Hardin
I stood there, trying to focus on the game, but my eyes kept wandering back to her. Dionne was in the middle of her routine with the cheerleaders, moving gracefully across the gym floor. Every time the coach turned in my direction, I’d look away quickly, pretending I wasn’t watching. My team was playing, but my mind was somewhere else entirely, stuck on how she’d been acting all day long.
The sharp blow of the whistle pulled me out of my thoughts as I realized that our coach had gathered us around for one last briefing before we were dismissed. Everyone rushed over to him, but I lagged behind, pretending to tie my shoe. I couldn’t stop thinking about what my mom might have told her last night. What could’ve been said that made her start avoiding us all of a sudden?
After a few
