Chapter Five

ACE

During practice Bella played with Jack and Zac against Teesha, Scott, and me. When she served the ball, it sailed toward my corner, heading out of bounds. I was so sure it would go out of bounds that I didn’t even jump for it.

But it landed with a plop on the corner. In bounds.

“Nice ace!” Jack congratulated Bella.

It was a good ace. But I didn’t tell Bella that.

Since they won the rally, they served the ball again. Zac served underhand, but his ball went nowhere near our side. It launched crookedly upward then fell to the side.

“Come on, Zac!” I yelled. “We need to keep our serves in.”

Bella walked over to Zac. “I see your problem,” she said. “You’re hitting the ball too late. Don’t wait for it to drop to your hand. Instead, swing your arm up to hit the ball halfway. Then you’ll get some height. And better aim, too.”

“Try it again, Zac,” Coach said, nodding.

“There wouldn’t be any do-overs during a real match,” I muttered.

Zac served and the ball came straight toward me. I bumped it to Teesha, who spiked the ball hard. It almost went over the net, but fell to our side.

“Come on, Teesha!” I groaned. “That was an easy spike.”

Then Bella’s voice sailed over the net. “Great try, Teesha!” she said. “Just a little higher next time!”

The next time Bella’s team served, I was ready. I launched the ball over the net and, even though Jack and Bella scrambled for it, it plummeted to the sand. Score one for us!

“Excellent!” said Bella.

“Excellent?” I said. “We just scored a point, and you didn’t. You shouldn’t be cheering for us.”

“We’re teammates,” Bella said. “We should always cheer each other on.”

I turned away, tossing the ball to Scott to serve. As we played, Bella’s smile got wider, and my frown got deeper. My team only scored two more points to Bella’s six more points.

Finally Coach stepped up. “That’s enough for today,” she said. “I think we’re ready for the big game tomorrow, huh?” She winked at Bella.

“Will you be at our protest this afternoon?” Bella asked me.

“I guess,” I mumbled.

“I thought you wanted to save the park,” she said.

I shrugged.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jack asked as we walked home.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“First, you complain that no one cares about volleyball,” Jack said. “But Bella cares. And you don’t like her.”

“I never said that,” I muttered.

“And Bella wants to save the park, but now you don’t,” Jack went on.

“I never said that, either!” I said. “I just don’t like how Bella has taken over everything.”

Jack was silent. Then he said, “You know, Ramona, you can’t play volleyball alone.”