Wild One

47

Within months, Kamryn's volleyball team had qualified for the state championships and made it to the final 6. Then the final 4.

Semi-finals were happening at 6 PM that day so Kamryn was at the school by 9 AM to get on the bus.

The state championship was held in Springfield, and even if they were only in the semi-final round, it was still huge for the small Chicago school.

"Alright girls, we're gonna go out there and we're gonna do our best. If we make it to finals, we'll be staying in the hotel. If we don't, it's gonna be a long bus ride home. Got it?" The coach spoke after everyone was settled and ready to go. The team silently nodded, all of them waiting for the bus to move.

3 hours later, the team pulled up to the arena in Springfield, just in time for their warmup slot. They all got changed into their practice wear and met on the court, with their coach.

"Alright, my starters are; Heather, Lillian, Kamryn, Jenna, Karly, and Taylor. You guys go over to that side, I'll be over in a minute. The rest of you are gonna work with Hannah and get ready for the game," Jamie stated, before heading over to the starting group.

"Pepper drill, let's go," she told the girls, watching as they warmed up.

They were able to spend a few hours running drills and preparing before it was time to get ready for the actual game.

Jay and Hailey had made it before, with enough time before to stop and see their daughter.

"Hey you," Jay smiled, hugging his daughter as she came over to them.

"Hey. How was the drive?" She asked as she hugged Hailey next.

"Pretty good, not too crowded," Jay smiled, "How you feeling? You ready?"

"Uh yeah," she nodded but gave a nervous smile when her parents looked at her, "I'm really nervous, I just hope we get to the finals,"

"I think you will. You guys have been pretty solid all year," Hailey nodded, "You starting?"

"Yeah, back middle,"

"Alright, go kick some butt," Jay smiled, giving her one last hug before she hugged Hailey and ran off to be with her team.

——————

"On the left side for Jefferson High school out of Chicago. Number 11, Heather Wheeler; number 17, Lillian Tate; number 29, Jenna Markinson; number 21, Kamryn Halstead; number 10, Karly Jacobs; and number 7, Taylor Arkand," The announcer boomed, the crowd clapping as they all stepped forward.

"Think she's ready?" Hailey asked, watching Kamryn as she went to her spot.

"She'll be fine, I think you're more nervous than she is," Jay chuckled, putting an arm around her.

"Probably," She nodded, watching as the game started.

Everything was going really well for the first 2 sets of the game and Kamryn was making a lot of contact with the ball. With one final set, the team was ahead by one with hopes to score one more point and move on to the finals.

The last ball came over low, making Kamryn dive for it and bump it off to their setter, Jenna, who sent it to Heather, who spiked it over the net, all of them watching as it hit the ground and won them the game. The whole crowd went crazy, as well as the girls playing.

"We made it to the finals!" Heather screeched, all of them jumping up and down as they celebrated.

As soon as they were let out, all of the parents were right outside the court area. Kamryn immediately ran into a hug from both of her parents, still with the biggest smile on her face.

"You were amazing honey!" Hailey smiled from ear to ear.

"I can't believe we actually made it!" Kamryn beamed as she pulled away.

"I knew you would. You guys have been working so hard for this," Jay chuckled, walking Kam out to the bus.

As soon as everyone was on, their coach stood at the front giving our room assignments. Kamryn was put with Heather, Lillian, and Jenna, which was a good chunk of her friend group.

Once they were at the hotel, everyone got checked in, showered, and prepared for bed. Heather, Lillian, and Jenna all fell asleep quickly but Kam laid awake, anxious about the day ahead.

Around 2 AM and after hours of trying everything she could think of, she grabbed her room key and wallet, before heading out of the room and to the front desk.

"Can I help you, hun?" The woman behind the desk asked.

"Can you tell me what room Jay and Hailey Halstead booked?"

"I'm sorry hun, but I can't give out the room numbers of our guests,"

"I'm their daughter," she said as she pulled her driver's license out and set it on the desk, "I really need to see them,"

The receptionist nodded and picked up the phone, calling their room and waking Hailey up.

"Hello?" She sighed, laying back as she held the phone.

"Hi, this is the front desk. I have a Kamryn Halstead asking for your guy's room number. Is it okay to send her up?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Hailey nodded, before setting the phone back down. She pulled out her own phone to text Jamie.

Hailey: Hey Jamie, Kamryn is coming to our room tonight. Probably some anxiety, I'll make sure she gets to the bus in the morning.

Kamryn came up pretty quickly and hugged her mom immediately when she got to the room.

"What's going on?"

"What if I fail?" She asked, holding onto Hailey.

"You won't baby," Hailey sighed, "you're gonna do great,"

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm your mom. And I just know," she nodded, taking her over to the other bed in their room, "come on, get in,"

Kamryn nodded and got tucked into the covers, laying there for a minute until she fell sound asleep with her mom by her side.