Free Love Match by Monica Seles Page B

about me. I’m just in the background of the picture. My name isn’t even mentioned.”
    â€œThen what …” A feeling of dread crept over Maya as she recalled those flashing cameras from the night before. She’d been so naïve to wave at them thinking the photographers were on the prowl for a real celebrity. “Please tell me it’s an article about a hot new soccer stud from Rio.”
    â€œOh, no,” Cleo said. “This one is about American sports royalty: the football prince and his new lady love.”
    Maya didn’t want to see the article, but she had to find out what people were writing about her. Homework was forgotten for the moment, and probably for the rest of the day. She reluctantly took the four long, difficult steps across the room to look at the screen of Cleo’s computer.
    A big picture of Maya and Travis walking arm in arm out of 360 was at the top of the page. Cleo and Renee were in the background. What looked to be Diego’s arm made it into the picture as well. There was no doubt who the stars of the article were by the way the camera was angled for maximum couple-itude. And if there was any doubt, the article below it dashed that right away, beginning with the headline:
    FOOTBALL PRINCE WITH TENNIS PAUPER.
    Ouch
.
    The entire article seemed to be created solely around the photo. The writer managed to find a surprising amount of information about Maya, particularly that she was a scholarship student at the Academy. It made a lot of assumptions from that fact alone, building a
Romeo and Juliet
type of story about two teens from different worlds. Maya’s family had always struggled with money, but she never thought of herself as
poor
. But calling her lower middle class didn’t get page views, apparently.
    â€œThat’s so dumb,” Maya said. “Romeo and Juliet were both rich.”
    â€œSo not the point, Maya,” Cleo said. “You’ve gone mainstream media. I wouldn’t be surprised if more agents started jumping out from behind bushes to offer you representation on the way to class.”
    Cleo’s wild imagination aside, Maya knew that she should be excited. This was part of what she’d been dreaming of for years. Success and fame went hand in hand. It just felt cheaper since she hadn’t even had any real success yet.
    None of that really bothered her. This was the second time the Wall linked her with a Reed brother she wasn’t currently dating. She didn’t like that people she’d never met were investing page space in stories putting them together. She was especially bothered to see that complete strangers were already commenting on it beneath the article.
    But she was particularly concerned about Jake.
    â€¦
    The morning turned out to be an exact replica of the first time Maya appeared on the Wall. Total strangers smiled at her and waved hello as she made her way across campus. More people congratulated her about the article than had about the Open. It was as if being on the Wall was somehow a better accomplishment than a good game at a midlevel tournament. That said a lot about priorities at the Academy.
    It was all a little much for Maya to deal with. She was glad that she had a practice match scheduled on the court. There was no better way to clear her head than by smashing that small rubber ball at an opponent on the other side of the net.
    It was her first real practice since the tournament and Maya was on fire. Her legs were fully functional once again—no pain, no strain—and nothing got past her. Not a slice. Not a lob. Nothing.
    Maya was all over the court. If the ball dropped short of the net, Maya was there. A high, overhead shot? No problem. Every single time, she slammed it back with force. Her mind was clear of everything but the ball.
    Maya’s sparring partner, Lindsey Jacobs, hopped the net and was standing in front of Maya before she even realized the match was