A Brighter Tomorrow: My Journey with Julie

Stinger urges me to pass him the ball, but I’m not going to give him that satisfaction. I jump to try for the two points, but Tracy is quicker and taller and blocks my shot.

Stinger shoots me a disgusted look and snaps that he was open. I’m just as mad, so I let him have it, asking why I should pass to him when he doesn’t pass to me.

Julie steps in and cautions that we’re behind. If we don’t do something fast, we’re going to lose. I know Julie’s right, so I take a few deep breaths to calm down.

But the next time Stinger gets the ball, and the next, he still only passes to T.J. I’m so frustrated I can feel the heat rising in my chest. Julie has the ball and tries to bounce it to me, but it deflects off Tracy’s hand and bounces between Stinger and me. We both dive for it and end up in a tangled heap on the ground.

Mike grabs the ball and runs in for an easy two points. T.J. yells at us that we’re on the same team and asks what we’re doing. Stinger gives me a dirty look, and I give it back. The game continues, but it feels like two different games: Tracy and Mike versus Julie and T.J., and me versus Stinger.

When the game ends, our team has lost and I’m angrier than ever. I tell Stinger that it’s all his fault. Julie glances at me hesitantly, looks down, and doesn’t say a word.

T.J. says I wasn’t playing fair either. Both Stinger and I were trying so hard to keep the ball away from each other that we forgot about the rest of the team. I ask him what he means.

Stinger interrupts and counters that he just wanted to win, and he could have if he didn’t have to play with girls.

I shout at him that we lost because he’s a ball hog. He tells me not to get my ponytail in a twist, that girls are always blaming someone else.

I look at Julie, who’s shaking her head. She says that maybe it’s true, that girls and boys can’t play together.

My breath catches in my throat. I forgot what this game was really about. I challenged the teenagers to a game so Julie could prove to Stinger, and to herself, that she deserves a spot on the basketball team. Instead, I focused on giving Stinger a taste of his own medicine and lost the game for my team.

I tell Julie that’s not true, that boys and girls can play together. Tracy and Mike did well; they were a good team. I scan her face for a sign of hope, but she looks completely dejected. I turn to the boys and ask them to back me up.

Stinger crosses his arms, but when he sees the look in T.J.’s eyes, he softens. He says I’m right, that he and I just got carried away.

I tell Julie that our team didn’t lose the game; Stinger and I did. We’re all silent for a moment, then Stinger admits he’s sorry, too. He adds that Julie is a solid player and would be a good Jaguar.

Stinger’s words hang in the air. Julie and T.J. look at each other, unable to believe what they just heard. Stinger blushes and changes the subject, snatching the ball from Julie and bouncing it to me. He asks me to show them the Hula Hoop move again.

I show off, and then Stinger tries it, then Julie and T.J. After a few minutes, even Tracy and Mike are spinning and twirling around the court trying to copy my move. Julie catches my eye, and I see the sparkle back in it. I’m glad I said what I did about why we lost. It feels better to be laughing and working together than pulling in opposite directions.

Finally, Julie makes my move, and the ball swishes through the basket. I catch it and toss it to Stinger, then tell her it’s time for me to go, but I bet she’ll be teaching the Hula Hoop to the rest of the Jaguar team soon. She grins, gives me a hug, then darts off after Stinger and the ball. I find a hidden spot between some bushes, quickly slip off the mood ring, and before I know it, I’m back home.