Page 71 of Enemy Crush
A quick series of raps on the door was followed by Livvy and Tori bursting in.
“Did she say—?” Livvy stopped cold, her startled look changing to sheepish. “Oh, hi Quinn.”
“Hi Quinn,” Tori chimed in. “How’s it going?”
“Quinn was just considering it,” Coach said, holding the jersey up again.
“We’d love to have you on the team,” Livvy said, “What do you say?”
“Yeah, the Sonics need you,” Tori said, clamping down on her lip to rein in her over eagerness. “Well, it’d be cool if you joined the team.”
“If you need some time to think it over, that’s fine,” Coach stepped in, “but it is a home game and—”
“No Quinn, wereallyneed you,” Tori pleaded. “We’ve lost every game so far. We suck.”
Livvy edged closer, lowering her voice, “I know we weren’t very welcoming in the beginning, and I’m sorry. But we really do need you. Please say yes.”
Tori hooked her arm through Livvy’s and they tilted their heads together, both mouthing ‘please’.
Their silly begging grins with pouty lips made me laugh. And I did love soccer and I missed playing. But I had to be realistic. “I’m not sure one person can make a difference to the team, but I would like to play.”
The girls immediately took me in a hug and jumped up and down like I was some kind of savior. And like we were suddenly besties.
“Do you wanna go for coffee? I can give you a ride,” Tori said.
“Thanks, but I actually have to go to my mom’s salon,” I said, frankly a bit stunned by this new turnaround. But it felt good and I relished the challenge in front of me.
“Don’t forget your jersey,” Coach said, handing it to me. “Number 17 okay?”
My fingers traced along the number printed on the back. It wasn’t a starter’s number and showed I wasn’t first choice. But I’d make sure I proved I deserved to be there.
I couldn’t avoid Livvy and Tori walking me to my locker; both were going that way. I felt sure that once we were away from Coach’s office they would mention the gossip but Livvy spent the whole time reciting off the stats for Timbervue and how we might have a fighting chance with me in the team.
The hallways were emptying but as my locker came into sight, I could see a bunch of people standing around. A big drum started to pound and I recognized Joel from the bus playing it. And the crowd of kids suddenly formed a line, their backs to us. Livvy and Tori stopped and I was suddenly standing there alone, and to the beat of the drum, a person turned around with a sign. It was Darwin with the word ‘I’ and the rest of the row turned in sequence, revealing ‘I dig you, will you be my Hoco date,’ and at the end Miller appeared holding up a question mark, the cutest smile on his face. I was overwhelmed, taking in Sienna, Brayden, Elise, Clarissa, Ash and Blanche and their placards decorated with potatoes. Miller approached me, waving the question mark at me.
I was already nodding, giving him my answer.
“You will?” Miller whispered, discarding the sign as he took hold of my hands.
My head was bobbing so hard and I was shaking and my lungs were bursting, so it was just as well that he put his arms around me to steady me.
The kids erupted into cheers and Miller’s lips grazed my forehead, totally taking my breath away. He turned to his friends and pumped his fist in the air in victory.
It was a flurry of congratulations and hugs and high fives, with Livvy and Tori joining in and everyone talking at once. Elise gabbled on excitedly about how she masterminded Miller’s idea into reality, asking Mrs. Burbank permission to use the art room and painting the signs in study period.
As the excitement died down and kids left, Miller and I were finally on our own.
“I hope you didn’t mind all the attention,” he said.
“You definitely caught me by surprise,” I said.
“In a good way?”
“Yeah, in the best way,” I said.
Miller glanced around before pulling me close. “For a minute there, I panicked and thought you’d already left and weren’t going to show.”
“You’ll never believe it, but Coach McLean asked me to join the soccer team.”
