Tennis Troubles
by Robert Breen
The tennis ball made a “pop” sound as it
made contact with Annie's racket and flew over the net. “Pop”.
“Pop”. “Pop”. The sound was becoming monotonous to Annie.
After nearly twenty minutes of practicing her serve, she didn't even
notice the sound the ball made any more. It was unlikely Annie would
go pro, but she had played on her high school's varsity team. The
daily team practices had been grueling but had built up admirable
tennis skills. She had worked extensively with her coach to perfect
her serve. She became so proficient, she averaged sixty-five miles
per hour for her first serve. Despite all this, she had only played
third singles. Her form was impeccable and she once had set a school
record for most aces in a match. She was determined to maintain her
aptitude for the sport by continuing to practice consistently in
college. Plus, the possibility of playing on the collegiate level
would be something she would definitely post on her facebook page for
all her high school teammates to see. She could see herself
dominating the league in singles matches.
She tossed the ball up high in the air, cocking
her racket back in preparation. Behind her came a screech. Someone
was opening the door to the court. She took her eye off the ball and
turned to find the source of the disturbance. The ball came crashing
down on top of her head with a plink. She glared at the two guys who
had just invaded her court forcing her to break her streak of
seventy-nine perfect serves. Without a word, the two guys set down
their bags and took out their rackets. Annie watched them, trying to
decide which course of action to take. She watched as they performed
stretches and practice strokes. She knew what they aimed to do.
“Excuse me! This court is taken!” She shouted at them.
“Yah
and so are all the others. You're not actually playing though, so
it's as if you're not even here.”
“Come
again!?”
“You
heard me, it's like you're not even here.”
“I
see. Well, have fun just standing there. I am not leaving.”
“Well,
neither are we. Come on Rollin, let's practice some serves.” the
first trespasser said.
“Sure
thing, Brody.” His buddy agreed.
Annie crossed her arms, clearly enraged. “Beat
it!” She said to the one identified as Rollin as he ran over to her
side of the court to return Brody's serves.
“Tell
ya what sister, you stay where you are, I'll move to the other side
of the court. You can return our serves for us.” Rollin explained.
“No.
Not happening. And nothing you say or do is going to make me leave!”
To prove her point, she walked to the middle of the service box and
sat down.
“Have
it your way.” Rollin raced over to Brody's side of the court. In no
time, they began their serves. Their serves were accurate. And fast.
Annie could hear the “whoosh” as the balls whizzed by her head. A
few of the serves nearly made contact with her. At last, she raised
her racket as a sign of surrender. “Alright. Fine, I'll return your
guys' serves.”
Annie made her way to the baseline. Behind her
back, Brody and Rollin looked at each other and nodded in triumph.
Before she could even get in to position, the
balls came flying at her. The first few came within inches of her
face. It didn't take her long to realize they were aiming for her
head. She tried her best to defend herself by holding the racket in
front of her like a shield, but eventually one ball evaded her
blockade and hit her in the nose. The ball carried so much force,
Annie lost her balance and stumbled back. She was dazed. The balls
continued to fly for a little while longer until the boys decided she
had had enough.
“You
are going to pay for this!” She bellowed threateningly, rubbing her
nose and trying to regain her focus. The two boys simply laughed.
Angry beyond words, she grabbed her belongings and exited the court.
She didn't want to seem beat, so she chose to walk rather than run.
“Looks like we were able to do something to make you leave!”
“I”ll
be back! You haven't seen the last of me!”
“Bring
back the best ya got. We ain't a scared of you.”
When she was out of sight from the courts, she
called her boyfriend Ray to tell him about what had just happened.
“They did what!? Stay where you, I'll be right over. I'll teach
those losers a lesson.” Annie had to hold the phone away from her
ear to compensate for Ray's shouting. When she hung up, she smiled
happily to herself and located a spot to wait for him.
***
When Ray arrived on the scene, Brody and Rollin
were in the middle of a match. He and Annie took a seat on the small
bleachers outside the court and watched with no amusement. “What
are you going to do?” Annie asked.
“Just
wait and see. I have a little something special in mind for these
bums.”
“Don't
hurt 'em too bad, we don't want them to get ourselves in trouble.”
“We
won't get in trouble, you have Ray's guarantee.”
They waited a while longer. The match was still
going on. Ray checked his watched. By the third time he did this, the
interlopers were finally wrapping things up and exiting the court.
Ray and Annie got up from the bleachers and
stood in front of the door to the courts, confining the thieves to a
prison of chain link fence.
“Move
it jerkwad, we're running late for class.” Brody ordered.
“Yah,
move it jerkwad.” Rollin followed up.
“Not
a chance. Not until you apologize to my girlfriend and promise you
will never kick her off the court again.”
“Why
should I do a thing like that?”
“Because
you hurt her feelings and I'm not liking your attitude.”
“Go
sit on it, you putz.”
