Typical Day
On any other day of the year, Zara Trinity could be a typical a college student. She could sleep in, go to her afternoon class, and go out with her friends later that evening. But it's not just any other day of the year. Nope, it's the first day of sand volleyball season. Her schedule's set in stone. During sand volleyball season, there's no rest for the weary.
It's 7:00AM on a Thursday morning and Zara rises from bed like an ancient mummy whose curse has been unlocked. She groans and removes the white gauze bandage that's wrapped around her sore knee.
For breakfast, Zara makes a quick protein shake: two cups of soymilk, a chopped banana, two handfuls of blueberries and strawberries, two scoops of protein powder, and a little oatmeal to get those carbs in—the breakfast of champions. Fitting, since Zara is, after all, a champion…or at least, she wishes she were.
At 7:45AM, Zara runs out the door, protein shake in-hand. Her African-American Studies class starts in fifteen minutes. She jumps on her bike, races across campus, and makes it to through the door with only moments to spare. She takes one of the seats in the back of the room. About five minutes into the professor's lecture, though, Zara starts to zone out. She's exhausted; she stayed up late last night studying for a microeconomics test later that day.
After slogging through her morning class, Zara takes a look at her watch: it's 12:10PM. With the help of a massive salad from the student union, she studies her microecon class notes. Her test is at 12:45PM, and it won't be easy. In between bites of lettuce, Zara tries to focus.
An hour later, Zara is working on her microeconomics test with fifteen minutes left. As she impatiently shakes her leg, she checks the clock, looks around at the near-empty lecture hall, and re-reads the question:
Suppose that apples and oranges are close substitutes. If the price of apples goes down, how is the equilibrium price and quantity of oranges expected to change?
"But… I thought you couldn't compare apples and oranges," Zara thinks to herself. Good one, professor.
Zara lets out an exasperated sigh and decides that if she doesn't know the answer now, she probably won't within the next fifteen minutes. "They both decrease," she writes. Zara sighs again, brings her test to the front, and heads to afternoon practice.
Outside, the sun beams brightly like a yellow grape in the cloudless sky—typical Califlorida weather. A salty ocean smell hangs in the afternoon air.
Zara squints as she fumbles through her bag for her sunglasses. It's a warm day, but Zara feels way cooler once she puts on her Ray Bans. She arrives at the courts early and decides to brush up on some of her passing skills. In last Saturday's match, she made several passing errors. That kind of performance won't fly this coming weekend.
Zara's school has a huge home game this coming Sunday against the State University of Collegetown Devils. The Devils rank fifth in the nation, but Zara and her squad believe they can change that.
After practicing her passes, Zara devours a protein bar. "Good thing I don't have to do weights today with so little food in my system," she thinks to herself. On Mondays and Wednesdays during the season, players have strength training at 12:50PM before outdoor practice begins at 2:00PM.
This season, Zara has been playing on team No. 3, which means she's the fifth or sixth best player on the squad. Not too shabby, seeing as her team has fifteen players. Head Coach Jason Diggs admires Zara's work ethic and diligence and has even considered moving her up to team No. 2. Of course, her shoddy performance last weekend certainly didn't help her case.
Zara manages to have a great practice despite her lack of fuel. Together with her team No. 3 partner, Courtney Bump, Zara plays a set against the current team No. 2. Thanks to some crisp passing and setting from Zara, they win.
After practice, Coach Diggs praises Zara for her stellar performance. "We need you to play big on Sunday, Zara," Coach Diggs explains. "If you keep it up, we've got a chance at taking down the Devils this weekend."
He claps Zara on the shoulder and smiles. "I want you and Court to play No. 2," he says. "I think you match up better against their No. 2 team. I think you both have it in you."
Zara beams with pride and high-fives Courtney. "Totally! Thanks, Coach!" Zara replies. They pack up their gear while trying to avoid eye contact with the former No. 2 team.
Awkward…
Zara was victorious during practice, but at 5:30PM, she's totally beat. She couldn't care less, though; she's positively elated that she's been given a shot to play No. 2. After grabbing some dinner with her teammates, as she often does following practice, she heads straight home to her dorm room to study.
She has a lot of preparation to do for this weekend, and she's not about to let her coach or her teammates, down.
Zara's roommate, Tina, is already inside watching TV. Tina isn't much of a sports fanatic (she's the type who wouldn't know a volleyball if it hit her in the face), but the two bonded as freshmen over the antics of Professor Spittle's 8:00AM English class.
"How'd practice go today?" Tina asks, her eyes glued to a particularly riveting episode of Friends.
"Great!" Zara exclaims, already making a beeline for her bedroom. "Gotta hit the tape. I'll tell you more later!"
"Mkay," Tina mutters, still transfixed on the TV.
The two roomies share a special bond and enjoy their time together, but during sand volleyball season, Zara's always on the move. Tina never takes it personally. They'll squeeze in some quality time together between seasons. In the meantime, she Tina has Friends to keep her company.
With headphones in, Zara proceeds to pore over tapes from previous matches. That's the homework she really enjoys. After about an hour, Zara does some reading and puts together an outline for an African-American studies paper due Monday—a head start that she desperately needs. She knows she won't be able to devote much time to homework this weekend with the huge match on Sunday.
At midnight, Zara finally decides to turn in. She's completely burned out, like a match that was used as a birthday candle. But as she lies in her bed, beginning to drift off to sleep, she knows she wouldn't have it any other way. She knows that this is the life of a sand volleyball player. She knows that she has to work even harder if she wants to be the best she can be.
That night, she dreams that she's playing beach volleyball on some tropical island. It's an AVP tournament and she's competing against her idol, Misty May-Treanor. "Nice serve," Misty shouts after Zara freezes her with the perfect ace. "Yeah. Better watch your back! I'm comin' for ya!" Zara cackles and grabs the ball to take another serve.
Misty May-Treanor is completely taken aback by Zara's aplomb. But this is Zara's dream, so it doesn't really matter.