Free For the Win (Playing for Keeps Book 1) by Amber Garza Page A

you have in here?”
    “Books. What else?” She took a step forward, dragging her maimed foot.
    “You know we have lockers for a reason, right?”
    Darkness fell like a curtain over her eyes, but she recovered quickly. “Oh, is that what they’re for? For our books? I’ll have to try that out sometime.”
    There was more to this, but I didn’t want to pry. It wasn’t my business. I was merely helping her to class. “Where are we headed?”
    “Mr. Humphrey’s.”
    “Ah, I’m sorry.” I nodded knowingly, and she chuckled. Mr. Humphrey was known for being a hard ass. Plus, he taught math, so it was bad on all counts.
    “He’s all right.” She shrugged. We neared the classroom. A few more students passed us, vanishing into the classrooms lining the walls. One of the girls bumped into London and she teetered on the balls of her feet. Reaching out my arm, I steadied her. She wore a sheepish expression. “The teachers I can handle.”
    I swiveled my head in the direction of the girl who bumped London. That’s when I recognized her as one of Calista’s friends. She flashed London a smug look before disappearing around the corner. Clearly the bump wasn’t an accident. It made me wonder if London’s locker aversion had anything to do with bullying, and that thought turned my stomach. It’s not that I didn’t know bullying took place. I guess it was something I didn’t think much about. My focus was always on my schoolwork and baseball. Everything else had become white noise.
    “Thanks for walking me to class.” London reached for her backpack, plucking it from my fingers. Then she flung it over her shoulder.
    “Hey,” I stopped her before she could turn around. “I read the article. It was really good.” I was surprised that she hadn’t mentioned my grandparents or Calista. She could’ve really smeared me or delved into my personal life, but she didn’t. She stuck to baseball and the facts like a real reporter, like a professional. Obviously she took writing seriously, the same way I took baseball. It seemed I was always finding similarities between the two of us.
    “Thanks.” She smiled. “I hope John likes it. I haven’t heard from him yet.”
    “I’m sure he will.”
    “If so, it will come out in next week’s edition.” The bell pealed, and her eyes widened. “Thanks again. I have to go.”
    While she slipped into Mr. Humphrey’s classroom, I hurried down the hallway toward my science class, cursing myself for spending so much time talking to London. I’d never been late to class before. What the hell had gotten into me today?
     
     
    “So what’s the deal with you and the newspaper chick?” Nate asked while we walked toward the bus carrying our team to the away game.
    “Nothing.” I shifted the bag on my shoulder.
    “Rumor is that you flaked on Calista to go to newspaper chick’s house,” Nate continued.
    My body went hot, and I glanced around to see if anyone else was listening in. Brandon and Alec were the closest to us, but they were too busy laughing at something on Alec’s phone. Who had told people about me being at London’s? The memory flickered of the dark haired girl from next door. She looked familiar. I was sure she went to school here. Had she told people? I had a feeling London would be as unhappy about this as I was.
    “Is it true, man?” Nate asked.
    We reached the bus and I climbed up the steps. “Yeah, but it’s not what you’re thinking. Trust me.”
    “Hey, it’s not me you’ve gotta convince.”
    As if on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Stomach sinking, I dug it out.
    Calista: Now I know what your big “emergency” was.
    Shaking my head, I shoved the phone back into my pocket. That was it. I’d been nice to Calista long enough. That chick had to go.
    “She’s pretty upset, dude,” Nate said.
    “I don’t care,” I said harshly, finding an empty seat and dropping into it. “It’s not like she’s my girlfriend. We hooked up