Court’s name gets called for the Homecoming Queen and to my complete shock and horror my name gets called as the king. We’ve been told what to do if we get called on, but I wasn’t paying attention to the instructions.
There’s a slight nudge in my back and Liam nods for me to walk forward. I glance back at Court to see she’s impatiently waiting on me with a tight smile. I step forward and hold out my arm so she can loop hers into it and wave at the crowd with the other. People are clapping and cheering, but the only thing I see is Ali frozen in place halfway to my parents with a box of popcorn nearly falling out of her hand.
I walk to the front where a teacher is waiting with a crown, and I cringe. I let go of Court the second I can and step aside as she places the dumb thing on my head. The game hasn’t even started yet and it’s already a disaster.
We all have to stand together to get our pictures taken, but I refuse to touch Court again. I keep looking up at Ali and when she sits down next to Mom, she’s hidden a little so I can’t see her face. Frustration, annoyance, impatience, all of it rolls across my skin as I yank the crown off and toss it under the bench as the refs call for the game to begin.
I grab my helmet and do what I came to do. I try and put everything out of my head as I step on the field with my team and with scouts watching. I say a silent prayer to myself that I can somehow explain all of this to Ali. But like the great Paula Abdul once said, we take two steps forward and one step back.
The game is tough and it’s close the entire time, but with only three seconds left I launch one into the endzone for the win. Liam picks me up and the whole team jumps in a dog pile as we celebrate the victory and the end of the season. The second I’m up in the air I scan the crowd and see Ali on her feet cheering. I point right to her with one hand and pat my chest. That used to be our sign when I played little league. She hesitates for a fraction of a second and then I see her do the same thing back to me. One hand patting her heart and the other pointing right at me.
In that moment I can imagine what it feels like to be a rock star.
Coach Chris sends us to the locker room to shower and change. Everyone is hyped up and shouting as we get in there. I make quick work of getting cleaned up and putting on a fresh jersey. I grab my bag and jog out of the locker room, my feet light and happy.
My parents and Ali are waiting by the exit and the moment I see her I can’t help myself. I smile from ear to ear as I scoop her up in my arms and spin her around. She squeals in delight as my parents laugh, and without thinking I kiss her cheek. She freezes against me and I catch myself, realizing what I’ve just done. I laugh it off to cover it up and after a second I put her on her feet. Her face is bright red and she looks away and I hurry to gloss over it.
“I guess your wish came true,” I say, and she looks at me in confusion. “You mean your birthday wish wasn’t for me to win?” I put my hand over my heart and pretend to be wounded.
“Shut up.” She rolls her eyes but the look of happiness on her face can’t be hidden.
“We’re so proud of you,” my dad says as he pulls me in for a hug and breaks the small moment of tension that passed between Ali and me, though I don’t think they even noticed it.
“And Homecoming King too,” Mom chimes in, hugging me.
I stiffen at the reminder and out of the corner of my eye I see Ali does too. How do we keep hitting these landmines?
“Coach says he got approached by several scouts after the game,” my dad says to me in a low voice.
“Boston College?” I hedge and he shrugs.
“He didn’t say but he expects to hear more by tomorrow.” I nod as Dad takes my gym bag from me and we make our way to the parking lot.
“Why don’t you kids ride together and we’ll meet you at Joe’s?” Mom suggests, and I look over at Ali.
Maybe a little time alone would be good. I could explain what happened with Court. “Yeah, sounds good to me,” I offer up quickly before Ali has a chance to disagree.