The Paranormal Playbook by Vanessa Lanang

Author:Vanessa Lanang [Lanang, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Athletes, Darby Creek, Fiction, Hi-Lo Fiction, League of the Paranormal, Paranormal, Sports, Sports Fiction, Supernatural, Recreation, Games, Occult, Social Themes, Emotions, Feelings, Basketball, Basketball Team, Basketball Teams, Girls' Basketball, Paranormal Playbook, The Paranormal Playbook, Vanessa Lanang
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Published: 2019-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

11

“Here, boy! Where are you?” Emily called in the darkened field behind Laila’s house.

I stood in knee-high grass, my sneakers damp from the evening dew and a flashlight in one hand. My mom didn’t even hesitate when I asked if I could help Laila look for her dog. Normally, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house after nine during the week, but tonight was an exception—Laila needed me. Mom only reminded me to check in and ushered me out the door.

“I don’t see how he got out,” I said to Laila. With our flashlights pointed at the ground, she was a dark shape against the night sky.

“I don’t either. I checked all the gates and they were locked. He’s too big to get out any other way,” she said.

“Maybe he jumped?” I asked, but I knew the answer before she responded. Howie was an old dog.

“I doubt it,” Laila replied. She rustled around and the light of her phone screen disrupted the darkness. “It’s after ten.”

It had already been an hour. “We can keep looking. I bet he fell asleep, and that’s why he isn’t answering,” I reassured her. Flashlight beams flickered deeper in the field. Hailey, Kristina, and a few other Spirits had also offered to search. Inside, Isabella called around to neighbors and dog-friendly spots in town Howie might have wandered to.

“Thanks, but it’s late. Everyone should go home,” Laila said and sighed. “Do you mind calling them in?” Then a sob caught in her throat. “I don’t know what I was thinking using those plays. I . . . I . . . I’m going inside.”

* * *

By 10:45 P.M. our teammates had left. It was just me and Laila now. Laila sat on a patio chair in front of the fire pit, wrapped in a blanket with a mug in her hands. Her mom had brought out steaming hot chocolate topped with whipped cream to cheer us up. I sat on a patio sofa next to Laila with my feet tucked under me.

“I’m sorry, MJ,” Laila said softly, her gaze on the flames.

“We don’t have to talk about this right now,” I said.

Laila shook her head. “I should’ve listened to you. I knew deep down that something was off, but I didn’t want to believe it. It sounds crazy trying to explain it out loud, right?” she said, finally looking at me.

I nodded.

“We’ve never won—that should’ve been the first sign. It’s a playbook that makes you win. Even I still don’t believe it. I wanted it to be a coincidence, a stroke of bad luck for Emily, Isabella—for me. But it isn’t. Stuff like this doesn’t just happen,” Laila said. Unshed tears filling her eyes gleamed in the firelight. “So I’m sorry I didn’t listen, MJ, because all of this could’ve been prevented.”

“You didn’t know, not really.”

“I just wanted to win so bad,” Laila said, her grip on her mug tightening. “I thought I was okay with finishing my senior year playing ball because I loved it, but winning—I didn’t want to give it up.

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