Page 41 of A Follow-Through in Faking
After every match, except the final, the person who lost leaves the court while the person who won stays to get interviewed. Today, I’m getting interviewed by tennis legend Nicholas Gonzales. He’s got a warm smile on his face, his brown eyes sparkling with the kind of pride I wouldn’t have expected him tofeel for me. I’ve only ever met this man twice, but perhaps he’s proud of me because I play for Spain, just like he did.
“Well done, Santiago. What a match you played,” he starts, and I smile at him as I stand behind the microphone they put on the court for me. It’s in a stand, so I don’t even have to hold it. I can simply talk into it, which helps with all of my pent-up nervous energy.
“Thank you,” I reply, my attention drifting behind him where Cata is sitting, watching me. “Honestly, the crowd is amazing, and having my girlfriend here to support me for the first tournament has spurred me on even more,” I say, and the people go wild in their seats, whistling and screaming. My cheeks heat a little, but Cata just covers her eyes, which have widened ever so slightly, with her sunglasses and crosses her arms in front of her chest.
I didn’t have to do that. After our date yesterday, pictures of us have circulated everywhere. Ever since the beginning of the tournament, people in the tennis world have not stopped discussing our relationship. How we sit in each other’s boxes. How I look at her. How we seem perfect for one another.
So, I didn’t have to lay it on so thick, but it isn’t a lie.
I love having her here.
And I don’t have to fake a thing when I tell the world that.
Chapter 18
Catalina
“Wewishwecouldbe there,” Ori says, and I offer her, Hernanda, and Samuel a sad smile. They’re all video calling me before the final game of the Australian Open. A couple of days ago, I won my semi-final match and made it into the final.
To play against Layla.
My hands have been shaking all day, but I try to ignore them as much as I can, especially in front of my siblings. Hernanda and Samuel expect me to always stay put together. I’m their older sister who has been like a parent figure for them most of their life. I cannot fall apart from nerves and self-doubts. They wouldn’t know what to do, especially because they’re still so young. I cannot burden them with any of my problems.
“I wish you were here, too, but hey, at least Hernanda didn’t have to miss the golf tournament where she wonanothertrophy,” I say with the biggest grin on my face. Hernanda’s pale skin turns a dark pink shade around the apples of her cheeks asshe blushes. Her dark brown eyes sparkle with pride she’s trying to hide.
“It was nothing,” she mumbles, moving out of the frame so the attention is no longer on her. She’s the shyest out of all of us Sanchez’s, even with her family.
“How about me winning the Science Fair trophy?” Samuel chimes in, but he doesn’t bother to hide his smile. His whole face lights up with it, and I welcome his happy expression. My little brother is the most confident of us all. He’s smarter than anyone his age has a right to be, and he’s also extremely popular with all of his classmates.
“You did? Congratulations, Sam, I am so proud,” I say, tears shooting into my eyes. I keep stretching to warm up, taking several deep breaths to get rid of the emotion weighing heavily on my chest.
“Thank you! And thank you for my new wheelchair. My last one kept stalling randomly,” he explains, but I already knew that.
Ori had spoken to me about his need for a new wheelchair. He has spina bifida, which caused him to be born without the ability to walk. Before I became a professional tennis player who earned a lot of money, I vowed I would earn enough to buy my brother a wheelchair that worked better than what he had to struggle with before. I bought him one a while ago, a good one, but a wheelchair can only last so long until there are some issues with it. And even if they can be fixed, I have the means to continue to buy my brother the top-of-the-line ones for his comfort.
“Anything for you, Sami,” I reply, and he throws me a kiss before putting his hands on the sides of his wheelchair and rolling out of the frame, leaving Ori and me alone.
“I know you’re very nervous. I know this feels like an impossible task, but no matter what happens today, I am so proud of you. Mamá would be so proud of you,hermanita. Youhave accomplished so much in your twenty-four years. You will achieve so much more.”
I appreciate what she’s trying to do, but it’s not helping.
Not today.
“I have achieved nothing that Mamá had achieved at my age. I have not won a title. I have not been number one at any point. If I don’t win today, I have a horrible feeling hopelessness is going to take over, and I won’t be able to find a way out.”
Layla has taken the first set.
Nothing I’m doing is working. It’s as if she’s prepared for any type of strategy I attempt to use to get a point. She is in control of every single rally. I hardly got any points in the first set. The crowd is mostly silent because they are so shocked at how horribly I am playing.
Okay, maybe that isn’t why they’re not cheering as much. Perhaps they’re so quiet because they came for an epic match, but all I’ve given them so far is disappointment. My face falls as I think about that, but my heart is racing too quickly for me to try to fight for a neutral expression to take over again. When I’m losing, I get incredibly nervous. Panic always wraps itself around me like vines around trees.
Tears sometimes fill my eyes too, like right now. The possibility of more failure, another Grand Slam lost, has my pain pooling in my eyes. I grab my towel and cover my face, taking deep breaths to fight back the urge to cry.
I used to do that as a child. When I was playing matches and was losing, I’d throw tantrums. I’d scream. I’d be so afraid of failing, I’d run off the court.
I’m not a child anymore, so I don’t run. I don’t scream. I certainly don’t throw tantrums, but I can’t help the way my body responds when I feel cornered. When nothing I do is working against Layla.
“Inhala y exhala, Cata,” I tell myself, taking one deep breath and then releasing it again.
