Free Katie Starting from Scratch by Coco Simon

coach. Maybe she just had an unfair advantage.
    But then, a few minutes later, Chris tossed a pass to Eddie, and even though he’s twice as tall as Emily, she jumped up and caught it before he could. Then she quickly made another shot. Thisone hit the backboard and went right into the net.
    â€œGo, Emily! You’re on fire!” George yelled.
    After that, George and Sophie started passing the ball to Emily a lot. I didn’t even get a chance to make another basket, but that was probably because I’d stopped trying. I was moping around the court, keeping my arms folded across my chest most of the time. Everyone else was laughing and having fun, but I’d shut off that part of my brain.
    All I could think was, Why does Emily have to be great at basketball, too? And why does George have to think she’s so great?
    When the game was over, our team won. George high-fived Emily again. “You should go pro! You are the team MVP!”
    Emily looked really happy, but I was feeling the exact opposite. That’s when I had my second freak-out of the day—well, sort of. While everyone was talking and laughing, I walked off and sat under a tree by myself.
    Maybe I am becoming a drama queen, I thought, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t control how I was feeling.
    George came over and sat down next to me. “Why so sad? We won!”
    â€œYeah, thanks to Emily,” I muttered, poking a twig into the dirt.
    â€œShe’s pretty awesome,” he said. “I guess it’s lucky that Mr. Green’s daughter didn’t turn out to be a jerk, right?”
    â€œIt’s worse!” I blurted out. “She’s perfect! Everyone thinks so. My mom. Everyone in the Cupcake Club. Even you.” I felt kind of silly saying that out loud, but it felt good to get it out, too.
    â€œNobody’s perfect,” George said.
    â€œEmily is,” I said. “She’s good at art, which is why Mia likes her. And she’s a way better basketball player than I am.”
    â€œEveryone’s a better basketball player than you are,” George teased, and I gave him a light punch in the arm.
    â€œGee, thanks,” I said, moping.
    â€œDo you really think I care about who’s a good basketball player?” George asked. “I was being extra nice to her because she’s, like, your little sister now or something. That’s what you do with your friends’ brothers and sisters. Like that day my little brothers came with us to the park. You pushed them on the swings and everything. That was nice.”
    George was making a lot of sense. I always made sure to be nice to his little twin brothers. (Especially since I accidentally insulted them the first time I met them, but that’s another story.) And I wasalways extra nice to Emma’s little brother, Jake, even when he was kind of annoying. I did it because I loved Emma. And he was pretty cute, too.
    â€œThat’s probably what your friends are doing with Emily,” George pointed out. “Maybe even your mom, too. She wants to be nice to Emily because she’s in love with Mr. Green. Or should I say . . . Jeffie !” He spoke in a high-pitched squeal, imitating, I guessed, what he imagined a girl in love would sound like.
    â€œEw! They are not in love!” I yelled, but I knew that might be a lie. They were spending an awful lot of time together, and Mom always looked superhappy around him. George paused for a moment, as if he were choosing his next words very carefully. And when he looked at me again, he looked at me shyly, then he looked down.
    â€œAnd, anyway, you are so awesome in so many ways,” he said, looking at the ground. “It would be very hard for Emily to be more awesome than you. In my opinion, anyway.”
    I knew I was blushing. It was nice to get a compliment from George. Plus, he had given me something to think about.
    â€œThanks,” I said. “I,