eve

I feel the court beneath my feet and I remember.

My hair is short again, like it was back then. My body has whittled back down to a number on the scale I haven't seen since those years. My feet bounce with muscle memory, and I can hear my Barricades squeak against the hard court. There are a lot of things that are coming back to me all at once, but suddenly I remember what it'd been like to play on that center court by the bleachers. I remember what it'd been like when everyone who walked past on their way to the football field and track would turn to stare, as if you were a magnificent tiger on display. I remember how a classmate told me I'd scared her, because she'd never imagined someone like me could growl and scream with such ferocity.

I lacked self-confidence then. I wasn't the smartest, and there were scores of prettier, cuter, extroverted girls out there. But on that court, I had something none of them had. With the racket in my hand, I could almost believe I could fly.