Another Monday
It’s Monday. Again. All Mondays are terrible but this certain day has to be ranked first for the worst. It wasn’t just this day though, instead it actually started that weekend. After the championship game on Sunday, it was a steep downhill ride with no brakes.
The weekend held C-Club. This is a Lutheran basketball tournament held in Seward, Nebraska. It is played at Concordia University. I love basketball and this is one of my favorite tournaments. At least, it has been for the past 3 years I’ve played in it. This C-Club was different though. This was my eighth grade year and therefore my last C-Club tournament. However, this is the one I wished I could do all over again. The tournament started Saturday.
Our first game was a bye, which led us to the second round bracket. We played against Immanuel Columbus. The boys team was there to cheer us on and we won fairly easy. We stayed to watch our boys team play and they won as well. This meant that the top two Lincoln Lutheran teams were both in the championship. My season until now had been great. We were an undefeated team with one game left in the season.
The next day came and I was ready. Or so I thought. I got there and felt the nerves overwhelming me. There was a lot riding on this game, and I knew it. I couldn’t let our undefeated season slip. Especially after winning last year, we wanted to do it again. At the same time, I also knew it would be tough. We were playing Trinity, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. My family was very close to the assistant coach and one of the players. This was their first time coming down to C-Club. If we played our best game, we could win easily.
It was a close game the whole time and continued to go back and forth. We had the lead at half but lost it by the end of the third quarter. As the fourth quarter drew closer to an end the game was tight and more intense than it had been. Only seconds were left and we were down three. Next thing I knew only one second was left, but tears were already dripping down my cheeks. I made it over to the sideline in time to look Raegan, my best friend, in the eyes as her tears started coming. The game was over
I started the line to shake hands with the other team and we walked towards the other team. Kaitlyn was third in line. I have known her since she was in preschool. I squatted down to give her a hug and tell her “good game.” Then I moved on trying not to hold the line up any longer. I passed their best player. Then I made it to the coaches. Kaitlyn’s dad.
“Hey, good game kid!” he said while pulling me into a hug.
“Thanks, you too,” I replied, without knowing if I fully meant it or not.
We got our trophy and took some pictures. I still cried through it all. By the time the boys game had started I was still crying. So was Raegan. We were the unofficial captains of the team. We had led them through an undefeated season up until our last game. I couldn’t get past what had happened. No matter how many times people tell you “good job”, it never makes you forget. I kept crying and finally I convinced myself that I was an endless pit of tears.
That was Sunday though. The boys won and did not fail to remind us at school. I made it through the day without crying. Or so I had thought. I was worried about Lucky. Lucky is our family cat. He is a beautiful cat. His fur is short, with different shades of grey and a striped tail. He has a unique design of grey that could never be repeated. His eyes are the most stunning blue. We’ve had him for nine years and have grown so attached. Our family would not give him up for the world. We love him so much but we are all worried at the moment. He’s at the vet right now and we do not know how he is. I am scared because I know he was sick. He wasn’t acting like himself and even though part of me feels as if it is coming, I can not bear to think the worse. It has been four years since his brother, Buttons, died and I didn’t want that to be an option for Lucky.
“What’s wrong?” my mom asked me when I got home.
“I just want to see Lucky and know how he is,” I told her not expecting the answer I got.
“You want to know?” she replied not waiting for my answer, “Lucky passed away this morning. They said he had a very rare sickness. If a cat gets it they’re going to die and there is no way to help. Even if we would have brought him in sooner there is nothing they could have done….There is also a chance that it could spread to the other cats. I’m washing all the beds and brought Lucky home this morning. I haven’t told Alayna yet but we will most likely bury him tomorrow.”
I ran to my room and the tears I held in all day spilled out. Even though I was crying about Lucky, my mind drifted back to the game yesterday. I could not bear the defeat. It scared me the most to think that my cats could get the disease too. I missed the little guy and decided to go outside. I didn’t make it very far before I saw two clay slabs laid out on the table. I saw the slight wetness and could tell they were still drying. At the top was neatly written LUCKY with a blue gem on each side. It was a pretty blue but just reminded me of my cats beautiful eyes. His were much power stunning than this fake gem. Below that was Lucky’s paw print. I’ve seen this same print in the snow on winter days. As well as in the mud after a spring shower. I had to get out of there, I could tell my dog knew. They had been best friends. They always walked around together and used to lay in the sun with each other. However, now my dog is acting different. I want to go to the shed and shoot hoops but for some reason I cannot. I didn’t know what was wrong but I couldn’t go in. It wasn’t just myself not allowing the entrance. The passcode to the door would not work. I found out later the reason I couldn’t let myself enter, it was because Lucky was in there. His casket was in there and I could not go in.
Today. Monday. February 26, 2018. Today Lucky died. I cried. I was so upset about Lucky dying and I knew it took a toll on my whole family. My mom is the one I felt bad for though. I cannot bear to think of what my mom had to go through today. After seeing how sad I was last night, this is not what she was looking forward to. My mom had to answer the call this morning. My mom had to drive to the vet. My mom had to pick him up. My mom had to drive a dead cat home. My mom had to carry the box of a dead cat out of the car. My mom had to stay strong. My mom had to tell me. My mom had to tell my sister that her cat is dead. Her cat that she loves as much as anything else in the world, is dead.
I continued to cry until I actually was out of tears. I didn’t think it was possible until now. I could cry no longer. Now all I could do is sit and think. Remembering the game made it all more painful. Remembering how I told Lucky I loved him just hours earlier. All I could do was sit in sadness. All I could do was remember.