Second

Ava suppressed a groan when her racquet caught the shuttlecock’s wings rather than the nose. Before it could dive lifelessly onto the gym’s polished bronze floorboards, she stretched out her arm to capture the shuttlecock and with a couple of lobs to gain momentum, sent it back over the net to her teammates. 

As her team practised their swings with amiable chatter, Ava remained silent. She felt tension creep into her shoulders. Today’s weekly training was different. A new student had decided to try out for the female badminton team. A newcomer. An unknown.

There was a vacant position on the team, and they all welcomed a fresh face to boost their chances of winning national championships. After having her skills assessed by the coach, the contender would play a match to determine her team ranking. Normally, the match would be against Deidre who was seeded first. But as Deidre had gone to a musical this afternoon, seed number two would face the new challenger: Ava.

Ava was content as seed two. She didn’t have all the pressures that came with being seed one, yet ranked second meant that she was still considered an exceptional badminton player. If the new girl bested her, Ava’s rank would drop to three. Somehow, three didn’t sound as good as two.

Missing yet another easy shot, Ava signalled time out to her teammates before heading to the bench. Her fist clenched around her racquet, and she resisted the urge to fling it aside. With a slow exhale, she carefully uncurled her fingers, placed down the racquet, and grabbed her water bottle. Briskly unscrewing the cap, Ava gulped down the cool water, uncaring that some sloshed onto her shirt.

At that moment, the gym doors opened, and a blonde girl swept in.   

All female heads turned towards the intruder. Silence encompassed the entire gym as if they had all simultaneously drawn a breath. 

The blonde looked relaxed as she sauntered towards them. She loomed over them, and her tank top and shorts showed off her slim physique whereas Ava’s team all donned long-sleeved shirts and trackpants. Her gold hair was braided and finished with a lilac ribbon, which was a stark contrast against the other players who all had dark-haired ponytails.

The blonde was clearly an outsider. So why was Ava the one who felt out of place?

‘Hey!’ Irina called out enthusiastically when the blonde beelined towards them. Ava and Irina were the only ones on the bench while the rest of the girls continued their warm-ups. ‘Do you remember me? I was there when you asked coach if you could join us.’

The girl smiled, and two rows of straight, white teeth flashed in their direction. 

‘Of course I remember,’ she replied, the barest hint of an English accent lacing her words. Her voice was soft, soothing, as if she belonged in the musical that Deidre was currently attending. ‘Irina, right?’

‘Yep,’ Irina beamed. She nudged Ava. ‘This is Ava. She’s really good.’

‘Hey Ava, nice to meet you,’ the girl greeted, extending a pale hand towards her. Ava took the offered hand and noted the cold, smooth texture. ‘I’m Molly, I’ve heard a lot about you.’

Despite how her insides squirmed, Ava willed that none of her muscles twitched.

‘What have you heard?’ Ava asked nonchalantly. One of the reasons she was glad to be second was to stay under the radar.

Molly’s cerulean eyes gleamed. ‘How you could easily be seeded one but choose not to.’

The corners of Ava’s lips stretched upwards to mimic a smile. The silence was breached when the other three team members made their way over.

‘Oh hey guys!’ exclaimed Irina. ‘This is Molly. Molly, this is Parvati, Ling and Naomi…’ 

While the rest of her teammates exchanged introductions, Ava subtly checked out her opponent.

Molly stood tall and regal. Her composure indicated she was in a constant state of zen; each movement carefully calculated. From the flare of emotions in her eyes every time she spoke, to the casual nod in acknowledgement as each member responded, Molly seemed to be in absolute control of the situation.

After the pleasantries, those hard, blue eyes landed back on Ava. ‘So if Deidre’s not here, am I to play you?’

‘It appears so,’ Ava replied with another tight smile.

 ‘I look forward to it.’

Molly smirked before turning back to Irina who enthusiastically enquired about Molly’s background. The leer morphed into a grin as the blonde boasted about her achievements – how she first held a racquet at the age of three, keeping up with her family’s tradition of being an anointed professional badminton player at sixteen. Ava gritted her teeth, snatched her water bottle, and walked briskly to the water fountain.

Thankfully, their coach finally arrived, saving Ava from returning to Molly’s insufferable presence. Her ears were ringing and if she had to listen to one more of Molly’s snide remarks, Ava’s head would explode.

Filling her water bottle to the brim, Ava headed to the court where the coach was appraising Molly’s skills. Ava’s eyes darted across the court following her challenger’s movements. Light on her feet, Molly’s long legs allowed her to effortlessly cover the entire court, and her hits varied each time that it was impossible to detect her weakness. Molly passed the drills flawlessly.

Ava was surprised to find herself on shaky legs when the coach called her to play Molly. No matter how frazzled her nerves were, they had never affected her physical state. Her body had so much muscle memory to fall back on, and she relied on it for all her matches.

The few times when her position was challenged – either from new tryouts or other teammates – Ava defended her standing with finesse. Drawing on these facts, Ava reminded herself that her consecutive wins were a testament to why she deserved to be seed two.

With a deep inhale to calm her erratic heartbeats, Ava faced Molly from opposite corners of the court. Usually Ava didn’t have a clear vision of her opponent with the net in the centre, but as Molly was at least six feet tall, she could see her face clearly. Molly stared straight back, unfazed and unblinking.

Ava’s fingers tightened around her racquet as she raised it in anticipation. The challenger always opened the match.

‘Good luck,’ Molly offered before she served the shuttlecock.

It was a backhand low serve. An ace. Ava’s cheeks burned as Irina and their coach applauded in approval.

Ava steeled herself and squared her shoulders. She would play this match without mercy. She vowed to smash every single shuttlecock that flew over the net. There was a reason why badminton was the fastest racquet sport. There was a reason why she was seed two.

Ava’s joints cracked when her arm was outstretched that little bit further. Her legs throbbed in protest when she scurried across the court, sometimes making the shot, often missing it. She flinched when the shuttlecock landed on her side of the court after a blink. Her hair started to irritate her; her black curls clung to her neck and forehead from the sweat, while on the opposing side, Molly’s braid was still purposely messy that it was fashionable.

Yet despite all this, it was an even match that the two of them were faced with a tie. The next point determined not only the winner of the match but also the second seed.

Ava panted on her side of the court, which was littered with broken, white feathers. It was her turn to serve and her arm was trembling so hard that it looked as though the shuttlecock was about to fly away on its own accord. Taking a deep breath and pretending that it was just another point, Ava served the shuttlecock.

It wasn’t a long rally if one counted the hits. A few smashes. Two lobs. Three slick backhands. Then in the next blur, the shuttlecock fluttered soundlessly at Ava’s feet. Time seemed to pause. No-one had ever witnessed the defeat of Ava before. She had won all her tournaments and refused to play against Deidre.

Irina broke the silence by breathing, ‘Wow.’

Ava was too stunned to reply. To think. She was no longer seeded second. She had been seed two ever since she joined the team. That was all she knew. Ava Chun. Seed Two in badminton – undefeated. 

Molly ducked under the net to approach her, triumph blazing in her eyes. Ava wanted to run away, escape, but that would only add to the humiliation.

Molly extended her pale hand once again.

‘Good game,’ Molly commented when Ava numbly accepted the warm hand. As Molly leaned in for a congratulatory pat, she whispered into her ear, ‘I was seeded second in my last school…’