The Real Me (5 page)

"Excuse me. 'Scuse me," I mumbled as I stepped on toes and banged against knees.

A cheer went up from the other side of the gym as the
Springfield
players came in to warm up. The Waterside cheerleaders lined up at another gate. Nicole pranced up and down, shaking her pom poms--and her other charms as well. A TV camera focused on her. She tossed her silver blonde hair. A guard opened the gate and the Tigers ran onto the court past the line of cheerleaders.

Waterside fans stood and cheered. I trembled as the seats swayed. I saw Walt run out on the court with a bag of basketballs. I sat down and clutched the edge of my seat. I concentrated on Kevin, hoping that would help banish my fear of falling.

I gripped the edge of my seat throughout the first half of the game. It wasn't my fear of heights that had my knuckles turning white. The
Springfield
team was good. Their defense put so much pressure on Waterside that we turned the ball over twelve times. We were down by fourteen points at half time.

During the half time break the line at the refreshment stand was so long that Erwina and I didn't get back to our seats until three minutes into the second half. By then the Waterside fans were standing and cheering. We'd cut the lead to eight points.

Waterside continued to whittle the lead until, with less than one minute left,
Springfield
had only a one point lead and control of the ball. They dribbled and passed, letting the seconds tick off the clock.

Then the crowd roared as George Turner stole the ball! He passed it to Kevin. I jumped to my feet. I didn't worry about falling between the seats. I just crossed my fingers as Kevin shot the ball.

He missed. But there was a whistle. Kevin had been fouled. There was one second left on the clock.

Waterside called time out. As the teams headed for the benches, the cheerleaders from both schools ran out to the center of the gym. Although the Waterside cheerleaders got there first, the
Springfield
cheerleaders weren't about to yield the floor. With the Waterside and
Springfield
cheerleaders lined up back to back, fans erupted in opposing cheers. It became a shouting match.

"GO
SPRINGFIELD
!"

"GO WATERSIDE!"

"GO
SPRINGFIELD
!"

"GO WATERSIDE!"

No one heard the buzzer. The referees had to motion the cheerleaders off the floor.

Kevin stood on the foul line. He had two shots. If he made one, Waterside would tie and the game would go into overtime. If he made both, Waterside would win.

The
Springfield
fans yelled and whistled. The Waterside fans waited in silence. I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.

The Waterside fans moaned. I knew that meant Kevin missed the first shot. I crossed my ankles. Kevin could still tie the game.

I had to watch this time. Kevin took a deep breath. He bounced the ball once, paused, and shot. He missed.

A
Springfield
player grabbed the rebound. The final buzzer sounded.
Springfield
won.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I watched Kevin slowly walk away from the foul line, his head down. All around him
Springfield
players embraced each other.

"Poor Kevin," I whispered.

"At least he'll have Nicole to comfort him," Erwina said sarcastically.

"That's right." I was actually glad he'd have someone to comfort him. Even if it was Nicole.

But Nicole walked right past Kevin, not even looking at him. She was ignoring him! I blinked back tears of anger and frustration. What a witch!

"Mattie." Erwina gently shook me. "We can't sit here all night. We've got to get to the bus."

Wearily I pulled on my jacket and stepped over soda cups and spilled popcorn. On the bus I plopped down onto a seat next to the window. Erwina slid in beside me. The bus lurched and slowly rolled away from the gym. No one sang or cheered. The only sound was the rattle of the bus.

I opened my window and stuck my head out as far as I could.

"Don't tell me you're going to be sick!" Erwina leaned away from me.

I didn't answer. Instead I began to shout. "We're from Waterside, we couldn't be prouder. And if you can't hear us, we'll yell a little louder!"

A group clustered in front of a fraternity house waved and shouted Hi.

It took less than a second for Erwina to respond to that sign of encouragement. Together she and I yelled, "We're from WATERSIDE, we couldn't be PROUDER. And if you can't hear us, we'll yell a little LOUDER!"

Everyone on the bus joined in. Even the driver. We rode through the campus and the streets of
Middletown
.

"WE'RE FROM WATERSIDE, WE COULDN'T BE PROUDER! AND IF YOU CAN'T HEAR US, WE'LL YELL A LITTLE LOUDER!"

By the time the bus reached the city limits my ears rang and my throat was raw. The shouting petered out. I closed my window and rested my head on the back of the seat. The steady hum of the tires lulled me to sleep.

The howling of the brakes jolted me awake. We were back at the high school. Erwina and I staggered off the bus.

I searched the front of the school for Kevin. "I wonder if the team is out of the locker room yet."

"Should be," Erwina said. "Why don't you wait inside while I get the car? It's going to take forever just to get out of the parking lot. No sense in both of us freezing."

"I'll go with you," I volunteered reluctantly.

"Please." Erwina smiled sympathetically. "Wait inside."

"Thanks!"

As I walked in one door, Walt walked out another. He saw me and came back in. "Hi, Mattie!"

"Hi, Walt." I figured the team must be done in the locker room if Walt was here.

"Do you need a ride?"

"Oh, no. I'm just waiting in here for Erwina. To keep warm."

"You sure about the ride?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Oh. Well. I'll see you."

"Bye." I looked around anxiously for Kevin.

I saw other guys from the team leaving, some of them holding hands with their girlfriends. I didn't see Nicole anywhere. Maybe she had already left with Kevin.

