Andrew O’Kula
A small streak of pink began to emanate from a slim point along the horizon as the late afternoon slipped into the evening. There had not been a cloud in the sky to ruin this beautiful picture the sky had created all day. And being that it was still early in June, that had turned out to be a very long day. Our hands were covered in dirt while our arms glistened with a thin sheet of sweat. To a passerby it may have seemed like a casual game of basketball, but it felt like a game 7 to us. Bragging rights and so much more were on the line in our small group of friends playing that day. Even so, after playing for hours, no one complained when the “next point wins” rule was brought in to play.
We all wiped away stray beads of sweat as the ball was checked in for the final time. All at once every player began to swim around the court: …show more content…
I had had a set plan for the rest of my life: a wife, kids, a job I love, season tickets to my favorite teams, etc. How many of these things would I get to do before my time was up. Suddenly everything became unclear. Would I even finish high school? Where does my story end? My thoughts went as far as my funeral. And only after deciding on the people that would speak at my funeral did I snap back into reality. Our crude, quiet circle of friends still stayed silent even a minute after the news came in.
Finally, a shaky voice spoke up. “So do you guys want to do anything instead of just standing here?” After monotonously agreeing, the whole group migrated to the small field just outside of the neighborhood. The field was unkempt: covered in dirt marks and dandelions. Every time we stepped on this field to fool around, playing one sport or another, we would always be in such high spirits. It was clear to everyone there that this would not be one of those normal days as we halfheartedly chose
A small streak of pink began to emanate from a slim point along the horizon as the late afternoon slipped into the evening. There had not been a cloud in the sky to ruin this beautiful picture the sky had created all day. And being that it was still early in June, that had turned out to be a very long day. Our hands were covered in dirt while our arms glistened with a thin sheet of sweat. To a passerby it may have seemed like a casual game of basketball, but it felt like a game 7 to us. Bragging rights and so much more were on the line in our small group of friends playing that day. Even so, after playing for hours, no one complained when the “next point wins” rule was brought in to play.
We all wiped away stray beads of sweat as the ball was checked in for the final time. All at once every player began to swim around the court: …show more content…
I had had a set plan for the rest of my life: a wife, kids, a job I love, season tickets to my favorite teams, etc. How many of these things would I get to do before my time was up. Suddenly everything became unclear. Would I even finish high school? Where does my story end? My thoughts went as far as my funeral. And only after deciding on the people that would speak at my funeral did I snap back into reality. Our crude, quiet circle of friends still stayed silent even a minute after the news came in.
Finally, a shaky voice spoke up. “So do you guys want to do anything instead of just standing here?” After monotonously agreeing, the whole group migrated to the small field just outside of the neighborhood. The field was unkempt: covered in dirt marks and dandelions. Every time we stepped on this field to fool around, playing one sport or another, we would always be in such high spirits. It was clear to everyone there that this would not be one of those normal days as we halfheartedly chose