Sadie made her way out of the locker room and onto the practice court. Her tennis racket was held gently against her shoulder. Her next match was scheduled for the following day.

Tennis had been Sadie's life ever since she was a little girl. Her own mother had been a professional tennis player. Sadie grew up watching her mother's matches and it made her want to be a tennis player too. After retiring from competition, Sadie's mother became a coach and was more than willing to further her daughter's ambitions. Sadie's mother had coached up quite a few talented players and Sadie became one of them. Sadie was just about to begin her practice when a voice called out to her.

"Hey Sadie! Do you have time to talk real quick?!"

Sadie looked toward the fence and saw Vivi, another one of the players her mother was coaching. Vivi was a talented tennis player herself. The two of them often studied each other's matches closely. Sadie considered her a friendly rival.

"Sure, I'll be right over." Sadie replied. She had all day to practice. There wasn't any harm in hearing what Vivi had to say. Sadie jogged off the court and joined Vivi by the fence.

"So what's up?" Sadie asked.

"There's something I need to show you. I just found out about something that can help us in our next matches." Vivi explained.

Sadie raised her eyebrow. It seemed odd that Vivi would have to bring her away from the court to show her something like that.

"I hope it's legal, whatever it is. I want to earn my wins fair and square." Sadie said.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" Vivi asked in reply. "Of course I wouldn't resort to anything cheap. This is just some interesting new equipment, that's all."

Sadie still found it strange, but she was also curious. She followed Vivi away from the court. The two of them wandered over to the building where the equipment was stored. Sadie expected Vivi to lead her inside, but instead she began walking around the building.

"Come on, it's over here." Vivi said.

Sadie was very confused now. Nonetheless, she continued to follow Vivi. They kept going until they were behind the building. Sadie looked around but didn't see any kind of tennis equipment. There wasn't anything around them except the wall of the building and a fence. Sadie couldn't figure out what Vivi was referring to.

"Okay, what is it you want to show me? There isn't anything here." Sadie said, still looking around.

"Well actually, I was talking about something that will only help me." Vivi replied.

Before Sadie could ask what Vivi meant by that, Vivi's hand struck Sadie in the forehead. Sadie staggered from the sudden impact and felt something like a sticker on her head where Vivi had hit it.

"What are you do-" before Sadie could finish her question her voice disappeared. She felt strange. She was dizzy and her body had an odd tingling sensation going through it. She didn't feel like she could keep her balance, but she didn't fall over. Something wasn't right. She felt like she was changing somehow. Her body felt like it was shrinking. No, it was more like she was melting! It was subtle at first, but it quickly increased in pace. It seemed like her body was compacting into itself. She quickly lost all shape. Her arms, legs, even her head sank into the center of her increasingly spherical body. Once, she was completely round, the rate of the shrinking increased. Sadie was frantic as she became smaller and smaller with no idea what was actually happening to her.

Finally, the shrinking stopped. Before Sadie could try to figure out what had happened she began rolling. It was now undeniable that Sadie was perfectly round. It didn't feel like anything would stop her from rolling. Nonetheless, she was stopped after rolling for few seconds. Whatever had happened to Sadie hadn't deprived her of her vision. After getting over the disorientation caused by her rolling, Sadie found herself looking up. Standing over her, looking absolutely gigantic, was Vivi. It was Vivi's foot that had stopped Sadie's rolling.

Vivi was staring down at Sadie with a satisfied grin. It left no doubt that Vivi knew exactly what had happened to Sadie, and was almost certainly responsible for it. This had all started when Vivi had stuck that thing, whatever it was onto Sadie's head. Sadie tried to demand answers, but she remained silent and immobile next to Vivi's foot.

Vivi casually bent down and picked Sadie up. Sadie was horrified to discover that she was now small enough to fit in Vivi's hand. Vivi turned Sadie over a few times, making it all too obvious that whatever had happened to Sadie had left her perfectly round.

"Sorry, did I say this would help us? I meant it would help me." Vivi said smugly. "I could use a high quality tennis ball to practice with, and you turned into a nice one!"

