All the Little Lights(70)

“Lying?” I asked. “About what?”

“Sam goes to Braum’s every day. Buttered pecan is his favorite.”

I made a face. “That doesn’t mean anything. If that’s what he orders every time, of course she’s going to know.”

“Sam was an hour late to the party last weekend. He said his homework took longer than he thought.”

“Nope. No way. I see the way he looks at you.”

Madison nodded. “You’re right. I still want to rip out that cheerleader reject’s blonde ringlets one by one.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m not even going to ask him. Sam would never in a million years. He hates Anna Sue.”

We stepped up to the concession stand and ordered two large hot chocolates. I paid with the few dollars I had to help offset the cost of gas, and then we made our way back to our seats, ignoring the giggles of the clones.

The Oak Creek marching band performed “Back in Black.” We cheered as they left, replaced by the enormous Yukon band. They performed a Beyoncé mash-up and made a moving T. rex. The crowd erupted. Even Oak Creek’s spectators stood up and cheered.

Not long after the home team’s band left the field, the Mudcats ran out of their tunnel. I yelled for Elliott when I spotted the number seven jersey, settling in for another hour of freezing temps and human pileups.

Elliott was sacked twice, and the second time it took him a full minute to stand. When he got to his feet, he seemed even more determined to win. He went on to run for another touchdown. With one minute left in the game, we were twelve points ahead, and Yukon had the ball. They lined up at Yukon’s twenty-yard line.

“What does first and ten mean?” I asked Madison. The cheerleaders had been chanting it throughout the game.

“Basically, every time a team gets the ball, they have four tries to gain ten yards at a time. If they don’t get ten yards in four tries, the other team gets the ball. Make sense?”

I nodded.

The clock counted down as Yukon tried again and failed. On their fourth attempt, they fumbled, and Oak Creek’s number twenty-two—whoever that was—carried the ball all the way to our end zone.

Madison and I were on our feet, bouncing up and down with our empty Styrofoam cups. Oak Creek and Yukon high-fived, and then Elliott and his teammates headed for the locker room. Sam and Elliott waved to us as they passed, but Elliott was limping. I tried to be brave and smile, but Elliott saw the worry on my face. His gloved hand touched my cheek for a brief second as he passed. “I’m okay, babe.”

Madison lowered her chin and smiled at me, and then we walked over to wait by the gate near the bus.

“What do you think it is?” I asked.

Madison wrinkled her nose. “Huh?”

“Presley’s surprise. You think because her mom is here she’ll back off?”

“Probably not. How do you think she got that way? You think her mother cares that Presley is awful?”

“Good point,” I said. I wondered what Madison would think if she ever met Mama, then quickly dismissed it. That was never going to happen.

When the football team began filing out, Elliott was one of the first.

“Happy birthday!” I said.

He lifted me in his arms, stealing a quick kiss before his coaches came out. He had a scrape across his swollen nose and another black eye. His chin and cheekbone were scraped, too. He looked beat-up, but he was smiling.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Sam slapped Elliott on the shoulder, and Elliott winced.

“We knew they were going to target him. We had his back, though,” Sam said.

“For the most part,” Elliott said, sliding from Sam’s grasp.

“Elliott,” I began.

He smiled. “I’m fine. Just another night on the field. It was fun.”

“Doesn’t look like fun. Is your nose broken?” Madison asked.

“Coach says no,” Elliott said. “We won. And,” he glanced around, leaning in, “Coach says there’s a couple of scouts coming to the playoff game. So if I do well, I could be playing college ball.”

“I thought you said that wasn’t an option.” I winked.

He leaned down to kiss my cheek.

Madison turned to Elliott. “Don’t Native Americans get to go to college for free?”

Elliott chuckled. “No.”

“Oh my God. Was that offensive? I’m so sorry,” Madison said.

“Common misconception.” He looked at me with a smile. “With a scholarship, though, looks like we might be picking a college soon.”

I peeked around, not wanting to discuss this in front of Madison and Sam. “I can’t go to college, Elliott. I can’t afford it,” I said quietly.

Elliott seemed unfazed. “We’ll make it work.”

“Great game, Elliott,” Presley said, smug. “Hey, Princess Kit-Cat.”

Tatum waved from behind her.

Elliott nodded, keeping his voice low when he spoke. “Have they bothered you?”

I shook my head. “They tried stirring up trouble with Sam and Maddy.”

“Huh?” Sam said, confused. “Me? What’d I do?”

“Nothing,” Madison said, kissing his cheek.