Read Like Jazz for Free Online

lifted.
    “I do.” After several moments, Sarah headed toward the front of the bus.
    She was giving me space, heeding my silent plea to be left alone. Having spent my life on the periphery, it was a message I was used to sending, a shield I was adept at raising. Yet never had I felt so alone as when she walked away.

Chapter Three
     
    At our rival’s tennis club, which was very swanky compared to our modest on-school-premises tennis courts, Coach pulled us into an unoccupied court. “Primrose High is our toughest competition, and I intend for us to give them their best fight. We’ll be switching things around from what you’re used to. Normally, we try to win sets, but this is going to come down to winning games. If we tie in sets, the squad with the most games will win this meet. Instead of our usual one-two-three singles players going toe-to-toe with our opponents, today I’m putting our top singles players together as doubles teams and moving some of our doubles players to singles. Joanie and Sandra, you’re our new number-one doubles team. Sarah and Cassidy, number two. Rachel and Kristin, number three. Jennifer, Barbara, and Olivia, you’re our top singles players for the day. Remember, we’re fighting for every game. Let’s do it.”
    Sarah and I split our first two matches, barely leading the games column by one, as we lost our first match 5-7 and won our second 6-3. This was our third and final match. We were behind three games to four when Coach told us as we switched sides that ours was the last match in play. Behind her we could see some of our teammates filing into the nearby bleacher seats. Total matches scheduled: eighteen. Seventeen had played, and the games totals favored Primrose by one, excluding our current match. Since the winner had to win by two games, the prevailing doubles team would mean the difference between winning or losing the meet. No pressure.
    As I prepared to serve, Sarah joined me at the baseline and tried to pump me up. “You can do this, Cazz. We can beat these chicks.” My first serve fell well wide to the forehand side. The girl then pounded my second serve down the line past Sarah’s stab volley for a winner. That was indicative of most of the game. Although we got them to deuce, my first serve then failed me twice, and we lost the game due to my weak second serve. 3-5: one game away from losing the match.
    This Primrose girl had the weaker serve of the two. Sarah ruthlessly clobbered the return on both serves, as did I. With two of our returns clean winners and the other two so well placed that our opponents’ shots didn’t clear the net, it was Sarah’s turn to serve, 4-5. I felt a slight surge in confidence at the prospect, knowing how hard her serve was to return. Her first serve caught the net and barely exceeded the service line for a fault. Our opponent attacked her second serve, hitting it right at me, forcing me to defend myself with a volley, which luckily landed beyond reach on the sideline. The game’s other points ended in similar fashion, and we were soon even at 5-5.
    The Primrose girl with the stronger serve caught the outside line, causing Sarah to stretch wide to her forehand. Thinking the girl at net would get the volley, I moved back, hoping to reduce the size of no-man’s-land between Sarah and me. The girl at net hit a backhand volley to my feet, and I was able to scoop it up and send it back over her head. Her partner returned the lob with a shallow one, and Sarah rushed forward for the easy overhead smash. Love-fifteen. We high-fived each other.
    “Let’s go, Cazz. Show ’em what you got.” I nodded, and Sarah jogged to her place at net. The next serve went in down the line, and though I barely got my racket on it, the return was deep. The server girl hit a solid forehand up the middle that Sarah anticipated and volleyed at a short angle, past our opponents.
    “Way to go, Sarah.” Love-thirty. We split the next two points. Fifteen-forty.