Settle the Score (10 page)

Jamie grinned. “Yeah, you were really biting it on the field big-time, Devin.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said, but she was right. I couldn't argue with that!

“You've got your groove back now,” Jamie admitted. “And it's part of the reason why I think we've got a shot at the championship. If I could be on a winning team, maybe my family would be proud of me. Maybe they'd want to come to my games and watch me play.”

I felt instant sympathy for Jamie. Imagine having to win to get your family's approval. My family was there for me all the time, win or lose. Once again I felt so lucky. But I didn't want to show Jamie how sorry I felt for her, in case she stopped talking again. Instead I just nodded without saying a word.

“That's why I tried to sabotage the Kicks,” Jamie confessed. “Before you showed up, they weren't even a threat. I thought the Rams had a shot at making it to the play-offs. But then the Kicks started winning game after game. And the play-offs started to seem out of reach. I kept picturing myself at the play-offs with my family in the stands, cheering me on. So I decided to try to give the Rams an advantage by messing with the Kicks.”

Wow. I was totally shocked. All along I'd thought Jamie was just a bad sport. Now I realized the issue was much deeper than that. Hurting others to try to get her parents' attention seemed like the absolute worst way for Jamie to try to fix her problems, but I still felt sorry for her.

“You should know you're an awesome player,” I told her. “You don't have to resort to dirty tricks to win. You've got the talent. Try focusing on teamwork instead. That's what will help us win against the Gators next Saturday.”

I waited, figuring Jamie would just call me a Girl Scout again and roll her eyes. Yet I was in for another surprise.

“You know what, Devin, you just might be right about that,” Jamie said. “I've tried it my way in the past, and it didn't get me far. I might as well give teamwork a shot.”

I smiled. “So you'll do the cartwheels? And other team building stuff?”

“I guess so,” she said. “And I really liked going to the retirement home, especially when we got the dirt on Coach Darby from her mother. Barbie Darby!” Jamie snorted.

“Maybe she'll marry someone named Ken,” I joked, and we both started laughing.

Although we continued joking around, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I still wanted to fix Jamie's problem. Everyone deserved to have someone cheering them on. Jessi had been right. I couldn't change Jamie's family. But at least I could show her I cared.

“Hey, I heard you guys made the finals,” Hailey said, approaching me, Jessi, Emma, and Frida at our lunch table on Monday. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks!” Jessi and I said at the same time.

Then Hailey turned toward Frida. “Steven told me you're in a TV movie with Brady McCoy. That's awesome,” she said shyly.

Frida sat straight up in her chair, like she always did when she was receiving compliments. “It was really fun,” she said. “You know, I'm having a party at my house the night it premieres. You should come.”

She handed Hailey her cell phone. “Put in your number, and I'll text you the deets,” she said.

Hailey looked thrilled. “Okay, wow, thanks!” she said. She typed in her number and handed the phone back to Frida. Then she smiled at all of us. “See you.”

“Wow, that was nice of you,” Emma remarked as Hailey walked away.

“Well, I made a promise to myself that I would always be nice to my fans when I got famous,” Frida said, entirely seriously.

Jessi grinned. “Oh, so you're famous now?” she teased.

“Maybe not yet, but it's never too early to
act
like you're famous,” Frida countered.

Emma shook her head. “Oh my gosh, Frida, now you're seriously starting to sound like one of the Real Teenagers of Beverly Hills!”

“Am not!” Frida protested. “And if I ever do, promise me you'll stop me. Hit me or something.”

Emma looked horrified. “I would never do that!”

Jessi playfully punched Frida's arms. “Don't worry, we'll keep you in line,” she said. Then she turned to me. “I've been meaning to ask you. How was the car ride home with Jamie?”

I chewed my chicken salad slowly, wanting some extra time to choose my words carefully. I really wanted to confide in my friends what Jamie had shared with me. But at the same time I didn't want to gossip. I couldn't help thinking that since Jamie had started to open up to me because I had been friendly to her, it might help her if she had some more friends in her life. It would be great if my friends could try a little bit with Jamie too. Yet I knew they didn't feel too kindly toward her, and I completely understood why. I thought that if I could share with them just a little bit of what Jamie had told me, they might be more open-minded.

“It wasn't so bad. In fact, it was kind of fun,” I decided to start with.

“Fun?” Emma sounded surprised. “Are you saying she wasn't totally rude like usual?”

“Look,” I tried to explain. “Jamie is Jamie. She can be pretty sarcastic. But she can also be really funny, too. And she is an awesome soccer player.”

Jessi nodded. “Yeah, I guess I actually had a good time playing Scrabble with her at the retirement home.”

“See!” I said triumphantly. “She's not all bad.”

“Devin, are you for real right now?” Frida asked, upset. “Are you forgetting that Jamie is the one behind stealing your duffel bag, ruining the Kangaroos' banner, and canceling one of our practices—not to mention that her final stunt could have gotten us all suspended!”

Frida was talking about how Jamie had planned to spray-paint the field with “Kangaroos Rule” in big blue letters before the Rams played the Kicks. Her hope had been that the Kicks would get blamed for it and be disqualified so that the Rams would win by default. But Frida had discovered the plan, and we'd been able to put a stop to it.

