What If... All the Rumors Were True (10 page)

SWIM MEET

You can tread water only so long.

“A
re you going to the swim meet?” Haley asked Reese as they left the math wing at the end of the school day. “First of the season. I hear Zoe Jones is trying out her new dive.”

“Much as I would like to see her try that triple back flip, I can't.” Reese ran a hand through his dark shaggy hair, leaving it looking perfectly mussed. The jaw muscles in his chiseled face twitched slightly, showing signs of strain. “I've got to go to the library and research my paper for AP history. Plus SAT prep, plus soccer practice, plus everything else…”

“Oh,” Haley said, not doing a particularly good job of hiding her disappointment. Reese had been so busy this fall, she felt as if she'd hardly seen him. All he ever seemed to do was study. He was totally caught up in the college treadmill. They all were, but Reese seemed to feel the pressure more than the rest. He was always good at everything, but now he had to be better than that. He had to be a total, all-around star. Haley didn't know what was keeping him going, or what was driving him so hard to be the best. But she had a feeling that drive was taking its toll, certainly on their relationship.

“See you tomorrow,” Reese said, heading off to the library. He flashed her that irresistible grin and, for the moment, all was forgiven. Then Haley walked over to the swim center by herself.

A large crowd had already assembled by the time she got there. The pool was buzzing with excitement, shouts and whistles echoing off the tile walls. Haley spotted several unfamiliar adults peppered through the crowd and figured they were probably college recruiters, there to check out Sebastian and Haley's latest aquatics star, Zoe Jones.

The varsity boys lined up for the 100-meter butterfly, shaking their limbs to warm up. It was hard to miss Sebastian in lane three. He'd grown over the summer, if that was even possible, and now his broad shoulders rippled with even more and leaner muscles. It was also hard to miss his biggest fan in the front row, clapping and shouting, “Sebastian, olé! Bravo!” In fact, every eye in the swim center was drawn to the tall, glamorous Mia Delgado, and she certainly didn't seem to mind the attention. She was surrounded by admiring boys, who seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she was cheering for her supposed boyfriend.

Sebastian turned toward the crowd, grinned and waved at Mia, then resumed his warm-up. Haley looked for Coco De Clerq, Sasha Lewis or Whitney Klein, but didn't see any of them, so she took a seat in the top row of bleachers, as far from the Mia attention-vortex as she could get.

Sebastian won the 100-meter butterfly easily, blowing his competition out of the water, so to speak. “Woo-hoo!
Magnífico,
Sebastian!” Mia cheered.

Just before the next race, Coco walked in, trailed by her once again constant shadow, Whitney. Whitney noticed Haley in the stands and waved enthusiastically, nudging Coco in her direction. Haley moved over to make room for the dramatic duo, but Coco only flapped her hand at Haley before beelining to front-row center, where Mia was holding court.

Humph,
Haley thought, stung, as she watched Coco shove her way into the seat next to Mia, exchange triple air-kisses and coo over the low-cut jersey top Mia was wearing. It looked as if Coco was back to living by her old motto: “Keep your friends close and the new pretty girl closer.”

Haley felt a knot of jealousy tighten in her stomach. There she was, sitting all alone in the stands while the populettes dominated the front row, ignoring her. Haley had been at Hillsdale for over a year now; she thought she had the place figured out. She had at least a few friends now. At times she'd even ruled the school. But suddenly she was transported back to the miserable early days of her sophomore year, when she was the lonliest girl in the room.

The buzzer sounded and the 200-meter freestyle, Sebastian's specialty, began. He dove into the water and pulled ahead from the beginning. Haley stood up to watch. This was what she'd come for, after all. Sebastian looked fantastic, his strokes smooth and powerful, and he easily won this race too. Mia screamed with excitement, jumping up and down and whipping her long dark hair around. Coco clapped and hugged Mia as if they were lifelong BFFs. The guys surrounding the Spanish beauty jumped in for hugs too, and she gladly embraced anybody who came within two feet of her, babbling happily in Spanish. The recruiters, too, looked very impressed.

Sebastian waved to the crowd, blew another kiss to Mia and left the pool to stretch before his next race. Meanwhile, the varsity girls had lined up for a relay. Haley opened her calculus book and glanced at a few homework problems. She felt like the biggest geek in the world, but what else was she going to do? It was not as if she had any friends to chat with. Reese was gone, studying at the library. And Sebastian didn't appear to be acknowledging she was alive.