"What do you mean?! Are you saying you've turned me into a tennis ball?!" Sadie couldn't believe what she had just heard. Vivi had to be messing with her.

"Well, let's see how well you bounce!" Vivi said with a hint of laughter in her voice. Vivi turned her hand around and tossed Sadie downwards. Pure terror gripped Sadie as she fell to the ground that now looked so far away due to her reduced size. Through the fall, she could do nothing. She reflexively wanted to flail her arms and legs to try to catch herself. However it no longer felt like she even had arms and legs. In what seemed like slow motion, she fell helplessly to the pavement below.

She hit the ground with a horrible thud. The impact felt like it should knock Sadie out. Yet, she remained painfully conscious and aware as she bounced back up as if she were made of rubber. Sadie could barely see anything as she shot back up into the air. It was all too much to process. Just as Sadie ran out of momentum and began to fall again, Vivi's hand caught her. Vivi held Sadie in her hand once more, a broad smile remained on her face.

"Looks like you'll work great for my practice!" Vivi said with glee.

Sadie could not make sense of what was happening. Had Vivi really turned her into a tennis ball? That couldn't be possible. Yet, she was the size of a tennis ball. She was round like a tennis ball. She had just been bounced like a tennis ball. She couldn't believe it, but somehow, she had become a tennis ball!

That left Sadie questioning how Vivi had transformed her into a tennis ball, and why she had done it. Vivi was also being coached by Sadie's mother. The two of them had always gotten along well enough. So why was this happening now?

"There we go, things should go much more smoothly for me now that you're out of the way." Vivi said this with a maliciousness that Sadie had never heard from her before. She had no idea what she could have possibly done to cause trouble for Vivi.

"I know I'm the best player here. I could never get any attention because of you, though. The coach's daughter is the one everyone is fawning over. You just get everything handed to you because of your family." Vivi's words got more angry as she ranted.

Sadie was utterly shocked. She had no idea Vivi felt that way. Vivi had no reason to feel that way. Sadie had heard her mother call Vivi one of the most promising players she was currently coaching. Sadie certainly wasn't taking any attention away from Vivi.

"Then I saw some stuff online." Vivi continued. "These sites were talking about crazy things. Some posts claimed to know how to turn people into things. I couldn't believe these people were talking about magic. It sounded ridiculous. But just for shits and giggles I gave one of the spells they described a try. I couldn't believe it but it worked! My ex is now a tire on that truck he loved so much."

Sadie couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was completely insane. Vivi had read about magic on some websites, and that was why she was a tennis ball right now? She felt crazy for even entertaining it, even though she was currently stuck as a ball. Vivi's ex was also apparently stuck as a truck tire somewhere. Sadie was racking her memory, looking for any sign of this madness in Vivi's past behavior. Vivi resumed talking before Sadie could think about it any more.

"I kept reading more about this magic. They even had spells to help athletes. Apparently you can turn someone into clothes or equipment to wear. By wearing the transformed person, you can slowly gain their knowledge and technique. I thought about doing that, but really, what would I have to learn from a nepo-baby like you? Still, there's no reason you can't still be useful to me. You turned out to be a pretty high quality tennis ball. Today's going to be a great practice!"

With that Vivi began to walk back to the tennis court. Sadie was helplessly clutched in Vivi's hand. Sadie couldn't believe that was what Vivi had thought of her this whole time. The image of Vivi's evil smirk was burned into Sadie's mind, and its implications terrified her. Was Vivi planning to keep her as a tennis ball? If she was, what could Sadie do about it? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't say anything. She couldn't move, and even if she could she had no limbs to move in her current form. She was just a tennis ball, and a tennis ball can't do anything on its own. Her fate was entirely in Vivi's hands.

They arrived at the court, where another player was getting ready. Vivi quickly approached her and asked for a practice match. After she agreed, Vivi quickly took her spot on the court. Sadie remained trapped in Vivi's grip. Vivi was quick to point out to her practice opponent that she already had a ball ready to go. Vivi started the practice match by tossing Sadie into the air. Dread took over Sadie's mind as she started to fall.

WHACK!

