A Game Worth Watching (2 page)

Jen
Knowles continued to stare at Emma, probably hoping to infuse her with enough
school spirit to propel her to join the girls’ team.

Emma
crossed her arms and stared back. Not happening.

“Please,”
Jen said. “Just think about it.” She finally turned to leave.

The
guys retreated to the basket to shoot, while Emma watched the woman retreat
across the court and disappear into her car. What right did she have to intrude
on their court and beg for Emma to join the girls’ basketball team? Their
reputation alone was enough to deter Emma from ever stepping foot on the court,
and the team consisted of—gulp—
girls
. The mere thought made her want to gag.

“Are
you going to do it?” Riley asked.

Emma
laughed. “No.”

“Why
not?”

“Because
only losers play for the school team.”

“Hey.”
Riley pointed to his chest with both hands. “I play for the school team.”

Emma
patted his chest. “Exactly my point.”

***

One
by one, the guys drifted off the court to go home or to work or wherever else
they went on Saturdays. Four hours of basketball was enough for any of them,
but Emma sometimes wished the hours would stretch a little longer to reduce the
amount of time she had to spend at home.

“You
want to stay and shoot around?” she asked Riley before he could follow the
others and abandon her too.

“Can’t.”
He put up one last shot before snatching his water bottle from the bleachers
and taking a swig. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth to catch
drops of water dripping from his chin and snapped the lid of his bottle closed.
“My mom told me if I wasn’t home in time for dinner, she’d skin me alive.”

“Ah,
the old parental threat. You better get going then.” Emma bowed her head,
trying to hide her disappointment. Time always seemed to steal so much of the
day. She thought for sure Riley would stay longer, but Mrs. Ledger’s threats
were not to be taken lightly. Sometimes Emma wished her dad would use a
parental threat, if for no other reason than to show he cared.

“Well,
come on,” Riley said impatiently from the sideline. “You’re invited too.”

Her
eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yes,
really. My mom’s making your favorite.”

“Homemade
macaroni and cheese?”

“Yep.”

“With
little broccoli pieces and chicken?”

“Yep
and yep.”

Her
mouth started to water. She hadn’t had Mrs. Ledger’s macaroni and cheese in
months. She retrieved the basketball and fell into step beside Riley.

Darkness
came early in November, and with no sun to indicate the transition from day to
night, the park faded from gray to black as Emma and Riley stepped into the
street and headed toward home. She couldn’t prevent the bounce in her step or
the smile on her face. Dinner at the Ledgers’. There was no better end to her
day.

He
shook his head at her excitement and settled his arm around her shoulders. “My
mom loves you more than me, and I’m her only child.”

“And
my dad loves you more than me, and I’m his only daughter, so we’re even,” she
said, determined not to let him make her feel guilty.

“He
does not.”

“Oh,
please. My dad would kill for another boy in the family rather than be stuck
with me.” As if four sons weren’t enough already.

Riley
stopped walking, and his voice turned serious. “Em, that’s not true.”

“It
is true, and you know it.” She poked him in the chest. No matter how wrong it
seemed or how much they wanted to deny it, they both knew her dad preferred
Riley to her.

Riley
studied her, trying to decide if he wanted to fight it out or let her comment
slide. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. “Whether it’s true
or not, I’ll never be able to understand why he’d want to get rid of you when
you have the most squeezable cheeks.” He grabbed her cheeks with both hands and
pinched them like his grandma used to do when Emma was little, except with more
pinch.

She
swatted his hands away, and he took off running. She heard his laughter echo
down the street as she chased him the last two blocks to his house. They burst
into the house just as Mrs. Ledger set the pan of steaming macaroni and cheese
on the dinner table. The smell of cheesy goodness was enough to fill Emma’s
stomach for a week.

Mrs.
Ledger took one look at them, set her hands on her hips, and started barking
out orders. “Shoes off. Wash up. Don’t even think about starting a water
fight.”

Riley
and Emma exchanged a look, forcing back laughter, before doing as they were
told. After eight years of friendship, Riley’s mom knew what kinds of disasters
to plan for before they even happened. It wasn’t fair, but tonight it didn’t
matter because it was mac and cheese night.

