Hues Of Dusk

Chapter 91. My Ace

"Are you kidding me?" Ved questioned in surprise.

I shook my head and showed off my new jersey as if I won an Oscar award. Nikhil and Parth kept scolding me to stop pranking them, and when I told them the whole story, they still didn't believe me.

"I am not joking, guys." I pointed at my name written on my back. "Coach herself gave me this."

"So, would you be playing today?" Nikhil asked.

"Nope. I might be called to replace someone in case of an injury."

"It is okay. I am sure they must have something in mind to put you on the team so early," Ved reasoned, and Parth agreed.

"I think there could be one more surprise for you in store," Parth said excitedly and told me to give them a treat.

I rolled my eyes and since I knew Parth wouldn't let me leave before completing his wish, I bought some snacks for them and went to sit with my teammates who were gossiping about the host college's volleyball team.

"Don't take too much stress. If they try anything on us, they will be disqualified," Payal said and told others to eat.

"But don't you think they should have been disqualified in the second round itself?" I asked.

Everyone nodded and one of the girls told us that because it was the main college which was hosting the whole tournament, there was supposed to be some bias towards their own teams. She was afraid that we might face the same situation and lose the match.

"There is no use fussing over it. We can only work hard and show them that they can't mess with us," Payal growled and cracked her knuckles.

Wow, she is so cool. I will keep a close eye on everyone and learn as much as I can.

With a last word of encouragement, we left for our semi-finals. Just like Payal had said, the host team was making a lot of fouls but judges were ignoring each one of them. It boosted their confidence more and the other team was suffering even after playing their best.

As a result, which looked well scripted, the host team won and secured a spot in the finals. Our captain shook her head and told us to just keep calm and go with the flow. If anything serious happened, she would deal with it and wouldn't let anyone get harmed.

We nodded and got ready for our match. Fortunately, all the other teams played fairly and had the same views on the tournament like us. Thanks to Payal's leadership and great team work, we made it to the finals; I would have danced on the spot to celebrate but I was worried about our next match with the team which was taking advantage of every situation.

Usha Mam assured us and told us not to get afraid of them. She didn't have the outcome in her hands, but she had faith in us and reminded us not to break the rules in the heat of the moment - that's what the other team was banking on.

After ten minutes, the whistle blew and the duel to score more points began. As expected, the host team was using the same tactic and trying to hurt my team members along with scoring points; they were trying to intimidate us.

We were lagging behind and Usha Mam was sporting a pissed off expression. She was glaring at the other team and their Coach, who was encouraging her team to smash us for once and all.

What the actual fuck?

I was relieved when the half time was announced and we were gathered to discuss our play in the first half. Payal and Vice-captain complained about not getting their opinions being considered and other players getting hit by the ball most of the time.