I suddenly felt like updating. @_@ Hell, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I feel like I've drifted into oblivion, anyways, it might be just me, but I think this chapter's longer… ?_? I'm off to bed now, happy reading! ^^ And thanks for all the reviews and get ready for a little Max/Kailee action!
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Chapter 43: Losing Confidence
"Kailee, keep your eyes on the ball!" Holly cried, "Your reaction time is too slow, you have to be ready faster!"
"How?" Kailee complained, looking defeated, "I can't!"
"Try to focus a little harder," Willow advised gently.
"We don't need to lose the championships because of you," Emily sniped, "If you don't shape up, you should just not play. It's that simple."
Kailee's face fell.
"You take care of yourself," Holly told Emily furiously, "Everyone's going to play."
"Speak for yourself," Mariah told Holly with a light shrug, "I'm not playing anyone until we get to the finals."
"How do we get to the finals if we don't
play?" Willow demanded.
"I'm going to play the last round," Mariah said, "Because I'm the best player."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily snapped, "We all know that I'm the best!"
"No, Holly's playing the finals," Kailee put in, "She's our captain."
"That's right," Willow agreed.
"Forget it," Mariah and Emily said together.
Holly narrowed her eyes, "Let's decided that when we get to the finals. We won't get there if we don't starting practicing!!!"
"Hey, I have an idea," Carly put in, she was sitting on the bench with Max – actually she was lying lazily on the bench, looking pretty bored, "Why don't you guys mix it up and train with the guys, that way, you'll used to all the techniques that come at you. The guys have stronger serves and you guys have better aim."
"Good idea," Holly said, "I'll go talk to Johnny. Keep practicing." A minute later, she returned with Johnny, Enrique, and 3 other guys from the boys' tennis team.
"I'll play you Holly," Johnny said, cracking his knuckles, "It'll be fun beating someone other than Carly." He winked at Carly who fumed back at him.
"Excuse me? I'm going to beat you so bad Johnny," Holly shot back, "You haven't won yet, we haven't even played."
"I'll play against you Kailee," Enrique said, grinning sheepishly, "I'm not that good, bet you can beat me."
"I don't know..." Kailee replied, looking sullen which was completely unlike her upbeat, happy self.
"Come on Kailee," Max called, "You're good and you know it, you just have to believe in yourself!"
"You're not the one playing," Kailee muttered. "Okay," she said to Enrique, "Let's give it a go."
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The next few days, Holly, Kailee, Willow, Enrique, and Johnny were preoccupied with practicing their tennis; Max went with them to boost up Kailee's confidence. Ray, Cassandra, Hru, and Tala were practicing basketball for their next game. While, Kai and Carly were bored to death since fencing and soccer season haven't officially started yet.
"Tennis, tennis, tennis, that's all that's going through your heads," Carly complained one day, "It's so boring. At least they get a break from basketball."
"We gotta practice," Holly and Johnny said together.
"We know, we know," Kai said dryly.
"We must be living under a ROCK if we don't know," Carly snapped.
"The championships start tomorrow," Holly said thoughtfully, "We have to at least make it past the first round."
"I want to make the finals!" Johnny said.
"That's right Johnny – think big, so…when are you making time to eat?" Carly asked sarcastically.
"Ha ha ha," Johnny responded dryly.
"I'm worried about Kailee," Holly said, looking over at her team mate who was sitting glumly with Max, "She hasn't been herself and she isn't playing as well as she should be."
"I think she's tired of you guys pushing her," Kai said, "And she was hurt by what Mariah and Emily said, she thinks she's letting you guys down."
"It's a just a game," Willow said, "We're practicing, yes, and taking it seriously, yes, but in the end, it's important to have fun."
"Tell that to Emily and Mariah, Kailee told me they keep criticizing her moves," Kai said, "I've already told both of them to cut it out, but I think they still talk about her behind her back.
"Mariah and Emily are both a pain!" Willow said, "I wish they would just disappear."
"Carly, can you play me once?" Johnny asked.
"No," Carly said.
"Please?"
"No," Carly repeated, "Read my lips McGregor, N-O."
