Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone

other—shirts against shirtless. Too bad Brian was on the shirts side. I hadn’t had a peek at those abs since I’d delivered the captain’s note. Was it possible that was only a week ago? Since then, I’d been hauled off to jail, gone to an athlete/cheerleader party, and had a sort of lunch date with Brian. Matchmaking for the elderly was definitely paying off.
    Okay, focus on the game. Brian caught the ball, dribbled, and then tried for a long shot and missed. Austin took it on the rebound, shot, and made it. Then he looked up at Brianna to make sure she’d seen. Brianna let out the appropriate “woo-hoo,” and Austin went back to the game. Funny. That was the kind of thing I’d 118

    seen my brother do with my mom.
    It was Brian’s ball again, but this time he passed it to Austin, who missed. “Out!” Coach Maxwell yelled when the ball landed on the other side of the painted red line. Brian and Austin looked down and shook their heads.
    Ariana and Randy returned and continued to ignore us. They seemed to be following that unwritten cheerleader rule to keep your eyes on the court.
    It wasn’t like I had anything against cheerleaders, not all of them anyway. But I’d been brainwashed by my mom at an early age to find other activities. “Do something that’ll make people cheer for you ,” she said.
    I hadn’t found out what that would be yet. But I still wondered why anyone would spend time off from school, cheering at a practice.
    Then Brian made a three-pointer, turned to look up at me, and gave me the biggest smile ever. Suddenly, I understood why “Cougar Girlfriends” would spend their Sundays in the gym.
    “Woo-hoo,” I yelled.
    119

    FOURTEEN
    Emily Moves Closer
    “So what did you do all day?” my mother asked as she sliced a bright red tomato into perfect sections.
    “Is that tomato for us or a photo shoot?” Mom laughed. “Sometimes the food is actually for us to eat. I’m making a salad and your dad’s grilling some chicken and sweet potatoes outside.”
    “Cool, but it can’t compete with pizza.” My mother tilted the cutting board and slid the tomatoes into a bowl of lettuce. “Few things can compete with pizza. But you didn’t answer my question.”
    “Brian and I delivered his grandmother’s note to the captain of the Conga Queen . We ate lunch and I watched his basketball practice. Then we came home.” 120

    I tried to contain my excitement as I spoke. There was no telling how my parents would react. It wasn’t like we were the Montagues and the Capulets, but the Harringtons weren’t exactly on my mother’s Christmas cookie list either.
    Mom ran water over the cutting board, washing the leftover tomato seeds into the sink. “So you’re serious about this matchmaking thing?”
    “What do you mean serious?”
    “Just that it’s a big responsibility.”
    “How?” I hadn’t thought delivering a few notes would be that much responsibility. It would have to end sometime. I mean, wouldn’t Lily and Captain Miguel want to meet each other eventually? Or exchange phone numbers? Who knows? Maybe the captain even had a screen name. Lily could use Brian’s computer, and she and Captain Miguel could IM each other. Put me right out of the message-distribution business.
    Mom hesitated. “What if when they meet each other, one of them doesn’t like the other one? Or one of them ends up heartbroken? Will you be ready to pick up the pieces?”
    I hadn’t thought of that. Was I ready to go from courier to consoler? Did I have the necessary skills to mend a broken heart? Especially a heart that had been around for a while? “Mom, you’re freaking me out. I never thought of those things.” What I didn’t tell her 121

    was that the only thing I’d been thinking about was Brian.
    “So what happened after you gave him the note?” I picked up the dish towel and twirled it. “The captain gave me another note for Lily.” Mom shook her head. “I don’t know about this. Do you