Star

Emma walked into the gym of St. Francis' school. Her team was here for a volleyball tournament, and they had lost every game so far. She looked around, and her eyes landed on a slender girl sitting on the bleachers. Emma recognized her as Anastasia, the outside hitter from the St. Francis team. She had been playing against her for years in both volleyball and basketball. Anastasia was tall, with short blond hair and an athletic build. Emma walked towards Anastasia, and the other girl looked up at her, not meeting Emma's gray-blue eyes. "Hey! Nice hits in your last game. You're the outside hitter, right? Your hits are amazing." Emma stood there, but the girl didn't respond. Then,

"Hey!" a voice greeted to her right, and Emma turned to see another girl standing there. This girl was about five foot eight with blond hair and deep brown eyes. Her hair was streaked with highlights, and she had a slender, well-muscled build. Emma recognized her as Stella, the middle of St. Francis.

"Hello," Emma smiled. Stella smiled back, her eyes squinting as she smiled. The two began to talk and sat down in the bleachers.

Stella and Emma sat and talked for the entire game, watching Lake Region play Redstorm.

"Wow, they are literally being carried by one player," Stella said, looking at the court.

"Which team?" Emma asked.

"Lake Region," Stella said, motioning to the court. Emma looked out on the court, and her eyes landed on the middle hitter, number 14.

"Nikole," Emma said aloud, looking at the five eight Lake Region player. Stella nodded. Both girls recognized her from past years of sports.

"I always considered her more of a basketball player," Stella said.

Emma shrugged. She hadn't been in Varsity sports as much. "I remember playing her last year for basketball," she said aloud. "That was such a fun game! And she's clearly the best player on their volleyball team."

Stella nodded her agreement, studying the court. As the game continued, Emma began to feel random bursts of emotion: happiness, sadness, anxiety, anger, and other random feelings. She brushed them out of the way and waved goodbye to Stella as Stella went to take tickets for the people who were still coming in to watch the tournament. Emma got up and walked over to where the team from Chisago was sitting. She spotted Becca, one of Chisago's middle hitters. She was very tall, about six feet, the same height as Emma, with straight blond hair, an oval face, blue eyes, and a slender frame. Emma had talked to Becca once or twice but never in depth.

"Hey, Becca," she said. Becca was sitting with a laptop on her lap. She looked up.

"Hi."

"What's up?"

"Working on my outline for Composition. It is an online PSEO class."

"Really? I'm in that class too!" Emma said and sat down next to her. "What are you doing your report on?" After a few minutes, Mariah, Becca's younger sister, walked up. She looked a lot like Becca, but her hair was lighter and very curly.

"Becca, I found Stella!"

"Really?" Becca asked, and she put her laptop to the side and followed Mariah. Emma trailed behind them to the ticket table, where Stella sat with a few others.

"You know Stella?" Emma asked Becca.

"Yeah, Stella's amazing. I love her so much."

Emma walked back into the gym, and Sunny, a tall, dark-haired Indian girl with long hair and a very slender frame from Woodcrest, walked up to her, carrying her bags.