Christmas Shorts

What's in a Game?

Kirk was glad his PE clothes were comfortable, because his sweat would have made wearing them that much more unbearable. He hadn't even taken part in more than the minimal warm-ups customary to his class, and already his pores had begun pumping half his body moisture right out onto his gym shirt. He wished he didn't get so nervous when he had made plans to do something daring, but he couldn't help it. His inward squirming manifested itself as profuse perspiration whether he liked it or not.

It was the last day before Christmas vacation, and Kirk and his group of friends all decided together they would try to do something out of their comfort zone. One of the daring high-school friends claimed he was going to ask out a girl he liked, while another said he was going to sign up for the Spring Musical. The others proudly proclaimed their plans, and when they asked Kirk what he would do, he simply replied, "I'm going to play basketball."

His friends didn't even have to ask him of the specifics of such a statement. They all knew. One might think on hearing Kirk make his proclamation that he meant he would try out for the school basketball team, or that he had some sort of sport phobia. However, neither was the case. Kirk loved playing basketball with his Grandfather and cousins every time he visited his extended family. It was one of his favorite family pastimes. Basketball held a special place in his heart, which was why this year's PE class had been quite painful to get through.

There were several of Kirks classmates that considered themselves quite the NBA material, and they were unfortunately put on Kirks class team. Their PE teacher, Coach Rawley, as he preferred to be called, decided to pair up teams of students from his classes for the entirety of the semester to play basketball two times every week during PE. At first Kirk was excited to work with other students on a long-term class team, but the other six students fancied themselves expert players. At first his teammates let him play while Coach Rawley was watching, but the minute he walked away, they would force him to sit on the bench. After only three weeks into the semester, they all but ignored him and wouldn't let him onto the court during the class games.

Kirk was a kindhearted and quiet soul, and didn't often feel the courage to speak up for himself. There were a few half-hearted attempts on his part to ask his classmates if he could play, but he was met with, "Maybe next time," or more often, "No way! We want to win!"

It wasn't that Kirk was horrible at the game, he just didn't have the caliber of skill the others wanted to see. He considered many times asking Coach Rawley to set things straight, but he was afraid of the social ramifications of bringing an adult into the situation. He was constantly reminded by his parents that he should always inform an authority figure if there were bullies, or students causing trouble, but he never brought himself to do so in this situation.

At least, he didn't until the day before Christmas break was to start. He told himself he would ask his teammates one more time to include him that day, and if they didn't, he would ask Coach Rawley to make things right.

Kirk wished he was more like a certain Sci-Fi captain, the character for whom he was named after. He also wished he could ask Scotty to "beam him up" and out of this situation.

But there was no way he wanted to back out of his decision, as trivial as it might seem to other people. He wanted to do it for his self-respect, and for the justice of the situation. No one deserved to be treated like he had been by his classmates.

Kirk took a deep breath and approached three of the team members. "Hey Joe," said Kirk with a friendly tone. "I think it would be great if I played today. I haven't had much court time this semester, and Coach Rawley said this is the last game. Next semester will be a different sport."