The
love of macaroni and cheese. How to explain it? It wasn’t the boxed kind with
the powdered cheese or the creamy sauce that left a layer of residue on the top
of your mouth and on your teeth or anything. This stuff was the real deal.
Freshly grated cheese sprinkled over noodles and vegetables and chicken, baked
to perfection, and delivered to the table in one delicious cheesy-melted meal.

Unlike
Emma’s family, the Ledgers ate meals together at the table with napkins and
matching dishes. At the Wrangtons’, dinner was rarely anything beyond frozen
pizza or TV dinners. Dinner with the Ledgers not only consisted of
food—really good homemade food—but civilized conversation too.

“So,”
Mr. Ledger said. “Anything interesting happen today?”

Emma’s
fork froze halfway to her mouth. He knew. He knew about the stranger on the
court asking her to try out for the girls’ team. Why else would he ask such a
pointed question? Okay, so maybe he always asked the same question whenever she
came to dinner, but tonight it seemed to hold more weight than usual. She cast
Riley a don’t-you-dare look from across the table, knowing he would reveal
details just to aggravate her. The last thing she wanted was everyone knowing
her business.

Riley
grinned at her. “Actually,” he drawled out.

Shaking
her head slightly to avoid parental detection, Emma scolded him with her eyes.

Riley
shifted his gaze to his dad. “Emma beat another new guy on the court today.”

She
breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she should give Riley more credit. It wasn’t
like he was out to intentionally ruin her life.

Mr.
Ledger looked at her with a downturned head and upturned eyes. “Emma, you
should give those boys a chance.”

He
only said this because he felt obligated as a parent. She knew for a fact Mr.
Ledger found her ability to humiliate guys on the basketball court
amusing—he took after his son in that regard. Plus, the effort it took
him to hide the smile trying to burst forth on his face was another giveaway.

“Sometimes
boys need more time to prove their worth,” Mr. Ledger said.

“Not
this one.” Emma speared a piece of chicken with her fork. She remembered Mike’s
remarks, his cocky smile, and his intent to embarrass her. He deserved what he
got.

“Oh
yeah?” Mr. Ledger winked at his wife. “What did this one do?”

“He
told me I should be a cheerleader for the guys.”

Mr.
Ledger’s booming laughter joined his wife’s giggles. Emma didn’t understand
what was so funny. They knew how much she hated guys who didn’t respect her on
the court.

“I
think it’s great.” Mrs. Ledger patted Emma’s hand. “Those boys need to learn
not to underestimate girls. I’m surprised my own son let’s that type of thing
happen to you.” She cast Riley the kind of disapproving look only a mother
could pull off.

“Me?”
Riley exclaimed, dropping his fork on his plate and leaning back in his chair.
He glanced at his dad and then back at his mom. “How did this whole thing
become my fault?”

Emma
laughed. She loved it when Mrs. Ledger took her side. “Your mom’s right,” she
teased. “If you stuck up for me, I wouldn’t be forced to humiliate boys and
ruin their dreams of becoming arrogant basketball players.”

Riley
glared at her from across the table. An evil grin flashed on his face as he
turned toward his dad. “Speaking of basketball players, the girls’ varsity
coach asked Emma to join the school team today.”

Emma’s
grip on her fork tightened as she tried to decide whether or not to use it as a
projectile weapon on her best friend. Why did she always give Riley a reason to
seek revenge? She loved Riley’s parents. They were the only adults who cared
about her, but they had a tendency of being overly supportive because they
loved their son and she was his friend. Support she didn’t deserve considering
she wasn’t their child, and not even her own dad gave her the time of day.

Besides,
she hated when people made a big deal out of nothing, and Riley’s parents made
a big deal out of everything. Like the time Riley told them she won the sixth
grade spelling bee, and they threw her a party to celebrate. Or the time she
scored her first three-pointer in a game against the guys, and they bought her
a brand-new basketball. Or the time she got into a huge fight with her dad, and
she fled to the Ledgers’ where they called a family movie and pizza night.

Yes,
she loved Mr. and Mrs. Ledger, but she hated how guilt consumed her every time
they went out of their way for her. Riley knew this, of course, but did he care
about her feelings? No. He just stared at her with his lopsided grin.

