Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws

  In the locker room afterward, Rebecca told us what a good job we did and gave us a two-minute talk about following our dreams. Then she handed out autographed pictures with the phrase "Keep on Playing" handwritten on the bottom—which I thought was utterly cool.

  After that, she left with her husband, a tall, handsome guy with broad shoulders and a killer smile—which I thought was even cooler. It gave me more motivation to become an athlete. Athletes get to hang out with hot guys.

  My parents did a lot of back-patting and congratulating me when I found them in the auditorium. "Great game. You played really well," Mom said. Another squeeze to my shoulder. A smile. A furtive glance at my father. "How do you feel?" I knew she meant about Cami's being chosen for MVP and not me.

  "I'm glad Cami got to play with Rebecca. We're friends again."

  Mom's face brightened. "You are?"

  "Yeah, we made up at the gas station."

  Dad took over the job of back-patting. "That's wonderful. I knew you'd work things out eventually."

  Mom's gaze swung around the auditorium, searching. "A group of us are going to an ice cream place to celebrate. Why don't we invite Cami and her parents to come with us? There they are, over by those bleachers."

  "Great," I said, then saw Daniel standing by the door. "I'll catch up with you in a minute, I just want to tell Frederick's friend thanks again."

  I walked toward him, but halfway there Ethan and Justin intercepted me. They appeared out of the crowd, wearing Sanchez football shirts and big smiles. "Hey, Josie," Ethan said. "You were on fire tonight. Do you always play that well?"

  "I try to."

  He nodded at me, still smiling. "I came to see Ashley play, but I couldn't keep my eyes off you. You've got a great layup."

  It seemed strange he was noticing me now, after all my failed attempts to get his attention. I wanted to tilt my head and say, "What gives? Are you trying to make Ashley jealous again, or did you just decide I'm cool enough to talk to now because you found out I'm good at basketball?"

  "That's why she was so good at tossing grapes," Justin said. "She's had practice."

  Ethan playfully swatted my arm. "We'll have to have a rematch. I still think I can beat you."

  I returned his smile for the first time. "No, I'm done with that game. Besides, you probably shouldn't be talking to me, since you're going out with Ashley." And then, because I am more polite than Ethan, I waved good-bye to him and said, "See you around," before I walked off.

  Daniel came up to me while I was walking toward him. His hands were thrust in his pockets. "There you are. Listen, I need to talk to you about gas fare."

  Oh. I hadn't offered to pay him anything for making the trip to Chandler. I hadn't even thought about it, which now made me feel both stupid and ungrateful. How much did gas cost?

  "There's eleven dollars in change in the Slurpee cup in your car," I said quickly. "And my parents can pay you more."

  "No, that's not what I meant. They did pay me," he said. "And so did Cami's parents. Then a little while ago your coach gave me money even though I told her I'd already been paid." He nodded in Mrs. Holt's direction. "That lady over there insisted on paying me too. She gave me thirty bucks. I think she feels guilty." Daniel took his wallet from his jeans, unfolded it, and took out a wad of bills. "I can't take everybody's money. It didn't cost that much to drive here." He handed the bills to me. "How about I'll just keep the change in the Slurpee cup, and you can give everybody their money back for me."

  Which meant that Daniel was not only cute, he was also honest.

  I took a ten and a twenty from the wad of bills and handed those back to him. "Keep Mrs. Holt's money. I'll feel better knowing you did."

  He laughed, but took the money and slipped it in his wallet. "All right. I'll keep hers."

  The rest of the bills felt like worn cloth against my fingers. I fidgeted with them while I tried to think of what to say next. I didn't want him to leave yet, but I knew he was about to go anyway. "Thanks again. I really appreciate everything, and I'll probably see you at the next chess tournament. I mean, you know, since Frederick and I are friends, and he's going to teach me how to play and everything."

  Daniel smiled. "If you play chess anything like you play basketball, you'll be hard to beat."

