Page 47 of Stroke of Fate

“I’m not trying to change anything. We were at aparty.” Macy says matter-of-factly. “We were there to havefun, remember?”

“You seemed kind of upset,” I say, choosing my words carefully so she doesn’t take it as me calling her out. Which is the last thing I want to do, but I am curious enough to ask.

“Yeah, what was up with that?” Elise presses. “Poor guy you were staring at could have dropped dead with the daggers you were shooting him.”

Macy rolls her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Nothing is up with him.”

“Could have fooled me,” Elsie murmurs under her breath, and Macy shoots her a look that makes me cover my mouth to hide my laugh.

We move on from the topic of boys, and the rest of our lunch date passes quickly. Once we finish eating, we toss our trash and head to the parking lot together, where we say our goodbyes.

I contemplate phoning Pia, suddenly feeling guilty for not replying to her text about the party. When I try her number, it goes to voicemail. A part of me feels relieved, knowing who the topic of conversation was going to revolve around.

That relief is short-lived when she calls back within a few minutes. The car’s Bluetooth picks up the call, and Pia’s voice fills the speakers.

“You’ve been holding out on me, Care Bear...”

16 | LEVI

“That’s it for the warm-ups,” Parker, our assistant coach, yells.

It’s too damn early in the morning for his booming voice.

“Coach Schmidt has an announcement, so a seat on the bleachers,” he instructs.

“Hopefully, he’s canceling this weekend’s friendly. I'm not in the mood to see those pricks from Emberwood,” Mack grumbles as we sit down.

“Speaking of Emberwood, I heard they have a freshman on the team who’s already a shoo-in for the Olympics,” Austin says from behind us.

I twist around. “Who told you that?”

If it’s true, they may have an advantage over us this weekend, which does not sit well with me.

“Marissa mentioned it,” he says.

Mack mimics my pose. “You still talk to her?”

“Not very often, but yeah.”

Austin and Marissa had a casual thing freshman year. He said it wasn't serious, and neither of them wanted to take it further.

“Not very often, my ass. This dude calls her at least once a week when he thinks I’m sleeping,” Sam pipes up, earning a punch in the shoulder from his brother. “Ow, dickhead.”

The doors swing open, and Coach Schmidt walks in. I watch as he says something to Parker, who nods before heading back the way Coach came.

Turning his attention to us, Coach gives one of his rare smiles. “Morning, boys. We have two students attending some of our practices for a project.”

His voice fades into the background as Parker reenters the room, and he’s not alone. Nervous energy stirs in my gut when I see who’s behind him.

I can feel the shift when the rest of the team notices them, too. When the whispers start, I know they’ve spottedher. Sensing he’s lost us, Coach mutters something about hormones and boys under his breath.

Beside me, Mack lets out a low whistle. “Damn, who the hell is that?”

I ignore him and sit up straighter. I’m still not used to the rush of excitement when I see her, but she’s become a surprising twist in my life. Not to mention, her presence is already a noticeable mood-lifter.

Bear trails behind Parker, glancing around nervously as she fiddles with the cuff of her hoodie.

Correction: my hoodie.

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