Fiction Short Story
Part I: Fear for the Future
The Tennis Championship finals were coming up fast for Aaron and Karry Javers. They had been training for weeks, preparing for the chance to take home the gold. Tennis meant everything to Aaron and Karry. They had met while playing tennis and married at the same country club where they met. They both really wanted to win the championship, not for the cash prize, but for the experience.
The night before the finals, Aaron and Karry worked out and trained vigorously. By the end of the day both of them had searing joint pain and no will to do more than just sleep. Suprisingly, they didn’t sleep that night. Instead, they sat in bed talking about the forthcoming game.
“I’m nervous about the game,” Aaron proclaimed, “After almost losing our previous game I just don’t think we can win. Also if one of us get injured then Terri will have to step in and that will not benefit us in the slightest.”
“Terri’s a fine tennis player. You just hate on him for no reason, and besides, neither of us will get injured anyway,” Karry replied.
“We don’t know that,” there was a fearful tone in Aarons voice, “either one of us could be injured. In fact, its really surprising neither of us have been injured yet!”
“We don’t know that, and I promise if one of us happens to get injured then Terri will-”
Aaron interrupted, yelling “Terri is terrible at Tennis!! You know there's a reason everyone calls him Terri-ble.”
“Aaron”
“Yeah?” Aaron was almost silent. He regretted yelling at Karry.
“You’re letting this tennis game get to you. Remember we joined to experience a tournament and have fun. Even if it may seem nice, we don’t need to win”
Aaron put his head down in shame, “Yeah I know. I’m letting this tournament get the best of me. I’ll just try to let it go”
“Thank you”
Karry laid her head down on the pillow and drifted off into sleep. Contrarily Aaron laid in the bed staring at the ceiling fan, his mind racing. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the next day had in store for him. He was over analyzing events that hadn’t even taken place yet. He had a bad feeling about the game. Aaron stayed up all night worrying about the upcoming game.
Part II: Team Arguments
The morning finally came and the bright light of the sun shined through the blinds. Karry woke up from her sleep and got straight out of bed. She glanced around the room, Aaron was gone. She became paranoid. Where could her husband have gone. Panicked, she looked around the house. Aaron was nowhere to be found. She ran back to her bedroom and picked up the phone. She dialed Aarons number, he picked up hastily.
“Hey?” Aaron said.
“Where are you?” Karry questioned.
“I’m on my way to pick up Terri”
“Oh… Alright, I didn’t expect you to pick him up so early”
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” his voice was pained and tired, “Hey, I got to go Im pulling up to Terri’s right now.”
Aaron hung up the phone and set it on his lap. He pulled into Terri’s driveway. Terris house was dark green with a brown trim. There was a massive garden in the front, which contained vibrant blue, red, purple, pink and orange flowers. There was also a flower bed attached to each window sill of the house. A united kingdom hung over the window on the left side of the house.
Aaron texted Terri “Hey i'm here” and almost 5 seconds later Terri came out of the house. He was wearing pure white shoes, white shorts with light blue stripes on the side, a white shirt with the number 3 in matching light blue on it, and a white headband. He had a smile that could make you feel the excitement he was feeling for this game. Aaron rolled his eyes in the car. He couldn’t stand how upbeat Terri was for a game he most likely wouldn’t even play in.
Terri entered the vehicle a politely greeted Aaron “Hey buddy, you ready fo this game.”
“Yeah,” Aaron responded in a annoyed monotone voice.
“Well, you don’t seem to thrilled. Come on give me some excitement, It's a big day for you.”
Aaron gave a monotone “Woo,” and started grit his teeth. He was becoming painfully annoyed by Terri. Aaron was already nervous about having Terri as a sub in for the game, and the fact that he was excited for it made him even more nervous.
“You know, maybe today i’ll actually get a chance to participate in the game”
Aaron couldn’t take it anymore, “I sure as hell hope you don’t!!”
“What, why?”
“Because you suck at tennis, if you sub in for one of us and we’ll lose!!”
“I promise.. I’ve been training.. If I need to sub in we still have a chance to win the game, I promise.”
“Your promises don’t matter.”
This statement shocked Terri. He wondered if Aaron had always felt this way about him. Terri always thought Aaron was his friend, but now he didn’t know. The rest of the car ride was completely silent. When they picked up Karry, and their son James, Karry tried to lighten the mood with some small talk, but the other two still remained silent.
