Breakaway Read online

  “Okay, whatev,” Tabitha said, looking hurt.

  Between the G-4 run-in, select team announcement and Professor Soccer Coach, Lily had forgotten Tabitha’s invitation. “Tabitha, wait. I just need to check with my mom,” she said, trying to recover.

  “Call from your cell,” Tabitha suggested.

  “Uh, I left mine at home,” Lily lied. Vee gave her a look but didn’t say anything. Lily felt a funny pit in her stomach.

  “Oh, I do that all the time,” Tabitha said, handing her a sleek black iPhone. “Use mine.”

  “Awesome,” Lily said, grabbing the cell.

  “See ya, LJ,” Vee said, slinging her bag over a shoulder.

  “Bye!” Lily answered distractedly. She didn’t even look up. She was too busy pretending she had a clue how to make the phone work.

  chapter 5

  “It’s all set,” Lily said, handing back the iPhone. “My mom will pick me up at seven. I can’t stay for dinner, though. She’s got to go to L.A. in the morning.”

  “Cool!” Tabitha shrieked. “Is she in the biz?”

  The biz? Lily had no idea what Tabitha was talking about.

  “Uh, my mom is a bug expert.”

  “A what?”

  “An entomologist. A lepidopterist, actually. You know, someone who studies butterflies.”

  “What’s in Los Angeles? Celebrity bugs? I heard Zac Efron keeps crickets.”

  Oh, this is going to be a long afternoon, Lily thought. “She told me she has to go help arrest a Japanese butterfly smuggler at the airport.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow” was all Tabitha said. Lily wished for what felt like the thousandth time that she could just tell people, “My mom’s a nurse.” She thought her mom’s job was cool, but everything about her family seemed to require an explanation. She tried to think of a way to change the subject. Lily tied her shoes together and put on her backpack and headed for the gate.

  “Where ya going?” Tabitha said.

  “Uh, your house?”

  “Oh, man, I am way too tired to walk up the hill. Where’s Rini?” Tabitha looked around.

  “Who’s Rini?” Lily asked.

  “My mom’s driver. He’s usually around here somewhere.”

  “Your mom doesn’t know how to drive?”

  “She knows how to drive.” Tabitha laughed. “Drive me crazy, that is. Actually, Rini takes her places so she doesn’t have to find a parking place. She’s very busy.”

  A sleek black car pulled up. “Need a ride?”

  “Hey, Rini,” Tabitha said, opening the door. The tiny man driving the enormous car flashed a brilliant smile and the two girls piled in. His face lit up even more when Tabitha introduced Lily.

  “Oh, miss, you are quite a player,” Rini said. “Tabitha tells me all the time she wishes she could play like you.”

  “Really?” Lily asked, flattered and a little surprised. She was always under the impression soccer was an afterthought for Tabitha.

  “Rini!” Tabitha yelled.

  “Oh yes, you have quite a fan here,” Rini continued, smiling.

  Lily settled into the supple seat and thought maybe things were starting to look up. The drive up to the Hills took less than five minutes, but Lily was stunned at how different everything looked. The houses were more like small castles, with manicured lawns and elaborate gardens. Tabitha’s house had a long winding driveway and an imposing wooden door with some kind of scary gargoyle knocker.

  “Yeesh,” Lily said, ducking as they passed inside. “Where’d you get that guy?”

  “Oh, that’s just some antique something or other one of the decorators found,” Tabitha told her. “Gives me the creeps too. Makes me feel like my house is haunted.”

  A housekeeper named Marta was waiting with pizza snacks and soda when the girls arrived. Looking around the enormous and spotless kitchen, Lily imagined what her father would think. It was bigger than the kitchen at Katerina’s. One difference she noticed right away: there wasn’t any food to be seen. Every counter was bare. In her house, baskets overflowed with tomatoes and avocados, and battered spice racks hung permanently askew. Dried oregano flakes littered the floor like fall leaves and tickled Lily’s bare feet. Lily admired the metal and glass but wondered if anyone actually cooked in this place.

