9781250209153

“I’m renaming our lunch special The Eleven,” Thora says, referring to
my jersey number. “You’re gonna kill it tonight, Scots!”
Irene picks me up before school. We’ve planned that she’ll be the one to
drive me to the game’s after-party, which will hopefully be a blowout
celebration after we win. She’s wearing my picture button affixed to her
shirt today, and I do a double take when I see it.
“For real?” I ask, not even trying to keep the delight out of my voice. “I
got upgraded to your actual wardrobe?”
She shrugs; the corners of her mouth twitch. “It’s a special occasion. I
can suffer through it for one day.”
At school, I’m greeted with a roar of noise. People high-five me in the
hallways and tape good-luck notes to my locker. The Cleveland triplets beg
to take a selfie with Danielle and me. Even Gino goes out of his way to be
seen talking to me in the cafeteria line.
By the time the bell rings at the end of the day, I’m feeling so hopeful
and assured that I actually hug Irene when I see her.
“Oh,” she says, tensing up beneath my hug. “So this is a thing now?”
“We did it,” I tell her. “There’s no way in hell we’re gonna lose this
game.”
She laughs, and for maybe the first time since I’ve known her, it’s a
bright and authentic laugh. “You know something, Zajac? For once, I agree
with you.”
The bleachers are jam-packed with fans when my team hustles onto the
court. It’s the fullest I’ve ever seen our gym, and the vast majority of the
crowd is wearing red. Dozens of people sport the trademark reindeer ears
that are usually reserved for big football games.
“Holy shit,” Danielle whispers, her eyes wide. “There’s even more
people than last time.”
“Which means we’ll play even better,” I tell her as we claim our spots
on the team bench. “We’re gonna win tonight, I promise you. Look at their
players—they can’t even fathom how this happened!”