end of my pen. “Just thank you. That’s all really.” I kept writing. I can’t do this. I’m not good enough.
“Well, come on up here. Your first order of business is to choose a co-captain.”
I closed the notebook and stuck it under my bottom so that I was sitting on it. “I’d rather not choose. Why don’t we just give it to the person who got the next highest number of votes?” I assumed the votes were for Tiffany and hoped that being cocaptain would curb some of the resentment that was probably flowing like a tidal wave in my direction.
“All right then. Anne, you came in second place with five votes, so I guess that makes you co-captain.”
“What?” Anne shrieked.
Jennifer leaned over and stuck her chin on my shoulder. “I don’t even want to look Tiffany’s direction.”
I nodded.
“How is that possible?” Tiffany’s voice erupted from a group of girls in front of me. “I’d like a recount.”
Coach Tyler looked down at Tiffany and handed her the ballots. “Feel free to count them. They’re all right there.”
She snatched them out of Coach’s hand and flipped through them. “I’d like a public vote.”
“That isn’t necessary, Tiffany. You see the ballots; no need to redo the vote.” Coach grabbed the forms back out of Tiffany’s hand. “You received the remaining two votes. You came in third.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I specifically had commitments from over half of the squad that they were voting in my favor. Something went wrong.”
“Or people didn’t want to tell you the truth to your face,” Jennifer added. “It is what it is, Tiffany. Attie and Anne are captains. Get over it.”
And so it was. My first day as captain was a complete and utter nightmare.
As Anne and I tried to corral everyone for a quick practice before the game, Tiffany individually terrorized each and every girl, demanding they admit whom they voted for. While Mandi, Jina, Casi, Christy, Trish, and Blair refused to answer, Brandee and Mary ran the other direction. Nobody wanted the wrath of Tiffany on them—not even me.
Midway through practice, she ended up “spraining her ankle” and sat out the rest of the time. Once she was no longer in the picture, practice improved, and harmony ended up winning out.
Coach called the girls together so that I could talk to them about a few business matters.
In a desperate attempt to keep my nervous energy contained, I curled my toes inside my shoes and hoped it would stay there rather than have it run up my legs, through my body, and make my voice shake. I didn’t know how they’d feel about having to wear sweats at their first game for no other reason than my uniform issues.
“I’m sure you’ve heard already, but my uniform came back a wee bit small—completely unwearable, actually. So, for the game tonight, our uniform will be our rain resistant pants and the regular uniform top.”
“Why should the rest of us have to suffer because your skirt’s too small?” Tiffany asked, walking toward the squad with no sign of a limp.
Coach Tyler and I quickly exchanged knowing glances.
“Because we’re a team, Tiffany,” Anne said. “And that’s what a team does.”
I ignored both of them. “Ironically, I hear it is supposed to rain tonight, so go ahead and bring all your rain gear just in case. We’ll meet up at the field in a few hours for warm-up. Any questions?”
I dreaded a response from Tiffany, but she somehow managed to keep her mouth shut.
“Great. Thanks everyone. See you at six-fifteen.”
Tiffany walked to within inches of me and perched her hands on her hips. “So how’d you do it?”
Jennifer was right behind her. “Jealous much?”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Jen. I was talking to Attie.”
“I didn’t do anything, Tiffany. I didn’t ask anyone to vote for me; it just happened, and I’m not apologizing for it.”
“Well, it should be an interesting season. Let’s see how good you are at keeping your
“Well, come on up here. Your first order of business is to choose a co-captain.”
I closed the notebook and stuck it under my bottom so that I was sitting on it. “I’d rather not choose. Why don’t we just give it to the person who got the next highest number of votes?” I assumed the votes were for Tiffany and hoped that being cocaptain would curb some of the resentment that was probably flowing like a tidal wave in my direction.
“All right then. Anne, you came in second place with five votes, so I guess that makes you co-captain.”
“What?” Anne shrieked.
Jennifer leaned over and stuck her chin on my shoulder. “I don’t even want to look Tiffany’s direction.”
I nodded.
“How is that possible?” Tiffany’s voice erupted from a group of girls in front of me. “I’d like a recount.”
Coach Tyler looked down at Tiffany and handed her the ballots. “Feel free to count them. They’re all right there.”
She snatched them out of Coach’s hand and flipped through them. “I’d like a public vote.”
“That isn’t necessary, Tiffany. You see the ballots; no need to redo the vote.” Coach grabbed the forms back out of Tiffany’s hand. “You received the remaining two votes. You came in third.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I specifically had commitments from over half of the squad that they were voting in my favor. Something went wrong.”
“Or people didn’t want to tell you the truth to your face,” Jennifer added. “It is what it is, Tiffany. Attie and Anne are captains. Get over it.”
And so it was. My first day as captain was a complete and utter nightmare.
As Anne and I tried to corral everyone for a quick practice before the game, Tiffany individually terrorized each and every girl, demanding they admit whom they voted for. While Mandi, Jina, Casi, Christy, Trish, and Blair refused to answer, Brandee and Mary ran the other direction. Nobody wanted the wrath of Tiffany on them—not even me.
Midway through practice, she ended up “spraining her ankle” and sat out the rest of the time. Once she was no longer in the picture, practice improved, and harmony ended up winning out.
Coach called the girls together so that I could talk to them about a few business matters.
In a desperate attempt to keep my nervous energy contained, I curled my toes inside my shoes and hoped it would stay there rather than have it run up my legs, through my body, and make my voice shake. I didn’t know how they’d feel about having to wear sweats at their first game for no other reason than my uniform issues.
“I’m sure you’ve heard already, but my uniform came back a wee bit small—completely unwearable, actually. So, for the game tonight, our uniform will be our rain resistant pants and the regular uniform top.”
“Why should the rest of us have to suffer because your skirt’s too small?” Tiffany asked, walking toward the squad with no sign of a limp.
Coach Tyler and I quickly exchanged knowing glances.
“Because we’re a team, Tiffany,” Anne said. “And that’s what a team does.”
I ignored both of them. “Ironically, I hear it is supposed to rain tonight, so go ahead and bring all your rain gear just in case. We’ll meet up at the field in a few hours for warm-up. Any questions?”
I dreaded a response from Tiffany, but she somehow managed to keep her mouth shut.
“Great. Thanks everyone. See you at six-fifteen.”
Tiffany walked to within inches of me and perched her hands on her hips. “So how’d you do it?”
Jennifer was right behind her. “Jealous much?”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Jen. I was talking to Attie.”
“I didn’t do anything, Tiffany. I didn’t ask anyone to vote for me; it just happened, and I’m not apologizing for it.”
“Well, it should be an interesting season. Let’s see how good you are at keeping your
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