  “My father would kill for this kitchen,” Lily said.

  “My father would die if he stepped foot in this kitchen.”

  Both girls laughed.

  “Well, your mom must be a great cook, then,” Lily said.

  “My mom’s not too big on the whole food thing. I think she ate something, like, last fall.”

  An image of her mom scarfing down a big sloppy pizza flashed in Lily’s mind. She couldn’t imagine a mother who didn’t like food. “Oh, man,” Lily said, “she better stay out of our kitchen. Food is life in my house.”

  Lily suddenly realized she was starving and reached for another pizza snack.

  “Would you like some more?” Marta asked, noticing Lily’s appetite. “These are Tabby’s favorite.”

  “Tabby?” Lily repeated while nodding a hearty yes to more.

  “My kitten,” Marta said, giving Tabitha a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve been taking care of her and her brother since she was just a baby.” Marta was a sweet-looking stout lady with dark hair who radiated the same sort of personal sunshine that Rini had. Lily was surprised to see Tabitha wolfing down the snacks and smiling. Lily was beginning to realize that the Tabitha at home was different from the ditzy, non-eating, Queen Tabitha from school.

  “So, did you ask her?” Marta asked Tabitha.

  “Marta!” Tabitha looked upset.

  “Ask me what?” Lily wanted to know.

  “Nothing, nothing.”

  “Really, what was it?”

  “Come on, Tabby, ask her.”

  “Yeah, ask me.”

  Tabitha glared at Marta. “Want to see the game room?”

  “Sure,” Lily answered, confused. “That’s what you wanted to ask me?”

  Tabitha paused for a second and then added, “Yep, that was it.”

  chapter 6

  It was close to six when they headed downstairs to the basement. Lily’s eyes bulged out of her head when she saw how decked out the place was. There was a pool table. Also air hockey, an iPod docking station and two console chairs attached to the latest Wii technology. Every different kind of MP3 player and PSP was scattered on the massive coffee table. It was like living at Best Buy.

  “Wow,” Lily said, impressed. “All this stuff is yours?”

  “Well, my brother and my dad are into the games and stuff. I mostly watch TV or movies down here.”

  Lily was scared to touch anything. Lush leather recliners were set up in front of a giant movie screen. “What’s that smell?” she asked.

  “Popcorn machine. Why? You want some?”

  “No, thanks.” Lily kept exploring. She caught her own reflection from the mirrors off the back wall. She noticed there was a long wooden railing set up for dancing.

  “You do ballet?” Lily asked.

  “A little,” Tabitha said, walking quickly away and plopping down into a beanbag.

  Lily did a floppy pirouette in the mirror. She looked more like a spastic panda than a prima ballerina.

  “Let me try that again!” Lily said, lifting her arms above her head and giving her upper body a violent twist. She was in her socks from practice and immediately slipped to the floor in a comic pratfall. Tabitha grabbed her sides and gave a prolonged silent laugh. When she composed herself, she stood up and came over to the bar. “Here, let me show you.”

  Tabitha stood tall, pushed out her chest and executed a perfect pirouette that showed Lily she danced a lot more than “a little.”

  “You’re really good!” Lily said, amazed that klutzy old Tabitha could be so graceful. On the soccer field, she was all knees.

  “Hey, want to go kick around?�
�� Tabitha asked casually. “I have a goal set up out back!”

  “I’m really tired from all those drills and push-ups,” said Lily, who was never really too tired for soccer. She just didn’t want to leave this awesome game room.

  “Oh, man, I hate those drills,” Tabitha said.

  “Tabitha, do you even like playing soccer?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  “Well, sometimes you look kind of bored out there.”

  “Bored?” Tabitha thought for a minute. “No, I’m not bored.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I mean, if you tried a little harder and listened to Chris, you might get more playing time.”

  Tabitha shrugged. “I guess. But sometimes it’s better not to try too hard.”

  Lily couldn’t imagine not giving it her all. “How can you not try?”

  “Well, if you don’t really try, then you can’t really fail, right?”

  “I guess. I never thought about it like that.”

