The Good Wolves

Chapter 9

Having only 10 minutes to get ready for the game until Sophie picked me up, I traded in my sweatshirt for a lacy gray tank top and a leather jacket. I had just enough time to straighten my hair before Sophie honked outside. I stuffed both a knife and a gun into my purse, and headed out the door.

"Hey," I slid into the small black car.

"You excited?" She asked. "This game is supposed to be huge. Southern is, like, our biggest enemy."

"Yeah, but I don't know much about basketball."

"Me neither, and I've been to all the games. All you need to know is that they shoot it into the goal and get points."

"I knew that much," I laughed.

"Well, that's pretty much all I know."

When Sophie and I arrived at the school, the parking lot was more crowded than it was on an average school day. We had trouble finding an open space, and ended up having to park on the street.

"It's cold," I said as I got out of the car.

"It'll be 100 degrees in the gym," Sophie started walking off.

I followed her to the gymnasium, which was stuffed full of people. Amelia saved seats in the front row.

"Finally," Amelia said as we took our seats.

"I had to do my hair," Sophie said.

I looked around for Dominic, who had said he was coming. I spotted him in the last row, sitting next to Mim. They were arguing about something. Dominic caught my eye and smiled. I smiled back, and he returned to his argument.

The crowd erupted into cheer, and everyone began to stand up. I followed their lead and clapped as the basketball team came out. The starters were announced, and two of them were Calvin Beauregard and Luke King.

I looked behind me again to see Dominic, but everyone was standing and I couldn't see over them. By the time I turned back, they were ready for the tip off.

The ball was put into Calvin's hands, who ran down to the basket and dunked the ball. The crowd went wild, and Amelia began screaming.

I looked back again, just in time to see Dominic and Mim leaving.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I yelled to Sophie over the commotion.

"Okay," she screamed back.

I walked up the stairs, and started to follow the path I had seen the the Holtz siblings go down. I opened the door to the foyer, and the noises from the basketball court immediately quieted. Surrounded by silence, I followed the sound of Dominic's faint voice. When I came into listening distance, I hid behind the wall.

"How are you still suspicious?" Dominic asked angrily. "We tested it, remember?"

"Maybe she's just bad at it," Mim said.

"Miriam," Dominic warned.

"I told you not to call me that," Mim hissed.

"I'm serious. Don't-" Dominic stopped.

"What?" Mim asked, annoyed.

"I think there's someone here," Dominic whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

My heart skipped about three beats, and I forced my feet to move. I ran back into the gym, into my spot next to Sophie.

"That was fast," Sophie said loudly.

I nodded and turned my attention back to the game. My heart was beating out of my chest.

I watched as Luke scored a three pointer, tying the game.

"Go Luke!" Sophie screamed.

I looked back at Dominic and Mim, who were reentering the game. The sound of a thud followed by booing alerted me to the court. Luke was on the ground.

"What happened?" I asked Sophie. The gym was quiet as the student section anticipated Luke's recovery.

"Someone knocked into him. He'll be fine," Sophie sighed.

Calvin pulled Luke onto his feet and everyone clapped as Luke took a seat on the bench.

"That sounded really bad," I said, and Sophie shrugged.

The close game continued on. It was like a game of tag. We'd score, and the other team would score right back.

The coach yelled something to Calvin, who nodded excitedly. Anthony, a boy from my French class, threw the ball to Calvin, who cut to the net. Calvin leaped into the air, and slammed the ball into the goal. The crowd cheered, but I sat down. I suddenly felt like throwing up again.

When Calvin dunked, his eyes turned yellow.