Lola put her plan into effect. Throughout the school week Lola, with Bugs' help, began to organize the team. By the following week she announced the tryouts. There was a huge response; many of the girls came to tryout. They demonstrated their skills. Many of them made it including Babs, Fifi, Shirley, Melody, and Elmyra. They came to the first meet after school.
"OK girls, we have to start practicing as soon as possible cause the girls tournament will be starting in two months. We have to get in shape and strengthen our skills to be ready. So we are going to meet four times a week after school for two hours," said Lola addressing the girls
"Two hours!" exclaimed the girls
"C'mon two hours isn't that much and you'll have plenty of time to get home and do your homework," said Lola
"I have a life you know!" said Babs
"You'll have one day off a week. Besides its only going to be this way 'till the tournament begins, then we'll have less practice. We have to practice a lot now because we haven't got enough time," explained Lola
"So, like, where are we going to practice, or some junk," asked Shirley
"We will have our practice in the gym. If the weather is nice then we could go outside. The point is getting as much practice as we can to prepare," answered Lola, "any questions?" Fifi raised her hand.
"Will we be getting ze uniforms?" she asked
"That's an issue we have to talk about. You see, the school budget can only spare so much money, that we barely have enough for equipment. So we're going to have to raise the money ourselves,"
"We're not going to have to sell Girl Scout cookies, are we?" asked Babs in terror.
"Nah, I wouldn't put you girls through such humiliation," said Lola as the girls sighed in relief
"Aw! I wanted to wear those cutesy wutsey outfits with the green hat!" said Elmyra disappointedly
"How about a bake sale?" asked Melody. All the girls started to act nervous like they didn't hear her suggestion.
"What's wrong with that?" asked Lola, "you can't bake?" They all looked offended but then they changed their expression that told her that it was true.
"So what are we going to do?" they asked her
"How about we have a little exhibition game where we can charge for tickets?" asked Lola. The girls looked at each other. She continued, "We could also sell popcorn, soda, and candy."
"Sounds good, but who would we play against?" asked Melody
"How about the boy's team?" asked Lola. The girl's faces brightened at that thought.
"Let's do it!" they said
"Exhibition game it is!" said Lola
They spent all week preparing for the game. Lola was working overtime to practice with the team and prepare the fundraiser. Bugs was becoming very concerned. One day when he was driving her home, he spoke to her.
"Lola, you look tired," he said starting a conversation.
"Yeah, I've been working to get the team ready. And that ain't no walk in the park," she said
"But you've been working to hard,"
"No, no, its fine. Someone has to do it, and I took responsibility," she rested her head on his shoulder, "These girls need something to look forward too, you know. Something that they could actually enjoy (yawns). And to keep them out of trouble,"
"Dat's a good one. It would take a miracle to keep dem kids out of trouble," ha said with a chuckle. He put his arm around her and said, " But you shouldn't be working yourself to death. It ain't healthy. I don't want you to be stressed out. You'll end up wit insomnia or somepin' like dat." He looked down at her to see that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and kept driving.
When he got to Lola's house, he gently moved her aside and searched her jacket for her house keys. He opened the door and went back to his car. He opened the passenger door and carried Lola out. He carried her into her house and to her bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed and couldn't help but admire her. She looked so peaceful and angelic lying on her bed with the moonlight glow accenting her body with her chest rising and falling as she breathed and with her hair over her eyes. Bugs leaned over and kissed her warm lips and whispered "Goodnight, sleeping beauty." He locked the door and drove home.
The day came for the game and everyone in school went to the first ever exhibition game. They sold tickets and snacks and made a lot of money. The gym was packed that some people had to stand in the hallways or really close to the court. Practically the whole school and staff were there.
The boy's team, which consisted of Buster, Plucky, Hamton, Calamity, Fowlmouth and a few other guys, appeared on the court with their red uniforms. The girl's team got on court with their gym uniforms (They're earning their uniforms, remember?) Arnold approached center court; he was wearing sweat pants and a shirt that barely covered his chest (Muscular guys like to show off, don't they?). Lola came on court wearing a pair of shorts, a white tank top and a vest.
"You are the little girly girl's coach, ya? Ha, this game is going to be easy. My big strong boys will crush you and your little plush dolls, doll," said Arnold in a strong, confident voice.
"Uh, oh!" said Bugs, "I wish he hadn't don dat!" Lola kept calm. She looked at him straight in the eyes and said coolly, "I wouldn't count on it. We're going to teach you a little thing about basketball. By the way, never ever call me, or my girls, doll." Arnold grunted and walked away shaking his head, "Women," he muttered. Lola walked back to the bench where she met up with Bugs.
"Dey're toast," he said.
"Oh yeah," said Lola
"Oh well," he said as he shrugged his shoulders. He turned towards her, "So dis is it," he said.
"Time to see what these girls are made of,"
"One ting dat I learned from you, is to never underestimate da power of da female,"
"You got that right," she chuckled.
He brought her closer to him and kissed her. "Good luck, Lo" he said.
"Thanks" she said as her cheeks turned pink.
The crowd roared for the game to start. Both coaches went to their respective teams to huddle.