  Tabitha stood and looked in the mirror. She spoke aloud but seemed to be talking mostly to herself. “And if you don’t fail, then no one can be too disappointed.”

  Lily wasn’t sure how to respond, so she just counted freckles. Twenty-one. Five more. She looked over at Tabitha then and realized there might be a lot more going on in that blond head than she’d ever suspected.

  Lily was a little uncomfortable in the silence but jumped when a sudden commotion erupted upstairs. “What’s that?” she asked, concerned.

  Tabitha listened and then shook her head. “That’s just Mark, my brother.”

  “Wow, I thought my brother was loud.”

  “Oh, Mark and his friends think being loud is cool. And they’re all about being cool.”

  “What do your mom and dad say?”

  “Say? Nothing. Mark can do no wrong. He’s Mr. Untouchable.”

  The commotion migrated. Laughter and yelling came down the stairs in a thunderous gallop. Mark was first, followed by his two friends, all eighth graders Lily recognized from school. Mark glared at his sister as he took his throne in front of the Wii.

  “Get out,” he said immediately to Tabitha, then hit play. Grand Theft Auto blasted from what seemed like forty surround sound speakers.

  “We were here first!” Tabitha shot back.

  “We?” Mark pressed pause and spied Lily for the first time. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Lily.”

  “Lily. Lily who?” Mark asked. He had a sneering grin that gave Lily the creeps.

  “Lily James.”

  Mark looked unimpressed and turned back to the massive flat screen. The game resumed with blasts of gunfire and screaming.

  “Lily James?” another voice boomed from behind.

  Lily turned as someone else came down the stairs. She caught his eyes for just a second and immediately froze.

  It was Griff. G-4. He looked at Lily, then back to Mark.

  “What’s she doing here?”

  Everything went silent as Mark hit mute and his perpetual look of coolness flashed an instant of surprise.

  “You know her?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I know her,” Griff answered in a grunt that clearly said he wished he didn’t. He sauntered over to the second butterscotch-colored leather recliner and pressed resume. Lily thought she saw him rubbing his wrist. Screaming, shouting and mayhem from the TV screen filled the room. Mark looked amused. Lily wanted to run up the stairs.

  He asked his sister, “What is she doing here?”

  “She’s on my soccer team.”

  Griff stayed focused on trying to spirit a virtual mafia boss to safety. Bombs exploded as he aimed his controller. Lily prayed they would stay interested in the game. No luck. Another of Mark’s friends recognized her.

  “Wait,” Colin said. “I know who she is too. She’s the one who made the goal at the game yesterday. They announced it in assembly ...”

  Mark shrugged, clearly unimpressed.

  Griff interrupted. “Try, she’s the one who broke the sign at my dad’s sports bar.”

  Mark nodded and gave Lily an approving look. “Now, that is impressive,” he said.

  Lily still hadn’t moved or said a word. She was unable to speak. Her faced felt flushed and her palms had started to sweat. She wanted to defend herself, but for some reason, being in this room with these kids had rendered her mute. It was the complete opposite of how she felt on the field, where she was strong and confident. Now, being sized up by Mark, Griff and his friends, she felt two inches tall.

  “I didn’t break the sign” was all she managed to answer in a lame voice.

  “Well, how did it break, then?” Griff answered.

  Lily had no idea what he was talking about. When she last saw the sign, it was in perfect shape. Wobbling, but certainly intact.

  “It didn’t fall! And the ball never even touched you.”

  Griff shrugged. “Your dad will be getting the bill.”

  Griff turned back to the big screen, but Mark paused the game again.

  “Wait a second. This girl kicked a ball at you?”

  Mark’s question got the attention of all the boys in the room, and Griff looked like he would rather rat on a mob boss than answer the question.

  “No, man. She never touched me. Just forget it.” Griff threw down the controller and headed up the stairs. “I’m outta here.”

  Mark laughed and followed G-4, stopping directly in front of Lily. Lily felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out. Her chest tightened, and she couldn’t seem to get any oxygen in her lungs. It had seemed so cool to come and hang out with Tabitha at her fancy house. But maybe coming here was just a bad idea.

