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Date Posted: 00:20:59 09/19/02 Thu
Author: Z
Subject: Untitled-Prologue to my new story!

Okay, yeah I suck with titles, but I'm posting anyway...if anyone comes up with a title, let me know! All right, here goes nothing:

Prologue-
The last bell of the day rang and kids poured into the hallway from every direction. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get to his or her locker to collect books before making a mad dash towards the buses. Everyone except Hannah Taylor. The thirteen-year-old, brown haired girl moved slowly towards her locker. She spun her combination into the lock to open the door. On the inside of her locker door hung a small mirror. Hannah turned her face to the right and looked at herself closely. The warped piece of metal showed a plain brown-eyed girl staring back at her. Hannah didn't think of herself as ugly or gruesome. When she looked at her reflection, she saw just Hannah, nothing more, nothing less.

Hannah's eyes shifted from the mirror to the inside of her locker where her backpack hung. Below the backpack sat a pair of Nike sneakers. Hannah stared at the sneakers intently. This morning, the idea of trying out for the basketball team had seemed like a good one, but as the time for tryouts grew closer, Hannah's apprehension grew. It wasn't that she doubted her playing abilities, Hannah knew she had skills. Just the thought of being the only girl trying out for the boy's basketball team was a little daunting. Hannah knew if she wanted to play for the school, it would have to be with the boys since the middle school was in the middle of nowhere, Tennessee. What kind of middle school didn't have a girl's basketball team, Hannah thought sarcastically. It was the 90s for crying out loud.

"Well, might as well live a little," Hannah said out loud with a sigh. She leaned forward and quickly pulled out her bag. Grabbing her algebra textbook and notebook, Hannah stuffed them into her bag. She zipped the bag up and slung it over her shoulder. Before slamming the door shut, Hannah reached for her binder and sneakers. With everything all set, Hannah headed towards the girl's locker room where she could change for the tryouts.

Hannah wasn't surprised to find the locker room completely deserted. Everyone who had gym last period had cleared out already. Slowly, Hannah walked to where her gym locker was and set her bag down on the bench in front of it. Instead of opening her gym locker, Hannah reached into her backpack and pulled out a pair of windpants and her lucky Chicago Bulls T-shirt. On the front was a worn out Bulls' logo with the number 23 on the back. Five minutes later, she was lacing up her sneakers before heading out to the gym. The sounds of bouncing balls and squeaking sneakers reverberated in the locker room.

Hannah quietly observed the scene from behind the bleachers. The coach wasn't out yet, but a rack of basketballs stood in the middle of the gym. There were 7 or 8 guys already shooting hoops with a couple of more running into the gym. Hannah knew she was going to draw attention when she stepped out, but she had signed up to try out for a basketball team and that's exactly what she was going to do.

With a deep breath, Hannah strolled into the gym and walked towards the bleachers with her head held high. She sat down in the second row and sized up her competition. It didn't take long for the boys to notice the presence of a girl and they began whispering to one another. Hannah never let her gaze falter from the group of guys, even though she knew they were talking about her. She saw one guy being patted on the back and pushed in her direction by two other guys. Hannah braced herself for the confrontation, but Coach Matthews came out and blew his whistle.

"Everyone stretch for two minutes before we start warm ups!" he yelled with a clap of his hands. Thankfully, Hannah had already talked to the coach about trying out. He had told her that she could try out, but that didn't mean she'd make the team. He had warned her that she would have to prove herself out on the court and Hannah accepted the challenge.

The only reason Coach let me tryout is probably because he thinks I won't make it and only end up humiliating myself, Hannah thought as she reached down to touch the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Hannah saw a group of guys and girls in street clothes enter and make themselves comfortable on the bleachers. Hannah knew they were here to watch the spectacle. News about a girl trying out for the boys' basketball team had spread fast around school. Hannah had never been oblivious to remarks made by most people and she had seen some pointing and laughing thrown her way. Hannah shrugged off the criticisms and walked with her head held high.

"Okay, fifty jumping jacks," Coach Matthews called out and the group obeyed. Once they finished with those, Coach instructed them to run 5 laps around the gym. Most of the guys ran in a group clustered together and Hannah hung back a little. She didn't need some stupid boys telling her that girls couldn't play basketball. As Hannah ran by the bleachers, she saw that the small audience was still there. Of course Coach Matthews could have told them to leave, but Hannah had the feeling he hoped that she'd lose her nerve and back out on her own.

Everyone ran the laps quickly and awaited further instructions from the coach. They gathered in a group in the middle of the gym floor.

"Okay, here's how this will work today: I am going to pair you up and then I'm going to match up 3 pairs to make a team of six. Each team will play against the other three teams. Then the two best teams will play each other. Winners of that team will be split up into their pairs and play two on two games. Now winning or losing in these games doesn't decide who gets cut or not. This is just a fun way to see you all in action. Tomorrow I'll post two lists. One will be nine players that make the A team and nine players will make the B team. The lists will be posted outside the locker room-the boys locker room," Coach added, looking at Hannah. "Any questions?" The coach looked around before continuing. "Okay, pair up!" he yelled blowing his whistle. "Adamson, Adler! Anderson, Becker! Cartwright, Davis! Donald, Dugen! Fairchild, Hanks! Jacobs, Klein! Kindel, Lucero! Mathis, Mendal! Nicholson, Pope! Rogers, Stevenson! Taylor, Timberlake! Valasquez, Zaijeck! Okay, that's everyone, right? Good, find your partners!"

