tetherball.

When I was in the fourth grade, I knew this girl name Martha.

Martha was the best tetherball player in our elementary. She had her own court during recess and P.E. with her own rules. She was such an arrogant bitch; we were all waiting for someone to put her in her place. Well I remember playing against her at the beginning of the school year…I take that back, I don't remember so fondly.

What I do remember was when my mom bought a tetherball court for our backyard and after school I'd practice every single day for countless hours. I never really gathered up enough courage to play against Martha, but I kept practicing. It wasn't until towards the end of the year, during P.E. when I saw my chance and walked up to her court.

I remember a line forming quickly after I got there and the game didn't start until she stepped on her domain. I also remember regretting the fact that I was the first person to face humiliation that day. We started playing. I was scared shitless. I was surprised by the fact that I could actually hold up a game against her. I stayed in the court for quite a while. I'm not exaggerating when I say that people were actually cheering for me. Then I started to think I could actually beat this motherfucker.

We battled viscously for countless minutes. Martha would make up random rules on the spot. Cheap trick, but I couldn't say anything. This was her court. Then suddenly, she was too fast for me. She tethered the ball. Humiliated, I put my head down to face the shame. Then it hit me. Martha stepped over the fucking line, making me the winner.

Haven't smelled victory since.