A Helping Meal - by Alivea Addleman

Ana shoved a packaged sandwich into her backpack, ignoring the growling in her stomach as she looked at it.

Around her, her teammates slipped on their practice jerseys. The basketball team’s first game was in two days, which means all of them would really have to buckle down today to memorize the defense.

Ana twisted her fingers around her own jersey and pulled it down over her head. An anxious bubble was swelling in her chest, and she had a bad feeling that today’s practice would be a difficult one. Not only because Coach would push her and her teammates hard, but because she had hardly eaten anything all day.

“Ana, come on!” One of her teammates shouted as she left the locker room, leaving the door open so Ana could follow her out.

To Ana’s disdain, she had been vague about how hard today’s practice would really be. While Coach promised that tomorrow’s practice would be easy, today was hardcore conditioning and even harder defense drills.

Her leg muscles throbbed as she did defensive slides up and down the court, and soon it wasn’t just her legs, but her head too. The headache started out small and manageable, but the more Ana pushed herself—the harder she tried to keep up with everyone—the more her head screamed at her and she gasped for breath.

It wasn’t soon enough that Coach called for a water break. All the team was panting for air from the workout, but Ana was the worst. To her panic, she began to see small, white stars appear in the corner of her vision, and before she knew it, she was on the ground, cheek pressed to the hardwood floor.

“Oh my gosh! Ana, are you ok?” A teammate said, who rushed over to her and put a hand on Ana’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Ana said, pushing herself up and trying to blink away the stars. Her teammate helped her up, and Ana’s eyes met Coach Harrison’s, who looked concerned.

Ana’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly turned away, scolding herself for being so weak.

The rest of the practice went by quickly to Ana, who couldn’t remember a thing she had learned about defense. She was too busy remembering to breathe and blinking away the small white stars that kept flicking in and out of her vision so she wouldn’t pass out again.

When practice was over, and Ana was removing her court shoes, Coach Harrison approached her.

At first, Ana ignored him, but then he squatted down to speak to her at her level on the floor.

“Hey, Ana.” He said. “Do you have time to talk?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ana said.

“Are you feeling ok for practice tomorrow? You seem a little under the weather.” He said with kind concern.

“I’m fine. Just tired.” Ana said. Her stomach was twisting, half with hunger, and half with unease. She didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t eaten hardly anything all day. She knew she should, but she hated to admit that she hadn’t brought any food from home. And Ana didn’t want her classmates to know that the only thing she could eat in a day was what the school provided.

“Do you know why you are tired?” Coach Harrison asked. As if he read her mind, he followed up with,

“Did you eat anything today?”

“Yeah,” Ana fibbed quickly, guilt tugging at her core for lying to her coach. “I’m just tired.”

Coach Harrison looked at her for a moment, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. “Ok. Just remember that if you need anything you can talk to me. I am here if you ever need help.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Ana said.

Ana got home that evening with a slight frown plastered on her face. She was deep in thought, and she almost didn’t see her younger sister Sage sitting at the table and mulling over a book.

“Hey!” Sage called to her as Ana locked the door behind her. Sage was thirteen years old and sweet, not to mention Ana’s best friend. The sisters did everything together when they could, but recently Ana had been so bogged down with school and sports that the two sisters had hardly been able to talk to each other.

“Hey,” Ana said, placing her backpack down and unzipping it. She grabbed the sandwich she brought from school and went over to the table where Sage sat. During lunch, she had made sure to grab the sandwich when no one was looking, so the kids in the cafeteria wouldn’t make fun of her. Unpacking it, she then handed it to Sage.

“Awesome,” Sage said, grabbing the sandwich and taking a big bite of it. Ana watched her sister devour the sandwich thoughtfully. She noticed that Sage was getting so skinny.

While Sage was mid-chew, she looked up at Ana. “How was practice?”

Ana shrugged, going to the nearby refrigerator and mulling through the few condiments the side shelf held, and grabbing a ketchup packet.

“Don’t you have a game in a couple of days?” Sage asked, licking her fingers as she finished the sandwich.

“Yeah. On Thursday. Day after tomorrow.” Ana replied. She opened the ketchup packet and downed it whole.

Sage made a disgusted face, and then a wave of realization came over her. “Ana, did you eat at school?”

“No,” Ana said casually, tossing the empty ketchup packet into the trash can.

“Are you serious?” Sage said, appalled at her own short-sightedness. “You let me eat this whole sandwich and you haven’t eaten?”

“I don’t mind,” Ana said, and on cue, her stomach growled loudly.

Sage crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow at her sister. “Seriously, Ana. They offer free meals at school. Why don’t you just suck up your pride and take enough for both of us? Talk to your Coach! He’ll totally understand!”

“No, Sage it’s—” Ana started.

“Too embarrassing?” Sage interrupted, putting her hand on her head. “Ana, sucking during practice is embarrassing. Not being able to keep up with your team is embarrassing.”

Ana frowned at her sister. “It is! But it’s also embarrassing to admit that we don’t have enough money to bring our own food to school! It’s like I’m the only one who doesn’t have enough money for stuff I like. And all the kids watch when you go up to grab food. And no one ever grabs more than one serving. I’d look stupid.”

Sage rubbed her forehead and sighed, and Ana crossed her arms around her stomach. There was a silence that settled between the two of them. 

