Dean blinks at me. I blink back.
“You and me?”
“Yeah.”
“Teaming up?”
“That’s the idea.”
“So… like an alliance?”
I snap my fingers. “That’s the word.” I lean forward. Dean stiffens at the closeness but doesn’t move away. “We have complementary strengths. You’re a better strategist, and I’m a better athlete. We could get each other to the finale, even if Garrett helps Carter out. Plus, the alliance bonus points wouldn’t hurt.”
Still, Dean’s eyebrows are knitted, and he doesn’t seem sold on the idea. I try again. “We can’t let aMoxleyget away with beating us.”
That gets him. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. It was my idea.”
“I know, I’m just… surprised that you’d want to team up withme.”
And suddenly, the fidgeting, the long, silent pauses, the one-word responses—they make a little more sense now as Dean’s voice trails off and I watch him hunch in on himself almost subconsciously, like he’s not even aware he’s doing it.
I think of soft, timid Joy Lata on the JV volleyball team last year, who was too shy to call the ball and would get yelled at by the other girls until I stepped in. Then I think of whenIwas a newbie JV player that the varsity girls snickered at because I called the ball too often and too loudly. Amelia was captain my freshman year and the only one who patted me on the back and told me I was doing great. That was before we let rivalry get in the way of things.
I wonder if Dean ever had an Amelia.
I stick my bandaged hand out between us. “I’m sure.”
Dean considers the offer a second longer. Then he meets my eye and reaches for my hand, his lips turning up. Huh. He has dimples. I didn’t notice them until now. He should smile more.
“Let’s do this. Carter is going down.”
“Ow, my hand!”
“Oops, sorry.”
11
ONE BAD PUN WAS PLENTY, THANKS
SEYOON
Forming an alliance with Dean does not make us friends.
He’s stubborn and has the emotional capacity of a brick wall, but, I don’t know, I thought that since we’re teaming up, we might at least sit together at breakfast to have a conversation about the game. But the next morning, which we have off, Dean makes it his mission to be scarce, popping by the cafeteria only long enough to grab food before he disappears. Fine. Dean’s free to spend his time however he likes. I take the opportunity to go for a swim in Summit Lake.Notbecause I’m avoiding making friends after yesterday’s disaster. But because… it’s hot.
Come noon, when the sun crests in the center of the intensely blue sky, Garrett and Blake call us all to gather around the empty bonfire pit—noticeably, without the usual camera crew flanking them.
I spot Dean sitting on one of the logs. He looks up. “Hi.”
“Hey.” I glance at the empty spot next to him, and Dean pats the log in a wordless invitation before I can ask. I sit, silently relieved. “What were you up to earlier?”
“Nothing much. Just reading.”
“How come you didn’t hang out with everybody else?”
He crosses his arms defensively. “How comeyoudidn’t?”
