Digging Deep

by Elena Delle Donne

  We’d survived all those things; so we could survive me quitting basketball, right?

  I hope so, I thought. Because Avery is one buddy I do not want to lose!

  4

  Ace!

  Elle, you have a volleyball game today against East Lewiston.

  I woke up on Friday morning and saw the message pop up from my scheduling app. It was hard to believe I was going to compete in my first volleyball game after I had just joined the team!

  I sat up in bed, thinking. On the morning of a basketball game, I had a routine. I would walk Zobe, shoot some hoops, eat half a bagel with peanut butter for energy, nap, and then put my basketball shoes on before I put on my shorts, stepping through the shorts with my right foot so I could start off the game on the right foot. It was my own silly superstition, but I’d based it on the routines of some of my favorite WNBA players.

  Did I need to come up with a special routine for volleyball? It wasn’t exactly the same. Different sport, for one thing. For another, the game wasn’t until seven at night, after school and volleyball practice. And also, every basketball game felt serious. I always felt pressure about how well I’d play. But I wasn’t feeling that same pressure about volleyball. It felt different . . . easier.

  “Woof!” Zobe’s bark got me out of my thoughts. I quickly changed into my school clothes (jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers) and took Zobe for his morning walk. Then I had a regular morning getting ready for school.

  “You want to come over tonight?” Blake asked as he climbed into the back seat of Jim’s car. “I got Street Match XV yesterday. The avatar options are awesome.”

  “Really? Because they never have any cool female ones,” I said.

  “They fixed that,” Blake told me. “This time the number of male and female players is equal. And the coolest one is this girl with dreads and supertoned muscles.”

  “Woman,” I corrected him. “Anyway, I would love to, but I can’t. I’ve got a volleyball game at seven.”

  “Volleyball?” Blake asked, and then he nodded. “Oh right, Kenya asked me for your number.”

  “How do you know her, anyway?” I asked.

  “We were in day camp together when I was younger,” he replied. “She’s nice. So you’re definitely on the team? Cool.”

  “It’s the club team,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”

  Jim chimed in. “Sure it is,” he said. “Where’s the game tonight? I’ll come cheer you on.”

  “East Lewiston,” I replied. “At the middle school.”

  “Can you give me a ride?” Blake asked Jim. “I’ll go too.”

  “Sure,” Jim said. “We’ll leave at six-thirty.”

  I could feel my body tense up. “You guys don’t have to come,” I said quickly. “I mean, it’s my first game and I’ve only been to one practice. I could be terrible at it.”

  “You’re a great athlete. You won’t be terrible,” Jim said.

  “Yeah, anyway, it’ll be fun to watch a volleyball game for a change,” Blake added.

  I relaxed a little bit. “Right,” I said. “Fun.”

  We got to the school at the same time Avery’s mom dropped her off.

  “Hey, Avery,” Blake greeted her. “Jim and I are going to Elle’s volleyball game tonight. Want to come?”

  Avery frowned. “Tonight?” she repeated. “I don’t know. We’ve got practice, and I don’t know if I could get there on time.”

  “Don’t worry about it!” I said.

  Avery looked relieved. “Thanks,” she said. “A game already, huh?”

  “Well, I joined the club team midseason,” I explained. “They’ve already been playing games. If I hadn’t joined them, they’d have to end the season early. So I’m mostly doing it so the other five girls can compete.”

  “They’re lucky to have you on the team,” Avery said, and I heard something in her voice. Sadness? Or was she annoyed? It was hard to tell.

  “You know I wasn’t planning on joining another sport, right?” I asked. “It’s only temporary, until Lauren gets better.” I shrugged. “Anyway, it’s kind of fun.”

  Avery gave me a little smile. “I know, Elle. I’m happy for you,” she said. But she still sounded sad.

  I was psyched for the game that night. I’d had fun at practice on Tuesday. But I was starting to wonder if my life could really be fun if I didn’t have basketball—or my friends.

