Rumors (2 page)

Coach
Robbins watched me, his eyes lighting up as if he could still feel
the thrill of last year’s game—the screaming fans, cheering in both
joy and agony as the scoreboard bounced back and forth, mercilessly
playing with their heartstrings until the last second on the clock.
My younger twin sisters, Taylor and Leah, were the rising stars of
the year. Starting on the JV team as freshmen and then catapulting
to the Varsity team for playoffs, they made an impressive debut for
their first year of high school.

The
second half of that championship game was the first time all three
of us had been on the same court in a competitive game. It was like
the basketball transformed into a ball of fire, shifting between
our hands. We read each other’s movements with an unspoken gift
shared only amongst sisters, our natural skills heightened by each
other’s presence. Shot after shot, all three of us lit up the
court, causing a surge of adrenaline amongst our teammates and the
fans in the bleachers. We overcame a mountainous lead so quickly
that Coach Robbins only real lament was that he hadn’t put us
together sooner. Though we had lost the game, the burning in Coach
Robbins’ eyes peered with eagerness toward next season.

This
season. The season I was refusing to be a part of.

Coach
Robbins stood up as if our conversation was over. By the look on
his face, he was probably still caught up in the memories. That and
it was time for the first basketball practice of the season. I
stood to join him and he put a hand on my shoulder, his towering
height stooping a bit to bring his face closer to my own lean,
five-foot-seven frame. “You will be just fine. I’m sure you’re
still hurting now for your loss, but you’ll forget all about it
once you start playing again. Get going, Collins. Suit up for
practice.” He thumped my back twice, opening the door for me, and
escorting me out of his office.

I almost
bumped into my teammates and the other athletes who were shuffling
towards the locker rooms. Tara Davis, one of my best friends,
wrapped her arms around me in a tight squeeze, spinning us both
around. “Start of the season!” she squealed, not catching on to the
lack of mirrored delight on my face—or maybe she simply chose to
ignore it. So many people seemed to do that these days. “We are
going to kill it!” She linked arms with me, towing me with her
towards the locker room. I glanced back at Coach Robbins, who gave
me a nod of approval before grabbing the attention of our assistant
coach. Already, our brief and useless conversation was forgotten.
The locker room doors swung shut behind me.

***

Suicides—one basketball drill of which I excelled. To the
line and back, I sprinted, my lungs burning by the final set. Yet,
I pushed through the pain, leading my teammates with the strength
and endurance expected of a captain.

Never
giving up.

All the
running I’d invested in over the last couple of months since
Maddie’s death paid off, my fitness allowing bursts of speed as I
dashed from one line on the court to the next. Taylor and Leah
weren’t far behind my heels. Despite my own lack of motivation
today, I couldn’t help but be impressed by their young enthusiasm.
They moved with proficiency and confidence, shouting out
encouragement to our teammates, driven to succeed. They were only
sophomores, but they didn’t let the age-gap inhibit their
self-assurance. I coveted their ability to play like Maddie hadn’t
died—like nothing had changed. She was their cousin, too. Yet, I
was the one that felt hindered. Changed. Like all the energy put
into this practice was a—

Tara
Davis slapped my rear as she spun around me. “Wake up, girl!” she
said as I missed her pass. The ball rolled away on its own,
careening towards the exit of the gym. My mouth opened in surprise,
not because Tara had smacked my behind like I was a cow, but
because somehow I’d zoned out enough not to realize we’d moved onto
passing drills. Tara grinned at me, her wide smile stretching
across her face. “Grab the ball! Let’s go!”

As a
best friend and co-captain, I guess she had the right to order me
around. I picked up my knees and jogged after the runaway
ball.

Practice
carried on with more passing and shooting drills, weaving the ball
between us and making the shot. We weren’t introduced to anything
new or crazy—not yet, anyway. I had no doubt Coach had a number of
tactics up his sleeve, with my sisters and me playing a dominate
role. Normally, I would expect and crave nothing else, relishing in
the attention. Today, however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that
somehow, none of this was as important as it used to be. Life—and
death, for that matter—was suddenly so much bigger than
basketball.

We
half-limped out the doors when Coach Robbins released us, feeling
the wake-up call of a brand-new season.

“
Come on! Say yes to Friday.” Tara Davis jumped in my path,
walking backwards to stay in front of me. Frowning at her
persistence, I continued walking down the school hall, trying not
to step on her toes.

“
Tara, seriously—I’m not in the mood. I would be the worst
date anyway.” I brushed passed her, finally getting ahead of her
feet. She grabbed my backpack, slowing me down until I came to a
stop. I took a breath and released it loudly.

“
Allie, please.
Please
do this for me.” Her olive-green eyes pleaded
into mine. “Don’t best friends reserve the right for favors once in
a while?” She bounced on her toes a bit.

I
sighed. Going on a double date this Friday had little appeal to me,
especially after our first grueling week of basketball practice,
but Tara had created what she called “the perfect set up” by
organizing a date night. She’d had her eye on Austin Boyer since
our junior year. As a key player on the boys’ basketball team, he
was quite the commodity, and any girl would count herself lucky to
be in his knee-buckling presence. Not far behind “every girl’s
dream” was Austin’s best friend, Shane Moore—and my date, should I
concede.

Tara
couldn’t get over how cool it would be if “best friends dated best
friends” and better yet, that we all played basketball. In her
words, this type of scenario would be the pinnacle of our high
school experience.

