Last Breath (21 page)

Ginnie leaned across Patrice to say in a low voice, “We’re
not
members of the Libby DeVoe fan club, in case you’re interested. Watch out for her, okay?”

Nicki laughed, to hide a sudden uneasiness. “You’re the second person to tell me that today.”

“Oh, yeah? Who was the other one?”

“A guy named John Silver. He works in the sports shop at the mall.”

Pat and Ginnie nodded. “John’s great. Anything you want to know about tennis equipment, ask John,” Pat said. “He’s really smart.”

“Cute, too.” Ginnie said, pulling open one of two large doors. “If John worked out once in a while, he’d be gorgeous.”

“Maybe he should take up tennis instead of just talking about it,” Nicki said. “Nothing gets you in shape better than racing around a tennis court. And this,” she added admiringly, glancing around the huge, domed structure housing four separate courts, “is really something.”

“On nice days,” Ginnie said, pointing to the glass roof, “the sun shines in, and it almost feels like you’re outside.”

“It’s great,” Nicki said.

But her pleasure over the facility was short-lived as the male faction of Salem’s tennis team arrived and practice began in earnest. Tension sometimes led her to play well, but not on this day. As she moved to a bench to sit with Pat and Ginnie until Coach Dietch set up play, Libby DeVoe passed in front of the bench, bending to whisper, “Okay, let’s see what you’ve got, hotshot.”

It shouldn’t have rattled Nicki. She liked to think she was more professional and disciplined than that. Besides, Libby had only said aloud what everyone else was thinking. They were
all
waiting to see exactly what it was that Marta Dietch had seen in Nicki Bledsoe.

But it
did
rattle her. Maybe it was from getting two warnings about Libby DeVoe in one day. Whatever the reason, no one was going to see during
this
practice session what Dietch had seen. Nicki fought grimly to overcome the tension she was feeling, but it was hopeless.

She messed up on eight serves in eight tries.

She missed the simplest volleys.

She began to hear giggles and snorts of derision from her teammates.

Discouraged and embarrassed, Nicki took refuge on a bench, sitting down beside Pat. On the courts, Ginnie was playing very, very well, with fierce concentration. “She’s really good,” Nicki commented admiringly.

“Tennis is Ginnie’s whole life,” Pat said. “When she was a baby, her parents must have given her a miniature racket instead of a rattle. The only reason she cares about her classes at all is her scholarship. If it weren’t for that, I think she’d practice twenty-four hours a day.”

Libby DeVoe, too, was playing well, Nicki noticed with envy. She had a strong serve and a powerful backhand, and for someone so tall and big-boned, she was amazingly light on her feet.

Just before Coach Dietch blew the whistle to end practice, she came over to Nicki’s bench to say, “Relax! First time out is always tough. Get a good night’s sleep and be back here at two tomorrow.”

When she had left, Nicki muttered, “Well, at least she didn’t toss me out on my ear.”

Pat looked shocked. “She wouldn’t do that! Everyone knows how good you are.”

If they did, they were hiding it well.

The whistle shrilled. Nicki and Pat got up to leave, waiting for Ginnie to join them.

“You’ll do better tomorrow,” a voice said in Nicki’s ear.

She turned, looked up into the face of John Silver, smiling down at her.

“I thought you were working,” she said. But she was glad to see him. He had warned her about this team. And he’d been right.

“I was. But I decided to come watch practice today. Check out the new hotshot tennis star.” He smiled at Nicki, who felt her cheeks grow warm.

“Not much of a star today,” she said apologetically.

John stayed alongside Nicki. “First practices are always rough,” he said, echoing Coach. “Give yourself some time.” Then he grinned. “But if you think new shoes would help, I can get you a twenty percent discount.”

Nicki laughed. “I’ll give it some thought.” Then she added grimly, “If I’d played that poorly when Dietch scouted me, I wouldn’t be here now. I hope you’re right about first practices being rough. I need to do better tomorrow.”

“Good luck.” As he walked her to the locker room, Nicki noticed Libby DeVoe coming up alongside him, flashing a smile his way and a look of contempt Nicki’s way.

Oh, great! Libby had a thing for John? Wonderful. If Libby had hated her before, now she’d really hate her for talking to John, too.

This isn’t high school, Nicki told herself. We were supposed to leave that kind of petty jealousy behind when we graduated.

“Want to go get something to eat?” Pat asked as they entered the locker room. “Have you seen Vinnie’s yet? Great pizza. I’m broke, as usual, but I think I can scrounge up enough for a slice or two.”

“I haven’t been anywhere.” Nicki hated going to a restaurant alone, and had been eating in Devereaux’s dining hall only when she knew it wouldn’t be crowded. It would be fun to eat with friends again.

“Meet you outside …” Pat said, and stopped short a foot away from locker number twenty-three. “Nicki?” she said, staring at the locker door.

“What?” Nicki moved forward to join Pat. Ginnie was right behind them. It was her gasp that drew the attention of others in the room.

“Oh, wow,” someone breathed.

“I don’t believe this,” Nicki said, advancing to stand directly in front of her locker.

Written on the door in thick, white foam, were the words, GO AWAY, LOSER.

Buy
Win, Lose, or Die
Now!

Diane Hoh (b. 1937) is a bestselling author of young-adult fiction. Born in Warren, Pennsylvania, Hoh grew up with eight siblings and parents who encouraged her love of reading from an early age. After high school, she spent a year at St. Bonaventure University before marrying and raising three children. She and her family moved often, finally settling in Austin, Texas.

Hoh sold two stories to
Young Miss
magazine, but did not attempt anything longer until her children were fully grown. She began her first novel,
Loving That O’Connor Boy
(1985), after seeing an ad in a publishing trade magazine requesting submissions for a line of young-adult fiction. Although the manuscript was initially rejected, Hoh kept writing, and she soon completed her second full-length novel,
Brian’s Girl
(1985). One year later, her publisher reversed course, buying both novels and launching Hoh’s career as a young-adult author.

After contributing novels to two popular series, Cheerleaders and the Girls of Canby Hall, Hoh found great success writing thrillers, beginning with
Funhouse
(1990), a Point Horror novel that became a national bestseller. Following its success, Hoh created the Nightmare Hall series, whose twenty-nine novels chronicle a university plagued by dark secrets. After concluding Nightmare Hall with 1995’s
The Voice in the Mirror
, Hoh wrote
Virus
(1996), which introduced the seven-volume Med Center series, which charts the challenges and mysteries of a hospital in Massachusetts.

In 1998, Hoh had a runaway hit with
Titanic: The Long Night
, a story of two couples—one rich, one poor—and their escape from the doomed ocean liner. That same year, Hoh released
Remembering the Titanic
, which picked up the story one year later. Together, the two were among Hoh’s most popular titles. She continues to live and write in Austin.

An eleven-year-old Hoh with her best friend, Margy Smith. Hoh’s favorite book that year was
Lad: A Dog
by Albert Payson Terhune.

A card from Hoh’s mother written upon the publication of her daughter’s first book. Says Hoh, “This meant everything to me. My mother was a passionate reader, as was my dad.”

Hoh and her mother in Ireland in 1985. Hoh recalls, “I kissed the Blarney Stone, which she said was redundant because I already had the ‘gift of gab.’ Later, I would use some of what we saw there in
Titanic: The Long Night
as Paddy, Brian, and Katie deported from Ireland.”

An unused publicity photo of Hoh.

Hoh with her daughter Jenny in Portland, Oregon, in 2008. Says Hoh, “While there, I received a call from a young filmmaker in Los Angeles who wanted to make
The Train
into a film. They ran out of money before the project got off the ground. Such is life.”