from somewhere up above. People cheered loudly, waving signs
bearing the name ‘Stevens.’
Paivi awoke suddenly with a gasp. She rolled over
and checked the clock. The neon green numbers showed 2:37. The
house was still, silent and dark.
She smiled to herself. She was going to be on
varsity! She had thought she would make the freshman team, but
varsity! This was unbelievable! She hugged the nearest teddy bear,
Mr. Stinky. She lay back down and rolled onto her side, snuggling
into her pillow. Her mind fell briefly on the other vision.
So the jerk wins, she thought. Maybe Crystal wasn’t
half wrong. Maybe the guy could at least stop the terrorists.
Paivi pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind,
closed her eyes, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
* * *
The election came and went the following week with
Senator Stevens winning in a landslide. Aside from Dr.
Hasenpfeffer’s lively classroom discussions on the topic, life
returned to its usual concerns.
Paivi was more focused on basketball than anything
else. It was a few days before Coach Espinosa offered her a spot on
the varsity team. Paivi was relieved, but also nervous. She liked
the girls on the freshman team and she didn’t know any of the girls
on varsity.
Friday was her first day of practice with the
varsity girls. She had tried to take everything in but there was so
much to learn. The girls were working so hard; there wasn’t much
time for socializing.
Paivi found herself paired with Leyla Bianchi, a
junior forward, for a particularly challenging drill. Paivi had to
turn her back to Leyla, and then pivot around to catch a pass.
Leyla was supposed to tell her to turn to the right or left and
then throw the ball, which should meet her as she turned.
“Left,” Leyla called out, her voice echoing through
the gym.
Paivi swung to the left, but before she could
complete her turn, there was an explosion of pain in her face as
the basketball crashed into her nose. She flew straight backwards
onto the floor.
“Oops!” Leyla giggled, covering her mouth with her
hand. Shay Montgomery, the team’s point guard, joined her.
Her face throbbed making it difficult to open her
eyes. Blood dripped down from her nose and pooled into her cupped
hand.
“Paivi, are you bleeding?” Coach Espinosa ran over.
“Off to the trainer’s, let’s go.”
She helped Paivi up and pointed to the door of the
gym. Paivi looked back to see Leyla still talking to Shay and
laughing. Paivi glared at them and turned her back as she headed to
the training room. She felt the energy building up again, her anger
forcing it through her. She made no attempt to control it this
time. In the gym the girls let out a shriek as a light bulb burst,
raining glass onto the hardwood floor.
This is just the beginning, she thought to herself,
trying to keep the blood from running onto the floor.
Saturday morning’s practice was still unpleasant,
but at least it was not as physically painful. Her nose still ached
from the day before, and her eyes were slightly black underneath,
but Paivi didn’t want it to look like she was weak, or worse,
afraid of Leyla, so she tried not to shy away from any of the
drills.
Leyla Bianchi didn’t throw a ball in Paivi’s face,
but she made her presence known. When Leyla picked teams for a
scrimmage, she chose Paivi for her team, and then never put her
into the game. When Coach Espinosa noticed and subbed Paivi in,
Leyla made sure she never got the ball. Paivi could see she had no
supporters on the team. Leyla had a group of about five girls that
stuck to her like glue and the other teammates just ignored
her.
She was glad when practice was finally over. She
found that she was dreading meeting Christian less than she was
dreading Monday’s practice. It was a sunny November day and
unseasonably warm. Paivi decided to walk
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