I kept an eye on the locker room door. Finally it opened. Coach Bartlett walked out, followed by Kevin. Coach patted Kevin on the shoulder, then sat on the bench by the trophy case, so he could call the small newspapers that didn't send reporters to give the statistics and stuff about the game.

I decided it was not a time to be shy. I approached Kevin. I didn't know what to say, so I just touched his arm.

He turned and stared at me blankly.

"Too bad Waterside didn't win. But it was a great game." I paused to control my voice. "You really played well tonight."

Kevin shrugged. "That's what Coach said."

"Because it's true! You played a good game. The whole team did. There are lots of 'ifs and buts' in every game. Any time two teams play, one has to lose. But you still had a good game."

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

Kevin looked at me as if he noticed something he'd never seen before. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Really, thanks."

I searched for something else to say. "Do … do you need a ride home?" I hope and pray!

"Coach is giving me a ride."

"Oh."

Just then Coach Bartlett came over. "Ready to go, Kevin?"

"Ready." Kevin gave me a small smile and left.

I followed him out. I didn't have to look for Erwina. She was parked right out in front. The passenger door opened and George Turner stepped out. He held the door open for me. "After you, Chunk."

I climbed in. I felt like slamming the door after me. Instead, I leaned forward until George squeezed himself into the back seat.

"I'm giving George a lift home," Erwina said.

"I noticed."

There was an uneasy silence until Erwina started chattering about the game. George picked up the conversation, and somewhere in the middle of it all I congratulated George on his game.

Erwina dropped George off first. When she pulled up to my house she said, "You know, you look different tonight. Are you losing weight or something?"

"If I am, I must be worrying it off," I said, trying to sound casual as I hopped out of the car. I wasn't ready to tell Erwina about my diet.

I called out, "Goodnight," and hurried into the house, tiptoeing up the stairs to my room. I changed into my nightgown, then went into the bathroom. I stepped on the scale--it was the first time that I had weighed myself since I started the diet. I was almost afraid to look.

I had lost five pounds! I examined myself in the mirror. I pulled my nightgown back until it was tight around my waist. My stomach was a bit flatter. And my face was a touch thinner. I could almost see those cheekbones my father was always talking about. I sucked in my cheeks and gave the mirror a sultry look.

Erwina had noticed a change. And Kevin. Yes! Kevin must have noticed it, too. That's why he'd looked at me the way he did.

"Just wait until I lose fifteen more pounds," I said to my reflection. "Then you'll see the real me."

 

Chapter
Six

 

I stirred my cherry yogurt. "It's so noisy in this lunchroom. I can hardly hear myself think."

"No worse than usual." Erwina studied my sack lunch--the yogurt, a small piece of cheese, and an apple. "You're eating 'healthy' these days."

"Does wonders for my complexion."

"You don't look as if you're having any problems." Erwina eyed my smooth skin.

"I'm not. And I don't want to."

"I see," Erwina said skeptically. "Hey, what time is the committee meeting at Walt's today?"

"Three thirty."

"Good. That gives me plenty of time to get there. Will you be walking with Walt?"

"Yes. You want to walk with us?"

"Thanks, but I have to stop off at home first." Erwina grinned. "Besides, three's a crowd."

"We're just working together on the prom."

"Uh huh."

"We're just friends." I didn't want to explain about my walking program, especially at the lunch table. No telling who might overhear.

"Really?"

"Really. Walt's nice, but he's just a friend. I'm afraid he's too short for us to ever be anything but just friends."

Erwina sat straight up. "So he's short. So what?"

"So I'm not! Listen, can we drop the subject?"

"For now." Erwina arched an eyebrow.

"Thank you." I said evenly.

"You're welcome," Erwina replied, all tight-lipped.

When Walt and I arrived at his house for the prom committee meeting, George Turner was shooting baskets at the hoop on the garage.

"What took you so long?" George asked as he caught his own rebound.

"Some of us like to walk." Walt nodded at George's pickup parked at the curb.

"You mean some of you have to walk."

I headed toward the back door, but out of the corner of my eye I saw George about to throw the basketball at me. Just in time I turned and caught it.

"Nice catch, Chunk!" George sounded truly surprised.

I threw the ball back at him as hard as I could.

"You should go out for girl's basketball," George said. "You sure can pass the ball."

"Hmmph." I stomped into the house.

Phil and Carl and Laura arrived shortly after Erwina, Ross and Selena. Laura and Carl were twins. They were both cute, blonde and quiet. Phil and Carl hung out with George. It was kind of a dork-city committee, me especially, except for Erwina and George. Erwina was sort of universal, friends with just about everyone. George, as obnoxious as he was, pretty much ranked in the upper stratosphere, partly because he was tall and not half-bad looking and partly because he was a star on the basketball team. Those things counted for something.

Walt brought out a tray of refreshments. Raw vegetables and yogurt dip, cheese and fruit. He winked at me. I hoped no one noticed.

"What's with the health food," George asked as he scooped up a mound of dip with a celery stalk.

"A sound mind in a sound body," Walt replied. "Of course, in your case, George …."

"Can we get this meeting started?" Selena said. "I've got a history test to study for."

"Sure." Walt sat on the sofa between Carl and Laura. He rapped a small gavel on the coffee table.

George hooted. "How official can you get?"

Walt used the gavel to rap George's knuckles.

"Ouch!" George clutched his hand to his chest and rubbed his fingers.

"Cruel, but effective," Walt said with a sly grin. "Now, I'll summarize what Mattie and I have done so far."