Triple Threat by Mike Lupica

Author:Mike Lupica [Lupica, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2020-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

20

After Sophie’s mom picked them up and dropped them back at Alex’s house, Alex decided not to tell her dad what happened at Bostwick’s. He was still floating on air from watching Alex play today, like he had been the one to throw a touchdown pass to Gabe.

Her buddy Gabe.

Or so she’d thought.

Alex and Sophie were barely through the front door when Jack Carlisle started up about the first Steelers home game tomorrow. In the same breath, he asked if Alex had brought back ice cream for him. She held up the to-go bag in her hand.

“Of course,” he said, “I don’t need ice cream to make my day better than it already is.”

“Dad,” Alex said. “We lost!”

“Minor technicality,” he said.

When Alex and Sophie were upstairs, Sophie said, “He really is over the moon.”

“That’s why I’m not going to spoil it by telling him about a maroon like Jeff Stiles,” Alex said.

“Maroon?”

“It’s one of my dad’s expressions,” Alex said. “Like moron, but better.”

“By the way?” Sophie said. “Don’t let that maroon spoil this moment for you, either.”

“He tried pretty hard,” Alex said, smirking. “But he was about as good at that as he was at football today.”

They were on Alex’s bed watching To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on her laptop when her mom called from California. Alex guessed she was calling to see how the big game went.

Alex motioned for Sophie to keep watching and headed downstairs and out to the back porch. She passed through the living room, where her dad was watching the Penn State–Ohio State game.

“Soooooo. How did it go?” her mom said.

Alex told her.

“Wait,” her mom said. “You got to play in the first game and threw a touchdown pass? Get out of town!”

“I know, right? It was almost like I knew what I was doing out there,” Alex said.

“Sounds like you proved something today.”

“Not to my teammates,” Alex said, before telling her mom what happened at Bostwick’s.

“Nothing you could ever do would impress that boy,” her mom said. “And you’re not doing this to impress him anyway.”

“I know.”

“He’s just mad because you showed him up,” her mom said. “Even if you apparently didn’t shut him up.”

“I didn’t tell Dad,” she said. “He just would’ve gotten mad.”

“Sounds like you got a little mad yourself.”

“The one I should be mad at is Gabe,” Alex said. “I can’t figure out how to handle things with him.”

“Well, let’s talk about that,” Liza Borelli said. Alex’s mom wasn’t a psychologist, but sometimes she sounded like one.

Football was never going to be her mom’s strong suit, even if she was getting better at talking about it. But she was much more skilled at discussing growing-up things.

“He’s always been such a good friend to you, honey,” she said to Alex. “It just sounds to me as if he’s under some tremendous peer pressure and isn’t handling it particularly well.”

“But he told me he’d be my friend no matter what.”

“Maybe he won’t be until the season is over.”

Alex bristled. “Friendship isn’t supposed to be a seasonal thing, like football.

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