Freeing Carter (7 page)

"
I see you made it home safely yesterday
,
" I say as I take my seat. "Didn
'
t get accosted by any strangers?
"

"
None except for you.
"
She's
drawing little pictures on her notebook.

"
Hey
,
you came up to me
,
not the other way around
,
remember?
"

"
Only because I was worried you were trying to kill yourself out there. I wanted to make sure you hadn
'
t passed out. You know
,
in case I needed to call 911 or something.
"

Travis lingers at my side. He looks at me
,
then Kira
,
and at me again.
"
I
'
m feeling left out. Travis doesn
'
t like to feel left out.
"

Kira laughs
,
making
my gut tighten.
 

"
I went to the court for a while yesterday and saw her
." Thankfully, my excuse for why I was hanging around Kira just so happens to be the truth
. Two points for Carter.
Wait, why do I need an excuse?

"
That
'
s where you were? I was covering for you while Trina texted every five minutes because Mel kept texting her. I got to spend my whole afternoon hearing about how big a jerk you are and you got to play ball? Not cool.
"

"
I
'
m a jerk?
"

"
Oh yeah.
What kind of boyfriend doesn
'
t text back? Poor Mel. She deserves so much better. Travis
,
if you ever treat me like that!
"

I groan.
"
Sorry.
"

"
Wow
...
What a terrible boyfriend you are.
"
Kira smiles
,
so I think she
'
s joking. I hope.
But I'm starting to feel bad because we're bordering on talking crap about my girlfriend
.

"
I apologized to her
;
it
was my fault. I did kind of bail on her.
"

The bell saves me
from explaining further,
and we all slide into our seats. As soon as Mrs. Z starts talking I zone
out,
thinking about Mom
,
Bill
,
Sara
,
Mel
,
basketball
,
English. My thoughts can
'
t choose which one to concentrate on
,
until I make it pick Mel because she
'
s the easiest. Things used to feel so easy with her
,
but the longer we go
,
the harder it gets. I need that easiness back which means I have to stop pulling stunts like I did yesterday. Though I
'
m still kind of lost on
why
it
'
s such a huge deal to play ball without calling her
,
but whatever. I
'
ll make it up to her
. I'll
do something with her after practice today.

Mrs. Z puts on a video about the relevance of classic British literature in current times
,
which gives me more time to think about things that aren
'
t English. Before I know it
,
the bell rings and
I’m
sneaking my not-quite-two-page report onto her desk, and slipping out of class
. The ache in my head tells me I
wasn't as sneaky as I thought
and laser eyes are x-raying my skull again
,
but at least I make it out without having to talk to her.

Kira sits
across the room
from me in art. We don
'
t have assigned seats
,
so for some reason it
annoys me a little
. Not that I have a reason to be annoyed
,
but I am. Once the final bell rings
,
I forget all about her and everything else in my life as I head to the locker room. Might make me sound like a nutcase
,
but it
'
s alive with electricity. Every guy on the team is excited for the season to start
,
making claims on which titles we
'
ll get and how the whole conference will be owned by us.

"
Do you even realize how much ass we
'
re going to kick this year?
"
Jackson asks Travis and
me
.

"
Hell yeah
,"
I reply as we smack hands. This is my place. My element. Where I know I belong. Where I dominate.

Technically there are tryouts
,
but we all know who will play what. I
'
m the starting point guard. Even as a
junior
,
I started for
v
arsity. Freshmen and sophomore years I came off the bench
,
but always for varsity. I
'
ve never played JV in my life.

I love it. Scanning the court
,
reading my players
,
and coming up with the perfect play. Having control unlike I do in the rest of my life.

"
Who do you think for backup center this year?
"
I ask Trav as we head to the gym.

He shrugs.
"
I don
'
t need a backup. I
'
m a ninja. I can play the whole game
,
every game.
"

"
Ha
,
ha. Seriously though. Chambers has the height. Hopefully he got a little more coordinated since last year.
"

Travis nods his approval
,
but doesn
'
t reply. Coach Blake stands
at the center of the gym
looking as pumped as I feel.

"
All right
,
Lancers! Whose year is this?
"

"
OURS!
"
We bounce on our feet
,
yelling so loud the voices vibrate through me
,
making me feel electric in a way I haven
'
t felt in a long time. I love playing no matter what
,
but this is the start of the season. My senior year
,
and nothing can dim the lights shining down on it.

"
Whose house is this?
"

"
OURS!
"
Another vibration. A few fists rise above us.

"
And we won
'
t only defend our house this season
,
but we
'
ll what?
"

"
OWN THEIRS
,
TOO!
"
My heart bounces like a basketball against the gym floor.

"
How do we do that?
"

"
WORK HARD!
"
The freshmen line the walls
,
gawking at us
,
like we
'
re NBA players or something
,
making my adrenaline pump harder.

"
That
'
s what I like to hear! Get to the wall and everyone start doing their lines!
"

In this moment
,
it
'
s like everything else I have to deal with is worth it. I get
this
in return. I wonder if it felt this good for Dad. If he felt almost high every time he stepped on the court
,
even if it wasn
'
t for a game.

All I know is this
is
my house. This is where I
'
m alive.

***

My hair is wet from showering when I walk out of the locker room after practice. Mel and I always meet each other in the parking lot
,
so I head straight
there
.

"
You doing anything?
"
Travis asks.
"
Want to chill?
"

"
You
'
re not going to be with Trina?
"

"
Nah.
"
He shakes his head. They
'
re usually together as much as Mel and I. I almost ask him about it
,
but he doesn
'
t give me a chance.
"
She
'
s busy
,
I guess
,
and I
'
m trying to avoid the parentals. They want to
'
talk
'
and that
'
s never good for me.
"
Travis laughs.

"
Oh. Sorry. Can
'
t go. Going to try
to
make up with my girl. Take her out or something.
"
I
'
m still feeling like a live wire. This is just what I needed to feel on track again
,
the distraction to make everything else disappear.

"
Fine
,
I see how you are.
"
Trav holds out his fist and I bump it.
"
I
'
m out. See
ya
later.
"
He runs down the hall ahead of me
,
probably meeting
up with
the other guys or something.

When my feet hit the pavement
,
I stop for a minute
,
and
Mel
'
s voice
floats
toward me. She
'
s standing in the parking lot talking to Devin. He graduated last year
,
but his sister
,
Sam
,
is in cheer with Mel. Since he picks up and drops off
Sam
sometimes for school
,
I guess he
'
s doing it after practice
,
too.

"
Shut up
,"
Mel laughs
,
playfully pushing him. Devin crosses his arms and leans against his Mustang and says something I can
'
t hear. My muscles tense. I
know
Mel. Know how she flirts because she used to do it with me.

Mel crosses her arms and pretends to pout. Devin steps closer like he
'
s going to console my girl and she
smiles
. Yeah
,
so not going to happen.

"
Mel!
"
I
jog
toward her. I nod my head at Devin as I step between them
,
hugging her. Is it me or is she not giving me the same death grip she usually does? Suddenly
,
not liking my back to Devin
,
I let go and face him.

"
I
'
ll see you later
,
Melanie
,"
Devin says
,
ignoring me completely. And then he turns
,
walks around his car
,
gets in
,
and drives off.