“You got into a fight didn’t you?” Karry asked.
They both responded, “Yep.”
Nothing else was said during that car ride. They all sat in silence.
Part III: Arrival
The group arrived at The Royal Tennis Court. There was backed up traffic all around the massive arena. Everyone wanted to see this game. Even the queen got seats for this event. There were people from all over the united kingdom arriving to see this historic tennis game unfold. The group were team players and were given the opportunity to cut the entire line of cars to get to the stadium. They parked in the employee parki9ng section and were greeted by a man in a suit at the entrance.
“Hello my names Adam Stark and I’ll be guiding you to your teams room,” The man greeted.
“Thank you,” Aaron said politely.
“Follow me.”
The group followed closely behind Adam. They went through long corridor after long corridor until they finally arrived at a door that read Away Teams Prep Room. They all entered the room and Adam walked away. The room had a light brown wallpaper and dark brown trimming. Along the back wall there was a row of lockers for the team to put their supplies. There was a bathroom on the left wall and a couch on the right wall. Inj the middle there was circular table with seats around it. There was a vending machine on each side of the couch and two exits that lead out to the court. The group packed their stuff into their lockers and sat down around the table.
“Only an hour until the game starts” James stated.
“Ok son, get dressed in the team uniform.” Aaron said.
James has been the waterboy for the entire season. He used to be a rough kid who lied to his parents about everything until he started to play tennis with his parents. Since then he has been a better kid and has more respect for his parents.
James scurried into the bathroom to get changed.
“Well, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Karry said apprehensively.
“What elephant?” Aaron half heartedly asked.
“What happened between you and Terri?”
“Nothing Important,” Terri budded in, “It was nothing”
“I’m sure it wasn’t”
James walked out of the bathroom with his team uniform on. The team uniform looked exactly the same as Terris except for it had no number on the t-shirt.
Aaron looked Karry straight in the eyes,“We should both get our uniforms on.”
“Yeah we should.”
Aaron and Karry both walked out of the room to find another bathroom to change in.
Terri silently sat at the table and contemplated about the argument that took place earlier that morning. He didn’t understand why Aaron would diss him like that. Aaron always seemed like his friend.
James soon interrupted the silence, “What's wrong?”
“Your father seemed upset with me earlier and I don’t understand why. He said that I was terrible at tennis. Which to be quite honest I am, but why was he so angry with me about it. He’s the one that choose me to be the sub in.”
“It’s because he’s getting to emotionally invested into this tourney. He doesn’t hate you.. he just… Well uh… Even my mom's having trouble with him about this. He thinks he’s the only good tennis player on the team and the thought of losing is tearing him apart.”
“Maybe your mother will talk some sense into him.”
“I sure hope so.”
Part IV: The Talk
“Listen Aaron, you need to be nicer to Terri!!” Karry said angrily.
“Why.. Why.. He’s going to ruin our game,” Aaron responded.
“He won't rui-”
“Yes he will, hell you might even ruin the game for me,” Aaron yelled angrily.
“Are you kidding me. I’m going to ruin the game? The only thing ruining the game is YOU. We joined to have fun and say we competed in a tournament. We said we wouldn’t get angry if we lost because its all for fun. But now you’re getting all uptight about this game and its pulling our whole team apart.”
Aaron jaw dropped. This entire time Aaron had been worried about winning the game and didn’t realize that he was ruining his relationships with his friends and family. Aaron was paralyzed at this thought. He stood before Karry frozen. He couldn’t even speak back to Karry.
A voice came over the intercom,“10 minutes until the United Kingdom Tennis Finals Begin.”
“Well we better start heading to the court,” Karry said.
Karry began to make her way to the teams room. Aaron stood there for a moment, still shocked from the words Karry had just uttered to him .Eventually, he came to his senses and made his way to the court. The thought of losing his friends and family to tennis remained fresh in his mind.
Part V: The Game
Karry and Aaron stood on the court, anticipating the start of the game. Terri and James sat on the the sidelines.
“Let the game begin,” the queen announced over the speaker.
Karry served the ball over to the opposing team. They hit it back fast as lightning. The ball was flying right towards Aaron. Aaron missed the ball. The ball bounced once in the play area and then again on the back wall.