  • • •

  “Today we will give Elle a crash course in volleyball team positions,” Coach Patel said, starting off our five o’clock practice. “Then we’re going to work on blocking and serving before we head to East Lewiston.”

  “Positions?” I asked. “You mean, like, the front of the net and back of the net?”

  “There are specific positions on a volleyball team, just like in other sports,” Coach Patel explained. “Each position has a specific job on the team, such as setting the ball for the attackers, or blocking the opponent.”

  “So your position you play depends on where you are on the court,” I said slowly, figuring it out. “But we rotate spots after each point, right? Does that mean everyone gets to play a different position during the game?”

  “That’s how we play,” Kenya said. “Starting in high school, some players will always play the same position, no matter where they are on the court.”

  I frowned. “Wow, that’s kind of confusing.”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” Summer said. “It all comes down to just getting the ball over the net, and not letting the ball hit the floor when it comes to you.”

  Coach smiled. “Yes, basically. But it’s a good idea to know the positions, so let’s go over them.” He nodded to the court. “Line up by the net. Three in front and three in back. Any order.”

  We scrambled onto the court and I ended up in the line at the back. Facing the net, Summer, Maggie, and Taylor were in front of me, from left to right. I was behind Summer, Jenna was behind Maggie, and Kenya was behind Taylor, in the serving position.

  “Kenya is in position one,” Coach began. “You know that as the serving position. The player in this position is also known as the setter. The setter keeps the ball in play, and she can attack, too.”

  “So can anybody attack from any position?” I asked.

  “Yes!” Jenna cried, and she jumped up and smacked an imaginary ball over the net. “Yeah, right in the gap!”

  Coach Patel walked up to Taylor, who was in front of Kenya.

  “Taylor is in position two. The player in this position is known as the right side blocker or the ride side hitter, depending on whether the team is defending or on offense,” he said. “All three players in the front of the net need to be good blockers, which is why we’ll be practicing that soon.”

  He walked in front of Maggie.

  “Maggie is in position three; and Jenna, behind her, is in position six,” he said. “They are middle blockers if the team is defending, or middle hitters if the team is on offense.”

  “But my position is also called a libero,” Jenna said.

  “Here she goes,” Summer teased.

  Jenna turned to me. “It’s a special position created in the 1990s. Starting in high school, a libero wears a different-colored jersey. She plays mostly defense and can swap in for a player in the back row when the ball’s not in play, and the coach doesn’t have to do an official swap. I’m gonna play libero.”

  “That’s because you can’t block!” Taylor teased, and Jenna laughed. I was starting to figure out that everybody on the team dogged one another, and nobody minded. Everybody was super chill.

  “Maybe I can’t block, but I’ve got fast reflexes,” Jenna said, and she did a quick dance move and a spin to prove it.

  “The libero has to be a good passer, because the ball often ends up there after a serve,” Coach Patel continued. “Elle, the served ball often ends up in your corner too.”

  “So if Jenna’s position six, then I’m position five?” I asked.

&nbs
p; “Right. And I’m four,” Summer said.

  “Positions four and five are outside hitters,” Coach Patel said. “In position four, you’ll do more blocking.”

  “And in position five, more passing,” I said. “Got it. I think.”

  Then something hit me. “How do you guys practice positions? I mean, there are only six of us. We can’t scrimmage.” Like we did in basketball, I finished silently.

  Maggie shrugged. “We figure it out when we play.”

  “Yeah, we know it would be better to have more players,” Summer said. “But we really wanted to form the club team, and Mr. Patel said he’d coach us, and as long we have six, we’re in.”

  “Yeah, it’s better to play than not to play,” Taylor said.

  I liked what I was hearing. Nobody was talking about winning or crushing the competition. Everybody was playing because they loved the sport.

  “Cool,” I said.

