Page 72 of Her Goal
The answer comes in a flash and I do not like how vulnerable it makes me feel. Does Hudson like me? I don’t want to admit it. But just as quickly as someone hollers, “Bingo” from the other side of the room, my heart sinks and it’s not because they won. It’s that deep down, I already know that Hudson couldn’t be interested in me. Why would he be?
My mother says, “You’re like a cat and he’s like a puppy, full of energy, silly, and extroverted. Sometimes hyper and those big hands like paws. Rawr!” She claws the air.
I cringe a little inside because she shouldn’t be thinking about those. Neither should I and the way it felt when we held hands.
“Mijita, don’t make it into a standardized test, but you can let him work for it a bit. Remember, the chase might be fun for him.”
“Mother!”
“I’m just saying, you’re opposites yet complement each other. You probably keep him calm, but he also brings out the playful kitten in you. That said, you also have more in common than you think.”
“And just how do you know this?”
“Parents’ wisdom.”
“Dad is in on this, too?”
“We’re a team.”
As the game continues and I self-soothe with a caramel macaroon bar drizzled in chocolate—tastes just like one of those Girl Scout cookies—the question about Hudson being so nice echoes in my mind like Aunt Sheryl over there who repeatedly calls, “Bingo.” Either she’s really lucky, she’s glitching, or I am.
Hudson is genuinely nice, though he’s a hockey player so he can hang tough with the banter. But it has more to do with yet another contrast between the Roboveitchek brothers.
Hudson seems so nice because Hunter was so mean. I just never let myself believe it.
Think it.
Admit it.
And I was expecting the same from Hudson because of the one thing that happened in high school. I could attribute the current, more well-behaved version of Hudson to maturing, but looking back, that’s not entirely the case. Hunter was a bigger gossip than Mrs. Gormely. He snuck into the girls’ locker room several times and had the photographic evidence to prove it. As the prince of the moody, mysterious boys at Clarkson High School, several girls asked him to hang out, and he’d stand them up. I told myself it was because he was hanging out with me, but usually, he had detention after school and then would lag until he called me for a ride. The whole way back to the duplex, he’d rant about the principal, teachers, our classmates, and especially the girls who had crushes on him—who inevitably had detention with him.
Hudson would defend the girls Hunter would tease. I thought it was because he liked them or was a player, but the comments could’ve easily been applied to me.
Too tall.
Awkward.
Skinny.
Bean pole.
Some girls were too brainy: me when it came to math.
Girls that were too athletic: again, me.
Had Hudson been defending me all along?
I have a hard time buying it because of what happened that changed everything. It certainly didn’t sound like he was being protective of me then, more like he was doing his level best to humiliate me and ruin my chances with Hunter.
As often happens when a large portion of my family takes over the long tables at Bingo Night, at some point, the seating arrangement shuffles as snacks are delivered, conversations shift, and wins are made.
I land next to Hudson, Abuela, and Coach Badaszek. What’s he doing here? Not to be rude, but the king of the Knights’ empire is out of the palace … out of place. Then Cara bustles in with a bunch of the WAGs and other hockey players, and soon—between the team and my family—we’ve taken over the joint.
Hudson seems shy at first, then is in his element, laughing and smiling like he’s always been part of the crew.
Fear slices through me when I worry about him mentioning my role in the gnome theft to Badaszek. This is why I was never as good a troublemaker as Hunter. My conscience got the better of me anytime I even entertained skipping class, copying a paper, or breaking any number of the rules he did routinely, all while coaxing me to join him.
After merely one detention, Mami’s wrath was enough to set me straight. But still, I aided and abetted Hunter.