Ray immediately raised his fist so it was level
with Brody's head.
“Ray,
don't. They're not worth it!” Annie beckoned.
“You're
right. This sort of thing requires a different form of
reconciliation. Tell you what, jerkwad, you and me. Let's play a
match. Winner gets control over of the court.
“Didn't
you hear me? I am late for class.” Brody repeated.
“So
we'll play tomorrow then. I'm free all day.”
“You
challenging me to a match?”
“That's
what I just said dipshit.”
“Alright,
fine!” Brody said forcefully. You're on! We play tomorrow. Eleven
a.m. Singles. First to six points. If I win, you and your girl are
banned from this court.”
“And
when I win, my girlfriend and I are allowed to use this court
whenever we want. And if you are using it, you have to yield to us.
No exceptions.”
“Agreed.
Now step aside so I can get to class.”
The two shook hands. Then, begrudgingly, Ray
moved to allow Brody and Rollin passage out of the court.
“Ray!
Do you know what you are doing? Do you even know the first thing
about tennis? You could get me banned from this court for good.”
“Relax.
Why wouldn't I know what I was doing?”
“Well,
it's just you don't play tennis and they are pretty good.”
“I
am full of surprises, Annie. Let's say we get some ice cream and heal
your aching heart.”
“Don't
you think you should practice at all?”
“Who
needs to practice?”
“You
do.”
“No
I don't. Promise.” He winked at Annie.
“I
sure hope you know what you're doing.”
“I
do. Trust me.” He kissed her on the forehead and they walked off
towards the cafeteria.
“You
know, these courts aren't even that great, it's really not worth it
to go to all this effort just for one lousy court.”
“I'm
not looking at it that way. I'm looking at it as a couple of goons
harassed my girlfriend and they need to be taught a lesson.”
“Aw
Rayray.” Annie wrapped her arms around Ray's waist.
***
The next day, Ray waited patiently outside the
court for Brody to show up. Annie sat on the third row of the
bleachers. True to his word, at eleven o'clock sharp, Brody and
Rollin appeared.
“I
see you're not chicken.” Ray prodded.
“Of
course I'm not.” Brody removed his racket from its case with
exaggerated grace. He casually took two practice strokes before
declaring. “I'm ready. How about you?”
“I've been ready.
Just waitin' on you. You'll be pleased to know I've got a fresh can
of balls just for this occasion.”
“Good.
Now let's do this thing. Rollin and I want to get in a match before
class.”
“We'll
see.”
Rollin took Brody's racket case and sat on the
bleachers, one row in front of Annie.
“Do
you want to practice some serves first?” Ray asked.
“Only
if you need
to.”
“Couldn't
hurt.”
Brody motioned with his racket for Ray to
start. Ray took the top ball out of the can and quickly tossed it in
the air. He took a swing, and missed. He threw it up again, this time
he made contact, but the ball failed to make it over the net.
“I
just need to get warmed up.” Ray admitted casually.
He took the next ball from the can, threw it in
to the air and took a swing. The ball hit the net.
He had equally foul luck with the third ball.
Brody laughed and glanced over at Rollin to see
him laughing too. Annie put her hands over her face, preparing
herself for what would likely be an embarrassing landslide.
Ray collected the balls and passed them off to
Brody, who in no time at all had landed all three balls over the net
and in the correct location.
“Alright,
that's enough warm up, let's get this over with. I don't like wasting
my time.”
“You
won't be wasting your time, I can assure you.” Ray said.
“You
can serve first” Brody ordered.
“Let's
spin for it.”
“Fine.
'm' or 'w'?”
“Gotta
go with the 'w' for winner.”
Brody placed his racket upright on the ground
and spun it. It spun round and round, ultimately collapsing on the
clay. “'m'. I serve first.”
“Fair
enough.”
The two men walked to their respective
baselines and the match began. Brody tossed a ball high in to the
blinding sun. “Pop” came the ball as it bounced off his racket
and over the net toward Ray. Without hesitation, Ray raced over to
the ball and hit it hard, sending it back over the net to Brody.
Brody returned it and a volley ensued. Back and forth the ball went,
until Ray managed to land the ball in the empty space behind Brody.
“love,
fifteen” Brody called out through clenched teeth as he prepared his
next serve. With the next ball, the outcome was the same. The men
volleyed the ball back and forth, but Ray managed to land the ball in
just the right location that made it impossible for Brody to return
it. “love, thirty” Next it became “love, forty” and finally
“Zero, one” Ray was in the lead.
“You
just got lucky. Besides, I'm not worried. It's your serve now, I'll
have it tied up in no time.” Brody said and they changed sides.
For good luck, Ray bounced the ball three times
before throwing it in the air. Unlike with his practice serves, Ray
was entirely focused on this shot. His eye never left the ball and
his form was impeccable. His first shot caught Brody off guard as it
landed in fairly at around eighty miles an hour. “Ace!” Ray
yells. “Fifteen, love.”