  I couldn't decide whether to say, "We'll see," or "I hope," so it came out, "We'll hope." Which didn't really make sense, but at least the sentence didn't contain the words um, uh, or so. I was getting better at this.

  Daniel gave me another smile, and I thanked him again, and then we said good-bye.

  My parents, Caroline, Cami, and her parents walked up. Cami's duffel bag was slung over her shoulder, and the spring in her step made her look like a professional. She gave me an innocent smile that was completely transparent. "Saying good-bye to Daniel?"

  "He was refunding gas money. He said he got paid too much and asked if I could give it back to everybody."

  I handed the bills to my mother, and she put them in her purse. "Such a polite young man."

  "He should have kept it/' Cami's mother said.

  "We should invite him to eat ice cream with us," my mom said. "Do you want to run and ask him to come to Cold Stone Creamery with us?"

  Cami giggled. I grabbed her arm before she could say anything to embarrass me, and we hurried out the door to see if we could catch Daniel. We ran out to the parking lot, and from a distance saw him walking toward his Hyundai. "Daniel!" I called.

  He turned around, saw us, and waved. He didn't climb into his car. He was waiting for us to catch up to him so we could talk.

  I slowed down to a walk because I was tired, and Cami matched my pace. And then I remembered the demonstration. "Hey, Camilla, I never asked you what you said to Rebecca Lobo out on the court."

  "Oh, that." She smiled and slowed her pace even further. "I asked her if playing in the WNBA is still fun, or whether it all becomes work and everyone cries in the locker room when they lose."

  "You asked my question for me?"

  "Yeah. She says it's still fun even though it's a lot of work, and they only cry when Sue Bird starts singing along to the warm-up music."

  "You asked her my question?" It seemed like the sweetest thing Cami had ever done for me.

  I'd never been one to cry after a game, but that night I came close.

  And not just because Daniel said he'd go to Cold Stone Creamery with us.

  Fifteen

  Cami

  Basketball season ended better than it began. Our team won the final three games, probably because Josie and I were passing to each other again. For the last away game, we rode on the school bus, but Couch Melbourne still watched us like a hawk. It was almost as though she was afraid if she took her eyes off us, someone would evaporate.

  Ashley and Erica never got suspended from school or barred from sports like I thought they should, but the coach didn't play them nearly as much as she had before, so she must have realized they weren't blameless. The rest of the players certainly realized it. It became a standing joke that if you didn't play well, the team would force you to ride in the Holts' car so you could be stranded somewhere in the desert.

  Ashley got very snippy when we said those types of things, but I didn't care. It was almost like we'd impeached her as captain and as a result had more team unity. I was sad when the season officially ended and I had to turn in my uniform.

  The only benefit was, I knew the next time I played school ball, I'd be playing JV or even varsity basketball. I imagined myself walking around high school with a letter jacket. I mean, how cool.

  The science fair—or judgment day, as I called it—finally took place. We turned in our notebooks and boards, then during fourth period we went down to the gym to talk to the judges about our projects.

  I wore my nicest khaki skirt. Caroline wore all her crystal necklaces in an attempt to invoke good chi at our interview. I 'm not sure what the chi level actually was during our talk, but I'm pretty sure the j
udge's skepticism level was on the high side.

  The woman wore a pained smile while she listened to us explain our experiment, and barely looked at the findings in our notebook. With a raised eyebrow she said, "You report that people noticed you staring at them fifty-eight percent of the time. That's a higher percentage than in Sheldrake's own experiment. How do you explain your results?"

  Caroline fingered some of the crystals around her neck. "We may have greater psychic vibes."

  "Or maybe," I added, "it's because we're two attractive teenage girls, whereas Rupert Sheldrake is an old guy who looks like he just crawled out of the spin cycle of a washing machine."

  Caroline smacked me with her free hand, which I thought was totally uncalled for. After all, I was trying to sound scientific. I used the word whereas.

  The judge asked us a few more questions, still with her eyebrow raised, and then moved on to the next group.

