The thundering in my chest slows when I recognize Lucas, and I find my footing as I slip one foot out of the driver’s side and spot June sitting with a group of girls on Lucas’s open tailgate. It would be so simple to hop in the back with her, the ease of it so inviting that my fingers twitch at the feel of the ball. I’m tempted to play this a different way. Be a different kind of girl. Take the easy route.
Don’t ever betray the person you are.
My dad’s words echo around my head amid my mental battle. He gave up a lot so I never have to diminish who I am. And I’m not the girl who sits on the sidelines. I’m the girl who puts herself in the game, who changes the rules.
I hop out of the van and open the back door. Ball in hand, I slam the sliding door shut and jog across the street, dribbling along the way. It’s been awhile, but every step I take bolsters my confidence and comfort with the ball. June’s head pops up when she sees me. Waving her hand, she announces my arrival, inviting me to join her, over where the girls are. I smile back and stay the course.
Zack and Cannon were only a few paces ahead of me, and I jog three steps to close the gap, tapping my apparent nemesis on the shoulder until his toes square with mine after he turns. Zack doesn’t even flinch in surprise, as if he expected me; his smirk dares to suggest he may have even lured me.
“I’ve got next game,” I announce, fully taking the bait if that’s the case. I’ve learned not to ask permission. They never grant you access if you’re timid. That’s not how you change minds and break into their exclusive clubs.
Of course, I’m not here on principal. I’m here because my feelings were hurt. Stupid feelings for a stupid boy with stupid, stupid features that I’ve been thinking about way too often. And while it’s his cousin I’m in a standoff with, it’s Cannon I want to convince. I’m just not sure of what.
7
Cannon
Hollis Taylor might be more like my cousin than I thought. This is a total Zack move, following people who pissed him off so they have to deal with looking him in the eyes.
I have to look her in the eyes, and I don’t really want to. Before my cousin showed up, we were . . . I’m not sure what we were, but we weren’t holding this invisible grudge that’s there now. I have to stop making this my problem, but it’s hard when my uncle and Zack will not stop talking about what a huge problem this is, and not only for them.
“Your senior year is going to be overshadowed by some novelty publicity stunt.”
That’s their talking point. They want to rile me up to make sure I’m invested in their battle, but really, there is some truth to it. Allensville Public is not a small school. It’s not one of the mega schools that gets TV coverage, but it’s a decent size in a town caught between factories to the south and the big city to the west. A girl behind the plate is the kind of human interest story the media eats up, which makes it hard to shine when you’re the one on the mound.
All of that shit shouldn’t matter. Deep down, I know it doesn’t. Coaches at D-ones aren’t looking at news stories, they’re looking at numbers. And I’ve got the stats.
“Alright, how ’bout this—you can have Tory but I get Hayden. I’ll take Cannon and you get Lucas.” I give my cousin side-eyes because I do not want to be a part of this showdown. Too late, though. He just shoved the ball into my chest.
Hollis tosses her ball to the side, and one of Lucas’s friends nudges it into the dead grass with his foot. Friday afternoon basketball at Hayden and Tory’s has become a habit for Zack and me. I usually look forward to it, mostly because the twins end up putting on a show and it comes down to the rest of us getting out of the way and passing them the ball to do epic shit. I have a feeling that’s not how this game is going to go.
“You know what? I’ll be nice. You take it up top first.” My cousin jerks the ball from my hands and bounces it to Hollis who accepts it with a firm slap of her palms. She’s locked in on this as much as Zack is.
My cousin points to me then Lucas, coaching me on whom to guard. It’s a little irritating but he’s so far gone in his head, I agree. Hayden and Tory eye each other, and when I get close enough to Lucas to strong-arm him while Hollis dribbles around the perimeter of the three-point line, he mutters, “What the fuck?”
I shake my head.
“My cousin is threatened by a girl. Coach Taylor’s her dad,
