Free Something True by Kieran Scott Page B

something?”
    “Shoot,” I said.
    “Why football?”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    Her shoulders rose. “Why play football? What made you pick that?”
    I took another bite of mac and cheese. “I dunno. I’ve been playing since I was six years old. It’s just something I’ve always done.”
    True looked at me strangely, like I’d said something she didn’t understand. Then she shook her head and sighed. “Okay, but why do you still play it now? What do you like about it?”
    “Um . . . I don’t know. I like the team vibe thing,” I said. “The competition . . . I think it’s cool, like, lining up right across from these guys. You get to look ’em in the eye and sort of try to psych them out. And then, once the ball is snapped, it’s about survival. Who’s stronger, who’s faster, who’s smarter. It’s very . . . primal, I guess.”
    True laughed, and the sound sent a warm flood over my stomach.
    “What?” I asked, blushing.
    “Nothing. Nothing. It’s nice.” True looked down at her food. She shoved her spoon into her yogurt and swirled it, like a tornado. “I mean it’s good. It’s good to have something in your life you really . . .”
    I swallowed, waiting for her to finish her sentence. True looked up at me, those clear blue eyes full of pain. And not just regular pain, but a lot of it. A lifetime of it, if I had to guess. I tried to look away, knowing Darla was probably watching us, knowing that staring into another girl’s eyes was in no way gonna fly. But I couldn’t. I literally could not look away.
    “Something you really what?” I said.
    “Something you love,” True said quietly.
    My heart banged against my rib cage. True picked up the plate with the muffin on it and passed it to me. “Here,” she said, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’m not going to eat it anyway.”
    “Um . . . okay.”
    I glanced down, and all of a sudden I was somewhere else. The plate was a different plate—ceramic with blue flowers—and the table under it was made of raw wood, not plastic. I saw True’s hand as she passed it to me, but it wasn’t her hand as it was now. It was softer, paler, whiter. And her nails were perfectly shaped and pink. But it was her hand. I knew it somehow. Then she looked up at me and smiled. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, and behind her, a fire crackled inside a stone fireplace.
    “What? What’s wrong?”
    Suddenly I slammed back into the now. It was like being sucked down a long straw and splatting up against a glass window at the end of it. At least, it was what I imagined that might feel like. My whole face radiated with pain, and my skin felt tight over every inch of my body.
    “Orion? Hey! Are you okay?” True snapped her fingers in front of my face. She’d already put the plate back down. The pain moved from my cheekbones into my skull and took root at the back of my brain, pulsating angrily.
    “Yeah. Yes. I’m fine.” Both my hands gripped the edge of the table, but I didn’t remember putting them there.
    “Good.” She looked concerned. “I thought I lost you for a second there.”
    “No. I’m okay.” My fingers shook as I released my hold. “I think I just had déjà vu or something.” I cleared my throat and reached for my soda. After a few quick gulps, the pain subsided. Not totally, but enough that I could focus. “That ever happen to you?”
    The look she gave me was both understanding and confused—somehow sad and somehow hopeful. She released a sigh and smiled.
    “It happens all the time.”

CHAPTER TEN
    Darla
    I didn’t even look at True Olympia as I strode into the auxiliary gym for the Boosters meeting on Tuesday after school. The room stank of stale sweat and dusty, forgotten equipment, but since it had been pouring buckets outside since sixth period, they couldn’t meet outside. Everyone was sitting in groups on the floor, making signs for the game that coming weekend. From the corner of my eye, I saw True glance at