Gemotions

The clipboard felt heavy in Maya's hand. She flipped through the roster, the names blurring into meaningless shapes. Her name wasn't there. Not under Varsity, not under Junior Varsity, not even under the 'Tryout Cuts' section. The coach’s words from earlier echoed in her head, distant and hollow. "We saw potential, Maya, but…" The sentence remained unfinished, hanging in the air like a poorly thrown volleyball. She slowly walked towards the bleachers, the setting sun casting long shadows across the empty court. The air was already starting to get chilly.

She sat, her back straight against the hard wood. The squeak of shoes and the thud of basketballs continued, but they were background noise now. She looked up at the clock, its hands moving toward a time when she wouldn’t be on the court. Her shoulders slumped forward and she wrapped her arms around herself.