Settle the Score (12 page)

I squeezed out a small cup of vanilla yogurt from the machine and then moved to the toppings station. I knew exactly what I wanted. Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and a cherry on top.

Jamie just stood there, watching me.

“Is that all you're getting?” she asked.

“Well, yeah,” I replied.

Jamie shook her head. “Oh, Devin. Do you ever let loose?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Then I looked down at my yogurt. “Oh, well, my mom is a health-food nut, so this is pretty loose for me, I guess. Her idea of a yogurt topping is more yogurt.”

Jamie grabbed the biggest yogurt cup they had.

“Let me show you how it's done,” she said. She filled her container with orange, banana, and vanilla yogurt. Then she moved to the toppings.

“You've gotta get at least one item from every yogurt food group,” Jamie said. “Chocolate. Fruit. Nuts. Cereal. Candy.”

She piled on toppings as she moved down the row of topping bins. I watched in awe as she added chocolate sprinkles, banana slices, peanuts, fruit cereal, and sour candies to her yogurt.

“Everywhere else, you get only one cherry on top,” she said. “But here you can do whatever you want. Why not two? Or three? Or four?”

She added a whole bunch of cherries to the top of her yogurt, and then she held it up. “Perfection.”

Emma started to giggle. “Oh my gosh! That must weigh, like, fifteen pounds!”

“It does look pretty impressive,” Zoe admitted.

“I like your strategy,” said Jessi. “One from every category.”

“And you're right about the cherries,” added Frida. “I always want more than one cherry!”

I wasn't about to create a monster yogurt feast like Jamie had, but I did grab one more cherry with the tongs and placed it on top of my yogurt sundae.

“Better?” I asked Jamie.

Jamie just shook her head. “You are hopeless!”

Jessi, Emma, Zoe, and Frida finished topping their yogurt, and then we got them all weighed and paid for. We found a round table by the front window of the shop and pulled over an extra chair so we could all fit.

Jamie's yogurt sundae was clearly the biggest one at the table.

“Jamie, how can you eat all that?” Zoe asked as Jamie dug in her spoon.

“We've been practicing like crazy all week,” Jamie answered. “I've been dreaming about a sundae like this one. That's why when Devin asked me to come, I said yes.”

An awkward silence fell for a moment as we all remembered that nobody else had really wanted Jamie there except for me. I was searching for the right words to say to clear the air, when Jamie spoke up.

“Listen, I can understand why you guys wouldn't want to hang out with me,” she said. “I'm sorry for what I did to you . . . before.”

I saw my friends look at one another, a little surprised.

“Thanks,” said Jessi simply, and everyone else nodded, and that was when I knew that my plan might actually work.

“Enough talking, more eating!” Emma cried out, and just as we started to dig in, Jamie's cell phone rang. She picked it up, and her face fell.

“What? But I just got here!” she said, her voice rising. “Yes, I know Tristan has a game. Fine. Whatever. Good-bye.”

Jamie stood up. “My dad's in the parking lot. I have to go.”

“But my dad can drive you back!” I said. I didn't want her to go, and I didn't think my friends did either.

“I have to see my stupid brother's basketball game,” she said.

“You can get a lid for your yogurt,” Emma said sweetly.

But Jamie picked up the yogurt, dumped it into the garbage on the way out, and left without another word.

“Wow,” Jessi said when she was gone.

“So her parents never come to her games, but she has to go to her brother's game?” Zoe asked. “That is so unfair.”

“Way unfair,” echoed Emma.

“I knew things were bad, and this really proves it,” I said. “Which is why I brought Jamie here tonight. I think I know a way we can help her. . . .”

“Go get 'em, Griffons!” Kara cheered, holding up a sign that said the same thing.

I laughed. “I wish I could fly you out here!”

“I wish you could too,” Kara said. “Frida actually texted me and invited me to her party. That sounds like it's going to be fun.”

“I'm sure it will be, but I can't even imagine being at a party right now,” I said. “I am so hyped up for this game!”

Kara grinned. “It's so good to see you back in your soccer groove, Devin,” she said. “You got your school mojo back too, right?”

I nodded. “A plus on my last World Civ quiz.”

“It's a sign!” Kara said. “You aced the quiz, and you will ace this game!”

“I hope so!” I said. Then I took a deep breath. “I've got to get going. Thanks for cheering me on.”

“Knock 'em dead, Devin!” Kara cheered me before signing off.

I turned off my video screen and took a deep breath. This was it. I was suited up for the game. My hair was tied back in the tightest ponytail I could make. I wasn't about to risk any stray hairs flying into my eyes. My lucky pink headband was firmly in place. I took one last look in the mirror and then bounded down the stairs.

Mom, Dad, and Maisie were waiting by the front door, wearing pink T-shirts with
GO, DEVIN
in white letters across the front.

“Surprise!” Maisie cried.

“Those shirts are awesome!” I cried, hugging each one of them. “You guys are all awesome!”

“We're so proud of you, Devin,” Dad said. “You never gave up this season, even when things got tough.”

It meant so much to hear my dad say that, and it made me think of Jamie—and how she might never hear those words from
her
dad. Which made me happier than ever that Emma and Frida had agreed to my plan.