Hannah sighed in dismay. She hadn't thought about being paired up with someone. All she had wanted to do was come to tryouts, play her best and hopefully show all the backward thinking people in this small town that girls can be at the same level, if not better, as guys. The guys began pairing up as the coach had instructed, but Hannah wasn't even sure whom she was supposed to be with. Coach had said Timberlake. Who the heck was Timberlake? Hannah had only been in the school for a couple of weeks and she could barely remember the names of the kids in her class. Well, hopefully, her partner would be the one guy who was standing alone.

Two minutes later, everyone was paired up except for a fairly tall, curly haired kid who was a couple of feet away from Hannah. Hannah saw him sigh before walked towards her.

"Hi," he said shyly in a heavy Southern drawl. "Taylor?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I guess we're partners then."

"Don't sound too excited," Hannah said sarcastically.

"No, it's just that…well, you're a girl."

"Wow, smart too."

"Hey now, you don't have to be snippy."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Hannah said dejectedly. She knew she was being rude. This guy was being decent. "I'm Hannah." She put her hand out for a handshake.

"I'm Justin Randall, but you can call me Justin." The two shook hands in a brisk manner.

"Okay, Justin. I don't know about you, but I have a mission to show all these people how to play some real basketball."

"Me too!"

The coach blew his whistle and got everyone's attention. "Okay, one person on each side of the court for suicides!" Everyone commenced quickly and the tryouts got underway. Hannah played harder than she had in the past. She and Justin made a good team in knowing when to shoot and when to pass. It was almost as though they had played with each other on a regular basis. The two of them ended up coming in second place out of the 12 teams. "That's it gentlemen!" The coach said after two hours of basketball. He blew his whistle and dismissed the group.

Hannah wiped her sweat-drenched brow on the sleeve of her shirt, smiling happily. She had noticed that the coach had considered her one of the guys. She started walking towards the locker room with a bounce in her step.

"Hey, Hannah, wait up!" Justin called out from behind her. He quickened his pace and fell into stride with her.

"That was so awesome! You play really well."

"So do you, I've never seen a girl play basketball like that before."

"Girls CAN play sports too ya know."

"Not like that. Or if they can, they'd rather curl their hair and wear make-up or something."

"All girls aren't like that. Maybe the ones here, but I used to play all kinds of sports at my old school."

"Yeah, I just came to this school myself."

"No way, you sound like you've been here you're whole life!" Hannah said incredulously. "Eye just came to this school mahself," Hanna mimicked Justin.

"Don't make fun of my accent! Besides, that doesn't mean I wasn't born here."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, I need to change and meet my mom outside. Hope you make the team!"

"I need to do the same and I hope you make it too!"

Justin and Hannah parted ways in front of the door to the girls' locker room. Hannah quickly walked inside and changed back into her regular clothes. Before exiting the room, she walked over towards the full-length mirrors. Carefully studying her reflection, Hannah critiqued the person she saw. She was on the tall side for her age with long legs and a medium built frame. Slowly, Hannah reached up to release her hair from the confines of the rubber band. It tumbled down and Hannah attempted to give it some body. After a few futile attempts, Hannah sighed in frustration.

"Oh this is so stupid," she groaned. Hannah quickly tied her hair back up and out of her face and walked out of the school. The front of the school was completely deserted. Huge trees were scattered all across the school grounds and Hannah picked one that was near the sidewalk so that her mother could spot her when she pulled up. Knowing that it might take her mother a while to get there, Hannah dropped her backpack and settled down against the tree with a book. The warm September air danced over Hannah's face. After two hours of sweaty tryouts, the breeze actually felt refreshing. In the background, Hannah heard birds singing their melodic tunes and running water from a stream at the East End of the school.

The sound of a car pulling up caught Hannah's attention and she looked up to see if it was her mother. Instead she saw a curly-haired blonde woman pull up to the curb. A few minutes later, Justin came running out of the school. He yanked open the rear door to throw his bag into the back seat. Hannah watched closely as Justin poked his head to listen to something his mom was saying. To her surprise, the two of them turned and looked at her. Hannah quickly dropped her gaze back to the book because she didn't want to be caught staring.

"Hey Hannah! Come here!" Justin called out from about 5 yards away. Hannah looked up and saw Justin gesturing to her frantically. She stood up and grabbed her bag before walking towards the car. Hannah discreetly brushed off the loose dirt from her jeans.

"Um, hi Justin." Hannah wasn't sure why he had called her over.

"Mom, this is Hannah Taylor."

"Hi, honey," Justin's mom greeted her in an even thicker Southern accent than Justin. "Your momma and I were chatting today and she asked me to pick you up because she's caught in the city right now."