“Where is mom?” Ana asked finally, looking around.

“Working.”

“Did she mention the next time she’s going to go grocery shopping?”

“Nope.”

Ana stood, “I’m going to do my homework.”

Gathering her backpack, Ana headed to the bedroom that she and Sage shared. But before she closed the door behind her, Sage called out.

“Hey, Ana. Please just think about what I said.”

“I will,” Ana replied softly as she glanced back at her sister.

The next day, Ana swallowed her self-induced shame and took Sage’s advice, and grabbed a breakfast bar that the school was providing. Her cheeks were hot as she walked to her next class, but to her surprise, no one paid her any mind as she consumed the bar. It was the same at lunch, and Ana found that she was not the only one who accepted the free lunch that the school provided. In honesty, as Ana ate, she found herself embarrassed that she punished herself for so long by being too scared to accept the food. The other kids didn’t seem to care.

To Ana’s excitement, though her headache was still present, practice went so much better than the day before, and she felt as if she was better prepared for the game tomorrow. The drills went smoothly, and Ana was able to focus better on what Coach Harrison taught.

The outcome of her practice prompted Ana to reconsider her previous standpoint about asking for extra food. 

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Ana flagged Coach Harrison down after practice. He was pumping up deflated basketballs in the storage room. Ana stepped in timidly, trying to encourage herself to be honest.

“Coach, I just wanted to say thanks for talking with me yesterday,” Ana said. “I really appreciate your concern.”

“For sure. If you ever need anything, I will do my best to help you out.” He replied.

“Thanks,” Ana said. And then she hesitated. She didn’t have any food to bring home to Sage, and she wondered if her Coach would help her with that. “Actually, I had a question.”

“What’s up?” Coach Harrison asked, checking the air pressure of a ball.

“My mom has been low on funds recently and…” Ana bit her lip. But Coach Harrison paused his chore and waited for her to finish. “And, well, I was wondering if there is something I can take home for my sister Sage to eat until my mom can get back on her feet.”

Without missing a beat, Coach Harrison hopped up. “Of course! There is actually an after-school program that serves meals for the kids who stay at school and study. I usually take a couple of meals home for my kids after practice.”

“You…do?” Ana asked, surprised that her Coach would so readily admit that.

“For sure! The food’s not bad, either. Lots of fruit and protein. Here, let’s go grab some together. They usually have it up in the admin building.”

Together, Ana and Coach Harrison walked to the administration building. Ana’s excitement was building at the prospect of being able to finally eat dinner with Sage again, and more importantly, Sage being proud of her older sister.

As Coach Harrison had said, the meals were packaged and ready to be taken. A lunch lady, one that Ana recognized from the cafeteria, was packing it up. When the lunch lady saw Ana and Coach Harrison approach, she smiled.

“Well, hello!” She exclaimed. “Are you here for a meal? I was about to pack ‘em up. You’re just in time.”

“That sounds great. Thanks, Dina.” Coach Harrison replied and grabbed three meals for himself and his sons. Dina smiled and returned to packing up the meals.

Ana followed suit of her coach, grateful to duplicate the actions of someone she trusted. Ana grabbed two; one for her and one for Sage.

“You can take a couple more if you want.” Coach suggested.

Ana paused, considering. “Are you sure?”

“Of course!” He said, reaching to grab three more meals and handing them to her. “For the weekend.”

Ana looked at the lunch lady for approval, and she too smiled. “It’s for the students to eat. You may as well.”

“Well, okay then,” Ana said, putting the meals in her backpack.

As Coach Harrison and Ana left the building, he turned to her. “Whenever you are hungry, feel free to grab as many of those meals as you need. The school always has something for the kids who stay after school.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Ana said. “And thank you for helping me. I’ll admit, I was a bit embarrassed to ask.”

Coach Harrison smiled, “I know exactly how you feel. But you will feel so much better now that you have food to eat! I know my boys and I enjoy it. And you’ll be ready for our game tomorrow, too.”

Ana just smiled.

With one more thank you and goodbye, Ana headed home. For once, she was excited to walk into the old apartment building and have something to eat.

As Ana opened the door, Sage was again sitting at the table with her homework.

“Is mom working again?” Ana asked, throwing her backpack on the ground and approaching the table.

“Yeah. She won’t be back till tonight.” Sage said.

Ana placed the multiple meals down on the table, letting the sound of the packaged plates do the talking for her.

Sage lifted her head from her book, and her expression lit up. “Oh gosh, Ana.”

“It’s from school, like you suggested,” Ana said a bit sheepishly, her stomach rumbling with the prospect of food. “I took your advice and asked Coach Harrison if he had any thoughts on our situation, and it turns out there is an after-school free meal for students who stay to do sports or study. I had no idea.”

Sage laughed, “That is so awesome! And no one minds if you take all this? There have to be five or six meals here!”

“Nope! Coach wanted me to take more!” Ana said. With that, the two sisters opened their lunches, and each bit into an apple.

“Ana,” Sage addressed her sister. “Thanks for asking for the food. I know it was hard, but look how it turned out!”

Ana just smiled back at her little sister, silently agreeing with her, and the two finished their meals together. Both of them happy at being in the company of the other, they relished the food they had been given and enjoyed feeling full for the first time in days.