By: Theodore Tong

Darwin swung at the tennis ball.

This match would decide everything. He would either win this match and break the opponent’s reputation, or lose a bet.

His opponent, Jeffrey, never lost a single game.

It all started two weeks ago when Darwin just got back from Hawaii. He had gotten rusty at tennis and began to practice. Since he was the only family member who knew how to play, he had to go outside and use the walls of his house to practice. The wall would bounce the tennis ball back, and Darwin would hit it back at the wall.

Darwin started with a serve. Pow! The ball bounced back, right in front of his face. Darwin started to reorient himself to be able to hit the ball, but the ball flew away. He was too late.

Jeffrey, who came outside to calm down from a tantrum, saw Darwin failing miserably, he couldn’t help but laugh. Oh, what an amateur. I thought he was good with a long build-up! He thought.

When Darwin heard the laughter, he burned with anger. Then, he shouted, “Come out! Now!”

Jeffrey confidently came out from behind the garbage can he had been observing Darwin from. Then, he said, “You are…” Jeffrey took out a tin can from the trash can and threw it on the ground. “Garbage.”

Darwin completely snapped. “How dare you?” he shouted. “You think I’m trash? Okay, I’ll prove it to you! In two weeks, we’ll meet up in Sycamore Elementary School, at the tennis courts!”

“Sure! This’ll be very fun,” Jeffrey sneered. “Looks like someone’s going to lose face.”

For the next two weeks, Darwin perfected all his basic tennis strokes: the forehand, the backhand, the overhead, the volley, and the serve. He was very confident he would win.

On the fourteenth day, Darwin took his tennis racket and marched up to Sycamore Elementary School. At the tennis courts, he saw Jeffrey on the other side of the court. There were about ten kids there to take notes on the match.

Darwin started with an overhand serve. The ball flew to the right corner on Jeffrey’s court. Jeffrey ran over to the corner and swung at the ball. The ball hit the middle of Darwin’s court. Darwin then hit the ball into the left side, next to the net. Jeffrey struggled to get to it.

The score was 1 – 0, Darwin. The victor was whoever could get three points first.

Jeffrey started the second serve. He hit it so hard it fell out of bounds. “Fault!” one of the kids called. Jeffrey hit the ball with slightly less power. The ball went right at Darwin’s face. Darwin, very aware that Jeffrey would do this at the game, had practiced how to react. Darwin ducked, causing the ball to go out of bounds again.

“Double Fault!” A kid shouted.

Since Jeffrey had hit two bad serves, the score was 2-0, Darwin. Darwin was one point away from winning the bet.

On Darwin’s turn to serve, the pressure turned on him. He had missed all two of his serves.

“Double Fault!” The kid shouted again.

The score was 2-1, Darwin.

Jeffrey served the ball right at Darwin again. Darwin estimated that the ball wouldn’t go out of bounds, so he hit it back – right into the net.

The score was 2-all. Whoever won the next point would win the game.

Suddenly, Darwin remembered how Jeffrey made fun of him. I have to win this. Then I’ll teach him how he has been mistreating me. I’ll prove it to him. He thought.

When Jeffrey volleyed a ball, Darwin took the chance. Immediately, he rushed up the court, and hit it right into the corner. Jeffrey, who just volleyed it and was very close to the net, could not reach it.

The score was 3-2.

Darwin had won.

Jeffrey quickly scrambled away.

The ten kids who had been watching the game interviewed Darwin on how he won the last point.

Darwin said, “Sometimes, you need motivation to win. I didn’t want Jeffrey to tease me anymore. That’s grit.”