I
shouldn’t have given in—I should have held my ground, but I felt
like I was disappointing a lot of people these days with my often
glum mood. For instance, I hadn’t felt any need to dress up for
Halloween last week and opted to stay home and hand out candy
instead.

“
What are you, OLD?” Tara had said in disgust, shaking her
head at me when she couldn’t convince me to attend the haunted
house with her and a few friends. Regardless of her criticism, ever
since Maddie’s death, I felt like my nerves were still too fragile.
The last thing I needed was an evening where ghosts and monsters
were glorified and praised for jumping out at me. I already felt
like a phantom of myself anyway, unable to fully grasp the
confidence and zest for life that I once maintained. Maybe if I
faked having a good time this weekend, people would stop watching
me for a major meltdown—and Tara would stop pelting me with her
disapproving looks.

“
Ok,” I said, “Let’s do it.
One
double date to help you and
Austin on your path to true love—although, you know I don’t believe
in any of that—and then you’re on your own.” Tara jumped up and
down, wrapping her arms around me.

“
You are absolutely the best!” Her springy, sandy-blond hair
bounced with her voice. “I will plan everything. Meet me at my
house on Friday after practice, and the boys can pick us up from
there.”

I
feigned a smile in return, wondering what I’d just gotten myself
into.

***

Friday
came too soon. After showering from basketball practice, I escaped
the house as fast I could, still hearing my sophomore sisters
swooning over the idea that I was going on a date with Shane Moore.
Mom seemed pleased that I finally had Friday night plans
again.

Dressed
in black cords and a green sweater that scooped around her neck,
highlighting her defined collar bones, Tara finished applying her
final strokes of blush. Her reflection smiled at me as she spun
around, her lips painted in burgundy lip gloss. She eyed my skinny
jeans and grey sweater.

“
I hope you brought a coat,” she said, slipping into
knee-length boots. “It’s gonna be cold outside!” I glanced out the
window into the dimming light.

“
You still haven’t told me where we are going,” I said. “And I
have a feeling it’s because I probably don’t want to go.” I folded
my arms, waiting for her to deny it.

She
grinned, pulling my arm towards her bedroom mirror and seating me
in the vanity seat. “We’re going to a corn maze.” She ignored my
attempts to slap at her hand while she forced my eyelid closed with
her makeup brush.

“
A corn maze?” I frowned at the thought of being trapped in an
oversized labyrinth with Tara and two guys I barely knew.
“We
are
going to
freeze! Do I need to remind you that you have no sense of
direction?” I blinked at my reflection, catching the shimmering,
smoky purple that Tara added to my eyes. I had to admit that the
purple shadow did brighten my hazel iris. It also highlighted my
disapproving glare.

“
Well,” Tara said, knocking the clutter of makeup into her
vanity drawer, “I wouldn’t mind getting lost with Austin for a
while.” She grinned mischievously.

“
Oh, come on, Tara,” I protested. “You are
not
running off with Austin and
leaving me with Shane.” I barely knew the guy. I hoped he didn’t
have any plans for hiding in a corner with me somewhere.

“
Allie, you’ll be just fine. This is the last weekend the maze
is even open, so just enjoy it!” The doorbell rang, interrupting
Tara’s poor attempt to console me.

Austin
and Shane stood in the entryway, both looking sharp in faded jeans
and fitted, long-sleeved shirts.

“
Ladies!” Austin greeted, his eyes brushing along Tara’s body
as we descended the staircase. He stood with confidence, his hair
cropped short on the sides, except for his perfectly gelled faux
hawk. Shane smiled at me with a little more reserve, though
everything about him exuded the same self-assurance as the best
friend at his side. He stood with boldness, his light brown eyes
emphasized by his thick, yet shapely eyebrows. He, too, kept his
brown hair short, though gelled for texture in front.

“
Thanks for picking us up,” Tara said, her smile pushing
through to her defined cheekbones. She grabbed a scarf and swirled
it around her neck in a fashionable manner.

“
You ready to do this?” Shane asked me as Tara and Austin led
the way out the door.

“
Of course,” I answered, too intimidated by his attractiveness
to maintain eye contact for very long. My heart beat fast in my
chest, nervous and unsettled. I hadn’t been out with a guy in a
long time, and I couldn’t help feeling like I was the odd one in
the group, lacking the self-assurance that radiated off each of
them. Perhaps last year I would have felt differently—like I
belonged—but now… I second guessed myself and assumed the worst
when eyes roved towards me.

The car
ride was fairly painless, since Austin drove with the base bumped
so high that we couldn’t hold a conversation even if we wanted to.
Hip-hop blared from his speakers, rocking the inside of the car
with upbeat sound waves. Shane and I sat in the back and the most
we could do was holler a few superficial questions at each other,
exchanging awkward smiles and head nods along the way. It was
evident from the start that we were both going along for the ride
for the sake of our best friends. We knew there was no interest
between the two of us, despite Tara swearing up and down that she’d
heard Shane asking about me.

We
stopped at a diner for a quick bite to eat, ordering drinks and
burgers. We started off with easy conversation, exchanging the woes
of killer basketball practices this week and our excitement for the
first game. I tried to hold up my end of the conversation, but I
couldn’t help but notice Shane’s wandering eyes scoping out every
cute girl that passed by our table, including the young waitress.
It wasn’t that I was jealous. So far, other than stunning looks and
a toned body, he didn’t have much else to offer in personality—but
interested or not, it never felt good to be on a date where the guy
was checking out everyone else.