Girls, Gifted

by E K Ballard

  “Hi, Mom, good to see you too,” said Kristin sarcastically.

  “Don’t be smart with me!” Rebecca snapped.

  “Rebecca, please. She just got home. Did you get your work done, honey?” Rob gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek.

  “Yes.”

  “Hi, Jamie, thanks for bringing her home. When is the next game?” Rob asked.

  “Monday after school. We play at home.”

  Rebecca said something from the other room about worthwhile pursuits.

  “Let me check and see if I left anything in the car,” Kristin said.

  Jamie got the hint. “Okay, see you,” she said to the Olsons.

  “Bye, Jamie,” said Lucas.

  “See you,” said Rob.

  Rebecca said nothing.

  Kristin walked around to Jamie’s driver side door and wrapped her arms around her. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “Me too.” Jamie lifted Kristin’s head with her hand, kissed her, and got into the car. “I’m getting a phone tomorrow. I’ll call you when I get it.”

  “Okay. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Kristin watched as Jamie drove down the driveway and as her tail lights got further away. She went into the kitchen, where her mom and dad were arguing.

  “Rebecca, you want her home, but when she’s here, you are hostile. I wouldn’t want to spend time here either if I were her.”

  “You just always have to take her side, don’t you? You don’t see what is going on between them, do you?” Rebecca was furious.

  “What? That Kristin made a friend here? That she is happy and has adjusted to her new school? That she has lost weight and looks like her old self?”

  “Never mind. You’re blind.” Rebecca left the room.

  Kristin sat next to her dad. “Sorry it has turned out this way.”

  “Honey, I am so proud of you, you will do well no matter where you go. Your mother, she’s just having a hard time adjusting to living up here.”

  Kristin thought it was more than that. Her mom knew.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Kristin finally fell asleep, thinking about sleeping with Jamie. She got up when she smelled the coffee being made downstairs and got ready for church. Kristin put on a black dress Angela had given her. It was simple, but accentuated Kristin’s slimmer body. Kristin admired herself in the mirror before she put on lipstick.

  They sat down to eat breakfast together. Rebecca had made scrambled eggs and toast and Kristin was having some coffee when Rebecca noticed what Kristin was wearing.

  “Where did you get that dress?” Rebecca asked.

  “Oh, Angela gave it to me,” Kristin answered absently.

  “It’s nice,” commented Rob.

  “It’s nice for a cocktail waitress!” snapped Rebecca. “Take it off and put on something suitable for appearing in a house of worship. Wipe off that lipstick while you’re at it!”

  Kristin thought her mother was joking at first until she saw she wasn’t.

  “What? What’s wrong with the dress?” Kristin asked, dumbfounded.

  “You look like a little tramp,” Rebecca hissed. “You will not embarrass me today!”

  “Rebecca,” started Rob.

  “No! No! You will not take her side on this!”

  “All I wanted today was to spend a nice day with my family,” Rob said quietly. “I bust my ass sixty hours a week and I would like it if we could all get along today.”

  “I will be fine as long as she changes for church,” Rebecca said firmly.

  “You know what, Mom? I’m not going. Forget it. That is a hateful church, filled with racist assholes. I’m not going there again.”

  Rebecca strode across the room towards Kristin. Kristin jumped up and put her hands up defensively in front of her. Rob got up, too, and stood between his daughter and wife.

  “You will do as you’re told. Now, go get changed and get in the car!”

  “I’m not going and if you hit me, I’ll hit you back!” Kristin pulled her arm back in a fist.

  “Both of you, stop it, please!” Rob remained between the two of them with his arms outstretched to separate them.

  Kristin left the room and went to her room. She slammed the door behind her and locked it. A minute later, she heard her father outside of the door, trying to open it.

  “Come on, let me in.”

  Kristin opened the door let her dad in. “Will you please just get in the car and go with us?” he pleaded. “You don’t have to get changed.”

  “Why can’t we go to a normal church, Dad? One where they don’t preach hate and use the n-word?”

  “What? When did they use the n-word?”

  Kristin told her father about the conversation they overheard and their mother’s non-reaction. Rob sighed.

  “Can we go this one last time? Maybe next week we can go to the Congregational Church in town.”

  “Is Mom going to make me change?”

  “I told her your dress was fine. She isn’t happy about it, but she wants to leave, and I am not going without you.”

  They went to church together. Rebecca sat in the front seat with her lips pursed angrily together and didn’t say a word to Kristin the whole day. She sat as far away from Kristin as she could and didn’t stay with them after the sermon, which was mild and wasn’t controversial.

  Kristin couldn’t wait to get home and hear from Jamie.

  * * *

  Jamie slept in, took care of the dogs, and packed her things. Her aunt and uncle would be home in a few hours, so she cleaned up a little and said good bye to the dogs.

  She drove to Weymouth and met up with Jack. They went to the phone store together and Jack insisted Jamie get the new iPhone with an unlimited data plan. Jamie called Kristin and left a message for her, forgetting she was in church still.

  When they got back to Jack’s house, they put on the football pregame shows, set their fantasy football lineups, and made lunch. Jack sat next to his sister on the sofa.