"OK girls, this is our first game so lets make it a good one. Remember what we've practiced. This game isn't just skill, it's teamwork. Those guys are overconfident and think they'll win easily, but we know better don't we?" said Lola
"Yeah! We'll give them the beating of a lifetime!" said Babs
"We did it once, we can do it again!" said Melody
"All right girls," said Lola motioning for the hands-in, the girls did so. They lifted and yelled, "Girl power!"
At the other extremity of the court…
"Men! We shall beat those powder puffs at this man's game. No girly girl will make losers out of me…I mean us!" said Arnold, starting the hands-in.
"Let's beat those chicks!" said fowlmouth following Arnold's example.
"It's payback time!" said Buster. All the guys put their hands in and yelled, "Guy power!" and started to whoop and holler like gorillas.
Lola rolled her eyes and yelled, "This is hoops! Not Football!"
Marvin the Martian was referee. The starters took their positions. "Ready?" said Marvin as Buster and Babs got in position for the jump ball. He blew the whistle and threw the ball. Buster got the ball first and Plucky caught it. He dribbled down to the basket where Fifi made a steal. She dribbled up to half court where Hamton blocked. She passed it to Shirley. She used her powers to block anyone from coming close and freely made a basket. The guys had possession of the ball. Fowlmouth dribbled toward the basket and passed it to Calamity. He made an all out dash for the basket and dunked it. Melody then had possession, she passed it to Babs who attempted a three pointer but missed. However, Fifi caught the rebound and dunked it. The guys had possession but then Fifi stole the ball and dunked it once more. "I am on, how you say, fire, no?" she said as she fell back. The game continued on. Then the whistle blew for half time and the teams were tied.
Back at the girls' locker-room, Lola was having a pep talk.
"You girls are doing great. You're putting up a great fight. But…" said Lola
"There's always a but," said Babs
"Ahem," continued Lola, "But, we need more defense offense isn't enough. Whenever the guys have possession, make sure that each of their teammates is covered. Everyone has to have her eyes open. Someone always has to challenge the one with the ball. And when we have possession, the others have to make themselves open or block the other team. Be aggressive with the ball, but always remember to keep it clean."
"Okay girls, let's kick some butt," said Babs putting her hand in. The others followed her example and yelled, "Girl power!"
In the boys' locker room, Arnold was yelling at the guys.
"You boys should be winning! Not tied with the girly girls! You have to fight hard and play dirty!" he yelled.
"What! This is a game not a war!" said Buster
"You do as I say!" yelled Arnold.
Half time went underway. They played hard. Pass after pass and shot after shot, neither of the teams took the lead for long. By third quarter Arnold was furious. He signaled for a timeout.
"What are you guys doing!" he yelled, "You're not listening to me!"
"We all do respect, coach. But, aren't you taking this a little personal?" asked Buster.
"Yeah, it's just a game," added Hamton.
"No! We have to win!" yelled Arnold.
The boys returned to the game. They didn't listen to what Arnold said, they played fair and square. They tie still wasn't broken. The few last minutes of the fourth quarter were very tough. With 15 seconds on the clock, the girls had possession of the ball. Shirley passed it to Fifi. She dribbled up to the basket but was blocked by Plucky. She passed the ball to Babs who made a shot but it bounced of the rim. Elmyra got the rebound and jumped into the air for a very nice slam-dunk. There was 5 seconds left on the clock. In a desperate attempt, Buster dashed and shot from half court. The crowd grew silent and tensely watched the ball roll on the rim. Then some dust went into Elmyra's nose which caused her to sneeze and the ball fell off of the rim just as the buzzer sounded. The girls won! The crowd roared and Arnold pulled his hair, I mean fur, in rage.
"They cheated! Ref!" Arnold yelled as he complained to Marvin.
"No way! My girls would never cheat!" yelled Lola in defense, "Why can't you be a good sport?"
"I won't stand for this!" he yelled. He picked up the ball and thrust it to Lola. "I challenge you!"
The crowd stopped their celebration and gasped.
"Fine," she said.
The crowd grew silent. Both teams cleared the court for those two. Marvin shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "Earthlings" He threw the ball into the air. Lola caught it and dashed for the basket to score. Arnold couldn't even keep up with her. Even though he was muscular, he wasn't agile (Speed is more important than strength in this game). When he had possession of the ball, she stole the ball and made a shot. He was getting angrier and angrier. He pushed her and took the ball. The crowed booed and Marvin called a foul. Lola got up and grabbed the ball from Arnold and approached the foul shot line. She made a very clean shot. The game was pretty much one sided so Marvin declared Lola the winner. The crowed cheered. Both teams approached center court and shook each other's hands saying, "Good game".
Bugs approached Lola, who was among the teams. She saw him coming and jumped into his arms.
"He didn't stand a chance," he said.
"No he didn't. Serves him right," she said
"You did it! The treasurer just told me dat you girls just earned enough money for two sets of uniforms!"
"You hear that! We did it!" yelled Lola to the girls. They cheered and hugged each other in congratulations. Lola then turned to face Bugs.
"You made such a difference here, Lo. Dey look so happy," he said
"But, I never could have done it without you," she said as she planted a big kiss on his lips. The crowed awed and cheered as they saw the two making out in the middle of the court.
(Giggles) Its parts like these that make me all bubbly!