  “Back row, move to the other side of the net,” Coach Patel said. “We’re going to practice blocking. Elle, this should be something you’re good at because”—I expected him to say you’re tall, but he didn’t—“of your basketball training,” he finished.

  Coach was right. I picked up the blocking moves pretty quickly: body facing the net. Knees bent. Arms bent at the elbows in front of you, almost like a mime. Palms facing forward and fingers spread wide. When the ball comes, you jump up and extend your arms over the top of the net—easy to do when you’re six feet tall, like I am.

  After we got the basic moves down, Coach Patel showed us some footwork steps we could use if we needed to move in the direction of the ball. The important thing, I learned, was to always end up facing the net with your palms pointed straight ahead—otherwise, you risked sending the ball out of bounds or falling into the net.

  We practiced blocking for so long that we didn’t have time to practice serving. Coach Patel got us all into the school van and took us to East Lewiston for the game. The basketball team was too big to fit in the van, but it was just right for volleyball.

  The basketball team might have done cheers or chants on the ride to the game, but as soon as Coach Patel backed out of his space, Taylor started belting out a popular song.

  “You’re exploding like a fiiiiiiirework!”

  “That’s not how it goes,” Summer said.

  “Fiiiiiirework!” Taylor sang louder. Jenna and Kenya started singing along—and then Maggie did too. Quiet, shy Maggie. I couldn’t help it. I joined in.

  When we got out of the van at East Lewiston, we were all cracking up. The players on the East Lewiston team, the Leopards, were warming up on the court, batting the ball back and forth across the net.

  I scanned the stands and saw Jim and Blake and waved to them. Then I warmed up with the team. We did stretches, squats, and jumping jacks.

  “My face feels like a fiiiiiirework!” Taylor sang out as we exercised, and we all cracked up again.

  A few minutes later Coach Patel called us out onto the court. I didn’t have time to be nervous. He assigned us positions. I was in position six, between Kenya and Jenna. Summer, Taylor, and Maggie took positions two, three, and four.

  We all might have been goofing around a few minutes before, but once the game started, everyone had their game faces on. Kenya sent her first serve to the far left corner, where it soared past the Leopards server and slammed onto the court, scoring the first point of the game. We all cheered.

  “Nice one, Kenya!” Taylor yelled.

  Her next shot landed in the middle. The Leopards passed it and set it to their front middle hitter, who tried to spike it—but Summer blocked it and nailed it between two players.

  We’d scored another point.

  My heart started to pound with excitement and I got itchy, waiting for my turn to hit the ball. Kenya’s next serve was out of bounds. The Leopards rotated, and their serve came right to me.

  I extended my arms and put my right hand over my left hand, ready to pass the ball. The ball hit my wrists instead of my forearms and went a little wonky—to the side instead of straight ahead. But Kenya got it and set it to Summer, who hit it over the net. The Leopards returned the ball to me again and this time, I managed to hit it pretty much straight up in the air. Jenna ran in front of me and tried to pass it to Maggie, but her pass soared over the net and out of bounds.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “It’s cool,” Jenna replied. “We’re still up.”

  The Leopards served again. This ball went from Kenya to Maggie to Summer, who returned the ball hard and fast to the back corner of the court, just in bounds. The Leopards missed the ball and it was our turn to serve. We rotated, and I moved into position five.

  I was starting to get into a groove. In the next few rounds of play, I set the ball to Taylor, and she spiked it to score a point. I scored my first point when I blocked a spike from the Leopards. A little bit later Kenya set the ball to me and I spiked it hard over the top.

  “Way to bring the heat, Elle!” Summer cheered.

  I grinned and wiped the sweat away from my eyes. That had felt great!

  Finally, it was my turn to serve. I’d always loved serving in gym class, and I knew I was pretty good at it. But I was a little nervous, because we hadn’t had a chance to practice it with the team yet.

