When I was 12, I was once chosen to be a part of the intra-school girl’s handball team. I was not chosen because I am a handball star or because I am at least good at sports in general. No. I was chosen because a team member did not show up and they did not find anyone else at the 11th hour.
So the captain said to me “Listen Prachi, this is your spot??, the ball almost never comes here but be vigilant. If it comes to you, catch and throw over the net. It’s not that tough.”
I was so pumped. If and when the ball came to me, I was going to catch it and throw it at the yellow team so hard and they will miss and the captain will feel sorry for having put me in that spot.
The game started and the ball went to and fro, to and fro. I was meticulously following every move and thinking ‘this could have been done better this way’. Our team was doing well. But then a girl at the right corner missed a catch and the ball went off in the corner of the field where a brown puppy was digging a hole in the ground. Now be honest about this, hasn’t cartoon network conditioned you to think that there is a treasure under the ground if a brown dog is digging it? But I had seen crime movies as a child also, yes I was that child. There could have been a dead body buried under my school playground. Imagine if the police came and they declared a holiday. Would I want to go home or stay a while and try to find out…*ball hits Prachi in the face real hard*
The world shakes for a while right after which the captain shot me a look and breathed “pay attention” under her breath and I can swear she said moron in her head.
The ball went to and fro several times again till I saw some birds flying by. I think they were hummingb…*ball hits head again*
I don’t know who played the other half of that game in my place but I never saw the face of that playground again.
9 years later I was chosen to be a part of an Intra-family badminton tournament. The shuttle hurt me a little when it landed on my right cheek while I stared at the birds’ nest in the perfect lighting that would make a good photo. Never saw the end of that match either.