“Only ten seconds into the game and Aaron and Karry Javers have already been scored on,” The announcer gloated.
Aaron couldn’t think straight. His mind could only think about how he’s beginning to lose his friends because of a stupid game of Tennis.
“What are you doing?” Karry inquired.
“I don’t know, I’m sorry, it wont happen again.” Aaron answered.
“15 love” was announced over the speaker.
The opposing team served the ball. Aaron smacked the ball back, but the ball flew out of the play zone. They lost another match.
“30 love” was announced over the speaker.
Aaron served the ball towards the opposing team. The opposing team hit the ball back. The ball bounced on the floor. Karry ran for the ball and tripped. She twisted a muscle and the ball hit the ground for the second time.
“45 love” was announced over the speaker.
“It seems we have an injury on the court,” the announcer proclaimed.
Paramedics rushed out onto the court and lifted her off to the sidelines.
“Its not a bad injury, but she definitly can’t continue the game,” the paramedic exclaimed.
Aaron walked up to Terri hjolding the baseball bat towards him.
“Lets do this!” Aaron said in a confident tone,
A smile filled Terris face once more, “Ok lets do it.”
The most intense game of tennis that Aaron had ever been apart of had just commenced. The ball flew back and fourth across the court. Every return was forceful and passionate. Aaron and Terri fought with everything they had to win the game.
“45 - 15”
“45 - 30”
“45 - 45”
The points rised faster than ever for Aaron and Terri. On the final point the opposing team spiked the ball. It bounced once. Terri ran for the ball and smacked it with the metal part of the racket. The ball flew past the out of bounds line and into the stadium. Aaron and Terri lost.
Terri was terrified at what Aaron might say, but Aaron had a huge smile on his face. Terri was confused. Why wasn’t Aaron mad? Aaron had yelled at him earlier about the game, but now after losing he didn’t seem like he cared about the game at all.
Aaron then reinforced his belief by saying, “You know Terri, we tried our hardest and had fun. That's all that matters.”
Aaron went up and hugged Aaron.
“I love you man” said Aaron.
“I love you too man”
The Tennis Championship finals were coming up fast for Aaron and Karry Javers. They had been training for weeks, preparing for the chance to take home the gold. Tennis meant everything to Aaron and Karry. They had met while playing tennis and married at the same country club where they met. They both really wanted to win the championship, not for the cash prize, but for the experience.
The night before the finals, Aaron and Karry worked out and trained vigorously. By the end of the day both of them had searing joint pain and no will to do more than just sleep. Suprisingly, they didn’t sleep that night. Instead, they sat in bed talking about the forthcoming game.
“I’m nervous about the game,” Aaron proclaimed, “After almost losing our previous game I just don’t think we can win. Also if one of us get injured then Terri will have to step in and that will not benefit us in the slightest.”
“Terri’s a fine tennis player. You just hate on him for no reason, and besides, neither of us will get injured anyway,” Karry replied.
“We don’t know that,” there was a fearful tone in Aarons voice, “either one of us could be injured. In fact, its really surprising neither of us have been injured yet!”
“We don’t know that, and I promise if one of us happens to get injured then Terri will-”
Aaron interrupted, yelling “Terri is terrible at Tennis!! You know there's a reason everyone calls him Terri-ble.”
“Aaron”
“Yeah?” Aaron was almost silent. He regretted yelling at Karry.
“You’re letting this tennis game get to you. Remember we joined to experience a tournament and have fun. Even if it may seem nice, we don’t need to win”
Aaron put his head down in shame, “Yeah I know. I’m letting this tournament get the best of me. I’ll just try to let it go”
“Thank you”
Karry laid her head down on the pillow and drifted off into sleep. Contrarily Aaron laid in the bed staring at the ceiling fan, his mind racing. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the next day had in store for him. He was over analyzing events that hadn’t even taken place yet. He had a bad feeling about the game. Aaron stayed up all night worrying about the upcoming game.
Part II: Team Arguments
The morning finally came and the bright light of the sun shined through the blinds. Karry woke up from her sleep and got straight out of bed. She glanced around the room, Aaron was gone. She became paranoid. Where could her husband have gone. Panicked, she looked around the house. Aaron was nowhere to be found. She ran back to her bedroom and picked up the phone. She dialed Aarons number, he picked up hastily.
