Fiction: Tennis Advantage

[It's entirely my own fault that this story didn't win a contest. It was written for a Sunday School magazine that still requires printed submissions, and I didn't get it printed and mailed in time. This is not, unfortunately, a true story. It might be a true story if my real name had been Venus Williams...mercy, that woman gives me such sister envy.]

“Mom!” Sarah's tennis racket bounced off the fence. “Mom, they'll never let me win a game! It's not fair!”

“No, it's not fair,” her mother said soothingly. “Your brother and sister play tennis better than most of the teenagers in the club. You are only six. Katie! Dan!” Mother continued. “As well as you play, can't you think of a way to help Sarah win a game?”

“Oh, very well!” Katie beckoned Sarah back to the tennis court. Sarah picked up her racket. Plop, plop, plop! One after another the low, slow, easy balls bounced off Sarah's racket...

“Mom!” Sarah pounded her racket on the ground. “Now they won't even let me play a game! It's not right!”

Dan knelt down on the ground to look straight across at Sarah. “If you want to win a real game,” he said, “you will just have to keep practicing until you can play.”

“We weren't born playing tennis either, you know,” Katie said. “The first time someone served the ball to me, I ducked.”

“I practiced serving to the fence,” Dan said. “I tied a handkerchief to the fence and hit the ball onto the handkerchief. After that, I pretended Katie's blind spot was the handkerchief.”

“Dan almost doesn't have a blind spot,” Katie said proudly. “I practiced mixing up shots, because the way to beat Dan is to keep him running.”

Sarah picked up the ball and served it into the net. “I'm going to take a shower,” she announced. “After that I'm going to read.”

Later, when Dan and Katie had put away their rackets, Sarah tied a ribbon to the fence and practiced hitting the ribbon.

She did that the next day they went to the club, too, and the next day, and the next day. She asked her mother to take her to the club when Dan and Katie went to the library. She asked her uncle to buy her a round with the tennis machine when they went downtown and passed a place called the Batting Cage.

The next time they went to the club, while Dan and Katie played furiously against each other, Sarah heard another voice say, “I'm six years old.” She turned and saw a boy carrying a tennis racket.

“I'm six, too,” she told the boy. She looked up at his parents. “My name is Sarah Preston.”

“Nice to meet you, Sarah Preston.” The boy's mother shook Sarah's hand. “What do you say, Riley?”

“My name is Riley Taylor. It's nice to meet you,” the boy said politely.

“It's nice to meet you, too,” said Sarah. “Are you here to play tennis?”

Riley Taylor smiled. “I always play with my Dad. It'll be fun to play with another kid, if Dad doesn't mind.”

“I don't mind,” said Riley's Dad. “This should be fun to watch.”

Sarah served the ball. Riley slammed it back almost as fast as Katie did. Sarah ran a few steps backward to hit the ball, barely getting it across the foul line. Riley was just watching Sarah. He missed the ball. Sarah scored.

They kept playing. Riley wasn't as strong or as fast or as tricky as Dan and Katie, but he kept the game moving. Sarah ran all over the court. She hit several fouls, but she was hitting the ball almost every time it came at her.

Riley's parents started keeping score. “You're winning, you little tiger! Riley, she's going to win!” Riley's mother said.

“I don't mind if she wins,” Riley said. “Not today, anyway. It's just neat to see another kid really playing tennis.”

“It is, isn't it?” said Riley's father. “In a few years you two will be as good as those two.” He pointed to Dan and Katie.

“They're my brother and sister,” Sarah said proudly.

“How did I guess?” Riley's father laughed.

Sarah missed the ball, trying to watch Dan and Katie through the fence. After that Riley held a one-point lead for several minutes. Then Sarah picked up a few points and held a one-point lead until Riley's mother called the end of the match.

“You're really good, for a kid,” Riley said.

“You have a real talent,” Riley's Dad said. “You'll have to play with us again some time.”

Sarah went to watch Dan and Katie finish their game. Sarah watched Katie jump to hit a high ball. She watched Dan smash the ball back so low it hardly passed the net. She watched Katie drive a fast ball past Dan's left side, so that Dan hit it back with a rather weak backhand and Katie slammed a long shot to his right. She could almost imagine how it would feel to move as fast as they were moving, some day when she was as big as they were.

“Want to play?” Katie said, as their long, close match finally ended.

“Can't,” said Dan. “People are waiting. Let's have a swim before we go home.”

“Look out!” Riley's mother said as they left the court. “That sister of yours has a real talent for tennis!”

“Why would Coach Taylor's wife say that?” Katie frowned at Sarah.

“Because I beat Riley Taylor by one point,” Sarah said. “His Dad said I have to play with them again some time.”

“Guess you do have a talent, then, if Coach thinks so,” said Dan.

“Don't let it go to your head!” Katie chased Sarah into the showers, laughing. “I can still beat you.”

“Of course,” Sarah said. “You're older.”

“Don't you forget it!” Katie said. “But one day that will be an advantage for you.”