A Game Worth Watching by Samantha Gudger

Author:Samantha Gudger [Gudger, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Young Adult
Published: 2013-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Highlights of their game against Evergreen swept through school the following day like the gusty winds of December. None of the guys had witnessed the game, but they could all retell the story of Emma’s block and her final drive to the basket in detail to any eager listener. Courtesy of the freshman.

“I wish I could have been there,” Riley repeated for the millionth time as he leaned against the wall of lockers while Emma swapped books out of her bag.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” she reassured him. Given the option, Emma always preferred to talk about basketball, but ever since last night’s game against Evergreen, she grew restless whenever the subject came up. For the first time since entering high school, people actually started to look at her rather than through her. She felt exposed.

Riley’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Not a big deal? Ashley can’t stop talking about it. She said you dominated the game.”

“I can’t imagine the freshman using the word dominated to describe me.”

He rolled his eyes. “So I condensed all of her Wonder Woman stories about you into one word. It still doesn’t change the fact Jerry’s right. You are a superstar.”

This time Emma rolled her eyes. The whole basketball business was out of control. Since when did Riley and the guys take a freshman’s word over hers? Did their years of friendship mean nothing? It was bad enough the guys treated her like some celebrity, but did the rest of the school have to suddenly acknowledge her existence simply because of her performance on the court? Kids who had spent the majority of their lives ignoring her nodded hello, congratulated her on a game well played and stopped talking when she entered a room to stare at her. She even saw a few guys she didn’t know reenact her shot block with wadded pieces of paper. Unbelievable! Emma wasn’t interested in popularity or being liked because of some stupid trend.

Despite everyone’s sudden interest in her, she did her best to ignore them and focus her efforts on planning for her one-on-one practice with Ashley. Even though the kid was starting to look like a real basketball player, she still had a lot to learn. As practice ended and their teammates filed out the door, Emma positioned Ashley at the top of the free-throw line with her back to the basket. The kid needed to learn how to catch a pass, spin to the basket, and make a split decision of whether to drive or shoot.

When Ashley’s attention flickered to the sideline behind Emma, Emma didn’t think much of it; when the kid nudged her arm and nodded toward the sideline, Emma spun around to scold Riley for making another one of his surprise appearances. Words froze on the end of her tongue when she saw, not Riley, but Shiloh and Peyton. With arms crossed and eyebrows raised, the two girls looked at Emma expectantly.

Recovering from the presence of two additional girls, Emma didn’t try to keep her tone soft and welcoming.

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