  “Lily James, eh?” Mark repeated her name. “I’m keeping an eye on you.”

  chapter 7

  “So I still don’t get it. What’s that supposed to mean, ‘I’m keeping an eye on you’?” Vee asked, tossing a weathered rainbow hacky sack high into the air.

  “No idea,” Lily answered.

  “And that was Queenie’s brother?”

  “Yeah, Mark,” Lily answered. “Some kind of Malfoy wannabe.”

  Vee laughed and started bouncing the leather beanbag off Lily’s bedroom wall. She was lying on her back on Lily’s bed as autumn rain trickled down the windowpanes. It was the kind of dreary storm that kept the day dark and damp with just enough chill to make Chris cancel their Friday pre-game practice.

  “What I’m worried about is my dad,” Lily said as she laid out her uniform. “If he finds out, I’m hamburger.”

  “Hamburger?” Vee asked, catching the tiny leather beanbag.

  “Hamburger,” Lily said. “As in dead meat.”

  Vee chuckled and kept on throwing the hacky sack. “Maybe you should just tell your parents what happened.”

  “Are you kidding? They already think I need anger management. I’m going to just have to keep my fingers crossed that G-4 was bluffing.” Lily knew already he wasn’t bluffing about the sign being down. She’d checked the very next day, and sure enough, it was gone. But so far, no bill of any kind had arrived and no one had said anything else to her about it.

  “I can’t believe he was at Tabitha’s house,” Vee said.

  “Me either. He walked right into the game room like he owned the place.”

  “Game room?” Vee caught the ball again.

  “I told you, this place was so totally tricked out. It had everything: pool table, video games, dance floor ... you should see it.”

  “Like that would ever happen,” Vee said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, like the queen of Brookville would ever have a Lakewood loser like me over to her house.”

  “Don’t say that, Vee. She might.”

  “Yeah, right. So does Miss Thing shake her stuff down there?”

  Lily walked over to the window and looked at the gloomy sky. She was dying to tell Vee all about the ballet bar and Tabitha’s beautiful dancing, but
she heard that tone again and hesitated. Tabitha had admitted to Lily she didn’t really want to dance at all anymore. Her parents had started her when she was three, and she was sick of the never-ending lessons in her basement. When she told her parents she wanted to try something new, her father initially said no. “Team sports are for boys,” he’d told her. The only way Tabitha was even allowed to play soccer was to promise her dad she’d stick with ballet.

  Lily looked over at Vee and decided to change the subject. “This rain better stop soon,” she said.

  “I like playing in the rain,” Vee said. “Mucho mud equals mucho sliding.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Lily said. “But not against Castle Creek. They’re too fast and too good. Anything can happen in the rain.”

  “Are you going to have to play goalie?” Vee asked.

  “Me? No way. I’m a striker. Plus, this game is too important to me.”

  “Important to you?” Vee asked. “We’re all playing last time I checked.”

  “Select team coach mean anything to you?”

  “Uh, actually, no,” Vee answered. “Who is this guy?”

  “Aaron Dunkin. He’s not only the select coach for our state, but also for the whole Northeast.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Lily sighed. “It means that if I play well, I could get picked for the state tryouts. If I make the state team, I could one day make the Olympic team or play in the World Cup.” Lily pointed to the autographed poster of the U.S. National Team hanging over her bed.

  “Don’t you have to be older?” Vee asked.

  “No. If you don’t start now, you might never get noticed,” Lily said. “This is a huge opportunity for me, Vee. My dream come true.”

  “But I thought Chris said he wasn’t coming to see anyone in particular.”

  Lily gave her a look that said otherwise.

  “He did? Is the coach coming to see you?”

  “Yup.” Lily nodded smugly.

  “Wow! LJ, that’s great! You’ll make it for sure.” Lily smiled and laid out her socks, shin guards, shorts and cleats. She even went into her secret stash of brand-new ponytail holders. She beamed with satisfaction when she was finished. Everything was just perfect.