"Come on Carly, I like the way you serve, it's very unpredictable," Johnny said imploringly, "It'll help me improve my game."
"It's unpredictable because I have no clue how to aim, so I just hit every which way. Flattery doesn't work McGregor, I am sick of tennis," Carly said, looking annoyed, "And I'm not playing you, I'm staying as far away from tennis as I can until the regional playoffs are over. I need to go hang out with someone."
Just then, Ray, Cassandra, Tala, and Hru walked up. Everyone could notice the tension between Tala and Hru.
"What happened now?" Kai asked Ray, looking at
the two of them strangely.
"We can't agree on a play for our next game," Ray said, sighing, "They're mad
at each other again."
"Oooh, I can't work with him, he's so aggravating!" Hru complained, "There's something wrong with every game plan I think of, why don't you think of one instead of shooting down mine genius!"
"I already did," Tala said calmly, "But you shot that one down and I'm merely pointing out all your flaws."
"What do you mean ALL my flaws???" Hru shrieked, "And I suppose you're completely perfect yourself!!!!"
"I never said that," Tala said in the same calm voice.
"Now, let's not get all worked up," Ray said nervously as if waiting for Hru to explode like bomb, "All we need is one simple game plan..."
"Which I've made a dozen already," Hru snapped.
"Which doesn't have any flaws," Tala added.
"Can we decide this quickly?" Cassandra asked in annoyance, "I'm hungry."
Ray pulled his collar nervously, "And I've got something to do tonight too."
"Like what???" Hru snapped, "It can't be more important than this."
"He's on a date with Willow," Cassandra chirped, "She told me."
Ray went red and mumbled something, "Well, since you all know now thanks to Cassandra's big mouth, I'm NOT missing this date so we had better hurry up. Tala, why can't you just agree to Hru's plans? It'd make things so much easier."
"Fine, fine," Tala said, shrugging, "If that's what you want, I'll keep my mouth shut and you guys decide without my input. I really don't care."
Hru thought he sounded angry and she didn't really want Tala to be mad at her, there was no telling what he might do, "I don't mind if you point out some of my mistakes, but you don't have to say it in such a frosty tone. Why can't you correct my mistakes instead of just stating them?"
"Because you got so upset when I first opened my mouth, I decided not to make any suggestions," Tala replied, looking at her strangely.
"That's the problem with you two," Carly put in, "You try not to get each other worked up, but you end up making it worse. Boy, you two really clash."
Hru groaned, this was too complicated...waaaaay too complicated. "Well...I did have a game plan that I thought was pretty good...the best one I've thought of...but it's kinda complicated." She went on explaining it to Tala, Ray, and Cassandra, when she finished Ray was shaking his head.
"No way Hru, that's too complex for everyone to remember," Ray said, "It's a good idea if we could all get it, but it's too perplex and takes too much organizing."
"Maybe a few people could get it," Cassandra put in, "But I don't think everyone will be able to get it right, it'll only end up screwing everything up."
"Well, then, I'm outta ideas," Hru said, pouting, "That was my best one."
"And I liked it," Tala put in, "It's perfect, there's no flaws as I can see it. So what if it takes a little more work? That's what our practices are for, to test out new game plans and come up with strategy."
"But..." Ray said, but he couldn't come up with a better argument, "It'll be hard getting everyone in position."
"That's what practice is for," Tala objected, "They'll get it. I've got it, and I heard it a minute ago. You've got it haven't you?"
"Well...yeah..." Ray said.
"Me too," Cassandra added.
"If you and me can get it, so can everyone else," Tala said casually, "The problem with you, Ray, is that you're expecting too less of us, you automatically assume what we can or cannot do before we've even tried it out."
"Okay, okay, before you start pointing out all MY flaws, okay, let's give it go at our next practice, if it works, it'll be awesome," Ray said, nodding.
"Awesome," Cassandra put in, "I'm going to go have dinner now, later!"
"And I'm going to be late if I don't get home and get dressed," Ray muttered, "Bye!"
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"I wonder what Kingdom is next," Kai said quietly, "Seeing so much of Ray's Kingdom made me pine for mine. It would be sort of interesting - ruling."