  “So, Jamie, you sure seem a lot happier today than you did Thursday.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Jamie was wondering where this was going. Jack always could read her like a book.

  “Does it have anything to do with Kristin?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She was wearing your warm-up shirt the other day, wasn’t she?”

  “Yeah. So?” Jamie squirmed uncomfortably.

  “Nothing.” He took a few bites of his sandwich. “Your grades have sure gone up since she’s come around, haven’t they?”

  “Yeah. What’s your point?”

  “Bet she doesn’t hang out with dummies.”

  Jamie was silent.

  “Interesting that after two years, all of a sudden you want a phone now that Kristin’s around.”

  “You guys have wanted me to have a phone since I got rid of my old one!”

  “My point exactly. So, what’s the deal between you two?’

  Jamie tried to act innocent.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t be coy. You know what I mean. Are you two more than friends?”

  Jamie couldn’t lie to Jack. He always knew when she wasn’t being honest.

  “Yes.” Jamie felt relieved to tell her brother the truth. “Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”

  “No. Just remember what happened a few years back with that other girl and how upset you were.”

  “It’s not the same as before. I didn’t even like Lisa like that.”

  “But you like Kristin, like that?”

  Jamie looked Jack in the eyes and said flatly. “No, Jack. I love Kristin.”

  Jack raised his eyebrows and said, “Well, she’s smart and nice, and for some reason she likes you. As long as you’re happy.”

  “I’m happy. Very happy.”

  Kristin called Jamie back when she got home from church and told Jamie about what happened with her mom. Jamie told Kristin about Jack figurin
g them out and promised to call Kristin before she went to bed.

  Jamie went home early so she could get her things ready for the game the next day. Her homework was all done and she just needed to get a good night’s rest. She called Kristin before she went to bed and wished her good night.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “So are we still going to work out today, or do you want to rest before the game?” Kristin asked as they finished lunch.

  “No, we need to go. I can’t let you take a day off or you’ll complain you’re fat,” Jamie joked.

  “I am fat,” Kristin said, finishing the last of the vegetable dip.

  “Seriously, I think you have lost more weight and have gotten taller.”

  When they got to the weight room, Kristin took off her shoes and stepped on the scale. When the numbers came up, she was pleased to see the number 134 show on the display.

  “So?” asked Jamie.

  “I did lose some weight. I’m at 134 now.”

  “Wow! Seven pounds in three weeks?”

  “I didn’t eat much for five days,” Kristin said.

  “I know how that goes,” Jamie said. “Let’s see if you got any taller.”

  Kristin leaned up against the wall while Jamie looked. “You are 5’5” now, so maybe you grew an eighth of an inch since last time.”

  They worked out for thirty minutes, then went into the locker room to change.

  “You know, we could take a shower before we went back to class,” Jamie said.

  “We wouldn’t want to waste water, you know. We’d have to shower together.”

  Jamie sat on the changing bench and motioned for Kristin to sit on her lap. Kristin wrapped her legs around Jamie’s torso while they kissed each other.

  “Do you really want to do that?” Jamie asked.

  “Yes. But I’d prefer being somewhere else, like, not at school,” Kristin said.

  “We’ll figure something out. Let me get through the soccer season, okay?”

  “It won’t matter. Then basketball starts, right?”

  Jamie sighed. The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to play basketball. “Yeah.”

  “So we’ll never have time to be together.”

  “I’ll make time.”

  “When?” Kristin looked into Jamie’s eyes.

  “I just will.”

  Kristin got up and got changed. Jamie watched as she took off her shirt. She was dying to put her hands on Kristin’s body.

  “See you at the game,” said Kristin as she left to go to her class.

  * * *

  Jamie left the locker room in her uniform and the previous year’s team shirt. She was one of the first players out on the field and she started a light warm up. She saw Coach Detmer talking to Mr. Sims, the Athletic Director. The rest of the team started trickling out and the Sutter team arrived. Coach Detmer was still talking to the AD, so Jamie led the team on a lap and started the pregame routine.

  Coach Detmer walked over to the team and said, “Gather in, everyone. Coach Abbott can’t make it today, so I’ll be taking over.”

  “Where is she?” someone asked.

  “Something important came up at work, so I am going to be taking her place.”

  Jamie drew the team together in the middle of the field. “Come on, let’s win this one so Coach Abbott can come back and coach another game. Let’s pull it together and do this!”

  “Yeah!” The girls dispersed to get ready for the game to start.

  “Jamie, what did you say?” Coach Detmer asked.

  “I told them to pull together and go out and win,” she answered.

  “Well, don’t you just have words of inspiration,” he said sarcastically.

  Jamie looked at him, puzzled. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “You know, Coach Abbott isn’t here to stick up for you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” asked Jamie.

  “I have been telling her for three weeks now she should bench you. You miss practices, aren’t in uniform, and question the coaches in front of the team.”

  Jamie was stunned. “You think I shouldn’t play?”

  “Let’s just say that this won’t be going on during basketball.”

  Jamie didn’t understand. “What does basketball have to do with anything?”

  He smiled. “I guess you didn’t hear the good news. I was hired as the head coach of the varsity girls’ basketball team.”