"Oh okay. I didn't know she was going anywhere today." Hannah felt uncomfortable getting into the car even though Justin's mom was really nice.

"It came up last minute. Besides we're practically neighbors so when she or your Daddy get home, you can go over to your house. Now come on, get in."

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Timberlake." Hannah remembered her manners and quickly got into the car.

"Justin's daddy and I aren't married anymore, sweetie, so you can just call me Lynn." Lynn locked the doors and put the car into drive.

Hannah felt silly for accidentally calling Justin's mom, Mrs. Timberlake. She couldn't have known any better, Hannah reasoned with herself. As Lynn drove towards her new neighborhood, Hannah stared out at the streets that were still unfamiliar to her. She had come from a much bigger town than this and it felt odd to be in a place where everyone knew everyone else.

"So your mom was telling me that you tried out for the basketball team," Lynn began. She looked at the quiet girl in her rearview mirror.

"Yes, ma'am. They don't have a girls' team so I had to try out with the boys."

"Good luck with that. I know Justin here loves basketball. Doesn't he play well?" Lynn beamed proudly at her son and Hannah could see him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Mo-om," Justin whined. "Besides, Hannah plays real good too."

"Plays well," Lynn corrected. "Really? You should come over to our house sometime then. Justin just got a basketball hoop for the driveway."

"That sounds neat. Thank you." Hannah returned her gaze to the passing scenery and noticed that the streets started looking a little bit more familiar. She could tell that they were near her house. Instead of turning to the right like her mom always did, Lynn turned left and then another left. Hannah found them parked in a driveway of medium sized house with lots of trees in the yard.

"Here we are! Everyone out!" Lynn turned off the ignition and led the two children into the house. Justin immediately tossed his bags and started running up the stairs. "Justin Randall! Where are your manners?"

"Oh, sorry Momma. Hannah would you like to come upstairs and play video games with me?"

"Okay, sure." Hannah looked around the house and immediately noticed how comfortable everything looked. In the family room there was a large fish tank on the far wall along with numerous family pictures. The wall adjacent to that one held a fireplace and a huge wall unit that housed the TV and entertainment systems. She gently set her bag on the floor next to a large leather couch before following Justin up the stairs.

"So what do you want to play? These are the games I have." Justin pointed to a stack of game cartridges and Hannah quickly scanned them.

"Oh, I love racing games!" Hannah said excitedly.

"Ok, we'll play this then. But beware, I'm the best!"

"Whatever you say. I'll beat you in this game like I can beat you in basketball."

"Nuh uh, you can NOT beat me in basketball, no matter how good you are!" Justin puffed out his chest with pride. Hannah took the opportunity to poke him in the ribs and Justin yelped out in surprise. "Hey, that's not nice!"

"Who said I was nice? Now let's play!"

The two of them occupied themselves with the game until Lynn called them from downstairs. The two quickly ended the current game and clamored down the stairs.

"I made you two some snacks. You must be staving after playing all that basketball." Lynn set out a plate full of cookies, a couple of glasses of milk and a chocolate cake.

"Is this the one Grandma made?" Justin asked excitedly, pointing to the cake.

"Yes, it is. So eat up!"

Hannah and Justin grabbed their plate full of food and headed into the family room to watch some TV while they ate. Hannah set her glass down on a coaster on the coffee table when some pictures on the wall unit caught her eye. She slowly walked over to inspect them a little closer. It was a large group of kids wearing matching jackets around some counter. Hannah easily spotted Justin with his curly hair.

"Did you used to go to a special school or something?"

"Huh? Oh you mean those pictures? They're from the Mickey Mouse Club," Justin answered before stuffing a cookie in his mouth and taking a gulp of his milk.

"Mickey Mouse Club?" Justin made it seem like she should know what that was, but Hannah had no idea.

"Yeah, on the Disney channel. You've never seen it?"

"I never had Disney. You were on TV?" Hannah raised both her eyebrows and looked at Justin with shock.

"Yeah, for like 2 years but the ended the show so I came back to school here."

"That so cool! What did you do on there?" Hannah forgot all about the TV and focused her attention on Justin.

"We had did skits, sang songs and danced," Justin said casually.

"You got to dance too!" Hannah squealed. "That's what I want to do when I grow up, be a dancer. You must be really good to get on a show like that."

"I guess so."

"Oh don't let him be modest," Lynn said, coming into the room. "Justin was fabulous, but he doesn't think I mean it since I'm his mother. Your momma was telling me that you're really into dancing, too. She mentioned some auditions you have lined up."

"Yeah, I've been going to a couple, just to see how it goes. Maybe something exciting will happen."

"I hope so, sweetie. Your momma and I already made plans to take you two to your auditions together. We think it'll be easier for you two to have some support from someone your own age."

Hannah looked over at Justin. It seemed like the two of them would be spending a lot of time together even if they didn't want to. When she saw Justin smile at her, Hannah grinned back at him and realized that maybe her move to Tennessee wouldn't be so bad after all. It seemed like she had found a friend after all.





Yeah, it's kinda sucky, I know...I hope it'll get better in the first chapter! Anyway, let me know what you think so I can make the next post better! :o)

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