Chapter Eight

Making Up

The next day was the Panthers’ last practice before their first game. Asiyah had her best practice yet. She was making digs, blocking balls, and spiking well.

During a break, Asiyah walked over to the net. She wanted to spend extra time on a side blocking drill they had just learned.

She took a step to the side, turned, and jumped. I’m so close to getting this right, Asiyah thought. I’ll do it a few more times to make sure I’m ready for tomorrow’s match.

When she felt good, she went to grab her water bottle. Lucy, Shivani, and Jessica were sitting on the bleachers.

“Hey, we just saw you doing extra work,” Lucy said. “Nice job out there!”

“Yeah, you really got the hang of that side block,” Shivani added.

“Thanks!” Asiyah said. She walked back toward the court. Lucy followed behind.

“Asiyah, hold up a second,” Lucy said.

Uh-oh. Has Lucy noticed that I’ve been avoiding her? Asiyah wondered. Then she said, “What’s up?”

“You’ve been so quiet around me lately,” Lucy said. “Is everything OK?”

Asiyah shrugged. “Everything’s fine. I’ve just been focusing on volleyball.”

“That’s totally paid off,” Lucy said. “But . . . is something else going on? It almost feels like you’re mad at me.”

I can’t keep avoiding this, Asiyah thought. I miss my friend. I have to talk to her sometime.

“Well,” Asiyah started. “Last week, I heard you, Shivani, and Jessica saying that I needed to get more serious about the team. It kind of hurt my feelings.”

Lucy looked at her shoes. “Oh! I’m so sorry. It’s just that the other girls and I had been working so hard, and it seemed like you were goofing off. I got upset.”

“I was only trying to make sure everyone had fun,” Asiyah said. “I really do care about the team.”

“I know you do. Can you forgive me?” Lucy asked.

Asiyah was quiet, but then she nodded. “You’re my best friend, no matter what. Plus, I get now that it’s not fun when everyone is trying to focus and one person isn’t. So I’ve been giving practices my best effort.”

“It shows!” Lucy said. “You’ve already improved so much.”

Asiyah smiled. “You know, at first I wasn’t sure if the travel team was right for me. But I actually like pushing myself to get better. And I definitely don’t want to let the team down.”

Lucy hugged Asiyah. “You won’t,” she replied. “I can’t wait to play our first game with you by my side.”

“Me too,” Asiyah said. She held out her hand for a high-five, and Lucy slapped it. “We’ll be unstoppable travel-team buddies!”