Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer (17 page)

“That is what Senora Queen Esther, she does,” Inez said in a quiet voice.

Mora put her hands over her ears. “If the king kills her, I don’t want to hear it.”

“He does, doesn’t he?” Lucy said to Inez. “The story can’t end that way!”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Mora said, pulling her hands from her head, “this isn’t Disney we’re studying.” She stuck her hands back over her ears. “Tell me when she’s done with the bad part.”

“I think we stop here for today,” Inez said.

“Abuela!” Mora wailed. “I hate it when you do that.” She pushed her chair away from the table. “Is there any more salsa?”

She went to the refrigerator, and Inez put her warm, brown hand on Lucy’s.

“Senora Queen Esther, she will help you.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know how.”

“You will,” Inez said. “You will.”

Lucy settled in that night to read to Marmalade — and Lolli, who joined them on the bed and pretended to be more interested in bathing than in goalkeeping. But Lucy couldn’t read more than a paragraph without crawling to the window to see if there was a signal from J.J. He hadn’t answered any of the signals she’d tried to send him.

“You know what?” she said to the kitties. “J.J.’s acting like Mortimer — no, Mordecai — whatever they call him.” Mora was right about the names. “Dusty says J.J.’s all moping and weird. I just wish he’d send over a messenger.”

She sighed. They used to use Januarie for that. It seemed like everything had changed. And she wanted it all back the way it was before — even some of the things they thought were so bad. This was much worse.

There was a tap on the door.

“Yes, I’m reading,” Lucy said.

Dad popped his head in. “I wasn’t checking up on you. I just knew you’d want to know that Aunt Karen called.” Even though they were sightless, his eyes could still sparkle.

Lucy stiffened. “She’s not back from her vacation, is she?”

Dad chuckled. “You still have another week, Luce. She actually sounded like she was having fun.”

“Uh-huh,” Lucy said. Aunt Karen’s idea of fun was having her nails done.

“I think this trip has been good for her.” He grinned. “And for us.”

Lucy loved Dad for saying that. He really was the best at understanding stuff. She sat up straighter. Why hadn’t she told him all about the soccer tangle? And about what they suspected about the soccer field?

“And Champ?”

“Yeah, Dad?” Lucy said.

“I’m still praying about our situation this fall.”

Oh. That was why she hadn’t told him. He had way bigger problems on his mind.

“And I know you’re still being your Lucy-best.”

“I’m on it,” Lucy said.

But she wasn’t sure she really was. Everybody thought she was Queen Esther all over again. Everybody but her.

J.J. didn’t talk to anybody before he climbed into Emanuel’s mom’s car Thursday morning. Januarie said she didn’t know why, and Lucy believed her. She wasn’t about to mess with Lucy right now.

When they arrived at camp, Lucy climbed over her to get out first and was headed straight for J.J. when a motor putt-putted up beside her under the cottonwood branches.

“Morning, Lucy,” Hawke said from his golf cart.

His sharp eyes smiled right along with his lips, but Lucy’s mouth still went dry.

“We need to have that talk,” he said. “I’ll find you for lunch.”

“Okay,” Lucy said.

Okay
. That was brilliant. If she’d been Rianna, she would probably have whipped out one of those little computers and set up a meeting place. As he drove away, she looked for J.J., but he was already gone.

There would still have been time to look for him, if she hadn’t seen something large and red coming toward her.

“What is
that?”
someone said behind her.

Lucy thought it might be Sarah, but she was too busy staring at the big thing to turn around. Somebody was carrying a red card that was bigger than she was. Only the expensive tennis shoes identified her.

As Rianna and the giant red card got closer, Lucy could read the letters painted on it in black: For Anybody Who Brings Soccer Down.

The card stopped a few feet from Lucy, and Rianna stuck her head out from behind it.

“Excuse me. I need to get by,” she said.

Sarah stepped aside, but Lucy was still staring.

“Hello — you’re in my way.”

“What’s this for?” Lucy said.

“Like it isn’t totally obvious.” Rianna gave an elaborate sigh and set the lower edge of the big card on the ground. “This goes to the next person who cheats or plays dirty or basically gives soccer a bad name.”

“Who’s giving it out?” Waverly had by now joined them and was frowning so hard Lucy could almost hear the lines carving between her eyebrows.

“I am,” Rianna said.

“Did you ask Hawke?”

“We’re going to be discussing it today at lunch. I eat with him every day — just me and him.”

Lucy smothered a smile. There was
another
lie. She hadn’t eaten with him the day before, like she said, because Hawke was out patrolling the tables and discovering the mustard incident. And he wasn’t eating with her today, because he’d invited Lucy to lunch. This girl was shameless.

“I didn’t even know anybody
else
was playing dirty,” Sarah said.

“Oh, they are,” Rianna said. “But I’m not going to give names.”

Because you don’t know any,
Lucy wanted to say as she headed toward their team’s bench.

“Why don’t you ask Rooney?” Rianna said.

Lucy stopped.

