“Got it,” he says, looking off into the distance. He stares for so long that I wonder if maybe he’s forgotten I’m here.
“Well, anyway,” he finally says, snapping back from wherever he just went, “you ready to cheer on Noah?”
Glancing around at all the signage and clothing bearing Northmount’s name, I confess that I feel ill-prepared.
“You’re in luck.” He winks at me. Reaching into a bag he brought in with him, he produces a large, rolled-up piece of paper. “You’ll have to help me hold it, because it keeps rolling in on itself. You up for the task?”
I nod, helping him unroll it.#1 Go Sutton! #1
When the team takes the field, the stands erupt in ear-splitting screams.How did I not know soccer was this big of a deal?
Noah runs out, his eyes on the crowd. He sees his dad first, and then me. He smiles at the sign held above our heads, and I can only shrug, but I’m smiling. I love cheering on Noah.
* * *
When I gethome that night, my mom is already asleep. Sky is not. She’s lying on her bed, listening to music on her iPod. She sits up when I come in and pulls out her earbuds.
“How was it?” she asks, swinging her legs beneath her and settling down on them.
“Fun.” It’s hard to admit it, but I had a good time.
Even afterward, when Noah’s parents asked me to get a bite to eat with them, it was enjoyable. Derek was friendly and never mentioned catching Noah and me together, and Brody was nice too. Affable and funny. He even suggested Noah and I double-date with him and his girlfriend, Alyssa. Mrs. Sutton was still stiff, but she tried. She asked me how my week was. The question felt odd, but I answered it. I told her about Edna, which in retrospect was probably as boring as getting a play-by-play about the hardening of concrete. I was flustered and couldn’t stop thinking about what had almost gone down under her roof, so I rambled.
“Just fun?” Sky says. “That’s it?”
“Pretty much.” I pull my shirt over my head and toss it into the corner where we throw our clothes. “How was your day?” I reach for an oversize T-shirt and pull it on. When I look back at Sky, she’s toying with a loose string on her nightshirt.
“What?” I ask, plopping down on her bed and scooting until my back is against the wall.
She meets my eyes, and her cheeks are scarlet. “There was a new person at work today. Ryder. Isn’t that such a cute name for a guy?Ryder. He was nice, too, and they asked me to train him.”
“That sounds like it could be interesting,” I say, careful to keep my voice happy but not too happy. Too much, and she’ll become anxious that she came off wrong and embarrassed herself. Too little, and she’ll think she’s not good enough.
“He has blondish-brown hair, and a crooked smile. There’s a scar next to his left ear. I didn’t ask how he got it.” Sky runs her fingers over her bent knees.
“I’m glad you met someone you like. Maybe soon you can all go to a work happy hour and get to know him better.”Careful, careful.
“Ember, please.” Sky’s voice has changed from excited to disdainful. “I live with my mother. In a room I share with my high-school-age sister.” Her worried eyes lift. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Ryder’s not going to be interested in me.” Her voice is tiny. I wish I could take it away from her, and make her feel big and strong.
“Have you thought any more about those college scholarships I found for you?” I ask, thinking maybe this is my chance to help her.
“Yes,” she whispers. She swings her legs out from under her and scoots until she’s beside me with her back against the wall. “I’m scared though. What if I have a”—she looks around anxiously, as if the walls have ears—“you know what?”
“Period stain on the day you wear white?”
Sky rolls her eyes. “No.”
“Montezuma’s Revenge?”
“Gross!”
“Spontaneous and foul-smelling—”
Sky screeches in protest. “Can we please stop playing this game?” But she’s laughing. That was my goal.
