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FREEDOM WON
Tahira was sweating. Ariana could see it all the way from the opposite baseline. The fabric of her white tennis tank clung to her skin in unattractive splotches, and big, fat droplets wound their way down her forehead and into her eyes.Ariana, meanwhile, was as cool as the other side of the pillow. It was Saturday morning, and today, Tahira was Love. And Ariana was more than happy to pass along the nickname. She was up one set to love and five games to one in the second set. All she had to do was close out the next two points, and the money would be hers. Freedom would be hers. Kaitlynn would be history.
"Are you ready? Because you can take a minute if you need to," Ariana said with false concern as she tossed the ball up and down in front of her. Brigit, Lexa, Maria, Soomie, and the rest of their friends laughed. Not Palmer, however. Although she was trying very hard not to care about that.
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"Just serve the damn ball," Tahira replied, obviously fed up.
"If you insist."
Ariana tossed the ball up and slammed it across the net as hard as she could. Tahira lunged for it and just got her racket on it. The ball sailed back across the net and Tahira seemed as surprised as Ariana was that she'd had enough power to get it there. Ariana set herself up for a forehand and returned the ball to the opposite corner of the court, sending Tahira sprinting across the baseline. Once again, she managed to get her racket on the ball, but this time there was zero power on it. The ball hit the tape and bounced down on Tahira's side of the net.
"Yes," Ariana said through her teeth as her friends applauded. She looked over at the stands and relished in their cheers. Everyone but Lexa was going nuts. Lexa merely clapped politely, an anomaly that irked Ariana.
"That's forty to fifteen," Ariana called out. "This is match point."
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Tahira replied, her chest heaving as she stood up straight. "How about you just shut up and serve?"
"My pleasure," Ariana replied.
She bounced from foot to foot a few times, her energy mounting as Tahira's plummeted, as if she was somehow sucking the girl dry from across the court. She smiled to herself, relishing the moment. This was it. If she won this point, her life was saved. She tossed the ball up, pulled back, and rocketed it across the court.
Again, Tahira had to lunge. The ball glanced off the top edge of her racket, sailing high and arcing over the net.
"Shit!" Tahira shouted.
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The girl knew it was going to go long. Ariana knew it was going to go long. Everyone in the stands knew it was going to go long. Even Sumit and his roommate Jonathan, who had offered to act as line judges, knew it was going to go long. Ariana's heart leapt with glee, but she jogged backward just in case. If she needed to return, she was going to return it right between the girl's eyes.
"Out!" Sumit shouted as the ball hit the ground at least a foot outside the line.
"Yes!" Ariana cheered as her friends jumped up and raced toward her.
Tahira let out a screech of frustration and slammed her thousand-dollar racket into the ground, breaking the frame in three places. She doubled over on the bench next to the court, hiding her face in her hands. She slapped Rob's hand away when he came to comfort her.
"Oh my God! You did it!" Brigit cried, throwing her arms around Ariana. "I knew you could do it!"
"Nice work, Ana," Maria said, nodding as she sipped her large espresso.
Lexa hugged Ariana as Soomie snapped a picture with her Black-Berry. "And the wicked witch goes down," Soomie said with a smile.
Ariana grinned at her friends, who had absolutely no idea how huge this win actually was. She had just saved her own life with a racket and a little green ball.
"Excuse me. I have some business to attend to," Ariana said, strolling away from them and over to Tahira. The girl was still bent at the waist, a towel wrapped around her shoulders, which she was holding
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against either side of her face. When she saw Ariana's sneakers in front of her, she simply stared at them for a moment, gathering herself.
"Do you have something for me?" Ariana said.
Tahira glared up at her. She reached into her tennis bag and pulled out her iPhone. Her eyes never left Ariana's as she held the phone to her ear.
"Yes, Daddy. It's me," Tahira said into the phone, tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. "Yes, I need a favor. I need a hundred thousand dollars to settle a bet."