“Who’s Rooney?” Sarah said.

Rianna parted with one of her ugly laughs. “You are, like, the most clueless people on the planet.”

Sarah and Waverly looked at Lucy. They did appear clueless — as clueless as Lucy herself felt.

Coach Neely paired them off that morning to practice shielding, turning, and faking. Lucy felt a stab. That was the game she and J.J. had played the day of the storm, way back when soccer was still fun. But when Coach put Lucy with Rianna, Lucy was actually glad. There was something she needed to find out.

When they had their cones set up and were ready to try to score on each other, Lucy took off dribbling the ball. She let Rianna intercept it so she could get behind her. That made it easier to talk near her ear.

“What did you mean ‘ask Rooney?’ ” she said.

Rianna put out her arms to keep Lucy back, which wasn’t legal, but Lucy didn’t call her on it. “You know what I meant.”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”

Rianna tried to fake to the other direction, but Lucy didn’t fall for it. Still, she didn’t take the ball, but ran alongside her.

“You know the cheaters,” Rianna said, words coming out in puffs as she dribbled toward Lucy’s cones.

“I only know one cheater,” Lucy said.

“Huh.” Rianna stopped the ball, turned, and dribbled the other way. That was supposed to catch her by surprise, Lucy knew, but it was just what she’d wanted Rianna to do. At least until she found out what she needed to know.

“I haven’t heard about any other cheaters,” Lucy said at her heels.

“Then you aren’t talking to the right people.”

Rianna made another turn, stepping over the ball and using the inside of her foot to push it back, but this time, Lucy got in front of her, knees bent, legs apart, staying low with her arms out wide.

“Obstruction!” Rianna shouted.

“Containment!” Lucy shouted back, and made her dribble to the side.

“Foul!” Rianna screamed. “Foul!”

A whistle blew, and Coach Neely was on them, sunglasses on top of her head, a sure sign that she was getting annoyed.

“What’s going on?” she said.

“Rooney was obstructing me!” Rianna said, still yelling as if Coach Neely were on another field.

“Oh —
Lucy
is Rooney,” Sarah said to someone.

“It’s only obstruction if you’re trying to block your opponent,” Lucy shrugged. “I was going for the ball.”

“I wasn’t watching,” Coach Neely said. “But it’s just a drill, Rianna.”

Rianna turned on the coach, and for a split second, Lucy thought Rianna was going to smack her. She was sure some of the other girls gasped. Patricia was definitely muttering.

Then Rianna took a step back and slowly folded her arms. “I’m over it,” she said.

“Good. That’s what I like to see.” Coach Neely smiled at Rianna and blew her whistle. “All right, let’s change partners!”

But before Lucy could trot off to join Kayla, Rianna stepped in front of her — a clear case of obstruction.

“I know who’s going to get the big fat red card if they’re not careful,” Rianna said, as she jerked her head, splashing her ponytail against the side of her face. Lucy followed with her eyes — to her Los Suenos Dreams.

13

The minute Coach Neely called for the lunch break, Lucy ran straight toward the Los Suenos table. Hawke was going to find her, she knew, but she had to talk to J.J. first. And then she had to get to Hawke before Rianna did with her big red card. Her thoughts were jabbing at her like accusing fingers.

Why hadn’t she gone to Hawke in the first place like J.J. had told her to?

Why had she believed that Rianna going for the VIP award — however she could — wasn’t going to hurt anybody?

What was all this going to do to her chances at ODP? If she didn’t get all of this worked out, she wasn’t going to be able to dribble without tripping over herself from the stress.

Queen Esther had it easy compared to this.

Lucy was almost to the Dreams’ table when Januarie was suddenly beside her, with Mustard Girl in tow. She was mustard-less and smiling.

“See?” Januarie said. “We’re friends.”

“Good.” Lucy looked over their heads at the table, but she couldn’t see J.J.

“Yo-Yo knows stuff,” Januarie said.

“Who’s — oh.” Lucy nodded absently at the chubbier-than-Januarie child. “I bet you know a lot of stuff. I’ve got to go.”

“Stuff you want to know,” Januarie said.

Lucy tried to edge around them. “Right now all I want to know is where J.J. is.”

“He’s hiding.”

“Hiding?” Lucy forced herself to give Januarie her full attention. “What are you talking about? Who’s he hiding from?”

Januarie nudged Yo-Yo, who said, “My sister.”

Lucy was ready to chew through barbed wire to get away, but she looked down at Yo-Yo as she walked. “Your sister got kicked out, didn’t she?”

“Not my sister Lawanda — my sister Rianna.”

Lucy stopped. Januarie’s toe caught the back of her shoe and pulled it halfway off, but Lucy didn’t bother to fix it. Her eyes were glued to the moon-face that blinked back at her.

“Rianna is your sister?”

“I hate her,” Yo-Yo said. “She’s so mean to me. One time — ”

Lucy bent at the waist and grabbed her shoulders. “Why is J.J. hiding from her?”