Tuesday was uneventful. I wore my new white jacket over a navy dress. At work I handed Millicent my signed papers to complete the contract. She agreed to give me the 3 days leave on the 23rd and the Monday and Tuesday when I would be with Monique. I would make up the time by working on 3 Saturdays in late May when Cindy the Saturday receptionist was taking a holiday.
I was invited by Linda to attend her 21st birthday party this coming Saturday. It would be held in a function room at a hotel in town. I accepted.
I was able to leave work at 4.30 as the last patients were been attended to and Maria said she could close up tonight. I had time to check Jenna's post office box. There was one small parcel. Once back in the car I opened the package to find more lingerie. I now was the owner of 3 new chemises. One was lacy and black another silver and short. The third was shin length and bright red satin.
Once home after dinner I retired to my room and tried on my new purchases. I liked the red satin chemise and decided I would wear it as a nightie. I put my velvet gown over the top and went down to the lounge to see if anything was on TV. I started watching an episode of NCIS. I must have fallen asleep. Next thing I remember was Mum telling me to go to bed. I looked at the clock it was nearly midnight.
I went straight to bed but not before putting on my turban and setting my alarm.
................
The alarm woke me at 6.30. I slipped out of bed and hurried to the toilet. After doing my business I washed my hands and removed the turban, giving my hair a shake. Only in my chemise I went to the kitchen and put the kettle on. I needed a morning coffee. I was sitting there waiting for the water to boil when the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this time of morning I wondered? Mum called out from the bedroom. “Are you up Jenna? Can you see who that is?”
“Sure Mum” I went towards the front door. Whoever was there rang the bell a second time “Hello. Who’s there?” I asked.
“Hi Jenna, its Linda from next door. We have a problem”
“Come in” I opened the door. It wasn’t just Linda. Tony and Chrissie were with her, all in dressing gowns. They filed into the house. I was just in my chemise. Tony couldn’t help but gawk at me with his mouth open.
“Our toilet has backed up” said Linda. We have called a plumber but he won’t be here for an hour. Can we use your loo?”
By now Mum and Dad had come down in dressing gowns. “Of course you can” said Mum. We could see Chrissie jumping around she was obviously desperate. “Come with me Chrissie” Mum took her hand and led her to the toilet.
Dad was talking to Tony about what had happened. I told Linda the kettle had just boiled if she wanted a cuppa, then slipped into my room and put on my velvet gown. They ended up staying for morning showers as well. Dad had decided they should not let any water go down their drains until the source of the problem was identified. After breakfast I ended up showering in Mum’s en-suite. Leaving the neighbours my bathroom.
Work was again busy but relatively uneventful. I agreed to put in with the others to buy a joint present for Linda’s 21st. We each contributed $20. Maria had the task of choosing the gift. She asked if I wanted to come and help choose at lunchtime. She already had Evelyn going with her. I begged off.
I got a text from Sarah. She said she would come around for dinner tonight then take me to the Netball game. Since I had got to go home early yesterday, it was my turn to stay late and accept payment from the last patients. As we were locking up, Amy offered to pick me up and take me to Linda’s party on Saturday. I accepted her offer and told her my address. We exchanged phone numbers. She said she would be around at about 6.30.
Sarah was already there when I got home. Mum had a used a wok to make a tasty chicken dish. After cleaning up. Sarah came to my room and handed me a netball uniform. Karen had given her Mary’s uniform at work. I put on a sports bra and green knickers that matched the colour of the skirt. Then put on the yellow singlet top. It was slightly baggy on me. Sarah said I would need to trim my nails and take out my earrings. She cut and filed the nails for me. I would need to reapply a coat of paint later but that could wait until I was back home. Next she found a scrunchy and tied up my hair so it wouldn’t get in my eyes.
We arrived at the courts and found Karen’s team. I was introduced to everyone including a short girl called Katy, who I must have filled in for last time. There was a Kate and Katy in the same team. I didn’t let them know that I had played with them once before as I had worn Sarah’s body then. Bianca became upset and said “I can’t play with her, Karen. You should have consulted me” She walked off towards the change rooms.
Karen looked at me “What is that all about?”
I said “We used to be best friends back in high school but had a falling out. I didn’t think she would be that upset”
Karen raced off after Bianca. Catching her near the exit to the stadium. The talked for several minutes eventually the two of them walked back.
Karen came up to me “I’m sorry Jenna. I didn’t know you and Bianca had a history. We will just have to play one short tonight. A pity because it is the top team” I was disappointed. I had looked forward to playing. I secretly cursed Jenna.
Sarah said something quietly to Bianca and the two of them moved away so they could talk without being overheard. It was still 5 minutes before the game was due to start. The other girls continued their warm-up. I sat down on the sidelines.
After an animated conversation. Bianca and Sarah went across and talked to Karen. They explained something to her. Karen looked across, then walked across to Mary. She spoke with her and Mary nodded. Karen then walked over to me. “It looks like you can play after all. Bianca say’s you are a goal attack. Mary will switch to GD and Bianca will be GK” She handed me the GA bib. “You had better go and warm up”
I went across to the other girls and gave Bianca a smile. She ignored me. I spoke briefly to Kate and Katy saying it looked like I would be playing up their end tonight. I warmed up with them.
