English Essays

Short Story: Sport

Write a short story in which a sport has a deep significance for the main character.

As Megan and Scott entered the reception area, anyone could tell that the two were experiencing completely different emotions. Megan glanced nervously at her coach while he signed the two of them in. The draws had been announced days ago, and she still didn't want to believe the reality of the situation. As if playing centre court for the first time at Wimbledon wasn't stressful enough, she had to be playing Natalie Avery, ranked world number eleven, and considered the best British tennis player of the twenty-first century. The entire country would be cheering for her to crush Megan and break into the prestigious top ten.

"Do some stretching, eat your banana, and focus on how you're going to dismantle Avery's game point by point. I'll be back in a minute," Scott instructed.

"Where are you going?" Megan asked.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I'm nervous too," He smiled encouragingly, giving Megan a smack on the shoulder. Too anxious to sit, Megan paced the training room and tried to stretch out her calves. She could overhear the other players gossiping about who was in the crowd, the royal box, and of course, their favourites to win the men's singles. She gulped subconsciously as she saw Natalie enter the room, dressed head to toe in the latest Nike gear, instantly gaining several compliments from the other women. Just as Megan took a bite out of her banana, an announcement came over the ceiling speakers. "Attention, players. Natalie Avery and Megan Rodgers, please report to the tournament desk to be escorted to your court. Your match is scheduled to begin in three minutes,"

Megan watched as Natalie sauntered out of the room, and dumped the peel of her snack in the bin. She slung her enormous racket bag over her shoulder as if it weighed nothing, even though jammed inside were six tennis rackets, a roll of grip tape, two bottles of water, wristbands, and a change of clothes. Scott was outside the door waiting. "Remember, as much spin as you can. She struggles when the ball jumps high. Take advantage of your height over hers and force her to hit high ones, especially on backhand, okay?"

Megan nodded warily, eyeing up the bright white light surrounding the entrance to the court. Her opponent was also discussing with her coach. Their eyes met for the briefest moment and they each nodded. They'd only met once before, at the French Open, but had never played competitively. The two coaches left to take their seats in the players' box, and the women were left by themselves. Although the two women walked onto the court at the same time, the audience cheered extra loudly for Natalie, the hometown favourite. However, it didn't matter who they were cheering for; Megan's pulse began to race the exact same it did before every match, big or small. Only this time she felt a tingling wave of sensation across her chest, a fluttering anxiety and excitement so strong she felt almost sick. She allowed herself a quick look up into the stands.

She was surrounded by the great bulk of the stadium, with thousands and thousands of spectators rising up ever higher until they disappeared into the shadows at the very top. She felt the thrill of the crowd she walked to her end of the court, the perfectly striped grass glowing beneath her feet. There was a clatter of applause, echoing upwards, and then sudden stillness. Photographers hung, vulture-like, over huge telephoto lenses, while beneath them in green-covered bunkers, television cameras swung around to capture the first serve. The players faced each other. A coin toss had decided that Avery would serve first. Megan's throat dried up, as she spun her racket between her hands a couple of times, waiting. Her breath hitched as she saw Avery toss the ball, and smack it right down the line, whizzing past Megan's shoulder like a bullet. Megan hadn't even been able to make contact with it and the crowd clapped madly.

It took forty-six minutes for Avery to win the first set. Megan mentally yelled at herself and turned to gesture for three tennis balls from the ball girl. She caught the eye of her stony faced coach. "You need to up your game!" Scott barked at her, rallying harder with Megan.

"I'm trying my best," Megan breathed, rushing to thwack the ball across the net. It bounced directly on the bassline and Scott smiled. "Now that was your best,"

Megan shook her head frowning. "There's no way I can compete at Wimbledon if I can barely beat you," She said bitterly, wrapping a towel around her neck and sitting down on the bench.

"Yes you can. Forget everything else. You get one opportunity at life, one chance at life to do whatever you're going to do. So lay your foundation. Make whatever mark you're going to make. Whatever legacy you're going to leave, leave your legacy. You make sure they remember the day Megan Rodgers played at Wimbledon,"

Megan bit the inside of her cheek hard. The intense summer heat was exhausting. The hair that came loose out of her ponytail had stuck on her forehead and cheeks like a second skin. She watched Avery's movements like a hawk, judging where she was going to hit and what shot she was going to use. Megan could see her frustration levels rising like steam out of a kettle, and once Avery had thrown down her racket in anger, Megan knew she had this match in the bag.

After serving, Megan dashed to the net for a volley, slicing it into the corner perfectly. She took the opportunity to play a drop shot; knowing Avery was not quick enough to reach a well-placed one. Megan squinted up at the scoreboard after Avery did a double fault, and exhilaration swept through her. It was match point. She took a deep breath and got into the ready position.

The two players broke their longest rally of the match, and gained the crowd's love for it. Scrambling from tramline to tramline, Avery finally hit the ball wide, Megan shouted triumphantly, and the match was won. Megan wiped her face with her wristband, and walked over to Avery, proud that those years of Scott's hellish training had paid off. The crowd sprung up, sending a smile on both women's faces, as they reached over the net to shake hands. Avery offered her a pat on the back, and breathed, "Well played. You've got some talent Megan," She smiled warmly, though traces of disappointment lingered on her face, and Megan grinned, ecstatic to be complimented by one of her idols.

She grabbed her racket bag and headed towards the exit. She was stunned by the number of children holding out all different sized tennis balls for her to sign, and as Natalie joined her, she handed Megan a pen. Megan took in the moment, signing as many tennis balls as she could reach before giving a final wave goodbye to the crowd.