Page 5 of The Last Five Yards

Her mom leans against the counter, thoughtful. “Well, that is…an energetic pairing?”

“Yes,” Maren mumbles around her bite of carrot.

“Well,” her mom says, “Maybe Coach thinks you will work well together. You know you are the structure, she can be the sparkle.”

Maren lifts her head, horrified. “Please don’t call it sparkle.”

Her mom laughs. “Ok. Sparkle with an edge.”

“Mom.”

“Fine. Controlled Chaos,” she offers. “Better?”

“Not really.”

Her mom taps the spoon against the counter. “Look. You are steady. Reese is… enthusiastic.”

“That’s one word for it,” Maren mutters.

Her mom grins. “She is like a glitter bomb someone opened indoors.”

Maren’s eyes widen. “Mom, you’re making it worse.”

“But accurate,” her mom says. “You, on the other hand, are the vacuum that saves the day.”

Maren squints, trying to follow her mom’s logic. “So I’m a vacuum now?”

“A very reliable vacuum,” her mom says, lifting the spoon like this is a declared fact. “Top of the line. Never loses suction.”

“MOM!”

“What? I am complimenting you. I am just saying you are very reliable.”

Maren scrubs her hands over her face, but she is fighting a smile now. The tightness in her chest loosens, just a smidge.

This time, Maren doesn’t argue. She just stares blankly, the kitchen finally feeling like solid ground.

Her mom lowers the spoon. The humor eases into something steadier. “I am saying you do you. You will lead in the way that Maren leads, and Reese will do it in her own way. And maybe the team will get the best of both of you.

The house feels quieter than the locker room by a mile right now. She takes refuge in the quiet.

Her mom pushes the cutting board with the carrots towards her. “Come help with dinner. If you stop eating the carrots, I will let you chop them. Even angrily, if it helps.”

“It might,” Maren admits.

“Great. Aim away from your fingers. I don’t need an ER visit tonight.”

Maren picks up a knife, the familiar rhythm already settling her pulse. Her mom bumps her shoulder again, gentle and sure. “Co-captain or not, you will be fine.”

Maren is not convinced just yet, but it no longer feels impossible.

3

Lane Lines & Boundaries

The horizon has not cracked yet when Maren pulls into the parking lot, Blister in the Sun spilling from her half-blown speakers. She slides into her usual spot right beside Coach Hensley’s Jeep, her spot, and steps out into the cool air. Catching the edge of chlorine that always leaks from the vents. One slam of the car door, one exhale.

Another car sits two spaces over. Strange. Probably left overnight, she tells herself, no one else would be here at this time of day. Still, it feels like a trespass.