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Down the line from our bench, the Candlehawk players in their shiny
gold jerseys are regarding the bleachers warily. Whereas my team is
casually stretching and grinning at our show of support, their players are
frozen in place. Tally looks more devastated than the rest of them put
together.
Our starting lineups meet at half-court for the jump ball. Danielle and I
take our places on either side of the center, which means I’m only a few feet
from Tally—the closest I’ve been to her since Charlotte’s party.
Tally catches my eye for a fleeting second. It’s hard to read the
expression on her face, but it’s something close to regret. It’s almost like
she wants reassurance from me. Her blue eyes are asking if this is a fluke.
I purse my lips and look away from her, and in that moment, I realize
I’m the one who has the power now. It feels incredible. And yeah, maybe I
feel kind of disgusted with myself for that, but I don’t dwell on it.
At the last second, before the ref tosses the ball into the air, I lock eyes
with Irene. She’s standing with her pom-poms behind her back, her hair up
in its perfect ponytail, her stance confident and balanced. Her squad is lined
up neatly behind her, watching with bated breath. She catches me looking
and winks. A weird surge of affection shoots up my chest.
The ref tosses the ball up, and the game begins.
A few minutes into the second quarter, I know for certain we’re going to
win. It’s impossible to deny our momentum, our energy, the electricity
rolling off our fans. Danielle sinks two jump shots in a row, her anxiety
completely evaporated. Googy snatches a rebound straight out of Tally’s
hands. I have two steals in a two-minute period and can literally hear my
family screaming my name.
And in the third quarter, when we’re leading by sixteen points, I
intercept a pass that Tally meant for her point guard. It’s a breakaway steal
that has me racing down the court, the crowd’s applause thundering in my
ears, the ball sure and steady under my hand. I make an easy layup and loop
my way under the basket with a grin so big my cheeks hurt. Gunther,
dressed in the Fighting Reindeer costume, bursts onto the court and scoops