Crossing the Barrier by Martine Lewis Page A

rest of the team.
    All throughout the school song, Malakai searched for Lily. Now that he had won and could concentrate on something else, she was all he thought about. He wanted to see her; he wanted her to be proud of him. But he couldn’t find her. The band members all looked so alike in their uniforms, and she was so small. He would have to ask David where she was.
    The band had just finished playing, and Malakai was turning toward the locker room when Wes approached him with Andrea, who was holding her black and yellow pom-poms against her chest.
    “Malakai,” she called, a smile on her face. “Wanna come to the party at Stephanie’s?”
    He was tired, and he wanted to go home. He especially didn’t want to spend more time with the cheerleader in case she read something into it, something that wasn’t there.
    Then he remembered his father was in town, and he smiled. “I can’t. My father’s leaving tomorrow for business, and I wanted to talk to him about the game before he goes.”
    Not quite the truth but not quite a lie either. He did want to spend some time with his father, especially since they had unfinished business to discuss.
    “Dude, he’ll understand. We just won,” Wes protested.
    As his only answer, Malakai shrugged.
    “Oh, okay,” Andrea said, her smile faltering. “Maybe next time then.”
    Malakai turned around and left for the locker room.
    When he got home an hour later, the sergeant was there, sitting at the table, a few containers of Chinese food spread in front of him.
    “I figured you’d be hungry,” he said.
    “Yeah,” Malakai answered, making his way to the table with a smile. “I am.”
    He grabbed a plate and began to pile it high with rice, beef broccoli, and orange chicken. He then poured himself some ice tea from the jug and began to eat.
    “You know, I…I would have wanted you to consider a military career,” the sergeant said after a few moments of silence.
    Malakai opened his mouth to protest, but his father raised a hand, effectively stopping him. “You know, my father was so proud when I joined the service. I would have been proud if you had too but, after seeing you tonight, I realized something: you’re a lot more like your mother than me,” he said with a chuckle. “Whatever you do, as long as you do something with yourself, I’ll be proud of you.”
    Malakai stared at his father, his fork forgotten in his hand.
    This was a first for him. Not only did his father express his open support, which in and of itself was rare, but he also spoke of his mother, which was unheard of.
    “You think we’ll ever see her again?” Malakai was so starved to hear about her he asked before he could stop himself. He had lost count of how many times he had asked questions, especially at the beginning, but his father had never answered any of them.
    “I don’t know, junior. I really don’t.”
    Malakai clenched his teeth to prevent his mouth from dropping open. His father had confirmed his mother was still alive. In one sentence, Malakai had received more information about her than he had in seven years.
    He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should dare ask more when the sergeant stood.
    “I think I’m going to call it a night. I have an early start tomorrow.” He walked around the table and squeezed Malakai’s shoulder warmly. “I’m proud of you, son. That was a good game.”
    Without adding a word, his father set his empty plate in the sink, then went to his bedroom, and closed the door behind him, leaving Malakai staring at the seat he had just vacated.

 
     
    Chapter Twenty-Two
     
     
    LILY
    Even though the game had been a lot easier to manage than Lily had anticipated, she was still exhausted by the end of the evening.
    “David did well, don’t you think?” Sandra asked as they were driving home.
    “Yeah,” Lily answered with a grin. “He did great.”
    “Malakai did well too.”
    “Actually, let’s not talk about Malakai.” She had seen Andrea