✅ My Sister's Problem

33. Two Sides

Author's note: I'm not too satisfied with this chapter, but having set up this question I feel like I have to address it. Maybe I'll come back later and improve this part. I'm writing chapter 38 now, and am pretty sure I'm past the halfway point; so this story won't go on forever. I hope you're enjoying it so far!

We were back on the school field for my first practice today. I went over to my friends, who were already discussing teams, while Harper vanished to park up her bike and get her skates on. I wondered if I should have asked her about Lindy's new drugs on the way here, but we'd been rushing a little because I was late out of the house. It would be better chatting later, I was sure.

"Glad to see you could join us," Nadine said, and I wondered if I could detect a little bitterness in her voice. "Not playing basketball today?"

"N...no?" I answered, surprised and not sure how I was supposed to respond to that. "I mean, yes, but that's later. Between this and quads. I bet I'll be exhausted. Sorry I missed last time. Was that a problem for you all?"

"No, it's fine. It's just..." she trailed off, like there was something else she wanted to say, but she knew I wouldn't like it. "Anyway, you guys won't have the energy to do anything else after you've been working out on the court so much," she smirked, and my eyes widened. I remembered when she'd been theoretically learning to play basketball, but making very little progress. She'd spent hours leaning against our mailbox while waiting for Hugo to come out, and they would head down to the park to 'practice', she said with a knowing wink. I'd never known how much time they actually spent bouncing a ball around, and how much was spent on other things. Just that her overprotective mother would never have tolerated her actually dating a boy at that age. It had been an open secret, and the subject of many jokes at school. Did she assume that I was doing the same now?

"It's not like that," I started to say, but she was already dashing away to see what our captain had in mind for today's practice.

We ended up playing a game between two halves of the team. Harper stood in as the referee this time, nominating two of us as captains. There were enough of us, if we didn't have any substitutes, and she'd always said that we should all have a good grasp of strategy. I was surprised that she picked Nadine as one of the team captains, given that she was the only serious rival for the full-time position. Nadine had been bitter for a few days when someone who treated inline hockey as a second choice sport was selected over her; but any animosity must be in the past by now. I was just as surprised when I was put in charge of the other team. Playing against my best friend, I was sure it would be a challenge.

The game started off pretty slowly; we both chose to start playing defensively, and we finished the first period with no score. I discussed strategy with Maggie and Jules, and we came up with something that might surprise the other side. We barely had any substitutes because we'd split the team, so we needed to make the most of this brief opportunity to rest. But I could never just sit down, so I coasted in lazy circles around the edge of the rink.

"You going to make it more exciting this time?" Nadine taunted, and I had a perfect riposte lined up until she continued: "You'll not impress your boyfriend if you're playing like that later."

"I... what? I haven't got a boyfriend, I'm just learning a sport."

"Yeah, you just keep–" but the rest of her words were drowned out by the referee's whistle as Harper called for us to resume play. I turned to ask Nadine what she was talking about, but she was already heading back to her own position, all business. I felt that I must have offended my best friend somehow, but I had no idea what I had said or done. Was she still not over Hugo? I knew their breakup had been rough, but it was about the only thing she had never wanted to talk about.