her head. “No. I’m just … so bored. It’s like nothing gets my heart racing anymore. I think I just needed a win.”
Phoebe made Ali promise not to tell anyone about it and thanked Ali for saving her. Ali was hoping she’d stay and hang out, but Phoebe took a shower and headed home. She had a PT appointment.
After she left, Ali had a weird feeling like she should call Mel and tell her what had happened. Not everything, but something like “Have you talked to Phoebe lately? Maybe you should check in on her.”
But she hadn’t. It’s something Ali deeply regrets right now.
She puts her hand on Mel’s shoulder and gently suggests, “Maybe we should go back to your house and wait for Phoebe there. The rest of the girls are looking tired. And it’s getting late.” Mel turns toward her, eyes wide and blinking, and Ali’s not even sure if Mel heard her. But instead of repeating herself, she feels the urge to say something reassuring to Mel. The best she can come up with is “At least Phoebe’s not alone. She’s got the bulldog to keep her company.”
“Is Phoebe okay?” Kearson asks. She looks anxious.
“She’s fine,” Mel says automatically.
Ali wants to believe her. Mel knows Phoebe best. But, glancing over to their field, Ali can’t help thinking of their last team practice before the championship game.
“Holy shit, is that Phoebe?” Rose said in an astonished whisper. Even though Ali was halfway finished with Rose’s French braid, she pulled free and the whole thing unraveled as she began to jump up and down, waving with both her hands.
One thing Ali already knew was that once Phoebe got it in her head to do something, it was nearly impossible to talk her out of it. Like when they were at last year’s Thanksgiving showcase in Florida, and she decided to wear her face goggles out to dinner. Or when, at Kissawa the previous summer, she went skinny-dipping in the lake all by herself, because the rest of them chickened out.
So when Ali turned and saw that, indeed, Phoebe was walking toward their field, dressed in her practice gear and carrying her stick, she should have just smiled and shaken her head, tried to push down the worry in her chest.
“Please, please, please, God, tell me that you’re cleared to play for the championship game,” Rose said, falling to her knees.
Phoebe placed her hand on Rose’s forehead. “Your prayers have been answered, my child.”
Rose jumped up. “It’s a miracle! Hallelujah!”
Ali said, “Weren’t you on crutches, like, this morning?”
“Umm, yes. I’m never giving my crutches up. When you’ve got crutches, teachers let you leave class with a buddy ten minutes before everyone else to avoid all the hallway traffic. It’s a pretty sweet perk.” Phoebe flopped down on the bench and stretched her arms and legs out like a star. “Anyway, don’t worry, I’m not going to do everything today. My plan is to take it easy until the big game.”
“But are you sure doing anything is a good idea?” Ali glanced down the sideline at Mel for backup, but she was focused on taping up her stick blade, either not listening or not getting involved.
“I appreciate you looking out for me, Ali. But I talked it over with Coach and—”
“What about your doctor, though?” Ali sat down next to Phoebe. “Because when my dad sprained his ACL, it was a full month before—”
“Coach said—”
“Well, it’s not like Coach can see your X-rays—”
“Ali! Let me finish, for fuck’s sake!”
Ali put her hands to her cheeks. They felt hot. “Sorry. ”
“Don’t be sorry. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Can I finish now?”
“Yes.”
“Coach said he trusts me to know what’s right for my body. If my knee starts to bug me, I’ll sit down and he can sub Kearson in. But right now I’m feeling really strong.” To prove it, Phoebe stood up, held her field hockey stick out in front of her, horizontal like a tabletop, and started doing high knee lifts.
“Okay, okay,” Ali said.
Rose wrapped Phoebe in a hug. “Well, this is the best news ever! Kearson was seriously killing us out there.” After letting go, she passed back her hair tie and asked Phoebe to braid her hair for her instead of Ali. “Don’t worry. She’s still in the locker room.”
“Poor thing. She wasn’t ready,” Mel said, finally entering the conversation.
“Big shoes,” Phoebe said with a grin.
Ali looks back over from the field and finds that Mel is addressing the