Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer (18 page)

“Because she wrote him a note.” Januarie pursed her lips importantly. “Yo-Yo saw her do it.”

“What did it say?”

“I don’t know.”

“But it was probably something mean,” Januarie said. “Right?”

Yo-Yo gave a solemn nod.

“You want us to find out for you?” Januarie said. “You know I can always find out stuff.”

“No,” Lucy said. “Absolutely not — and I mean it. Stay as far away from this as you can.”

They looked so disappointed, Lucy stopped again and tugged at both lopsided ponytails.

“You did the right thing coming to me, and I
really
appreciate it.”

“Then we helped?” Januarie said.

“You were amazing.” Lucy squinted toward the table. “If I just knew where he was hiding.”

“Oh, that’s easy. He’s in the boys’ bathroom.”

“But I’m not goin’ in there to get him for you!” Yo-Yo said. “My sister Lawanda made me do that one time, and it was so gross.”

Lucy’s heart beat like Mr. Auggy’s mad dog. This was going to be harder than she thought, and she still had to be ready for Hawke when he found her.

She looked down at the pair of round faces that were still watching her. “You want to help some more?”

She thought their heads were going to come off, they nodded them so hard.

“Okay, watch for Hawke. He’s probably in that golf cart thing he drives around in. When you see him, just try to keep him there until I’m done talking to J.J.”

“How do we do that?” Januarie said.

Yo-Yo pointed a chubby finger. “There’s your brother.”

J.J. was indeed peering out of the boys’ bathroom. Lucy charged for the building.

“What do we do with Hawke?” Januarie called to her.

“Just talk to him,” Lucy called back over her shoulder. “It’s what you
do!”

Then she left them to figure it out and ran toward J.J. He was still peeking out from the restroom door, and Lucy was almost there when she caught an all-too familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Rianna was going in the same direction. J.J.’s head disappeared inside the boys’ room.

At the same time, Lucy heard the putt-putt sound of the golf cart at the far end of the picnic area. It stopped, and she saw a clump of boys sidle up to it. Lucy’s mind raced. She had to keep Rianna from getting to Hawke before she did.

She flipped her head around. Not five feet away was the Los Suenos table, though her friends were hard to recognize. They were all slumped over their lunches, except Gabe, who was savagely pitching tortilla chips into the trash can, one by one.

Lucy flew to the group, glancing back at Rianna who was moving in the direction of the golf cart.

“Lucy!” Dusty called to her.

Lucy put her finger to her lips and looked back to make sure Rianna hadn’t heard.

“Guess what?” Carla Rosa said. “I didn’t think you were that mean.”

“We don’t even think it’s true, Carla Rosa,” Veronica said, and burst into tears.

The boy with the big hair next to her looked bewildered. Gabe made some loud guy sound and stuffed the whole chip bag into the trash can.

Lucy crouched down beside Dusty. The table nearly turned over as they all leaned that way.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Lucy said, “but I need your help.”

“First you gotta tell us if you — ” Gabe said.

“Guess what — ”

“Everybody hush.” Dusty looked into Lucy’s eyes. “What do you need,
Bolillo?”

Lucy was completely confused, but she pointed to Rianna, who was weaving, lips curled, through Januarie’s team lined up at the water fountain. “See that girl over there?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep her away from Hawke until I get to him, okay?”

“Guess what? We don’t know her,” Carla Rosa said.

“And I don’t think we want to,” Veronica said. “Look at her — she thinks she’s all that.”

Dusty got up. “I’ll do it.”

“I’ll come with you.” Gabe wiggled his eyebrows at Veronica. “She’s hot.”

“No, Gabe,” Lucy said. “
You’ve
gotta get J.J. out of the boys’ bathroom. Tell him to meet me behind the building — fast.”

“What do I look like — Match dot com?”

“Somebody do it!” Lucy heard the almost-tears in her own voice. “I’m trying to find out what’s going on — ”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. He was suddenly sober. “So are we.”

“Then help me!” She looked toward the water fountain where Dusty and Veronica had Rianna cornered, but she knew they couldn’t keep her there for long. Hawke was still talking to the boys at the other end, but he’d started the motor up again.

“Please!” she said.

Emanuel untangled his long legs from the picnic table and loped toward the restroom.

“You gotta go?” Oscar called to him.

“I’m gettin’ J.J.,” Emanuel said.

Lucy took off after Emanuel, with Carla Rosa saying, “Guess what?” behind her, and Gabe telling her he didn’t
care
“what.” Lucy went to the back of the building and leaned against the outside bathroom wall and tried to hear, but all she could make out was some flushing and some water running and some of that laughing boys always did that signaled they were planning something stupid. She was about to tear her ponytail out by its roots when J.J. came around the corner. He flattened himself against the wall beside her.

“What does the note say?” she said.

“It’s not true.”

“If it’s from Rianna, I know it’s not true, but what does it say?”

J.J. dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of blue paper, the same color as the Fair Play Code. But when Lucy looked at it, there was nothing fair on it. Not even close:

“It has been found out that your team and Lucy Rooney are planning how you can purposely lose in the game with the Select Team and make her look good for the ODP scout — — which is the only way she CAN look good. It is well known that if your team doesn’t help her, she will make sure somebody gets hurt. She has already damaged someone’s ankle on the Select Team ON PURPOSE.”

“This means you are going against the Fair Play Code and could get in trouble, especially J.J., Lucy Rooney’s main contact, who will be the one inflicting bodily injury. See below.”

Lucy looked at the bottom of the page at a photograph of J.J. — fists clenched, jaw tight, eyes flashing fire. She felt the knot in her stomach cinch in.

“I look like my dad,” J.J. said.

Lucy shook her head. “Do you know when was this taken?”

