Page 136 of On Merit Alone
Back in character, I dipped my ear dramatically close to her and cupped it as I said. “What? I can’t hear you when you whisper Puff Balls.”
“Tyla!” she said more enthusiastically this time. “Not Puff Balls.”
“Ah,” I nodded as I stood up straight. “Do you play basketball, Tyla?”
“Yes.”
“Are you good?”
“Yes.”
Merit and I both buried smiles at her candor, and I said. “No, I mean are youreallygood?”
The little girl’s head bobbed. “Yes.”
“Do you like playing basketball?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you hiding right now?” I asked.
Giving Merit a weighted glance I think she didn’t even understand, the little girl wriggled down to the ground before coming up to my side and tugging my arm. I took a knee beside her and let her whisper into my ear.
Her words were like an instant kick to my heart.
Setting backward, I took a look at the girl in front of me and then the woman above me. And I was out of my depth.Thisis what she had trusted me with?How? How could she have trusted me with something like this?
All at once, the confidence I had built up over successfully directing the other kids slipped away. I felt wholly unprepared to face the delicacy of this situation. I felt inadequate to do this little life, who was waiting patiently for my response, justice.
But then I recognized the anger in the little girl’s gaze. Yes, she was upset by what she just told me, but there was also something defiant and indignant and just plainangryin her eyes that shouldn’t have had to be there, but was there, nonetheless. And I think I understood something before I even had all the details yet.
Turning to her on my knee I met that small brown gaze with just as much anger and indignation and determination, and said, “Tyla, I’m going to tell you a secret okay? Sometimes people get jealous of the things other people do and they say mean things to try to make them feel better about their own life. When people say things like that, you have to ignore them, okay?”
She blinked at me, looking worried. It was possible I was a little more angry than her at this point. I swallowed, trying to calm down so I didn’t scare her. “We’re all different, but we can all do greatthings, the same as each other. Boy, girl. Big or small. Does that make sense to you?”
Slowly she nodded, giving Merit a cautious look over her shoulder before turning back to look at me. When she met my eyes, I smiled.
“Good.” I croaked. I wanted to say so much more. To do so much more, but she was so young, I’m not sure my lecturing would be beneficial. So breathing out a big sigh, I fixed her with a more mocking serious look, asking. “Now what are you, like three?”
She, once again, looked appalled. Guffawing in a little baby stutter. “I'm six!”
I waved that off like it was nothing. “Exactly. You’re a baby. You have, like, a million years left. So remember, you can do whatever you want to do as long as you work for it, Puffy.”
“Tyla!”
“Oh, same thing,” I said.
She gaped at me, her little jaw basically touching the floor. I smashed my lips to suppress a laugh even though there was still anger coursing under the surface.
But not around the children. Not. Around. The children.
“Now, since you’resooogood, think you can beat me?” I asked. Passing another questioning look behind her, she waited until Mer nodded before turning back to me and nodding herself. I grinned, extending my hand for a fist bump. “Let’s see you try.”
It wasn’t until we were cleaned up that we got to talk again. With a dozen fired up kids running circles around you at all times, it’s pretty hard to get a word in edgewise. Between finding ways to make basic drills fun and clearing up scuffles as small as an untied shoelace and as big as hysterical crying, it was an interesting one too.
But somewhere between the silly game of Simon Says and watching Shy Tyla who didn’t want to come to basketball camp turn into Badass Tyla whodominatedbasketball camp, I felt something deep in my heart click into place.
More.
