9781250209153

“That freaking sociopath,” Danielle says, glaring at my phone. “She is
so manipulative. Ignore her. You don’t owe her an explanation.”
I can tell Danielle is getting riled up, so I pocket my phone and continue
down the hall. But when we get to the locker room, I take advantage of the
chaos to pull out my phone again.
Me: Why do you want to know?
Tally Gibson: Because it’s not like you. What happened to hating her
guts after the towing thing?
Me: I don’t think my opinion of her is any of your business. Not
anymore.
Tally Gibson: Wow, okay.
I think that’s the end of it, but Tally sends one final text:
Tally Gibson: You should be careful. She can’t be good for you.
And that’s when it hits me: Tally is jealous of my perceived friendship
with Irene. She’s threatened by the possibility that I could change—scared
that I could catapult to popularity even faster than her. The idea leaves me
dazed.
When we spill onto the court, I have a bounce in my step. I’m playing as
well as I used to—maybe even better. My energy is contagious, and
suddenly the whole team is playing at our highest frequency.
I don’t think it can get any better, but in the last ten minutes of practice,
it does. The auxiliary doors open and, for the first time in my basketball
career, we have a cheering section. Literally. Irene has brought her squad to
watch us play.
I know she’s not doing me any favors. She’s only here because her own
practice is over and she wants to hurry me along. Still, it feels validating to
have an audience, and my teammates seem to feel the same way.
“Are they really here for us?” Shelby asks.
Liz Guggenheim, who we call Googy, shakes her head. “Nah, dude.
They’re here for Scottie.” She turns to me, starstruck. “That car accident
was the best thing you’ve ever done.”