"I know what you mean," Holly said, "Willow's running her Kingdom so well, it's just so interesting!"
Kailee said nothing, it was obvious she was thinking about the Regional Tennis Championships which were tomorrow and she was sulking rather heavily.
"You've gotta give yourself some credit, sis," Kai said, shaking his head at Kailee who was miserably stirring her soup.
Holly, who was also staying over at Kai's house so she could give Kailee occasion tips, also looked at Kailee sympathetically, "Kailee, you're doing your best, and that's good enough."
"No, it isn't," Kailee said, very unlike her cheerful self, "I'm not good enough; you're all going to lose because of me."
"Now really!" Kai said angrily, "Just because Mariah and Emily think that doesn't mean that you should worship their thoughts. I've seen you play, you just gotta have more confidence in yourself. It's not like you can get every single shot thrown at you, then you'd be a living legend!" The phone rang in the living room and Kai stood up to answer it.
"Kai's right, you know," Holly said gently, "You really should be proud of yourself, you've come a long way. We're not expecting you to ace every shot; all I want is that you give it your best."
"My best isn't good enough!" Kailee burst out angrily with such sullenness that Holly thought that she and Kai temporarily switched personalities.
"Kailee, it's for
you," Kai said, returning to his chair, "Max."
Kailee brightened, "Oh, good. I really feel like talking with Maxie." She just up
and ran into the living room.
"What do you suppose has gotten into her?" Holly asked, "She used to be so happy just playing with us, but now she really wants to win."
Kai shrugged, "Probably just a phase that girls go through, you know, insecurity and such. Holly, just encourage her a bit more and try not to let Emily and Mariah get something nasty in. She doesn't seem to believe anything I say, maybe it's because I'm her brother and she thinks I'm just saying it so I won't hurt her feelings."
"Oh, they've stopped bugging her now." Holly said, "Willow and Mariah have it seriously in for each other and Emily...well, let's just say she'd like me to die in my sleep sometime soon. She doesn't seem to believe anything Willow and I tell her either, same reason, we're her best friends, but having Max around sure helps."
"I think she fancies him," Kai muttered, "Pretty soon they'll be going out like Ray and Willow."
Holly laughed, "Ray and Willow are on their date tonight, they've been seeing a lot of each other lately. I think Max might be able to help Kailee regain her confidence, Willow's noticed too."
"Noticed what? That he likes her?" Kai rolled his eyes, "Ugh, with Valentine's Day so close, everyone's been acting so love struck."
"Kai," Holly teased, "You'll never break down and ask someone to the dance will you? Not even if you liked the girl."
Kai looked startled at her remark and gazed intensely into her eyes, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't."
Holly looked down, feeling a bit shaken by his gaze, "I'm betting on the second one."
Kai didn't shift his gaze as he replied in a steady voice, "So am I."
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"Are you eating dinner?" Max asked, "I'm sorry for interrupting."
"It's okay," Kailee said, sighing, "I'm glad you called, I'm so worried about tomorrow."
"Kailee, you'll do fine," Max assured her, "It's just a game."
"But my team mates are counting on me," Kailee cried, "We can't lose our first game."
"You give yourself too much pressure Kailee," Max told her, "You need to cut lose a bit and just go with the flow. I know Mariah and Emily put you down sometimes, but you can't let what they say get to you."
"It's so easy for them," Kailee said, sounding bitter, "Emily's so good with her serves and Mariah's smashes are so strong, they have nothing to worry about, they have their strengths. Even Holly and Willow. Holly's good at everything, especially aiming her hits so that the ball drops in an awkward position to be returned, Willow's fast and can return almost any kind of shot. I'm not good at anything, the only thing I can do is hit the ball back and forth."
"You're balanced," Max said, "Maybe you don't have a particular strength but you don't have any weaknesses either, that's good, isn't it? Maybe Mariah can smash well but her serves are lacking a lot of power. You're well balanced."
"I don't want to be well balanced!" Kailee snapped, "I want to be good at something instead of being so-so at everything."
Max held the receiver away from his ear and winced.
Kailee settled down, "Sorry Maxie, I didn't mean to shout. I'm tired, I think I'll finish my dinner and turn in."
