“Sub,” Coach Fletcher called, beckoning Sophia to get off the court. Sophia tried to hustle to the bench, but she felt off-center. Patty bumped her hip as she took Sophia’s place.
After the boys beat the girls by fifteen points, the boys cheered while heading to their locker room. Most of the girls dressed and exited quickly, but Sophia had moved slowly, with her eye on the boys’ door. Max was the first to bound out of the locker room.
“You sure you’re all right? I didn’t mean to charge you so hard.” He looked her up and down for bruises.
“I have three brothers. Trust me, I’ve been hit much harder.” She shifted her bag. “But what language was that? What did you say to me?”
“I said ‘I’m so sorry, may God be with you’ in German.”
Sophia looked up. “How do you know German?” And why had her body reacted that way?
“They have German as a language here, you can take it next semester if you are interested. I’ve been taking it since last year.”
“Wouldn’t Spanish or French be more useful?”
“I was born in Germany,” he revealed. “I came to this country when I was around five.”
Something stirred inside her. Was it his words, or was it his nearness that was making her feel woozy, not at all steady?
“Tell me about Germany.” She turned her body toward him.
“Oh, I don’t remember that much. I lived in an—”
“Hey, wait up,” Claude called while walking across the court. “Sophia. Nice game.” He gave her a playful pat on the back.
“Thanks,” she said, straining her face to keep her irritation from showing.
“Max, don’t forget, we have Debate Club tonight.” Claude slipped a small umbrella from his bag as the three walked to the exit. “Sophia, have you joined any clubs yet?” he asked.
“I haven’t had much time.”
“Well, you should join the Debate Club. We have a lot of fun.”
“You have a lot of fun,” Max corrected. “I just go because it will look good on my college applications.”
“Whatever, man.” Claude held the door open. The rain was coming down from the dark sky in sheets. Sophia yanked her jacket up and pulled it over her head.
“You don’t have an umbrella?” Max turned to Sophia.
“I did, but the wind tore it to shreds this morning, so I threw it out.” That was probably why she had found it in the lost-and-found bin in the first place. It didn’t work.
“Here, take mine, and I’ll share with Claude.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“It’s nearly a ten-minute walk to W5, and it’s raining cats and dogs. I insist.” Max removed the umbrella from his bag and held it out to her.
Their fingers brushed, and Sophia felt herself shudder. “Thank you.”
Claude pushed his umbrella up and said, “I would have offered you mine too. We can’t have one of our star basketball players sick before the game on Friday.” He flashed her a wide smile, but it dulled in comparison to Max’s.
“Star? You must be joking.” She pursed her lips.
“Really, you played well,” Claude said. “I was watching you.”
Sophia frowned as she pushed Max’s umbrella up over her head. She didn’t want Claude watching her.
“Good night,” she said as they went their separate ways into the rain. As she walked, careful to avoid the puddles, she revisited the words that Max had said to her.