  "Well, that's over," I said. "What place do you predict we'll come in?"

  Caroline humphed. "You don't need ESP to predict we won't win anything. Pioneers of great ideas are never taken seriously."

  Neither are pioneers of stupid ideas, but I didn't say this. Caroline and I had come to an agreement. I didn't make fun of her beliefs in ESP, and she no longer told me I had unresolved issues from a former life.

  "Next year I get to choose our project," I said.

  She rolled her eyes, which were decked out in lavender eyeshadow today. "You'll probably pick something totally mainstream."

  Like that was a bad thing.

  I stretched, looking around the gym at all the different booths. Over in the physics section, Frederick and Josie were talking to not one, but two judges. Frederick was animatedly waving a hand in the air, in what probably was supposed to look like a rocket flight. Josie smiled and nodded as she talked.

  For sure, they were going to win something.

  Of course, none of us would know the results of the fair until tomorrow. Apparently, going to school during the week wasn't hard enough, so the judges were making us come back on a Saturday to see whether our projects had been chosen to go on to the regional science fair. To make it worse, they wouldn't just tell us outright how our project had done. They put a slip of paper on the poster board that said "Winner," and then you had to go to the assembly later in the afternoon, listen to the boring talks on how we were the world's future, and wait to see whether you got first, second, third, or honorable mention in your category.

  At least I wouldn't have to sit through all of that.

  As we walked across the gym, I asked Caroline, "Are you even going to bother coming back tomorrow to see if we won something?"

  A grin slid across her face. "That depends. Are you bringing your brother with you?"

  Every time Caroline came over to my house, she and Kevin flirted with each other. I pushed open the gym door and shook my head. "How can you like someone who shoves his dirty socks into the couch?"

  She shrugged. "He's cute."

  "Yeah, and he consumes any and all junk food before I even know it's in the kitchen."

  "Does he work out? He looks like he works out."

  We walked down the hallway past rows of lockers and students who were avoiding going back to class. "For a Snickers bar, I'll tell you all of his secrets."

  Josie

  Frederick called me before I'd even finished getting dressed on Saturday. "We won something! Our board has a slip on it!"

  Which was more than I had on. I glanced at my clock radio. "Is the school even open yet? Are you like the first one there?"

  "No," he said indignantly. "The janitor is here too."

  I sat down on my bed and pushed my pillows to one side to get more comfortable. "Great, Frederick, I'm glad we won something, but I'm not showing up at school until right before the assembly."

  "Daniel is coming down to play in a tournament later on. He said he'd stop by the fair."

  "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I get dressed."

  Frederick laughed at me. He had no sympathy for my crush, which was unfair, considering he wouldn't even talk to Jessica Bing. At least I IM'd Daniel. He goes by NTslayer. Could anything be cooler? It made me think of a knight in shining armor up on a horse—a knight with surfer-boy blond hair. Daniel and I talk about school and sports, and he coaches me on how to beat Frederick in chess. Although even with Daniel's help, I've never been able to win a game against Frederick. Frederick gloats about that a lot.

  I got ready for the science fair awards quickly. The rest of my family took much longer. My mother made my sisters and brother go, even though I could tell they'd all rather take a trip to the dentist than sit through a lecture discussing science fair projects.

  Before the awards ceremony we walked around the gym looking at the other poster boards. Or at least my family did. I mostly looked for Frederick and Daniel, but didn't see either one of them.

  Finally it was time to go to the auditorium. We shuffled into the room, taking our seats. I scanned the audience, but didn't find Frederick or, more importantly, Daniel. Maybe he hadn't come after all. I mean, who would want to waste their afternoon watching a bunch of strangers get science fair awards?

  The room went dark, and I listened impatiently to the principal talk about hard work . . . innovators . . . cream of the crop . . . wave of the future . . . and so on. Jack was so bored he kept sliding off his chair onto the floor.