"Aw Kailee, don't take things so hard," Max said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
They hung up.
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After school tomorrow, both tennis teams went to the Sports Dome to hold the first round of their tennis regional championships. The girls division and the boys division were on different courts in different parts of the Sports Dome. So they split up.
"Nervous?" Cassandra asked Holly.
"Kind of," Holly admitted, "But I'm just out to have fun!"
"Well, I'm out to win," Emily bragged, plucking a string of her racket to make sure it was tight enough.
Michael snorted and bounced his baseball up and down in his hand, "Ha!"
"You wait and watch, I'll show you," Emily snapped at Michael.
"I ain't watching the girls division," Michael snorted, "Bor-ing. I'm watching Johnny and Enrique's team."
"Girls play just as well you know," Emily said haughtily.
"I know," Michael drawled, "But Carly's going to watch Johnny play so I'm hanging with her."
"You're not going to watch us Carly?" Kailee asked, sounding even more nervous.
"Ack, I had to choose," Carly said, looking half-annoyed, "I decided I'd enjoy watching Johnny kill someone else more than watch Emily brag. Besides most of you are watching the girls division, why squeeze in the crowd? Aquana's coming to watch...uh...you-know-who, Enrique. I'm positive Ray's going to watch Willow."
"I'm going too," Max said, smiling at Kailee, "To cheer you on."
Kailee forced at tight smile, not daring to speak in case something wrong came out. She turned to Kai, "You're watching too, right Kai?" She looked at him pleadingly.
Kai rolled his eyes, "How can I say no? Yeah, I'll come, nothing better to do anyways."
Carly sighed, "What's Kenny doing here?"
"Let me guess," Hru said sarcastically, "Either he's here to cheer Emily on or he's here cuz Cassie dragged Tyson here."
"And what am I doing here?" Tala asked in a bored-to-death voice, "I hate tennis."
"You can come with me," Carly said, giving his sleeve a hard jerk and a bright smile, "Even if tennis doesn't entertain you, I will."
Tala groaned and followed Carly, Aquana, and Michael to the boys division while everyone else went to the girls division.
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"Now, there's five of us," Holly said carefully to her team mates, "And we pick three to play, whichever team wins best out of three win the first round and advances. If we don't win, then it's over. So who wants to play?"
"I'm playing of course," Emily said in a snooty voice, "Obviously, since I'm the best."
"What do you mean you're the best?" Willow demanded, "We know that H-"
Holly held up one hand to silence Willow, "Leave it; we don't have time to argue. Do you want to play Mariah?"
"No way, play those first rounders? Those amateurs?" Mariah snickered, "No thanks. I'm only playing the teams are that actually some good."
If Mariah wasn't her team mate Holly would've threw her out to dry but now wasn't the time to argue. "Okay, how about you Willow?"
"I'll play," Willow said, nodding, "I'll go first."
"I'm going last," Emily spat.
"Fine," Holly said, turning to Kailee, "And you play second round."
"Me?" Kailee squeaked, "But-but I'm not good enough."
"You got that right," Mariah snapped, "Even I have to say that Holly's better than you. Holly, you play instead of her."
"Am I captain or are you?" Holly asked coldly, "If I say Kailee plays then she plays."
"She's going to lose the round for us!" Emily complained, "We're here to win, not to give everyone a chance!"
"Everyone deserves a chance to play," Holly said, her patience at an end, "If you really want me to play that badly, I'll be happy to take your place."
Emily opened her mouth and nothing came out.
"We're decided then," Holly said, "Willow, you can head out, good luck."
"Good luck," Kailee echoed, looking even more frightened and nervous.
Mariah turned away, "Hmph."
Emily merely nodded and continued checking her racket for defaults.
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"Here comes your girlfriend Ray," Cassandra teased.
Ray turned red, "Shut up." His eyes didn't leave Willow.
"And there's our love struck boy," Tyson chimed in patting Ray.
"I say SHUT UP!" Ray fumed, "You're distracting me."
"Her opponent looks tough," Hru remarked as the girl from the other school served.
"Willow's awesome," Ray insisted.
"Very loyal," Hru said, rolling her eyes.