The next shot was also an ace. “Thirty,
love.”
By the third shot, Brody was ready for what was
coming. He returned Ray's serve, but Ray's return was strategically
placed, leaving Brody no choice but to knock it out. “Forty, love.”
Ray announced proudly.
“You've
really got it coming now.” Brody threatened.
“Pop”.
The serve was good. Brody returned it with force. Ray had to chase
after it, but with a beautiful overarm stroke, he managed to send it
back. “Pop”. Brody hit the ball over Ray's head so that it landed
right before the base line. Ray ran on all cylinders to get to it. He
swung, but missed. “Nobody's perfect.” He admitted. “Forty,
fifteen.” He took his time on his next serve, bouncing the ball
four times instead of the usual three.
High in the air the ball went, followed by a
“pop”.
The ball was hit with so much power, Brody was
ill-prepared. His racket caught a piece of the ball, but sent it
sailing out of bounds. “Two, zero” Ray stated.
The next three set points follow suit. Ray
triumphed over Brody, only letting him score one or two points. Brody
never managed to get ahead. On the sixth and final set point, Ray
pulled an early lead, forty, love. Then something happened. His
serves appeared to be lacking something. Brody caught up, making the
score “forty, forty”.
“This
shot's for all the marbles” Annie shouted as she stood pressed
against the chain-link fence.
“No,
it's not, this is for advantage. The next shot
is for the point.” Rollin said belligerently.
“Oh,
yah. Got overly excited for a minute.”
“Dumbass.”
Rollin scoffed under his breath.
The serve was strong, but the return was
stronger. Ray chased after it, but came up short.
“Ad
Out!” He shouted.
“Take
your time Ray! Don't rush. Get this serve right. You can goose egg
this chump!” Annie yelled.
Before the next serve, Ray closed his eyes
briefly, appearing to clear his head. He then bounced the ball three
times and commenced with the serve. Brody offered a quick return, but
Ray was all over it. He knocked the ball back over the net. Brody
dove for it, and tapped it weakly back over. Wasting no time, Ray
sprint toward for the ball. He thrust his racket out, barely catching
it before it hit the ground. The ball bounced softly over the net and
out of reach from Brody.
Annie cheered wildly.
Returning to their positions, Brody offered an
icy glare, which Ray ignored.
“Forty
all!” Ray announced.
The next serve was quick. Ray served, Brody
returned, and Ray spiked the ball back. Brody shot it over the net,
but Ray aimed his stroke for Brody's head. Brody ducked out of the
way and the ball landed fairly near the baseline.
“Ad
in!”
At last the point that could decide the match.
Ray took his time with this serve. As he needed was one more point
and he would have Brody beat.
Three bounces later, up went the ball. “Pop”.
It bounced off the racket and sailed to the other side of the court.
The serve carried so much force, Brody miscalculated and swung too
early. “Whoosh”. His racket caught all air as the ball bounced on
past.
Annie jumped up and down, clapping and
screaming.
Ray triumphantly threw his hands up in the air.
Brody tossed his racket to the ground in anger.
It was obvious he was saying choice words to himself.
Rollin opened the gate and ran on to the court,
Annie was not far behind him. She ran to Ray, jumping into his arms,
giving him a bear hug.
Rollin and Brody remained where they are,
looking bitter.
“Suck
it, jerkwads!” Annie shoued.
“Well
gentlemen, I win. Looks like this court belongs to Annie and I. We
can do with it as we please. So if you don't mind, please get off our
court. We plan on using it right away.”
Brody and Rollin turned and walked away. As
they went, Brody gave Ray the bird, which he casually dismissed with
a wave of his finger and a scoff.
“You
did it Ray! I am so proud of you!”
“Thank
you, Annie. See I told you I knew what I was doing.”
“When
did you play tennis though? You've never mentioned it.”
“All
through middle school and high school.”
“What?
You knew I played, why didn't you say something, we could've been
playing all along!”
“I
didn't say anything because I knew if we played, there would be a
chance I'd win. If I beat you, you might feel discouraged. And that
might cause you to rethink trying out for the college team.”
“So
you were trying not to hurt my feelings?”
“Sort
of. I saw how happy tennis made you feel and I didn't want to take
that away from you.”
“I
see. So you think if we play, there is a chance you could beat me so
bad it would hurt my feelings eh? That sounds like a challenge to me
”
“Ah
I see you want to take on the pro. In that case, let's not waste any
more time, let's get a game going right away.”
“Rest
first though. You earned it.”
“Alright.
Go grab your gear an get warmed up. I'll wait here in case those
no-nothings decide to come back and pull a fast one.”
“You've
got it! Say, I think we would make a formidable doubles team.”
“I
like your thinking.”
She gave him a kiss on the mouth before running
off to her dorm to grab her racket.
THE END
