Throwing away a dream

He was the tall and dark, captain of the college cricket team and lead singer in the college band. When the college cricket team were playing in a grand final, all the girls went along, not to support them, but to watch the captain. Let’s call him Ken.

When the opposing batsmen hit a ‘four’, the ball rolled under the boundary fence and right by my leg where I sat on the end of a bench full of girls. I’m not going to get the ball, I thought.

No-one else moved, the ball had stopped not far behind me and I was the closest to it.

I can’t get it. If I get it, I’ll have to throw it. And we all know how I go with throwing.

Once it was obvious that I was the one who was supposed to skip over and fling it back effortlessly so that the game could continue, I stood up. I walked slowly over to the ball and picked it up. I turned towards the boundary fence and started walking. I’ll carry it back. That would work.

But the fielder in white at the fence was impatient. ‘Yep,’ he said. ‘Chuck it here.’

It was Ken.

I gasped. He was looking directly at me. This was my moment. Our eyes locked and he probably started falling in love. I flicked my hair over my shoulder. Overarm or underarm, I wondered. He held his hand up in the air. Overarm.

No.

Underarm.

I draw my arm back. He’s looking at me. He’s wondering how many kids we’ll have.

I swing my arm forward. The swing is good. So good that there’s follow through; my arm swings all the way around. But the grip release is ill-timed. I let go of the ball, but it’s too late. The ball lands behind me.

Ken scoffs, hurdles the fence and runs past me to get the ball. He throws it back to the middle of the oval and jogs back to leap over the fence like a gazelle.

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And I stand there like a dodo. Guessing we’ll never get married.

‘The one skill I have always wished to have’ is today’s prompt in today’s I’m Blogging Every Day in May! with Clairey Hewitt.