  “You? You are the new basketball coach? For Stowe?” Jamie sputtered.

  “Yup, and you better believe I am going to ride your ass all season,” he said.

  “No, you won’t,” said Jamie.

  “Oh? And why not?” he shot back.

  “Because I’m not playing,” Jamie said without hesitation.

  He stared at her. “You’re not playing? So you aren’t going to go for the Twelve Letter Award?” he asked.

  “Nope,” Jamie answered. She raised all 6’2” of her over his squat 5’7” body and looked down at him because she knew he hated it.

  “That’s okay. No Stowe team needs Jamie Chase to win.”

  “No, but a coach who doesn’t suck would help.” Jamie jogged off to resume warm-ups, leaving him fuming.

  Sutter had a good team with two strong forwards and Stowe’s defense was going to have their hands full. Coach Detmer announced that he was going to play a different scheme. Instead of starting three forwards, they were going to drop Tessa back and have two center midfielders. Jamie had played this before and thought it was a good format, but questioned the timing of the change. She kept quiet, not wanting to antagonize Coach Detmer any more than she already had.

  Jamie saw Rob, Lucas, and Rebecca sitting with Jamie’s family and she waved to them. Everyone waved back except Rebecca, who looked cold and miserable in the windy evening air.

  Kristin approached Jamie and said, “Hey.”

  Jamie said, “I want to kiss you so badly right now.”

  Kristin asked. “Later. Where’s Coach Abbott?”

  Jamie looked over at Coach Detmer, who was calling the team together, and said, “She’s not here. He said it had to do with her job.”

  “But it’s the playoffs!” Kristin said.

  Jamie rejoined her team mates, and went out for the coin toss. They lost the toss, and Sutter chose to take the kickoff. Jamie went back to her sidelines and they did their pregame cheer. They took the field and when the whistle blew to start the game, Jamie moved up field to put pressure on the defense. She remembered Coach Abbott telling her to play offensively.

  “Jamie, get back! You’re too far up! We have forwards to play up there!” Coach Detmer yelled.

  Jamie didn’t hear him. She was in tune to the game. She anticipated a pass that the Sutter left back made to the center back, charged in, intercepted the pass, and exploded into the penalty area. She fired a shot past the goalie for the first goal of the game.

  Jamie ran back to their half of the field while her teammates congratulated her.

  “Jamie, I told you to play back on defense!” yelled Coach Detmer.

  Jamie looked over at him. What was he talking about?

  After the ensuing kickoff, Jamie lagged back towards defense. When the ball was sent up to their offense, the defense was able to clear it. Jamie started moving up towards offense, seeing that there was a gap where one of the Stowe players needed to play. She challenged the Sutter defense for a loose ball, came away with it, and looked for an open teammate. She saw Charlotte breaking in from the right wing and Jamie dribbled around a defender to get in a better position for a crossing kick.

  She set the ball up on her right foot and blasted it for Charlotte. Instead of getting a high, lofty kick, she got a direct shot which was traveling too fast for Charlotte that ended up rising like a knuckleball and dropping over the goalie’s hands into the upper right-hand corner of the goal.

  Coach Detmer was standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest with
a clipboard in his hands. “Way to play defense, Jamie!” he shouted.

  Jamie knew that it didn’t matter what she did anymore; he would tell her it was wrong. With ten minutes left in the first half, she broke free on a two on one with Charlotte. She faked out the one defender, who fell down. Jamie fed the ball to Charlotte who scored the third goal of the game. Stowe looked to be on their way to another playoff routing.

  Beth Harding came into the game and ran up to Jamie. Jamie looked at her and Beth said, “I’m in for you.” Jamie looked over to the sidelines and saw Coach Detmer beckoning her off the field.

  Jamie couldn’t believe he was pulling her. She ran off the field to cheers from the crowd. She went over to him for an explanation.

  “Take a break, Jamie,” was all he said.

  Jamie went and got water and looked to her family in the stands. She saw someone had joined them and looked closer. Her brother Jason had come from Amherst to see the game! She forgot her problems and ran over to say hello.

  “Hey kiddo, nice job out there!” Jason picked Jamie up and swung her around in a hug.

  “What are you doing here?” Jamie was excited to see her brother.

  “Had to come see my little sister in the playoffs! You’re playing great; why’d he take you out?”

  “I don’t know. He has been an ass to me all season.” Jamie glared out at Coach Detmer, who saw her standing with her family. He did a double-take when he saw Jason.

  Jason looked at the coach, squinted, and asked, “Who’s your coach, anyway? He looks familiar.”

  “Jeff. Jeff Detmer. Why, you know him?”

  Jason froze and an expression of recognition came over his face. “Jeff Detmer? Did he go to Springfield?”

  “Yeah. He graduated last year and got hired at the school as a math teacher. He coaches, too. Do you know him?”

  “And you say he has been an ass to you?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Yeah, why?” asked John.

  “Remember Penny?” Jason said.

  “The girl you dated who stalked you when you broke up and wouldn’t leave you alone?” John asked.

  “That’s the one. She was engaged to that guy, Jeff, before she and I got together.”