“That’s
great.” Both of Riley’s parents radiated smiles toward her. 

Emma
glared at Riley. “I hate you.”

Riley
chuckled. “I know.”

“Are
you going to do it?” Mr. Ledger asked, sounding exactly like his son.

Emma’s
“No,” battled Riley’s “Yes,” as they answered simultaneously.

She
could feel Mr. and Mrs. Ledger watching the two of them. It was only a matter
of seconds before they chose sides for the debate. Would they side with their
one and only son who was determined to bully Emma into joining the girls’ team,
or would they side with his best friend who was determined to live a girl-free
life? Confident they would join forces with their son, Emma quickly took
control of the conversation.

“No,”
she said firmly. “I’m not.”

Riley
cocked his head to the side. “Why not? You used to talk all the time about
being part of a team. Now’s your chance.”

“Yeah,
well, things change.” She used to talk about being a lot of things as a kid,
but she gave up dreaming when she realized nothing good ever happened to her.
“Besides, I am part of a team. The guys are my team.”

Riley
rolled his eyes. “A bunch of guys shooting hoops at the park is not a team.”

Emma
dropped her eyes to the food on her plate. “Maybe not to you.” She didn’t know
where the words came from or why her chest tightened at Riley’s comment. Having
never played on a real team with a real coach, Emma didn’t know what it was
like to form bonds with a group of individuals who worked hard to achieve a
common goal, but she could imagine. Loyalty, commitment, determination, faith,
and trust. The qualities expressed by teammates were endless—a lesson
Emma learned from playing with the guys. When her home life crumbled, the guys
were the ones who helped her escape from it.

For
Riley, Saturday games with the guys meant hanging out with friends and goofing
off. He’d played on sports teams since the day he could walk. He didn’t know
what it was like to not have the money to pay for registration fees, summer
camps, travel expenses, and equipment. Sometimes he forgot about the world she
lived in.

Regret
flashed in Riley’s eyes as he recognized Emma’s mood slip, realizing how much
more important Saturday games with the guys meant to her. “Em.”

Even
after eight years of friendship, she still couldn’t figure out how Riley could
encompass the depth of a sincere apology just by saying the first syllable of
her name.

Before
he could say anything more, Emma held up her hand to cut him off. “The last
thing I want to do is spend the next three months playing basketball with a
bunch of girls and getting slaughtered by every team in the league. I’m sorry,
Riley.” She did her best with an apologetic smile. “I just don’t think the
girls’ team is for me.”

She
expected Riley to put up a fight and tell her all the reasons why she should
join the team, but he didn’t. Somehow rendered speechless, Riley held her gaze
in silence. She figured the conversation was over, and they could all go back
to enjoying the mac and cheese cooling on their plates, but Mr. Ledger took up
where Riley left off.

“Look,
Emma,” he said gently. He wiped his mouth with a napkin before resting his
elbows on the table and leaning forward. Emma held her breath, waiting for the
words of wisdom he always shared in moments like this. “I get it. Some stranger
shows up and asks you to join her losing team, which is made up of all those cheerleading
type girls you despise, and you think, ‘Why should I play? What’s in it for
me?’” Mr. Ledger shrugged. “Maybe nothing. But the reason the coach found you
is because she needs a leader—a leader who is strong and confident and
not afraid of what the rest of the girls will think of her. Not everyone can
fill that kind of role. But you…”

His
words stopped there, forcing her to fill in the missing pieces. Emma loved when
Mrs. Ledger took her side, but she hated when Mr. Ledger took Riley’s. She
hated disappointing both of them. “Mr. Ledger, I—”

He
held up his hand to stop her. “I don’t know if joining the team is the right
thing for you or not, but I do know you are an amazing basketball player. I’d
hate to think you’re limiting your talents to beating and humiliating guys in
the park when you could be a real asset to the school team. The decision is
yours, but before you decide, maybe you should think about it a bit more.
There’s no harm in that, right?” His smile of encouragement made Emma squirm.
The last thing she wanted to do was waste time thinking about it. It wasn’t
like her decision would change over time anyway.