Vivi's racket hit Sadie with a force that felt like getting hit by a car. Sadie instantly found herself dazed as she flew over the net. It was impossible to perceive anything around her as she was moving too fast and was reeling from being hit. Before she could regain her senses she hit the ground and bounced back up. The force with which she hit the ground surely would have seriously injured her if she were still flesh and blood. After bouncing, she once again sailed through the air a short distance to where Vivi's opponent was waiting. Sadie quickly found herself getting struck by another racket and being sent flying back toward Vivi's side of the court.

Sadie had no way of knowing how long the match lasted. It was a blur of being hit by two rackets and bouncing off the hard concrete. Sadie felt the full force of each hit, but was unable to be knocked out by them. She was a tennis ball made of rubber and felt. Her physical form was made for this even if her mind wasn't. No matter how much she wanted it to stop, she just kept getting bounced back and forth by the two rackets. She wondered if she would ever be able to think and see clearly again.

Eventually, the match did mercifully come to an end. Sadie ended up in someone's hand. She was too dizzy to tell if the hand was Vivi's or her opponent's. The two players exchanged words and Sadie couldn't comprehend anything they were saying. Whichever one of them was carrying Sadie then began to walk away. Slowly, Sadie's senses recovered from the concussive ordeal she had just been through. Soon, she was able to see that it was Vivi carrying her. It was horrifying enough to find herself turned into a tennis ball, but being used as one was something she never wanted to experience again. It was impossible to get the memory of the rackets hitting her out of her mind. The force with which she bounced off the ground was something that attacked her survival instincts even if she wasn't technically alive at the moment. In fact, Sadie wasn't even sure how she was still conscious as an inanimate tennis ball. Everything about this was wrong. She desperately hoped Vivi wasn't cruel enough to leave her like this.

Vivi carried Sadie into the equipment building. Vivi looked around a few times to make sure she was alone. Then she held the sentient tennis ball in front of her face. Sadie's hopes quickly faded as she could feel the malice radiating off of Vivi.

"That was the best practice I've had in a while!" Vivi said cheerfully. She looked at the tennis ball knowing full well who it really was.

"This is one of the highest quality balls I've ever been able to use!" Vivi said with an evil sarcasm. "I'd love to use something like this for every practice! Oops, oh no!"

Vivi dropped Sadie. The drop of a few feet felt like being dropped off a cliff to Sadie due to her new small size. She fell through the air with no way to even attempt to catch herself. Her round form was spinning slightly, making it hard for Sadie to see where she was falling to. She dreaded hitting the ground again after bouncing off concrete so many times during the practice match.

To Sadie's surprise, she did not hit concrete. The landing was still unpleasant, but much softer. It felt like she had hit a mass of rubber. Upon regaining her senses, Sadie saw that she was now in a pile of tennis balls. Vivi had dropped her into a bucket of them.

Vivi looked into the bucket with that same mocking grin. She looked like a giant to the tiny tennis ball that was Sadie.

"Oh, that sucks, I can't tell which ball is the one I was using." Vivi said sarcastically. "Oh well, they all look the same. Guess I'll just grab a new one tomorrow. There's plenty here for everyone to use."

With that, Vivi disappeared from Sadie's view. This left Sadie alone to ponder her situation. She could not believe Vivi could be that malicious. She also couldn't believe a way to turn a person into a tennis ball actually existed. Nothing about her predicament made sense, and that made it all the more terrifying. Was Vivi truly going to leave Sadie like this? Surely, Vivi couldn't be that cruel. Then again, even if Vivi was planning to turn Sadie back, would Vivi be able to find her? From what Sadie could see, the tennis balls surrounding her did all look the same. It was likely that Sadie didn't look any different from them. Sadie feared she would be lost among all of these identical looking tennis balls. Her only other hope was that whatever spell or magic had done this would eventually wear off. She had to cling to whatever hope she could think of.

Sadie was left alone with these thoughts as the hours passed by. No one had come into the equipment room since Vivi had left. The terror and trauma of being hit by rackets and bounced off the ground had been replaced by excruciating boredom. Sadie could do nothing to pass the time. Nothing happened around her to keep her mind occupied either. She remained there, still and silent, until the lights were turned off for the night. From there, Sadie was left with those same thoughts in the darkness of the night.