“Hey?” Aaron said.
“Where are you?” Karry questioned.
“I’m on my way to pick up Terri”
“Oh… Alright, I didn’t expect you to pick him up so early”
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” his voice was pained and tired, “Hey, I got to go Im pulling up to Terri’s right now.”
Aaron hung up the phone and set it on his lap. He pulled into Terri’s driveway. Terris house was dark green with a brown trim. There was a massive garden in the front, which contained vibrant blue, red, purple, pink and orange flowers. There was also a flower bed attached to each window sill of the house. A united kingdom hung over the window on the left side of the house.
Aaron texted Terri “Hey i'm here” and almost 5 seconds later Terri came out of the house. He was wearing pure white shoes, white shorts with light blue stripes on the side, a white shirt with the number 3 in matching light blue on it, and a white headband. He had a smile that could make you feel the excitement he was feeling for this game. Aaron rolled his eyes in the car. He couldn’t stand how upbeat Terri was for a game he most likely wouldn’t even play in.
Terri entered the vehicle a politely greeted Aaron “Hey buddy, you ready fo this game.”
“Yeah,” Aaron responded in a annoyed monotone voice.
“Well, you don’t seem to thrilled. Come on give me some excitement, It's a big day for you.”
Aaron gave a monotone “Woo,” and started grit his teeth. He was becoming painfully annoyed by Terri. Aaron was already nervous about having Terri as a sub in for the game, and the fact that he was excited for it made him even more nervous.
“You know, maybe today i’ll actually get a chance to participate in the game”
Aaron couldn’t take it anymore, “I sure as hell hope you don’t!!”
“What, why?”
“Because you suck at tennis, if you sub in for one of us and we’ll lose!!”
“I promise.. I’ve been training.. If I need to sub in we still have a chance to win the game, I promise.”
“Your promises don’t matter.”
This statement shocked Terri. He wondered if Aaron had always felt this way about him. Terri always thought Aaron was his friend, but now he didn’t know. The rest of the car ride was completely silent. When they picked up Karry, and their son James, Karry tried to lighten the mood with some small talk, but the other two still remained silent.
“You got into a fight didn’t you?” Karry asked.
They both responded, “Yep.”
Nothing else was said during that car ride. They all sat in silence.
Part III: Arrival
The group arrived at The Royal Tennis Court. There was backed up traffic all around the massive arena. Everyone wanted to see this game. Even the queen got seats for this event. There were people from all over the united kingdom arriving to see this historic tennis game unfold. The group were team players and were given the opportunity to cut the entire line of cars to get to the stadium. They parked in the employee parki9ng section and were greeted by a man in a suit at the entrance.
“Hello my names Adam Stark and I’ll be guiding you to your teams room,” The man greeted.
“Thank you,” Aaron said politely.
“Follow me.”
The group followed closely behind Adam. They went through long corridor after long corridor until they finally arrived at a door that read Away Teams Prep Room. They all entered the room and Adam walked away. The room had a light brown wallpaper and dark brown trimming. Along the back wall there was a row of lockers for the team to put their supplies. There was a bathroom on the left wall and a couch on the right wall. Inj the middle there was circular table with seats around it. There was a vending machine on each side of the couch and two exits that lead out to the court. The group packed their stuff into their lockers and sat down around the table.
“Only an hour until the game starts” James stated.
“Ok son, get dressed in the team uniform.” Aaron said.
James has been the waterboy for the entire season. He used to be a rough kid who lied to his parents about everything until he started to play tennis with his parents. Since then he has been a better kid and has more respect for his parents.
James scurried into the bathroom to get changed.
“Well, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Karry said apprehensively.
“What elephant?” Aaron half heartedly asked.
“What happened between you and Terri?”
“Nothing Important,” Terri budded in, “It was nothing”
“I’m sure it wasn’t”
James walked out of the bathroom with his team uniform on. The team uniform looked exactly the same as Terris except for it had no number on the t-shirt.
Aaron looked Karry straight in the eyes,“We should both get our uniforms on.”
“Yeah we should.”
Aaron and Karry both walked out of the room to find another bathroom to change in.
