by Harshini (S1 2020)

“Octavia! Get up! Its almost 8am! You are going to be late!” My mother’s voice jolted me awake. I looked over my alarm clock.

“Shoot!” I overslept. I immediately ripped off my blanket and dashed to the bathroom to get ready. I picked up the first uniform that I could find. I was not sure it was even clean. But I did not care. I could not be late today.

Today was my CCA trials. I had already chosen which CCA trial I wanted to go: Band. It was my CCA in primary school. I was the band major and I wanted to continue learning music in secondary school. I checked my phone. Seven missed calls from Bellamy. Bellamy was my best friend, and like me, he also had chosen which CCA trial he wanted to go to: Track and Field. Bellamy ran faster than the speed of sound. When he starts, he could not be stopped. I grabbed a piece of bread, kissed my mother goodbye and bolted to school.

Fortunately, I made it there just in time. However, everyone else had already started their trials. I knew I had to get started if I wanted to get a place in band. I found Bellamy who was grinning from ear to ear. He approached me and excitedly said that he got into Track and field. I congratulated him and rushed to band trials. When I got there, the line had snaked through the hallway. I let out a sigh.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was my turn. I stepped into the room, but to my surprise, it was empty. A staff member approached me. To my dismay, the words that came out of her mouth left me speechless. All the spots had been filled up! My heart sank. In  desperation, I went to the other trial stations but they all had no slots left, except for football. The teacher in charge told me that I was lucky as I filled up the last spot. But I did not feel lucky at all. I knew nothing about football, or even sports. My coordination was terrible and my agility was even worse. I walked like a bull in a china shop.

On the first day of practice, the coach started with simple drills. He made it look easy when I did them, it was the total opposite. Everyone could execute the drills perfectly while I was stumbling over my own feet. By the end of training, my legs felt like jelly and I had cramps in places I did not even know I had muscles. I looked around. Everyone seemed fine. Before releasing us, the coach told us we had a competition coming up soon.

As I walked out of school, I saw Bellamy waiting for me. He took one glance at me and asked,” Was it that bad?” I shook my head and told him what happened. I knew I had to practise even harder. I did not want to pull the team down. Bellamy even offered to help me. After school every day, I practised. I put in my 110% effort. Sometimes, I felt like giving up but I continued to press on.

Finally, it was competition day. I felt more prepared than I ever felt in my life. I stepped onto the field and the electrifying atmosphere of the stadium pushed me to give my all. At last, it was down to the last 30 seconds and it was still a tie. I had the ball. My eyes were slammed shut. Suddenly, I could hear thunderous cheers. I slowly opened my eyes. I glanced at the scoreboard. We won! My teammates started cheering for me. I was paralyzed with happiness. My heart leaped for joy. They carried me on their shoulders and I held the trophy in my hands. I knew then that if I had not pressed on, I would not have had a chance to savour that sweet victory.