Dasom turned and gave a thankful smile at the student who did as she asked and got a bright smile back. almost as if the student was saying ‘no problem’. Taking the list, she sent the student off as she turned back around to face her desk. She could only sigh at the implication of what the document displayed on her desktop meant.

It was an email about a recent physiotherapy appointment that she had booked. ‘looks like that’s canceled’ she thought and sighed as a wave of pain ran through her right arm. Massaging her arm, she recalled the injury she got from the sport that she loved. The fun she had experienced, the hope, the fear of losing and suddenly memories were coming replying in her head as a calm yet dejected smile found it's way on her face.

She could remember the day right before she got the injury. They had just gotten to nationals and were facing a particularly strong school in hopes of staying in the competition.

“MINE!” A voice screeched out as a figure ran across the volleyball court in hopes of the ball hitting her arm. It was her own voice and yet it wasn't recognizable to her. The gym was packed, people were cheering for their own schools, for the ball, HECK, some were just screaming for the sake of screaming. There were lights everywhere, referees seemed to be at all sides of the court while the score keepers were busy look at the play just in case a point was earned. regardless of all the distractions, she couldn't afford to let anything distract her. All that passed through her mind was the need to win.

The ball seemed to slow down as it soared in the air and all of a sudden she was grateful for the hellish drills her coach forced them to do as she got to her spot in time. Positioning herself in a lower squatting position, Dasom brought both of her arms together and angled it in a way that the ball seemed to bounce off and made it's way straight up in the air. Not in the direction of her setter.

‘! I sent it straight  up’ she cursed in anger. Shifting her eyes to her teammates, she opened to yell a quick sorry but before she could even apologize for her mistake, the rest of her team were already moving. Adjusting to the position of the ball so there wouldn't be a hole on their side of the court. Her setter seemed to glide across the court as she raced against time in order to be underneath the ball before it touched the ground. The rest of the girls seemed to understand and made way for her to get into position. At the same time all the spikers went into position slightly behind their set positions in order to not push their setter to use for strength then she needed to use. and Dasom felt calm again. This is what Volleyball was. It wasn't just a sport. They weren't just teammates, they were part of the same body. one where the everyone worked in sync, covered for the other, and brought out the best of each other. if one of them fell behind, the rest would be there to pick them back up. Quickly snapping out of her frozen state, Dasom positioned herself slightly in front of her libero. she planed to cover the middle of the court and had no doubt that her libero was going to cover the whole back row just fine.

she watched as her setter jumped and arched in the air as set the ball behind her and sent it to the front of the net. right in front of their attacker. it was a split second. no words were used as the two attackers ran towards the net at full speed without hesitation. the trust was there. their center did her job as she stood in ready position right in front of the net with her arms spread out. she was watching. waiting for the ball to go over so that she could block. she always seemed to block them all and if she didn't. she always touched the ball; effectively slowing them down. the next thing she heard was the sound of flesh hitting a ball. and then silence. breathes were held as the ball zipped diagonally across the court and to their opponents' side. 

time slowed

'..more'

the ball slowed

'just...a..little more'

the distance from the ground got smaller

'PLEASE!!'

BAM

.

..

...

YE--

"MISS KIM!"

Dasom jumped in her seat as she bumped her knee on her desk.

"OWW! OKAY!, That hurt. oh dear"

"a-ah i'm so sorry!"

"no no it's alright, it was completely my fault for spacing off like that" Dasom tried to straighten out her clothes as she made her self comfortable in her chair and finally faced the young girl. she was holding a flyer; her flyer. for the volleyball team. feeling bubbles of joy forming in the fit of her stomach, she tried really hard to not let the smile on her face show. failing horribly after feeling her smile she stared gleefully at the girl in front of her.

"what can i help you with?"

she already knew the answer,

"i would like to drop this off and join the volleyball team"

and she was excited all over again.