Terri silently sat at the table and contemplated about the argument that took place earlier that morning. He didn’t understand why Aaron would diss him like that. Aaron always seemed like his friend.
James soon interrupted the silence, “What's wrong?”
“Your father seemed upset with me earlier and I don’t understand why. He said that I was terrible at tennis. Which to be quite honest I am, but why was he so angry with me about it. He’s the one that choose me to be the sub in.”
“It’s because he’s getting to emotionally invested into this tourney. He doesn’t hate you.. he just… Well uh… Even my mom's having trouble with him about this. He thinks he’s the only good tennis player on the team and the thought of losing is tearing him apart.”
“Maybe your mother will talk some sense into him.”
“I sure hope so.”
Part IV: The Talk
“Listen Aaron, you need to be nicer to Terri!!” Karry said angrily.
“Why.. Why.. He’s going to ruin our game,” Aaron responded.
“He won't rui-”
“Yes he will, hell you might even ruin the game for me,” Aaron yelled angrily.
“Are you kidding me. I’m going to ruin the game? The only thing ruining the game is YOU. We joined to have fun and say we competed in a tournament. We said we wouldn’t get angry if we lost because its all for fun. But now you’re getting all uptight about this game and its pulling our whole team apart.”
Aaron jaw dropped. This entire time Aaron had been worried about winning the game and didn’t realize that he was ruining his relationships with his friends and family. Aaron was paralyzed at this thought. He stood before Karry frozen. He couldn’t even speak back to Karry.
A voice came over the intercom,“10 minutes until the United Kingdom Tennis Finals Begin.”
“Well we better start heading to the court,” Karry said.
Karry began to make her way to the teams room. Aaron stood there for a moment, still shocked from the words Karry had just uttered to him .Eventually, he came to his senses and made his way to the court. The thought of losing his friends and family to tennis remained fresh in his mind.
Part V: The Game
Karry and Aaron stood on the court, anticipating the start of the game. Terri and James sat on the the sidelines.
“Let the game begin,” the queen announced over the speaker.
Karry served the ball over to the opposing team. They hit it back fast as lightning. The ball was flying right towards Aaron. Aaron missed the ball. The ball bounced once in the play area and then again on the back wall.
“Only ten seconds into the game and Aaron and Karry Javers have already been scored on,” The announcer gloated.
Aaron couldn’t think straight. His mind could only think about how he’s beginning to lose his friends because of a stupid game of Tennis.
“What are you doing?” Karry inquired.
“I don’t know, I’m sorry, it wont happen again.” Aaron answered.
“15 love” was announced over the speaker.
The opposing team served the ball. Aaron smacked the ball back, but the ball flew out of the play zone. They lost another match.
“30 love” was announced over the speaker.
Aaron served the ball towards the opposing team. The opposing team hit the ball back. The ball bounced on the floor. Karry ran for the ball and tripped. She twisted a muscle and the ball hit the ground for the second time.
“45 love” was announced over the speaker.
“It seems we have an injury on the court,” the announcer proclaimed.
Paramedics rushed out onto the court and lifted her off to the sidelines.
“Its not a bad injury, but she definitly can’t continue the game,” the paramedic exclaimed.
Aaron walked up to Terri hjolding the baseball bat towards him.
“Lets do this!” Aaron said in a confident tone,
A smile filled Terris face once more, “Ok lets do it.”
The most intense game of tennis that Aaron had ever been apart of had just commenced. The ball flew back and fourth across the court. Every return was forceful and passionate. Aaron and Terri fought with everything they had to win the game.
“45 - 15”
“45 - 30”
“45 - 45”
The points rised faster than ever for Aaron and Terri. On the final point the opposing team spiked the ball. It bounced once. Terri ran for the ball and smacked it with the metal part of the racket. The ball flew past the out of bounds line and into the stadium. Aaron and Terri lost.
Terri was terrified at what Aaron might say, but Aaron had a huge smile on his face. Terri was confused. Why wasn’t Aaron mad? Aaron had yelled at him earlier about the game, but now after losing he didn’t seem like he cared about the game at all.
Aaron then reinforced his belief by saying, “You know Terri, we tried our hardest and had fun. That's all that matters.”
Aaron went up and hugged Aaron.
“I love you man” said Aaron.
“I love you too man”