The final game was being held at the field in Los Arboles, the “home” field for the Gators. When the Marshmallow pulled up, it was still about twenty minutes before Coach Darby had asked us to report, but I noticed that most of the players had already showed up. Everyone was full of nervous energy.

I waved to my parents and jogged over to Jessi, who was standing with Sarah and Zarine, the only other Griffons players who had also been on the Kicks.

“Oh, hey, Devin,” Zarine said. “I was just saying how weird it is that we're playing against Grace, Zoe, and Anjali today.”

“See? We're not the only ones who were having Kicks against Kicks anxiety,” Jessi said.

We all gazed across the field, where we could see Zoe and Grace starting to warm up.

“I miss our sock swaps,” said Sarah a little sadly.

We had this tradition on the Kicks. We all wore silly socks to each game—like striped or polka-dotted ones. Before every game we would sit in a circle and each would pass one sock to the person on our left.

I had worn my silly socks to my first Griffons practice, and Coach Darby had not been happy. So there had been no Griffons sock swaps. I really missed them too.

“I have an idea,” I said, and I jogged over to the Gators side of the field.

“Where are you going?” Zarine called out.

“Just follow her,” advised Jessi. “Devin's ideas are always good.”

I approached Zoe and Grace.

“Hey,” I said. “Want to do a sock swap?”

Now, none of us were wearing silly socks. The Griffons socks had a pink stripe across the top, and the Gators socks had two purple stripes. But everyone knew what I meant—it was for old time's sake, a gesture to show that we were still friends.

Zoe grinned. “Yes!” she said, and we moved to a quiet spot and sat in a circle.

It was so silly to be swapping socks that soon we were all giggling.

“Coach Darby's going to flip if she notices we're wearing purple stripes!” Jessi said.

I grinned at her. “Sometimes you have to let loose.”

Jamie walked by as we were finishing up. She rolled her eyes.

“You Kicks are so weird!” she said.

Then a woman ran up to us, and I didn't recognize her because half of her face was painted Griffons pink, and the other half was Gators purple.

“Coach Flores?” Jessi asked.

“I had to come cheer on my Kicks!” she said with a grin. “And I had to prove that I don't take sides.”

“That is awesome, Coach,” said Grace as we all got to our feet.

Then I heard Coach Darby's whistle.

“Griffons! Time to warm up!”

We nodded toward Grace and Zoe and then ran back to the Griffons side. Coach Darby had us line up and do passing warm-ups up and down the field. (Luckily, she didn't notice that some of us had mismatched socks on.) While I waited for my turn, I glanced over to the stands.

I spotted Steven and Cody, sitting in the highest row of the bleachers. The Spartans had lost their semifinals game, so it was pretty cool of them to come cheer us on.

Then I saw Emma and Frida in the stands, and I grinned. They'd done it! Emma was holding up a big sign that read
GO!
and Frida's sign read
JAMIE!

Jamie was behind me on the warm-up line, and I glanced over at her to see if she'd noticed. She didn't at first, but then I saw her eyes get wide.

“Did you do this?” she asked me, and I couldn't tell if I heard wonder or anger in her voice.

“Well, we all talked about it,” I said.

Jamie looked away from me. “You know I play better when I'm angry and bitter, right?” she joked, and I heard a catch in her voice. That was when I knew that she really liked the signs.

“If angry and bitter works, go for it,” I told her. “Just now you'll have a cheering section.”

She looked at me. “Thanks, Devin,” she said with that smirk of hers, and then it was my turn to take the ball down the field, passing to Jessi.

Warm-ups flew by, and it was time for the game. Coach Darby gave us a pep talk.

“I know that some of you are worried,” she said. “You're worried that the Gators beat us once before. But I'm telling you right now, that doesn't matter. The only game that matters is the one you play today. And I believe we're going to win!”

We launched into our pregame chant.

“I!” I called out.

“I!” everyone repeated.

“I believe!”

“I believe!” everyone yelled.

“I believe that we will win!” I cheered.

Then we chanted. “I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win!”

I didn't think I had ever been that pumped up on adrenaline before. This was it! The championship! And now that I knew that Zoe and I would always be friends, no matter what, I could concentrate on the game.

So I was a little disappointed when Coach Darby didn't put me in to start. She didn't send Jessi in either. We sat on the bench and watched the first quarter, but I tried not to get too freaked out about it. I knew by now that Coach Darby had a plan in mind.

Jamie, Kelly, and Sasha started as forwards, and Jamie was on fire. She got the ball away from one of the Gators and charged down the field, making a goal attempt in the first two minutes of the game! The Gators' goalie blocked it, but Jamie was right back on the ball. She passed it to Sasha and then got clear for Sasha to pass it back to her. When she aimed for the goal a second time, the ball whizzed past the goalie's outstretched arms.

Jamie had made the first score of the game! Jessi and I launched off the bench, cheering and whooping for her. I could hear Emma, Frida, and my whole family screaming “Go, Jamie!” from the stands. Jamie flashed me the biggest smile ever as she took her place back on the field. She was the only one to score during the whole quarter, and the Griffons were up by one.

In the second quarter Coach Darby replaced the whole front line with me, Jessi, and Mirabelle. I knew that between the first three starters and us, we were probably the six strongest players on the team, and I wondered what Coach Darby's strategy was going to be.