Did anybody like it?

Here is the full thing: Chapter One Jade didn’t really believe girls couldn’t be on the dribble-ball team. She was a dribbler, playing against older boys in one-on-sixteen, the only girl on the court. Jade, for dribbling, often wore one of her favorite dresses, a short, soft black dress with built in shorts made for athletic activities. She never wore a bandana because she had short, choppy hair that barely bothered her since she had lived with it for almost three years now. Right then, Jade was day-dreaming in the break room about winning the trophy. She did like to play for the fun, but the competitive side of her half wanted to do it to “prove” girls—and herself. She sat on a metal bench, chugging from her Stanley water bottle, which was a pale baby blue. Around her, the boys on the team were hogging the showers, taking a long time in their lockers to find their school uniforms. Jade had learned to shower and get changed early, ignoring the cheerleaders and the other students cheering. Jade’s uniform was a white shirt with a black cardigan, a light pink tie signaling that she was a girl. Jade wiped her face, water dripping from her chin. She looked at the clock on the other side of the room, reaching for her glasses to read it. Jade needed glasses, even though her close sight was good, but to read even something on the other side of the room, she needed her glasses. She didn’t wear them during sports because they didn’t really help there, and if they had fallen off, would probably be smashed by cleats. The clock read two thirty four. Almost time for third period. Before the next class, Jade remembered teh championship—the dribble-ball championship—sign-up was that day, right after the rest of the boys were ready. She was excited to sign up, and half-wondered if anyone else wanted to be on her team. Later, in the long line for sign-up, Jade spotted a girl with long, puffy red hair and a green cardigan draped over her uniform. She stood in the sign-up line at the end, her hazel eyes scanning the gym like she was about to pass out. She looked about Jade’s age, maybe a few months younger, probably from a different class. Wait. Jade knew her. Her name was Emily, and she was in French class with Jade, and was the same girl who cried on the first day of school. She met eyes with Jade, who was still scanning her and her suspiciously childish rainbow unicorn boots, and smiled. She did that with everyone, even the math teacher, who did not like math very much. The line moved slowly, each person taking about ten minutes to just get a form and fill it out. Ahead of Jade, a group of boys from the dribble-ball team were shouting, mostly about stuff that didn’t even make sense. Their voices echoed on the metal floor, the remaining silence a heavy weight that made Jade feel like she couldn’t breath. Most people she knew, even her parents, complained that she was way too impatient to do anything—as a joke, of course, but it didn’t feel that way. Jade looked around, hyperventilating while the walls seemed to shake, closing in on her. Then, the line moved, and Jade broke out of her impatient trance. Her water bottle felt heavy, somehow anchoring Jade from her anxiety. As the line moved forward, Jade started to feel better. A teacher instead of a bunch of yelling boys who smelled like they hadn’t put on deodorant seemed more comforting. Emily was now closer to Jade since the two boys in front of her saw a soccer sign-up and dove for that instead. She was only one person away. She smelled like animals, hay and ice cream but Jade had no idea why. Emily glanced down at Jade’s athletic dress, then back up at her face. She seemed like she wanted to make a friend in a world of people who found her odd. “You’re Jade! From French class, right? You sit in the front and write everything Mrs. Elaine says.”

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