“Exactly! Why would Chris Patton be interested in me, of all people, anyway?” I shouted.
“I mean, no offense, but I’m just worried about what people will say. Remember that you hate it when people talk about you,” Amy said, as she put her hand on my shoulder. “You are one of the most beautiful girls in school, and I am not just saying that because you’re my sister. You’re smart, kind, and one of the best athletes our school has ever known. Why wouldn’t he be interested in you? Plus, look at this hair!” She said, with jealous eyes and a smile, as she gently combed her fingers through my soft waves and then pulled me in for a quick hug. “But it’s Chris Patton. It’s probably a joke. God, this hoodie smells so good. If you don’t wear it, I will. Maybe find a guy who isn’t so popular, so you don’t run the risk of being the center of drama. I always say, if people want to talk, let them. But don’t give them a reason to talk, you know?”
She always knew what to say. I knew she had my best interests at heart.
“I would just give it back and pretend it never happened,” Amy said, a little more persistently as she gave my shoulder a little squeeze.
“I just don’t know if it’s a good thing to get involved with anyone right now, with scouts watching me. I don’t know him at all.”
“Exactly,” She said, then she hugged me again. I got up and headed back to my room.
Once I got back to my room, I took off his hoodie and laid it over the back of my chair, then went to my closet to pick out my clothes for the next day. As I slid the hangers across the bar, I imagined how each piece of clothing would look with his hoodie until I stopped at a short, taupe, wide ribbed corduroy skirt. Then I picked out a brown leather belt with a brass buckle and a navy long-sleeved tight V-neck to go with it. I set out my brown leather ankle boots with the wood-stacked heels, changed into pajamas, turned on the stereo, and climbed into bed. Dave Matthews Band’s Dancing Nancies started to play, and I lay there looking up at the ceiling stars, trying to imagine what tomorrow would be like if I showed up at school wearing Chris Patton’s hoodie. What would people say? What would he do? I guess I would make a game-time decision in the morning.
6
“Good morning!” My chipper sister said as I walked into the bathroom. I was not a morning person.
“Hey.”
“So, what did you decide? Are you going to give it back?”
“Yep,” I said as I looked at her and shrugged. “I’m not good at this sort of thing. I want him to give me my hoodie back.”
“Wait, he has yours? “ she asked in surprise.
“Yeah, that’s why he put his in my bag, he said he would leave mine, but he put his in there instead. Annoying.”
Suddenly, Amy’s body language changed, and she seemed very tense.
“I have to go get ready,” I said, and walked out.
Back in my room, I changed out of my PJs and got dressed, then stood in front of my full-length mirror for a look at my outfit. I loved the way the waves of my hair fell below my shoulders and rested loosely on my chest. I leaned in close to look at my eyes, then reached for the metallic magenta tube of mascara on my dresser and applied it to my lashes. I wasn’t one of the girls who caked on makeup, but I always wore mascara. The black color on my now longer-looking lashes really made my green eyes pop. Then I set down the tube and stepped back from the mirror to admire my thin waist and muscular calves, which the heel of the boots kept slightly flexed. The last thing I needed was to grab was my hockey bag and Chris’s hoodie, which I put in my backpack. It was time to go.
Downstairs in the kitchen, my mom was making us her daily strawberry banana yogurt smoothie, but I was too anxious to eat. She handed it to me anyway and told me to drink it, so I chugged half of it, set down the glass on the floral tiled island, and headed for the garage. Amy shrugged her shoulders at Mom and followed.
“Where is it?” she asked as we climbed into the car.
“In my backpack. I told you, I’m going to give it back. I have a huge game next week and I don’t want to be distracted.”
“I think that’s for the best. I hope one day you’ll think about something other than field hockey, though, it’s sort of obsessive.”
I buckled my seatbelt and pulled my backpack into my lap, then I unzipped it and pulled his hoodie out to look at it one last time.
HmmI said in thought. I held it on my lap and gripped it tight for the entire drive to school.What did this hoodie mean?
When we pulled into the parking lot, we were one of the first few cars that had arrived, but Amy parked near the soccer fields anyway.
“Look at us being on time. Can we please make this a habit?”
“I doubt it, but I’ll try,” I said dubiously. She glanced at me and reached for the handle, about to open the door, but stopped.
“It’s going to be fine, Allie, just quickly give it back and then don’t give it a second thought,”she said, hand still on the door handle.
As I sat in the car, I glanced around the parking lot. Others were arriving and starting to get out of their cars. Just then, some of my teammates walked past Amy’s car and waved. Worried they’d seen the hoodie in my lap, I panicked, shoved it into the bottom of my backpack, opened the door, and got out. “Wait up!” I called after them, but they didn’t hear me.
Amy quickly got out and ran around the front of her car to catch up with me.
“Allie!”
