Page 5 of From the Courtroom to the Court
Leah sighs and takes it from her hands while sitting up to put it on.
"What do I have now?" she asks, approaching the counter where Natalie checks the schedule on the computer screen.
"A new student. Around your age, her name is Emily. Very nice," her mother notes, pushing up her glasses. "She just wants to learn as a hobby. Apparently, she loves tennis but is terrible at it. When she came to sign up, she mentioned she couldn't return a ball without tripping, and if she did, she'd send it flying off the court."
Her mothers laugh with complicity as they remember.
"I don't know if it's true or if she was exaggerating," Anne adds, "but she told it with such humor that it seemed real."
"Nobody can be that bad at playing," Leah says, checking the time on her sports watch. "Where's Mia?"
"In the storage room checking equipment. You know she can't stand doing nothing, and since Oliver's father hasn't arrived, she can't prep the court yet," Natalie replies.
"Fine." Leah takes off the jacket and hands it to her mother. "I'll go find her and we'll go meet this Emily. Which court is it?"
"Six."
Leah exits the building and heads straight to the storage room. She finds Mia sorting out used tennis balls, placing them in a basket that once a month a guy picks up to distribute to various animal shelters for dogs to play with.
"Let's go, Mia. We have a new student. Apparently she's quite a beginner, so bring a couple of rackets just in case. I don't know if she'll bring her own," the coach says.
Mia obeys. She selects a couple from those available for clients and leaves with Leah.
"Which court is it?" Mia also asks.
"Six. My moms say she's pretty bad at playing," Leah says, summarizing what they just told her.
"I don't know if she's bad, but she's definitely punctual," Mia says, pointing to court six as they approach.
Leah looks up and sees her. Emily stands on one side of the court holding the racket in one hand while bouncing the ball with the other. She has blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, is tall with pronounced curves, and although she doesn't appear to be in shape, her overall figure is striking because she radiates positive energy that's visible from a distance.
She seems about to serve, but when she raises her racket to hit the ball, the last bounce against the ground hits her shoe and the ball rolls flat across the court as Emily watches in disbelief, drops her racket, and sighs while chasing after it. Mia lets out a soft laugh and Leah holds back her laughter as they continue approaching.
Emily reaches the ball and steps on it to stop it, but instead of bending down to pick it up, she decides to tap it with her racket as she's seen many people do, making the ball bounce until she can catch it with her hand.
"Is she trying to murder it?" Mia says, unable to stop laughing.
Leah elbows her, but a chuckle escapes as they stop right at the court entrance. Emily persists and the ball seems about to rise, so she delivers another hit. When she gathers momentum for the next swing, she lifts the racket too high and it smacks her in the face, causing her to yelp in pain and fall on her butt.
"Damn, she really is bad," Mia blurts out as Leah stares in disbelief, still processing what just happened.
She drops her bag and runs into the court, crouching next to Emily.
"Are you okay?" she asks, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Emily raises her head and removes her hands from her face. Leah's eyes widen when she sees Emily's face covered in blood. She saw the direct hit but didn't think it was that hard.
"Wow, you've busted your nose," she says and gestures to Mia. "Bring me a clean towel from the bag. Are you dizzy?" she asks while Emily examines her hands.
"I'm fine, but my eyes are watering," Emily laments, blinking. "It hurts..."
Leah can't help smiling as she takes the towel and carefully wipes away the blood.
"It doesn't look serious. Let's go to the first aid room. I'll clean you up and put some cotton in to stop the bleeding."
"What about the training?" Emily asks as Leah and Mia help her stand up.
"I'm afraid we'll have to skip it today. You can't train like this," Leah says and watches Emily's expression transform into a disappointed grimace that seems to hurt her more than the blow.