The game started. The GD for the opposition was tall, several inches taller than my 5 foot 8. I said good luck to her, she gave me an elbow to the chest. It hurt. They had the 1st center pass and managed a goal without us touching the ball. I don’t know whether the elbow fired me up or I was just an instinctively good player. Whatever the case I dominated. I was able to continuously get into the clear and passed off rapidly into Kate. I think for the 1st quarter we scored every time we had forward half possession. If Kate was too far out to score, I was able to quickly make position myself under the basket, never fumbled and never missed. All 3 times that Kate missed her shot I managed to intercept the ball before it got to half way. Bianca and the defense also managed to get 4 intercepts during the quarter. Couple that with a few defensive rebounds and we ended up 22 to 8 at the break.
The opposition’s quarter time huddle was very noisy with lots of finger pointing happening. In our own huddle Karen asked me how long since I had played and didn’t believe me when I said 8 years. Sarah came and tapped me on the shoulder and whispered “You were awesome”. Even Bianca had a smile. I caught her looking at me and smiled back. She just nodded in return.
In the second quarter the two opposition defenders had swapped bibs. The new GD was even taller. That just meant she was easier to run circles around and Kate now had a distinct height advantage over her opponent. The scoreboard kept ticking over, our lead extending. I went for my third intercept of the quarter. Suddenly I was on the ground seeing stars. Karen was over me telling someone to get ice. I was helped from the court.
The referees had called it half time and were consulting with each other. I sat down on a chair at the side of the court and Sarah handed me a bag of ice wrapped in a towel and told me to hold it to the back of my head. I asked what happened. Karen said that the GK had blatantly lifted her elbow and struck me in the head. I had fallen like a sack of potatoes. There was a commotion in the other huddle. Mary reported that the culprit had just been ejected from the stadium. A middle aged woman came across and examined me. She peered into my eyes said that I was concussed and that I should not return to the game. I could see the doctor woman talking to the referees. All three walked over to the opposition huddle. There was a howl of protest. The officials then walked over to us. The senior referee said that we were been awarded the game and that the current score would stand. We were up 40 to 16. She said that the girl who had been ejected would face a disciplinary hearing.
Well that was it for the night. I apologized to the girls for causing the game to be cut short. They chorused that it was not my doing. Katy muttered something about the Flames being sore losers. I guessed that’s who the opposition were, they had a bright orange uniform. One of the girls from the opposition bravely came across and enquired how I was. See assured me it was not a team decision to target me and apologized for the action of her teammate.
My teammates asked if there was anything they could do to help. Sarah said she had driven so could get me home. I looked at the team then Bianca in particular. I said "There is one thing that would make me feel better. Bianca will you allow me a chance to explain myself?" She looked unsure but eventually nodded. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"
Sarah suggested we go and sit up in the grandstand. The main court had a grandstand at the moment it was totally vacant. I was feeling good enough to walk there without aid. We climbed to the top and sat down on a seat.
Here goes I thought "Bianca I've been an idiot and a bitch. I have made more wrong decisions than you could imagine was possible. I just want you to know I am trying to turn my life around. I have taken on a job that I am going to stick at and I want to try and get the rest of my life back on track. I know I let you down and everyone else. But I want to make amends. I need people to give me another chance. Sarah has and I would like nothing better than if you could as well"
"What happened Jenna? We were best friends. You just dumped me and denigrated me"
"I have a problem I am a hypersexual. A nymphomaniac. I admit it and it has ruined my life. I became boy crazy, every other girl including you was a rival. I went off the rails. However I think I now have it under control. I need to start doing normal things. Work, sport, friends, real girlfriends. I want to play netball. I'm good at it. I am so sorry I ever gave it away"
"Why did you give it away?"
"Because I was an idiot. I thought all the sport was making me have small breasts. I wanted big breasts so that I would be more attractive than anyone else. It sounds so stupid now. I became obsessive"..........."You won't believe me but I am now a different person. I want to put the last 8 years behind me. I want to be a good person, a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend"............"I'm not asking for total forgiveness. I don't deserve that yet. I need to earn it. All I want is a chance to show you I am different. To prove to you I can be a friend again. Let me play in your netball team. It's just a small step. I would like you to be my friend but that is asking too much too soon. Can I start by just being a teammate?"
She didn't respond. She just sat there looking out at the court below us.
I got up. "You don't need to respond straight away. Just let me know before next week" I started walking down the stairs.
I was down the bottom when she called out "Jenna. Wait"
I stood there as she came down the stairs. She came down to floor level. "I will give you another chance. Be here next week" She walked off and out of the stadium.
Sarah was sitting down at the side of the court where we had been playing. Karen was still with her. The other girls had gone. I walked over to them
"How did it go?" asked Sarah.
"She said to come back next week. She is willing to give me another chance"
Karen looked pleased "Have you really not played in 8 years?"
I didn't answer her question. "My head is really sore"
.............
Sarah took me home and came in to explain to Mum and Dad what had happened before heading home. I took some Aspirin and had a bath, taking the opportunity to wash my hair. Sarah had told me that with a perm I should wash less frequently however I had raised a sweat and my head felt dirty. I made sure to follow the shampoo and conditioner recommendations. I could feel a bit of swelling at the back of my scalp. I enjoyed lying in the warm bath.
Of course that meant a slow hair dry using the diffuser. I had put my new red chemise back on. There was knock on the bathroom door. “It’s just me. Can I come in?”
“Sure Mum”
She entered “Show me where you are sore” I pointed out the sore spot. She examined me. “You have a bit of swelling and will probably have a bruise. How is the headache?”
“Better since the bath”
“Well I suggest you have an early night and we will see how you are in the morning” Sarah had told me that Eileen had been a nurse but had retired once we kids had finished school.
I finished drying my hair, cleaned my teeth, then went to bed. I put the turban back on. I didn’t feel like reading and was soon asleep.