A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

Author:Kristin Walker [Walker, Kristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781595142573
Amazon: 1595142576
Goodreads: 5517759
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 2010-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

AFTER SCHOOL, I LOOKED ALL OVER FOR JOHNNY Mercer so I could apologize. I finally found him outside the administration offices talking to his friend Noah.

“Johnny!” I called as I jogged to catch up to them. Noah waved, said, “See ya,” and headed off. “Look,” I said, “I’m really sorry about this morning. You didn’t have to take the blame like that.”

Johnny shrugged his wide shoulders and rocked back and forth on his heels. “I never get in trouble,” he said, “so I figured I might as well say it was me, because she’d probably let me slide.”

“Did she?” I asked.

He waved me off. “Everything’s fine. No problem.” He seemed to develop a sudden fascination with the blue and white linoleum floor.

“Oh, phew.”

He reached out to one of the lockers next to us and spun the lock. “And I’ll get your equipment back for you, too. Don’t worry.”

“Wow, okay. Great. Thanks.” I gave him a friendly punch in the arm.

“If there’s anything else you need, let me know,” he said. He looked right in my eyes. “Anything,” he said.

That loaded “anything” hung in the air long enough for several possible anythings to zip through my mind. Get a coffee. See a movie. Cry. Make out. “I gotta go,” I blurted. I started walking backward. “I’m really late for practice. There might be a water emergency by now. But thanks again.”

He took a step toward me. “Give ’em some spit for me.”

I fake-laughed and waved. “Sure thing. Sorry again. See ya.”

He waved back. “See ya, Fiona.”

I spun around, and half ran for the gym.

I stopped at the locker room to fill the water cooler, and then dragged it out to the basketball court. But instead of the usual pep-o-rific cheer routines, there was total silence in the gym. The squad had bunched together and were watching something on the floor mats. Even old Mrs. O’Toole had gotten out of her usual napping chair to take charge. I got closer and saw one of the cheerleaders, Judith Norton, flat on her back, with a pair of EMTs crouched over her. They put one of those big plastic collars around her neck and a plastic splint on her leg. Then they slowly rolled her onto a backboard. They lifted the board onto a gurney and rolled her out.

“What happened?” I asked Simone Dawson.

“Jamar tossed her but missed the catch. They say she broke her ankle. But she has to get her spine checked too.”

“Oh my God,” I said. “Is anyone else hurt?”

“No. Jamar’s pretty upset, though.”

“I bet.” After a few beats, I said, “So I guess practice is canceled then?” I wasn’t being selfish. It just popped into my head. I swear.

“No way,” Simone said, straightening up. “Next Friday is homecoming. We’ve got the pep rally at the bonfire before. We’re supposed to showcase Catch the Fever. You’ve seen it. You know, the one with the mount at the end? That big pyramid stunt? Well, there was a pyramid. Not anymore, I guess.

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