Eventually, the lights did come back on. Members of the tennis team came in to get what they would need. It wasn't long before hands were reaching into the bucket to grab balls to use for practice. Sadie watched as other tennis balls were lifted out of the bucket around her. Sadie dreaded being picked up herself. Sure, being in that bucket with no way to do anything was agonizingly boring. However, Sadie really did not want another afternoon of being whacked around by tennis rackets.

Unfortunately, it was not up to Sadie. A hand reached in and firmly clasped around her. Sadie futilely tried to call out to the person picking her up. She wanted to tell this person what had happened to her and ask for help. Alas, she was a tennis ball, and tennis balls can't talk. Sadie was carried out of the equipment building. The person holding Sadie had no reason to think there was anything special about the tennis ball she was holding.

From there, Sadie was subjected to another session of being hit back and forth between two tennis rackets. After that, it was another night alone in the ball bucket. That is how the next day went, and the one after that, and the one after that. Sadie soon lost track of how many days it had been since she had become a tennis ball. Her existence became a blur of impacts from tennis rackets. The spell showed no signs of wearing off. Vivi had even grabbed Sadie a few times for practice. However, Vivi gave no indication that she knew the ball she was holding was Sadie. It seemed Vivi truly did intend to lose Sadie among all the other tennis balls that day. Sadie didn't know if Vivi could find her even if she wanted to.

With each passing day, Sadie was losing hope that she would ever be saved from this bouncing nightmare. Still, she desperately wished it would end. At that point, she was still feeling the impacts from the rackets and the ground even as she sat in the ball bucket overnight. Vivi had gotten what she wanted. Sadie never wanted to see another tennis racket or court again. If she could become human again, she would find something else to do with her life and let Vivi have the spotlight on the court.

The weeks passed in a blur. Sadie continued to wish for an end to the rackets' torment. Then one day, one of the players using Sadie for practice hit her awkwardly. Sadie was sent spinning to the side of the court, toward the bleachers. Sadie couldn't see what was going on because of how fast she was moving. She expected to bounce off the concrete again. Instead she bounced off the metal bench and fell into the space between the seats. The blurry world around her got darker as she fell beneath the bleachers. She hit a few support beams on her way down before finally hitting the ground, bouncing slightly a few times before coming to a stop.

Sadie didn't realize where she was at first as her mind recovered from the rackets' punishment. She slowly realized she had been lost under the bleachers. She had landed so that her vision was facing the bottom of the lower benches. She was grateful for a break from being knocked around by the rackets, but feared her relief would be short-lived. Surely a hand would reach under there to retrieve her. Then it would be back to being whacked around like the tennis ball she was.

No hand came, though. Sadie remained undisturbed under the bleachers. She could still hear sounds from the courts. It sounded like players were continuing to practice. The minutes passed with no one coming to look for the lost ball. It seemed the players that had been using her simply grabbed another ball. It looked as though Sadie would get the rest of the day off.

Sure enough, no one picked Sadie up for the rest of the day. In fact, no one even picked her up after the practices were over. Sadie remained under the bleachers as night fell and her surroundings went dark. During her time there, she noticed another tennis ball laying under the bleachers on the very edge of what she was able to see. She wondered how long it had been there. She didn't notice any other balls fall down there after her, so this one must have already been there. Sadie wondered how long it had been there.

The next day passed without anyone looking to retrieve the lost balls as well. Then a week. Sadie lost count of the days after that. They were all the same, watching the area around her get brighter, then go dark as the days and nights passed. It was a lonely and boring existence with no ability to do anything and nothing happening around her. Still, Sadie preferred this to being endlessly hit by the rackets. She did not want to be found unless it was by someone who would change her back into a human. So, she remained there under the bleachers watching the days go by. She only had her thoughts to keep her company. She wondered if anyone was looking for her. She wondered if anyone could possibly figure out what had happened to her and how to change her back. She especially wondered if anyone else had been unfortunate enough to be considered an obstacle by Vivi.