  I started with my left foot a little bit forward and tossed the ball up with my left hand. Then I hit it overhand with my right hand, aiming it for a gap between the players. One of the players got to it, but she shanked the ball wildly out of the way.

  Taylor clapped her hands. “All right! Looks like we got an ace on our team!”

  My next serve wasn’t as perfect, and we lost control of the ball. But nobody called me out about it. Coach didn’t yell. And the next time I got a chance to serve, I made it count. I aimed it for the back of the court, and the Leopard middle blocker thought it was going to go out of bounds. But it landed right on the line. Another point!

  The game went by really fast. I can’t remember each and every play, but I do remember that we were all playing our best and having a good time. And in the end we won by five points!

  Jim and Blake came onto the court to congratulate me. Blake gave me a high five, and Jim gave me a hug.

  “Great job, Elle,” Jim said.

  “Yeah,” Blake said. “You looked great out there—like you actually knew what you were doing.”

  “Thanks. It was fun,” I said, and laughed.

  Then Kenya called to me. “Elle! We’re hitting the road.”

  I thanked Jim and Blake for coming and then headed outside with my team.

  “We did it!” Jenna cheered as we climbed into the van.

  “Elle, you rocked it out,” Taylor said. “Awesome.”

  “Thanks! I loved playing,” I said. “You guys are a great team.”

  “We’re a great team,” Summer said, smiling at me.

  And then my stomach growled loudly, and everyone laughed.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I forgot to eat something before practice today.”

  “That’s why we always go out for pizza after Friday-night games,” Kenya said. “Can you come? Sorry, we should have told you.”

  “I’ll text my mom,” I said. Luckily, she gave me the okay to go.

  After we got back to Spring Meadow, we changed out of our uniforms and then Summer’s mom picked us up in her minivan. By the time we got to Sal’s Pizzeria, I thought I was going to faint from hunger.

  The place was crowded, even though it was almost nine o’clock at night. We lined up to give our orders.

  “What can I get for you?” the man behind the counter asked Taylor, who was first in line.

  She burst out into song. “I just want a fiiiiiiirework!”

  “Taylor!” Jenna shrieked, and we all started laughing.

  The counter guy sighed. I guess he was having a long night.

  “Seriously, I’ll have a slice of chicken bacon ranch, please,” Taylor said.

 
“Elle, is that you?”

  I turned at the sound of the voice behind me—and saw Avery, with Natalie and Hannah. At first I was happy to see them.

  “Oh, hey, guys,” I said. “We were just, uh, celebrating. We won.”

  Hannah and Natalie looked at each other.

  “That’s great,” Avery said. “You can sit with us if you want.”

  At that moment Taylor called out to me. “Hey, Ace! You with us?”

  I felt so torn! I wanted to sit with Avery, Hannah, and Natalie. But I also wanted to celebrate with my team.

  I turned to Avery. “I’m gonna . . . we won the game, so we’re going to celebrate. But good luck with your game on Sunday.”

  “Will you come see us, Ace?” Natalie asked.

  “We miss you,” Hannah added. “Even though you’re not on the team, we still want to hang out. You should come.”

  That question flustered me. I wanted to support my friends, but I knew it would be weird to watch them playing without me.

  “I, um, I think I have something to do,” I said. “With Zobe.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  Whatever. That stung, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. It was time for me to order my pizza.

  “I’ll text you,” I told Avery, and then I moved up to join my team.

  5

  Red Light, Green Light

  Let’s hang out tomorrow? I texted Avery that night, as soon as I got home. I hated the idea that things were getting weird between us. So I checked my schedule and saw that I had some free time on Saturday, along with some homework time and Zobe time. And I wanted to spend that free time with Avery.

  When? she texted back right away.

  Around 11? Meet downtown?

  I felt relieved as I put the phone down. Avery and I just needed to hang, and talk, and everything would go back to normal. I was looking forward to seeing her the next morning—but first, I had to bring Zobe to obedience class with Dad.