I sighed. My friends were right. But I really believed that Jamie was starting to change. A few more good influences around her would help.

“I already told you how her parents never come to her games—” I started, but Emma interrupted me.

“What does that have to do with cheating?” Emma wondered.

“That's exactly what I asked her,” I said. Before I continued, I thought about what I should say. I didn't want to gossip, but what Jamie had done affected all of us. The other girls deserved to know why she'd done it.

“Jamie told me the reason she sabotaged the Kicks was to make sure the Rams got into the play-offs,” I shared. “She thought if they did, her parents would come to one of her games. That's why she did it.”

Emma's eyes got wide. “That's so sad,” she said. “I'm going to go home and hug my mom extra hard today.”

“That does put a different spin on it, Devin,” Jessi admitted. “But Jamie can be so unfriendly, not to mention downright mean. It doesn't really excuse her behavior.”

“You'll see,” I told Jessi. “She's going to try harder with teamwork. I think you'll notice a difference in her.”

“Um, hello?” Frida interrupted impatiently. “Enough with all the soccer talk and Jamie drama. I've got a party to plan and a premiere I need to get a dress for, remember?”

“You would never let us forget, Frida,” Jessi said, laughing. “What can we do to help?”

“We need to pick a date when we can all go dress shopping together. And I mean
all
of us.” With that, Frida stood up and marched over to the table Zoe was sitting at. Zoe looked up in surprise. Soon she was standing up and following Frida back to our table.

“Everyone, let's figure out a date and a time when we can all do this.” Frida sat at the head of the table and stared all of us down. I thought I heard Zoe give a gulp as she sat down next to me. I couldn't blame her. Frida could be very intimidating when she wanted to be.

“After all, this is the red carpet,” she continued. “My picture might be in magazines. Or on TV. I need to look my best!”

I imagined myself walking down the red carpet. The idea was kind of frightening, what with all those people looking at you, taking your picture, and judging what you were wearing. Frida liked being the center of attention much more than I did, but maybe she was acting more dramatic than usual because she was a little nervous, too.

“We're here for you,” I told her. “We'll make sure you get the best dress in the world!”

Frida smiled at me. “Thanks, Devin. Now, what about tonight?”

“Gators practice at three,” Zoe said quickly.

“Griffons practice at four,” I said at the same time.

“Tomorrow?” Frida asked. “Wednesday?”

“Griffons tomorrow,” Jessi said.

“And Gators Wednesday,” said Zoe.

“Thursday?” Frida sounded totally exasperated by this point.

“We've got practice at three,” Jessi answered.

“So do the Gators,” Zoe answered softly. She had been sitting on the edge of her chair the entire time, like she was going to bolt at any second. I couldn't stand the tension between us anymore, but I didn't know what to say to Zoe to make it better.

“So how about after practice on Thursday?” Frida asked.

“Where are we going?” Jessi asked.

“Back to Debi's Discount Dresses,” Frida replied. “She's expanded and upgraded her store, and she's got the biggest selection around. She's even changed her name. The store is called Debi's Designs now.”

Emma groaned. “Oh no! Does this mean she's going to be even snobbier now?”

“At least this time we won't show up all covered in mud,” I said. We had gone dress shopping together as a group once at Debi's store before. We'd been looking for dresses to wear to Zoe's bat mitzvah. When we'd showed up after a practice covered in mud (and cheese puff dust, long story), Debi hadn't been very happy. “Give us enough time to go home and shower and change, Frida.”

“Seven o'clock?” Frida asked. “Everyone check with your parents. If there's a problem, let me know ASAP!”

Zoe nodded as she stood up. “See you Thursday!” she said as she darted away, so fast it reminded me of how she moved on the soccer field. She sat down once again with her fellow Gators, and I could see the relief on her face.

“Zoe really is taking this competition hard,” Emma said. She looked sad. “She just hasn't been herself. I've barely seen her the last few weeks.”

“I tried to warn you all that this game would cause drama,” Frida said.

“Once the game is over, Zoe should be back to her old self,” Jessi said. Then she added: “I hope.”

“I hope so too,” Emma echoed, her eyes sad. “And we've got to figure out how we're going to cheer them on this time, Frida. Should we switch signs again?”

“To tell you the truth, I'm really not a Gators fan at the moment,” Frida said. “Zoe has barely been talking to me, and she won't even reply when I text her. Yesterday I sent her some pictures of some updos I was thinking about for my hair. No answer!”

She frowned. “Since soccer is about sides, I'll root for the Griffons. You can root for the Gators if you want to, Emma.”

Oh great,
I thought as the butterflies began to do their dance in my stomach. Zoe had been acting really strange already. With Frida taking sides, things were going to be even more awkward, if that were even possible.

Emma grimaced. “Oh, I don't know what to do! I still want to root for both teams. Are you serious, Frida? You won't root for the Gators at all?”

Frida crossed her arms and shook her head. “No way.”

“Maybe I can make a two-sided sign.” Emma sounded lost in thought. “And then I can turn it around at the half? Or maybe . . .”

I let out a big sigh. I was lost in my own thoughts. What I was thinking was that while I loved soccer, I didn't love how it was tearing my friends apart!