"I wonder if Kailee's next," Max said, sighing, "She looked pretty nervous this morning."
"She didn't sleep so well last night," Kai told him, "Pretty nervous? I'd say she's way nervous."
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After a lot of smashing and bashing, Willow tied with her opponent for so long that they decided to call it a tie and call up the second players.
"Good job," Holly said, "A tie isn't bad."
But Emily and Mariah didn't seem to think so.
"You tied???" Mariah shrieked, "How could you
tie??? That was the easiest opponent
I've ever seen!!!"
Willow bristled and scowled,
"You're all talk while all you do is sit on the
bench! Once you go out and prove
something to me, then maybe I'll start taking what you say seriously!"
"You shouldn't have tied," Emily told Willow promptly, "It was such
an easy match too. If you were thinking
strategically, you would've pulled a win!
Holly quickly jumped in before Willow could blow up, "Okay, that's enough Emily and Mariah, no putting others down okay? We need to support each other."
Mariah let out a loud derisive laugh, "HA!"
"Anyways," Holly said, frowning like she wanted to strangle Mariah, "Kailee's up next, good luck Kailee, just keep a cool head and you'll be fine."
Kailee gulped and went out, clutching her racket tightly in her hand.
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"Your sister looks like she's going to be sick," Tyson remarked to Kai.
Kai glared at him, "Shut up Tyson. That's the last thing she needs right now."
"Tyson, you're so insensitive," Cassandra said, sighing.
"What?" Tyson asked, looking confused, "What did I say?"
"Come on Kailee, you can do it!" Max called, "Just believe in yourself."
Kailee had first serve and once she launched the ball, the game was on. It was a close game, but Kailee seemed to get more discouraged as the game dragged on, especially after her opponent got in the lead.
"What's wrong with her?" Kai said softly to himself, "She never used to be like this. She knows that it's just a game, so why does she want to win so badly?"
Max looked equally anxious, "She's losing it. She's not believing in herself. I can't bear to watch anymore."
Kailee gasped as the final serve zipped past her face and bounced past her, her racket missed and a cheer came from the crowd. Kailee dropped her racket, staring in a daze at the sneering face of her opponent, she lost the first round she ever played.
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"Oh poor Kailee," Willow whispered, "I feel so sorry for her."
"Kailee, it's okay," Holly said gently, "We can't win all the time. It's okay, you'll have another chance."
Kailee sat down numbly on the bench, still looking shocked and disbelieving, //I lost, I lost in front of Kai...Max...Holly and everyone else. I can't believe I lost...//
"I told you we shouldn't have let her play," Emily sniffed, "I'll show you how a true player does it." She went outside, holding her perfectly strung racket.
As much as Holly hated to admit it, and as bratty as Emily was, she was good. She emerged victorious ten minutes later with a stunning score. Since they were tied with the other team now, both one loss, one win, and one tie. The coaches decided to do a fourth round with two different players. So Holly went to play since Mariah refused to budge and she won as well, securing the first round as theirs.
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Kailee shook herself out of her daze as the crowd cheer and she saw through blurred vision that their team had won. Peering through the door, she saw Ray giving Willow a tight hug and Kenny congratulating Emily. Cassandra and Tyson were also in the midst, talking like the wind. Hru was congratulating Holly while Kai waited patiently, most likely to ask Holly about her. Kailee's eyes filled with tears as she thought about how fast she lost and how easily she fluked the shots. She closed the door and started to cry. //No one lost except for me. Emily and Holly both won as if it was the easiest thing in the whole world. It's not fair. Willow tied, but she didn't lose. I knew I wasn't good enough to play, I knew it. We could've lost the very first round because of me! Why am I never good at anything?? Kai and Max are probably so disappointed in me. And Holly and Willow both believed that I could it, that's why they let me play. It's disgraceful...I never want to play tennis again!// She dropped her racket on the ground just as the door opened.
"Kailee?" Max's concerned face was lit dimly in the shadows, "Is that you? It's me, are you okay?"
Kailee pushed past Max and ran outside, covering her face and sobbing.
Max stared after her in dismay, looking at the tennis racket she left on the ground.
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