Free Game Changers by Mike Lupica Page B

already called “last play” a couple of times, wanting Shawn to end with a good throw, like they were shooting hoops and Ben wanted to make sure Shawn made his last shot.
    But Shawn had underthrown Ben on one pass, then threw the next one wide and outside.
    â€œOkay,” Ben said. “ Last last one, and this time I mean it.”
    â€œGood,” his dad said. “Because now I can’t even run straight ahead.”
    Finally Shawn delivered the goods. It looked like Ben’s dad was on him, but then Shawn pump-faked, got Ben’s dad to go flying past him, scrambled to his right, motioning with his left hand for Ben to go deep, planting and throwing and delivering a perfect strike at least thirty yards down McBain Field.
    Money.
    Money, money, money , Ben thought.
    Ben reacted as if they’d gotten a do-over on the end of the Midvale game, sprinting back and jumping in the air and giving Shawn a flying chest bump, nearly falling down in the process.
    â€œOkay,” Ben said, “now that sucker we can quit on.”
    Ben’s dad said, “Throw like that against Hewitt on Saturday and we’ll be just fine.”
    â€œI’ll try,” Shawn said.
    â€œSee, that’s the thing,” Ben said. “ Don’t try. Just let it happen.”
    Shawn smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll try that .”
    â€œYou’ll be fine,” Ben’s dad said to him. “And now I am going to go across the street and spend the next several years in a hot bath.”
    Just Ben and Shawn on the field now. Shawn reached out with his fist and Ben tapped it. He didn’t know if this was realor not, if this was the real Shawn, the way he wasn’t sure if the Shawn he’d been with at the O’Briens’ field was real.
    But he’d go with this one for now. And found himself wishing that Sam and Coop had stuck around.
    â€œThanks,” Shawn said.
    â€œWhat friends are for,” Ben said.
    Shawn got on his bike and left. When he was out of sight down the street, Lily Wyatt stepped out from behind the maple tree and said, “Hey, you.”
    â€œHey, yourself,” Ben said, surprised to see her. “How long have you been here?”
    â€œLong enough.”
    â€œYou’ve been spying?”
    â€œObserving,” she said. “ Huge difference.”
    She raised an eyebrow on him, the way she did sometimes, knowing she was good at it. When Ben tried to practice the same look in a mirror, he just looked confused.
    â€œWhat?” he said.
    â€œNothing,” Lily said.
    â€œYou’re giving me a look.”
    â€œWhat look?”
    â€œYou know what look.”
    â€œI have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lily Wyatt said. “But I will make one observation, off my observing.”
    Ben waited.
    Lily said, “Nobody gets that happy in a pretend game.”
    â€œThe guy made a great throw.”
    â€œEven I could see that,” Lily said. “But you acted as if yournew friend had just won the championship of the entire universe.”
    â€œWell, maybe we did get a little too excited,” Ben said. “We’re just trying to prop him up on account of the way yesterday’s game ended.”
    He saw her staring at him now. Giving Ben what he thought of as her “big eyes.” When she did that, Ben usually found himself wanting to hide his own thoughts.
    â€œAnything you’re not telling me?” Lily said.

Ben and Shawn were able to work out a couple of more times at McBain, after school on Tuesday and Friday. Just the two of them. Both times Ben asked Sam and Coop to join them.
    Both times Sam and Coop said no.
    Ben asked them why they were so dug in on Shawn, and Coop said, “I don’t have to know who I don’t want to know.”
    â€œBut you really don’t know him.”
    â€œWell, then, problem solved,” Coop said.
    â€œWhat about you?” Ben said to