  At last the principal turned the time over to Mr. Parkinson to give out the awards. He called students up to the stage and gave ribbons to the kids who did projects on the environment, computers, and engineering. Then he moved on to physics.

  My mouth felt dry. My hands twitched against the armrests of my seat. It's only a science project, I told myself. It's just a ribbon.

  Mr. Parkinson announced the honorable mention. Then third place. He still hadn't said my name. My heart beat faster. I gripped the armrests. He called out second place.

  "And first place goes to Frederick Vine and Josie Caraway for Rocket Stability."

  I stood up so fast the seat clanged behind me. I practically skipped to the stage.

  Frederick was there before me, cool and collected, as though he won the science fair every year. Which perhaps he did.

  We shook Mr. Parkinson's hand, and yes, I giggled, even though there has never been anything remotely funny about my biology teacher or shaking his hand. Then I went back to my seat, and Mom gave me a hug.

  "We're so proud of you," Dad said, and Jack added, "Yay Josie!" even though he probably had no idea what I'd won.

  I listened to the rest of the awards without listening. I just stared at the blue ribbon and gold lettering that read FIRST PLACE. Who would have thought such a short piece of material could make me so happy?

  Afterward, I went back to the gym to gather up the poster board and notebook. Frederick and I hadn't discussed who would keep the stuff until regionals, but I figured I'd better make sure it didn't get left at school.

  While I was going down the physics aisle, I ran into Frederick and Daniel. Daniel seemed taller and tanner than I remembered, but just as good-looking. Better, actually.

  He smiled at me. I refrained from tripping.

  "Congratulations," he said. "First place."

  Frederick shrugged as we walked toward our table. "It's regionals we'll have to worry about. We didn't have much competition here." He stopped in front of one of the neighboring poster boards and waved a hand at it. "Jonah did one on quantum mechanics and the other worlds theory. What kind of project is that?"

  Daniel flipped through the open notebook on Jonah's table. "Hey, don't make fun of the guy. In some alternate universe he's winning the science fair right now."

  "Yeah, but never in this one."

  Frederick and Daniel both laughed then. Which is the problem with having brainiac friends. You only get their jokes half the time.

  Daniel smiled over at me again. "You'll do great at re­gionals."

  I didn't kno
w what to do with my hands, so I folded my arms across my chest; then because I thought that looked standoffish, I dropped them back to my sides. "Thanks. Frederick did most of the work."

  Frederick tilted his head at me like I'd insulted him. "No, I didn't. You did half of it, except for those silly-looking glitter stars." He waved his hand in the direction of our poster board. "I didn't have anything to do with those."

  I still felt uncomfortable taking much credit. "You had to teach me all about the center of pressure and the center of gravity."

  "But you did a better job of talking to the judges." We reached our booth, and Frederick folded up the poster board. "Although you didn't have to tell them about the Scottish terrier attack."

  "They thought it was funny."

  "That's my point." He picked up the notebook and handed it to me. "Anyway, I think we make a good team." Frederick seemed to remember Daniel was standing there, because Frederick cleared his throat and added, "I mean, you know, in a friend sort of way."

  Which was so obvious it made me blush, even though I tried not to. I looked very steadfastly at the notebook, as though this was the first time I'd ever seen it.

  Frederick tucked the poster board under his arm. As he turned to leave, it made a big sweeping motion across the aisle. "So Josie, at seven tonight I'm having some chess guys over to my house. You know, for chips, doughnuts, strategy techniques, that sort of thing. It would be a good place for you to come and practice your moves. Your chess moves, I mean."

  I blushed again. "Oh . . . um . . . I'm not sure . . . " I glanced at Daniel to see whether Frederick's blatant matchmaking was making him uncomfortable or not. Daniel was smiling at me.

  "You could bring along Cami and Caroline, if you want," Frederick added. "Are you in?"

  "Yeah, I'm in."

  My mother called to me from down the aisle, so I handed Frederick our notebook and told him and Daniel I'd see them later.