Page 32 of Making It Count

“Shit,” Layne repeated to herself.

That was another flirtatious message, and she, yet again, had no idea how to respond to it. Then, another message came in, and she worried Shay would tell her that she was going to go to let her do her work, but it was a message from Coach requesting they all go to a link for a virtual meeting.

Shay: Did you see that?

Layne: Yeah, I’m going to log in.

Shay: Okay. Me too.

Layne moved to her desk, set her phone down next to her computer, and went to the link provided. She waited to be let into the room, a little more used to this now than she was in the beginning, and saw the entire coaching staff was already there, along with Martin, Hilton, Ledger, and then Shay and everyone else.

“I think we’re all here,” Coach stated.

Then, the woman sighed, and Layne knew it was bad news.

“Ladies, first, I want to talk to you about Jessop. She’s doing all right. She went home and is isolating as much as she can there, but she has a mild case, so we’re optimistic that she’ll be fine.”

Layne breathed a sigh of relief. She hardly knew Jessop, but what she knew of her was good. She seemed nice and was always eager to help the team however she could.

“We don’t know when she’ll be back. They got a test to confirm that she had Coronavirus, and she tested positive. Thankfully, we don’t believe any of you caught it along with her because none of you have shown symptoms. Thank you for staying in your rooms as much as possible. I know it’s not fun, and it’s meant that we’ve had to change a lot of our plans, but it’s important to keep everyone healthy. When I know more about Jessop that she’s okay with me sharing, I’ll keep everyone updated. For now, her parents said she’s sleeping a lot, mostly, so if you text her or call her and she doesn’t answer, she’s probably asleep. I’ll request that you keep that to a minimum so she can just focus on getting better and let her reach out when she’s ready. She needs to get as much rest as possible.”

“Coach, how did she get it, but we didn’t?” Hilton asked.

“We don’t know, honestly. But it’s possible that it has to do with a pre-existing condition that made Jessop more susceptible. That’s what her parents have shared with me and have okayed me sharing with others, but I don’t know any more than that.”

“But she’ll be okay, right?” Shay asked.

“We’re going to hope,” Coach answered without really answering. “Her parents seem to think so.”

“That’s good,” Martin added.

“I need to talk to you about something else, too,” Coach continued. “You’re going to hear about it soon anyway because no one in this world can keep a secret worth a damn, even when other people should hear it from their coaches first,” she sighed a second time. “Ladies, I hate to tell you this… I really do, but the NCAA has decided that based on this outbreak and out of an abundance of caution, they are going to cancel the NCAA tournament for 2020.”

“What?!” half of the team said at once.

“Coach!”

“What are they thinking?”

“That’s not fair!”

Everyone seemed to have something to say, with the exception of Layne, who sat there still and looked only at Shay, who had been the one to say something about fairness.

“I know. I know,” Coach said after a moment. “I have no say in this, and neither do you. But even if we did, it’s not safe out there right now. Testing is only becoming readily available, and from what I’ve heard, the results aren’t always conclusive. It’s just too dangerous to have you all traveling. Yes, they talked about one location, but that still means hotels, isolating in them, delivered meals, no activities outside of practices and games, and testing that they just couldn’t figure out in time. No one wants this; I promise you that. But it’s the best decision to protect all of you as well as everyone who would be there.”

“Just do it without fans there or something. That’ll protect more people, right?” Martin asked.

“To put on a tournament like this, Martin, even without the audience in the stands, you’re still talking thousands of people. And they’d be coming from all over the US. It’s too dangerous. I’m sorry. For you, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, we’ll do everything we can to get back to this tournament next year.”

“What about seniors?” Shay asked.

“I know…” Coach replied with a nod. “I’m working with the athletic director to see what we can do, so I’d ask for your patience. We’ll probably be able to offer another year of eligibility somehow, but the NCAA has to approve that. That’s a process. So, while we work through all of that, please focus on school and keep yourselves safe and healthy. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about that, too. School, I mean. We’re ahead of it because we were in season, but there are conversations about remote classes and meal deliveries for anyone who lives in student housing, along with other things we’ll need, like a steady supply of masks and antibacterial stuff. I don’t know how that’ll work. I doubt the university will provide much of that, so you should prepare on your own. We’re going to get through this how we get through everything else: as a team. So, even though our season might have ended, and not in the way we expected, I want you all to stay in touch as much as you can to support each other. Check in with one another often; start a group chat, assuming you don’t have one of those already. And if you do start feeling sick, you go to student health. They’re going to start doing virtual appointments soon. I don’t know when exactly because they have to set everything up first, but you’ll get information about that from the university. If you do end up deciding to go home, please make sure the coaches know so we can keep an eye on you. I’ll check in, too, so expect texts from me making sure you’re all okay.” Coach took a deep breath. “I wish things were different… I was very much looking forward to coaching all of you in the biggest tournament there is. So were all of the other coaches and our training staff. It didn’t end how we wanted, but we’ll come back next year, and we’ll work our asses off to get to the same place, if not better, because we will have learned from this year.”

Layne heard her phone ding and looked over at it.

Shay: It’s just over?

Layne looked back at her computer screen and saw the look of dejection on Shay’s face. Layne understood why. It wasn’t just about some game or tournament for Shay. Winning the conference had helped Shay’s cause, but to get drafted, she had to be seen. Being on a national stage could have done that for her. Shay’s chances were already so slim, and now, they might just be nothing.

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