Page 16 of Enemy Games

Her eyes narrowed. “I knew a few guys like that growing up, but they gave up by the time we were nine or ten.”

I sighed. “I wished he did. You would think after seeing me play for over five years, he would accept the fact that I wasn’t going to stop playing.”

As much as I wanted to tell her, and myself, that I grew as a person and a player because of his words—that they pushed me to try harder and prove him and his friends wrong—that wasn’t the case.

I didn’t quit, but I doubted myself more than anyone should. I had horrible self-esteem, which only made it harder for me to open up to people. But I continued to play because I loved the sport more than I disliked the teasing and taunting.

Fortunately, I had coaches who saw potential and trained me to become the best player I could be. It was because of them that I continued even when my last girl teammate quit when we were thirteen. She said it was embarrassing to play a boy sport, and guys wouldn’t want to date us if we kept playing.

At thirteen, she cared more about dating than her passion.

I could have caved then. Most people would have understood if I didn’t want to play anymore since I was the only girl left, but I refused. The next year my coach had me try out for the only traveling girls’ team in the state, and I made it.

“It got better once Hunter made it onto traveling teams. I didn’t see him much after that until high school.”

Her eyes widened. “Please don’t tell me he went to your school.”

“Luckily, no. He went to my rival school, and he dated a few of my friends, but I made sure to keep my distance.”

It actually stung that he didn’t seem to remember me. I shouldn’t let it get under my skin, but wasn’t I supposed to come out on top in the end? Show my bully how well I was doing? Prove he hadn’t won?

“We’re going to have to find a way to remind him who you are and rub it in his face that you’re now playing for the same school. Show him he was wrong about you and girl players in general.”

I agreed but doubted it would impact him at all. Guys like that didn’t care. They didn’t look back at their past with regrets. He probably didn’t even remember saying those awful things to impressionable little girls who looked up to him and his friends.

The memory of him and his friends had faded over the years, especially the last four years. Seeing him again was enough to bring back all his cruel words.

“Ladies!” Karly’s voice sounded from downstairs. She had the wonderful habit of screaming for us from the living room or kitchen rather than sending out a text or coming up to tell us directly. It was annoying, but I was probably one of the few that felt that way.

My parents ignored me if I tried to yell from another room. If I had something to say, I had to go to them. Obviously, that wasn’t a rule Karly had to obey.

“Do you feel like a dog when she does that?” Chris asked as we left our room.

I chuckled. “Yes, actually.”

She rolled her eyes, and we joined the rest of the girls heading down to meet her. Karly stood at the base of the stairs with a wide smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Good news. We have a team-building opportunity coming up.” There were a few groans, but she ignored them. “I’m sure most of you recall the requirement listed in our student athlete contracts about participating in a service project once a semester.”

She scanned our faces, but I was pretty confident I wasn’t the only one that didn’t recall that bit of information.

“Benjamin, the men’s captain, stopped by to explain to me the options we have.”

“Why did he come?” Trista asked.

Karly’s eyes brightened. “Because Coach Weston met with Coach Jarry, and they agreed we should volunteer together!”

I felt for her. I really did. I couldn’t imagine the pressure she was under to keep our new team together. She was just as new to this as we were, but she was the one that was supposed to be an example, and stay positive.

“I have the four options here, so email me with your top two preferences, and I’ll sort everyone out so the groups are even.” She looked down at her phone. “Volunteering at a senior center or an animal shelter, teaching skating lessons to kids, and cleaning up a city park. Alright, send me your top two as soon as possible, and I’ll let you guys know by tonight which group you're in.”

No one moved for a moment.

“Is that all?” Ellie called.

Karly nodded and waved us off. “Yeah. Thanks, you guys.”

I followed Chris back to our room and grabbed my phone to text Karly before I forgot.