The Game

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"I mean..." He paused, hesitant. "Did he recognize you? Like... that you've spoken before? That you're Coach's daughter? The girl from the parking lot?"

My stomach dropped slightly. I shook my head.

"No?" Neilah asked slowly. "You didn't tell him?"

I buried my face in my hands. "No."

"You... are so—" She started hitting my arm with each word, "IDIOTIC!"

"I was in a rush!" I said, swatting her away. "I had to get home before my grandma did. I panicked. I didn't even think about it until I was halfway up the street."

"So what?" Neilah snapped. "Christian Anderson finally looks at you—like, really sees you—and you don't even tell him your damn name?"

"It wasn't like that!"

"IT WAS EXACTLY LIKE THAT!" she whisper-yelled, drawing just enough attention from the table next to us that we all shrank down.

"You had one job," Ja'Colby added dramatically.

"I wasn't thinking straight!" I hissed.

Neilah rolled her eyes. "Clearly."

"None of y'all would be thinking straight either if the love of your life pressed his lips against yours like he meant it."

That shut them up for half a second.

"Whatever," Neilah mumbled, but I could see the slight curl of her lips.

"Hey," Ja'Colby said more gently. "It's okay. You spent a whole afternoon with him, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then I promise you—he'll remember you. How could he not?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and stared down at the desk. "I hope so," I said quietly.

"Besides," he continued, "If he doesn't, then that's his loss. But trust—someone like Chris? He remembers kisses like that."

Colby clasped his hands like a grandmother. "Look at God."

Neilah flicked a look down the hall, then dropped her voice. "Okay, celebration later. Right now I'm stressed. The new routine is clean, but I need a wow — a real wow — if I want to get us to regionals. I got ideas, but nothing that punches."

"Don't even say that word," Colby groaned. "Coach been slaving us like we already in Phoenix holding a trophy."

"You'll survive," I said, closing my locker. "When your legs stop screaming, you'll thank him."

"My legs wrote a diss track," he said. "It's called 'Suicides Are a Hate Crime.'"

"You ridiculous," Neilah said, but the corner of her mouth gave her away.

He nudged me. "Back to what matters — your weekend. You gonna downplay it or admit you're floating?"

"I had an amazing weekend," I said, softer this time, because saying the truth too loud felt like tempting fate.

Neilah bumped me with her shoulder. "Hold on to that. The world is messy, but little joys count."

Colby tilted his head and smirked. "Speaking of messy — main character incoming."

I didn't have to ask who. My spine knew before my eyes did. Christian Anderson slid his phone into his back pocket and pushed off his locker, that easy stride like the hallway made room for him on principle. He dapped Kareem, nodded at somebody else, and then looked up — scanning like he was trying to spot a song in a crowd — and his gaze landed on me.