“You do.”

“No I don’t, J.J. You never look like this — ”

J.J.’s eyes searched her face.

“Okay, the day Rianna had me by the arm you did ,” Lucy said, “but you didn’t do anything to her.”

“I wanted to. Just like I wanted to tear something up when we were at the soccer field the other day.”

They stood there in an aching silence. J.J. poked at the paper.

Lucy read on.

“There is a way to stay out of trouble over this and not get thrown out of camp. I will find J.J. at the end of lunch today and tell you how. Stay in plain sight.”

Lucy looked up from the page. The paper was shaking. “This is why you were hiding.”

“Yeah.”

“The team knows about this?”

J.J. nodded. “I wasn’t gonna tell ’em. Stupid Gabe got it out of my hand.”

“That’s why they were acting all weird with me.”

“They’re just freakin’ out.”

Lucy scanned the area with her eyes. Hawke was driving along the edge, hand shielding his brow like he was looking for someone. Rianna was peeling herself away from Dusty and Veronica, eyes on Hawke. And Januarie and Yo-Yo were bouncing toward the golf cart like a pair of runaway beach balls.

“Don’t talk to her, J.J.,” Lucy said. She folded the paper and stuffed it into her shorts pocket.

“Who?”

“You know who — Rianna.”

“She made some other girl give it to me.”

“That one?” Lucy said. She pointed her chin. “The one with Januarie?”

“No. Some girl from your team. I don’t know which one.” J.J. shrugged. “They all look the same.”

Lucy’s heart took a dive, but she didn’t have time to go there. The golf cart had stopped, because Yo-Yo and Januarie were standing in front of it, waving their arms. Rianna had been way-laid by somebody. Lucy squinted and felt her jaw drop. Oscar was between Rianna and her destination, chewing his toothpick.

“Stay away from Rianna,” Lucy said to J.J., walking backward. “I’ll find out what she’s up to. Tell everybody I didn’t have anything to do with this.”

J.J. nodded, and Lucy took off at a dead run.

By the time she reached Hawke, he had a cheek full of something he was trying to chew, and Januarie was pushing a Three Musketeers bar into his hand. Lucy was glad she hadn’t confiscated that part of Januarie’s loot.

Hawke grinned, as best he could, when he saw Lucy. “I have enjoyed the treat, ladies, thank you very much. But I have an appointment with this lady — who, I think, is responsible for you two being — what was it you told me?”

“BFFs,” Yo-Yo said. “Best Friends Forever.”

“That’s what soccer camp is about.” Hawke patted the seat beside him. “Now, Lucy, if you’ll just jump in — ”

“Coach Hawke!”

Lucy closed her eyes. If she’d just gotten there thirty seconds earlier . . .

“Rianna,” Hawke said. “What’s that you have there?”

Lucy turned around. Somewhere between Oscar and here, Rianna had picked up the gigantic red card and was smiling proudly above it. Lucy nearly bit her own tongue off.

While Rianna rattled on to Hawke, and Hawke sat, arms folded and listening, Lucy tried to land on what she was supposed to do now.

Should she just show Hawke the blue paper with Rianna standing there? Tell him she knew Rianna had typed it, and that somehow this was part of her trying to “show him” and get some kind of revenge for her sister?

If she did, what was to keep Hawke from believing what Rianna said on there about
her?

Besides, Lucy didn’t know yet what Rianna was planning to say to J.J.

“I’m impressed with your commitment to the integrity of the sport,” Hawke was saying.

Rianna tilted her head and looked at the ground. Any second, Lucy expected her to say, “Aw, shucks.” She felt like she was ready to throw up.

“You’re two of a kind,” Hawke went on.

Lucy felt her eyes bulge. She and Rianna — alike? Please no.

“Both of you have shown me maturity beyond your years,” Hawke went on. “Rianna, I’d like to hold onto your red card and use it at my discretion.”

Rianna looked like she didn’t know what that meant, but Lucy was pretty sure she did. It sounded like he wanted to be the one to hand out the punishments, not some kid. That was a relief at least.

“Now,” Hawke said, “I have something I’d like to discuss with Lucy. Would you excuse us, Rianna?”

Lucy felt Rianna go stiff, but she had to give her credit: she didn’t scream and pitch a fit the way Lucy was sure she wanted to.

“Sure,” Rianna said, and took a reluctant step back.

Hawke patted the seat again, but Lucy felt herself slowly shaking her head.

“Sir?” she said. “Could we meet tomorrow instead?”

Hawke looked down the length of his nose at her. “Problem?”

She glanced at her watch, though she didn’t really see the time. “Lunch is almost over, and Coach Neely doesn’t like us to be late.”

“That hour did get away from us, didn’t it?” Hawke said. “Tomorrow, then. Meet me here at the beginning of lunch.”

“Yes, sir.”

When she turned to go, Rianna was already gone. Lucy would have given up a chance at a goal if she would stay that way.

14

Nobody talked much in Carla Rosa’s car on the way home that Thursday afternoon. Lucy thought the other four girls looked as if they were going to pop like water balloons, and Carla Rosa obviously had a “guess what” waiting to burst out of her. But as Dusty told her in a whisper in the backseat, nobody wanted to talk about the soccer mess in front of Carla’s mom.

Lucy had a sad thought: they could have talked to
her
mom about this. About anything. That was true for Dad too, but she couldn’t bother him. He had something way bigger than this on his mind.

Or was it bigger? Things at camp had gotten so ugly, moving away didn’t seem that bad at the moment.

Until the SUV pulled up to Lucy’s house and Dusty grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“I know that paper is a lie,” she whispered.

Lucy swallowed back tears and climbed out.

“You girls sure are quiet today,” Carla’s mom said.