By: Harshika Gidwani
Hira smiled faintly at her reflection in the mirror. She felt butterflies frolic in her stomach, but she attempted to stay calm. She couldn’t afford to lose anything because of her nerves. She had to grit her teeth and work harder than she’d ever worked before to become the jammer in the bout. Hira was part of a rollerskating team, and she was going to play in her first tournament, which is called a bout in the rollerskating world. In a bout, a person has one of two roles; the first is a blocker, who has to block the jammer from scoring points. A jammer has to rollerskate past the blocker to earn points. At the end of the match, the team with the most points wins. Hira had gotten sore feet, she had been bruised, and completely beaten up for this moment. The moment when they decided who would jam in the bout. She wanted to be the star of the match. “Hira, you coming?” someone asked. Hira swiveled around to see her best friend, Danica, leaning on the doorframe, her rollerskates already on her feet. Hira nodded, then turned to strap her own. She pulled the buckles tight– probably tighter than she should have– then skated out onto the blinding arena. Once there, spotlights glared down on the skaters and their coaches. Her other teammates were standing against the wall in a strict formation, waiting for the coaches to give them their signal to race. Hira joined the ranks, then stared at her coaches. Ms. Hailey skated to them and announced, “Racing shall commence in one minute. Remember: this is how we will determine who will jam and who will block. Try your best to be the fastest, and we don’t mind a little hitting. Just make sure it isn’t a hit that will land you in the penalty box.” Ms. Hailey gestured to the sad row of seats next to the arena, and everyone shuddered. “On your marks. Get set. Go!” in one thunderous second, everyone took off at blinding speed. Hira’s vision turned into a blur as she skated and dodged. The end wall, which was the finish line, was inching closer. First, it was thirty feet away, then ten. It quickly turned into five, then within an arm’s length. Her palm slapped the wall and an airhorn blew to mark the end of the race. “Well done, Hira!” Ms. Hailey said, beaming down at her student. Hira felt a grin spread across her face. Danica flashed her a thumbs-up, and her other coach, Ms. Fern, nodded approvingly, but one girl glared rudely at Hira. The girl, Julia, had desperately wanted to be jammer, but since she made it to the wall after Hira, she was most likely going to end being a blocker. However, Hira didn’t give this a second thought. She had made it to the wall first! Hopefully she’d become a jammer . . . “The jammer in tomorrow’s bout will be Hira Gupta!” Ms. Fern shouted. Hira whooped. “Tomorrow is going to be awesome!” Hira said to herself excitedly. *** “Hira, wear this,” Ms. Hailey slipped a rubbery cover on Hira’s helmet. The bout was in thirty minutes and if Hira had felt butterflies before, these were full-on dragonflies. To stay calm, she examined the helmet cover. It sported a green star on a white and blue striped background. The star was the mark of a jammer, and the rest of the design represented her team. Hira ran a hand over it and felt pride flare through her (and a little fear). Julia was also in the locker room, and she looked mad. A scowl twisted her features, and a glare like a laser beam pointed towards Hira. Hira flinched when she met Julia’s eyes but didn’t have time to concern herself with Julia. She double-checked her buckles, wrist guards, and knee/elbow pads. Then, with a deep breath, she skated out onto the arena. The crowd cheered and shouted her name. She skated around the rink once before lining up with her team. “Work smart, hard, and tough,” they chanted, then they separated to start the bout. Hira could feel every pair of eyes on her as she ducked, dodged, and skated past the other team’s blockers. Each time she flew by the blockers, a loud ding signal indicated that another point had been awarded to her team. The other team’s blockers formed an impenetrable line so she wouldn’t pass. She gritted her teeth and skated faster. Just then, she was knocked aside by someone! “Ow!” Hira shouted, flailing her arms to break her fall. She landed on her face, and her nose started bleeding. “Time out!” Ms. Fern yelled, rushing over to her fallen student and helping her up. She grimaced when she saw Hira’s swollen nose. “You gotta ice that,” she muttered, leading her to the locker room and setting her on a bench. “Wait here. I’ll go get some ice.” Hira nodded, then winced as another wave of pain hit her. Just as she started to massage her face, Julia ran in. “I’m so sorry, Hira! I don’t know what came over me! I just . . .” her voice trailed off as she stared down at her feet in shame. “You did this?” Hira asked incredulously, staring at her teammate in shock. “You hit me? But– we’re on the same team! Why?” “Because I wanted to be the star!” Julia said, balling her fists. “And you got it- and–” “But we’re on the same team!” Hira repeated hysterically, “No matter who the jammer is, we either win or we lose! And now, we have a pretty good chance of losing because of this,” Hira muttered the last part while pinching her nose. “What?” “Look, this is a team sport. We have to work together to win! It’s not one person. It’s all of us!” Hira said. “I got your ice!” Ms. Fern said, handing it to Hira. “Oh, Julia. You’re here. Good.” Her voice flattened, “You’re going to the penalty box.” “What?” Hira and Julia exclaimed in unison. “But she’s our best blocker and–” Hira started. “And the person who hit you for no reason,” Ms. Fern said. Julia lowered her head in shame. “Oka–” “She thought I was the other team’s jammer,” Hira said suddenly. “What?” Hira repeated what she had said firmly. “Oh. Well, In that case, I have to talk to the referee.” Ms. Fern excused herself and left. Julia looked stunned, “Why’d you say that?” “Because we’re a team,” Hira said firmly, “and will win as a team, or lose as a team.” She stretched her hand out to Julia, “Now, let’s do this thing.” Teamwork: You work well as a member of a group or team. You are loyal, reliable, and dedicated to helping your team achieve its goals. Sources: Positivity P2
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