Character Based Short Story--Special Entry

With her tennis shoes tied tight and her gym shorts on, Melrose was ready to take the court. Her hair was pulled back tight in a bun and her bangs were pulled off to the side in a French braid. Yes she was nervous but like her mom had told her, would that be enough to stop her from doing something that she loved to do? Melrose had always had a passion for volleyball. She loved to watch it on television and to watch her mom’s own team practice. When Melrose was little, she always went to all her mother’s volleyball games and would sit in on the practices and help out in any way that she could. Her mom was one of the most famous volleyball coaches around. Being a Division 1 college coach definitely made you noticed. Now that Melrose is much older and into her first year of high school, she became more focused on her own team.
Melrose was always the quiet girl in school. She never really said much to anyone and even though she had a great personality, it was hard for people to see. No one ever really gave her a chance to be her true self. It was on the volleyball court that Melrose really shined. She wasn’t afraid to be the loudest, or to laugh and have fun while practicing. When the knee pads and the ankle braces went on, she became a new person. She loved it.
But today, in a new school, with a new team, and without really knowing the coach, Melrose was hesitant about these tryouts. This was a whole new ballgame now; new coach, new teammates, maybe even new techniques. What if her new volleyball coach does not like how her old volleyball coach taught her how to do things? What if the coach resented Melrose just because her mom was a famous volleyball coach and a notorious college? What if she just froze or messed up so bad that he cut her in the first 5 minutes? All these things ran through Melrose’s mind as she was walking into the gym. She was already having a horrible day so this would only make the day more complete.
First came the running around the court followed by numerous stretches. Any part of the body that could be stretch was being worked to make sure no injury would occur. So far, no one had said a word to Melrose. She was invisible and her usual bubbly personality was nowhere to be found. Her mom had told her how important it would be that she has to be herself on the court or else she will blend in. Her mother always drilled it in her that to stand out is the only way you become good. If you stand out, you get noticed by the coach, and then he will put more effort into your mechanics and will want to make you a better player. You almost have to become his friend, is what she would always tell her.
Next was the huddle. The captain of the team brought everyone in together to do a cheer and to pump up the girls for a long, hard day of practice. Once the seconds of loud screaming was over, the girls sat there and talked about school and life as they waited for the coach to come over to them. Melrose naturally just stood there waiting patiently kind of hoping that someone would start a conversation with her, just so that she felt like she maybe had one friend on the team, at least for the day. But no one said a word to her. Things would be better once the coach came over.
Well the coach came over and basically told the girls that the season was going to be like boot camp and if they haven’t been training since the summer, they probably would not be making it through the first week. Melrose did not train at all. She had a few passes with her mom on the weekends but that was about it. She knew that this was going to be very tough for her and a mountain to climb over if she made the team. She had to do her best and hope that it was good enough.
As the practice went on, she remained quiet. She played hard but did not stand out like her mom had told her to try and do. Her nerves had gotten the best of her. Melrose messed up on a few plays but nothing that made her worse than the other girls. She actually even thought that she was better than some of the juniors on the team so she felt pretty good about the tryouts. She went home that night feeling confident about what had happened at practice and even though she knew she was going to be sore the next day, it would be worth it. Melrose came home to a nice massage by her father and ice bags for her body from her mother. While relaxing after the long day, she told her parents about her long day at her volleyball tryout.
After 2 more days of tryouts and a weekend to relax, Melrose was feeling confident as she headed up to the stairs toward her high school. The roster would not be posted probably until the end of the class day so she had to practice her patients.
Finally it was the end of the day and Melrose ran to the gym locker room after she heard the 2 o’clock bell. She searched drastically to see her name as she pulled her finger down the list and her heart started to pound harder and harder and she got further and further down the list. Her finger started slowing down as she reached the end of the list. But sure enough the last name on the list was Melrose Olsen. Her heart leap with joy and her body soon followed. She was so excited she could not control her emotions. After running out to the bus, the first thing she did was call her mom with the good news. Neither of them could take the smile off their face. The whole bus ride home, Melrose dreamt of all the things that she hoped would happen this season. It was going to be a good year!