One Shot by Lauren B.

I released my shot at the 3 point line watching it swoosh perfectly through the net tying up the game. My long blonde pony tail swiped against my neck as I rushed back to play defense. I got down really low and carefully watched the point guard of the opposing team handle the ball. She lost control of the ball for less than one second and I knew that it was my opportunity to steal the ball. I darted at her making her lose her focus and sneakily swatted the ball away from her. It flew uncontrollably down the court. I sprinted towards it and drove all the way to the hoop on a fast break. The buzzer went off marking the end of the game and the crowd cheered knowing that I had just won our team another game.

Basketball was my life. Not only did I enjoy playing, but I was really good at it. It was my passion, my favorite hobby, my main focus in life. I was determined to be the best of the best, and I was quickly gaining that title. I was, by far, the player that held my high school basketball team together. I had been the starting point guard on the varsity team since freshman year. My grades weren’t the best. Actually they weren’t even close to the best. I had basically all C’s and no chance of getting into any Ivy League college like my mom would want me too. It wasn’t that I was bad at school, I would just much rather watch a Celtic’s game than type an English paper or shoot hoops in my driveway than work on a math problem. My only hope of getting into a semi reasonable college was by a basketball scholarship and being the best player on a division one high school team gave me a good chance at that.

It was Saturday morning when I woke up still in a good mood from last night’s game. My muscles were sore but the image in my head of myself saving the game made up for it. I put on shorts and a hoodie and started off my day by jogging on my treadmill just like every other morning. My stop watch went off after exactly one hour and I hopped off and jumped into a steamy hot shower. I combed my fingers threw my hair and threw it up into a messy bun.

I was about to switch on my laptop to check out the scores of my favorite college basketball team when my cell phone vibrated in my sweatpants pocket. It was a text message from my best friend Sara. It read, “Brooke! Party at my house 8:00 tonight. I better see you there!” Sara’s parties were always way out of control and there was never any parental supervision. I decided that it was a better idea to stay home. They’d all be drinking and not remember that I wasn’t there anyways. I texted back saying, “Thanks but no thanks.” Right after the message was received my cell phone started vibrating again. This time it was a call.

“Brooke, you have to come tonight. It’s going to be awesome. My parents are gone for the entire weekend.”

“No thanks,” I responded. I wasn’t too much into the whole party and drinking scene like my other friends were.

“Oh my god Brooke, You are such a loser. You have the weekend off of basketball. You should just come. You never come to parties.”

I knew she wouldn’t give up until I gave in. “Fine,” I said. Maybe it would be fun after all. I deserved a break from basketball. It was all I had been doing lately. Plus I could celebrate last night’s game. I suddenly got really excited realizing that it would be the first fun thing I had done in a while. I slipped off my sweatpants and pulled on my shortest jean skirt and my tall chestnut UGG boots. I put on a cute sweater that complimented my eyes and wore my hair down and straight. It was a change from my normal work out clothes that everyone was used to seeing me in.

I basically stared at my watch until it turned 8:00. I walked out to my car and cleared my sweaty head band, knee brace, and basketball sneakers off the seat. I drove to Sara’s house confidently, getting ready to have a good time. I tried hard to hide my nervousness. It wasn’t that I was planning on doing anything bad; it was just that I wasn’t used to being at wild parties. I recognized the fact that I had nothing to be worried about because I couldn’t get in trouble if I didn’t do anything wrong.

When I arrived at the party, half of the guests were already drunk out of their minds. It was funny watching our friend’s trip over their own feet and laugh for absolutely no reason. I enjoyed being basically the only sober one and watching everyone else make a fool out of themselves. Everything was going great until a boy from my school offered me a drink. I kindly declined his offer but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that the star athlete here doesn’t drink.” I laughed it off hoping he would leave me alone; but he didn’t. “Why would you come to a party if you’re not even going to drink?” he asked. He kept harassing me until I finally yanked the can from his hand and took a big long gulp. It was one drink that led to another, that led to another, that led to another. Everything was spinning and I found it very difficult to walk. I had lost count of how many drinks I had but it didn’t seem to phase me. Everyone was having a good time, laughing, taking pictures, and playing games. The rest of the night was a blur.

I woke up the next morning on the floor of Sara’s bedroom with a major headache and almost no remembrance of the previous night. I got up and drove back to my house. I layed in bed the entire day, exhausted from the crazy party. I couldn’t believe it was Sunday and I had school and basketball the next day. I was feeling much better by Monday and had a lot of new friends saying “hi” to my in the hallways.

After school I got dressed in my basketball clothes and went out on the court to start warming up before practice. My coach slowly walked up to me with a weird look on his face and a yellow folder in his hand. He led me into the coach’s room and told me to sit down. I had no idea what was going on. He sat in front of me with a table separating us. He opened the folder and took out multiple pictures and placed them in front of me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In front of me were pictures of party that I had not seen. Apparently someone had put them online Sunday night and my coach had gotten a hold of them. There were pictures of me drinking alcohol and acting crazy. It was weird seeing me doing things that I couldn’t even remember. I hung my head as my coach raged at me. When he was done screaming and asking me what I was thinking, he calmly explained my consequences. He informed me that the team had a zero tolerance policy and that I would be kicked off the team permanently. I could not believe it. I didn’t even know how to respond. I covered my face with my hands as tears streamed out of my eyes.

I couldn’t even imagine not being able to play basketball. It was the one thing in life I enjoyed the most. I went out to my car and sat in the parking lot in shock. I couldn’t believe that one night, one party, one mistake, could ruin my entire life. I remembered that I had no chance of getting into college anymore and that I would probably end up not being accepted anywhere. The hardest part was telling my parents. They were extremely disappointed and more worried than upset. They also knew that my chances of getting into college were slim. I started trying really hard in school but I was not making any progress. It just wasn’t my thing.

I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth. I wasn’t accepted into any colleges because of my grades and I couldn’t get that athletic scholarship I was hoping for my whole life because I was no longer on the basketball team. If only I didn’t go to that party I would have been recruited to a division one school and got a good education and possibly got on a pro team. One mistake, one bad choice, one party, ruined my life. I wouldn’t be able to get a good job because I didn’t have a college education. Basketball is just a game but it definitely teaches you life lessons; One of those being to make good choices.