One Shot

• Kalypso Mccallum-smith, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2013

As the clock ticks down my heart beat gets louder; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. . . This is it. Am I ready? Everything has built up to this very moment. I’ve been here before, twice, but this is it, it’s my turn. A rush of anxiety rushed through my body as I crossed the line. My legs jolted forward and I was off, my body moved in all directions and my mind moved in the opposite.

Minutes had passed, sweat rolling down my face, mind back in order. This is my chance; I can see it, your mine. As I grab it my legs propel me forward and I’ve broken away from the pack. My ears buzz from the noise and my hands tremble. ‘Take your time’ I think to myself, ’you’ve got this’.3, 2. As it rolls off the tips of my fingers a sense of anticipation shakes me. 1. It goes silent. 0. Then it drops and the buzzing returns.

With a dry mouth I grasp for saliva. I can see water, I hobble over and skull till the last drop. The smell of perspiration fills the air as we huddle and listen. In the corner of my eye I see a small child trip, fall, splash! Fanta filled the perimeter. As we huddle I get told to be a threat, rip it and drive. I threw my hand up in the air, game on.

Half-way there, it’s not going to be easy. I can see it in their eyes, determination. I look at the people beside me; fearful, lost and beat. My legs jolt forward, mind ready, off we go again. People collapsing, jumping and screaming. I could see people hitting the wall. Their mind was getting the better of them, but I was determined to push through the pain. We battled on for the next 15 minutes, and that’s when they started to show signs of weakness. We attacked hard and managed to reduce their lead. My legs felt like jelly and my knees began to buckle. It took every ounce of any energy that we could find in our body to continue.

People began to become crowds and all eyes were on me. Whistles, chants, abuse coming from all directions. ‘Focus’. As the last few minutes counted down, intensity rose. The atmosphere was manic with anticipation. Up and back, turnover after turnover, shot after shot, minute after minute and then only seconds. Their eyes, gleaming with joy. Our eyes, dark with defeat. With a few re-assuring words and exchanging of looks, we knew what we had to do. We were down by 2, this was our only hope. I had it, it was all up to me. 6 months of preparation, 18 weeks of hard work, hours of intense training, all leading up to this one shot. One step away from the three point line I gathered all the energy from my toes to my fingertips and released the shot. The ball bounced around the ring until it sunk into the hoop. The crowd went crazy.

I had done it. We had just won the grand final by one point.