The race starter buzzed again, and Haley looked up from her book to watch the girls' relay, but she was distracted by the sight of the pool door opening. Alex Martin walked in. He glanced at the girls in the water, then checked the stands. When he spotted Haley, he waved and walked straight over to her.

Haley braced herself. She didn't know much about Alex, except that he was a senior and cocaptain of the debate team, and that he was intense. Talking to him certainly kept her on her toes. She couldn't help noticing, as she watched him climb the bleachers, that in spite of his intensity he looked adorable. His usually impeccable short chestnut hair was slightly askew, and his preppy clothes had rumpled a bit over the course of the day, making him seem warmer, less formal and intimidating.

“Hey, Haley,” he said, sitting beside her. “You've got the best seat in the house.”

Haley surveyed the empty seats around them. “You know what they say—it's lonely at the top.”

Alex laughed, a surprisingly easy chuckle, and Haley realized there was a lot to Alex that she hadn't anticipated.

Down at the pool, the boys lined up for the freestyle sprints, and there was Sebastian again, swinging his long arms from side to side. “
Vámonos,
Sebastian, let's go!” Mia shouted in her husky voice.

“Go Sebastian!” Coco and Whitney echoed. Mia put her arms around them and the curvy trio bounced up and down, much to the delight of all the boys around them. The girls were suddenly the best of friends. What did they need Haley for?

“The team looks excellent this year, don't they?” Alex said. Haley was relieved to have a distraction from the cheering squad below. “I hear Sebastian is an Olympic-level swimmer.”

“He is pretty awesome,” Haley said. “Though unfortunately, he knows it. Just watch this sprint.”

The starter buzzed and the swimmers were off. Once again, Sebastian glided through the water, fishlike, and won with little competition.

“I guess some people are just born comfortable in the water,” Alex said, attempting to strike up conversation. “Not me. My parents had to bribe me with a saxophone to get me to learn how to swim.”

Haley smiled. “What's your element, then?” she asked.

Alex thought for a minute. “Good question. Definitely not air—I'm afraid of heights and get nervous on planes. And not fire—whose element is fire, anyway?”

“Chefs?” Haley offered.

“Interesting,” Alex said.

“That really only leaves earth for you,” Haley replied.

“Do books qualify as earth?” Alex asked. “That's my real element, if you ask me.”

Haley was impressed with how well he knew himself.

“And where are you most comfortable, Haley Miller?”

“Good question,” Haley said. What
was
her element? She sometimes felt like she hadn't a clue.

Talking to Alex must be kind of refreshing for Haley. He's so different from the other boys at Hillsdale. And once you chill him out a degree or twenty, he could actually be…kind of appealing.

But what exactly is he doing at the swim meet? He's clearly no sports fan. Did he go there looking for Haley? He sure seemed eager to sit with her.

And if he
is
flirting with her, how does Haley feel about it? And what will Reese think? Here Reese is, slaving away alone in the library. And Haley's off discussing the elements of life with Alex? If she found Reese in a similar situation with a girl, wouldn't she be jealous?

On the other hand, Reese has been paying more attention to his books than to Haley lately, so maybe he's lost all claim to her. You can't leave a cute girl like Haley alone for long before someone else tries to fill the empty seat. Reese knows that, or else he should.

Speaking of jealousy, what's up with Coco? Since when are she and Mia Delgado the best of friends? Is Coco just using Mia, trying to siphon away some of that male attention? Or is Mia using Coco to increase her social power? Anything's possible with those two.

If you think Haley should keep the door open for new boys, turn to
"GUEST APPEARANCE"
. If you think she's more intrigued by Coco and Mia's new friendship and what's behind it, get to know Mia better on
"FIRE AND ICE"
. Finally, if you think Haley's had enough of Coco, Mia and Alex, and wishes she were hanging with the easygoing Sasha instead, go to
"BUYER'S REMORSE"
.

What is Haley's natural element? It's up to you to help her find it.

FANCY FOOTWORK

Sometimes politeness can feel like a slap in the face.

“O
kay, Hawks.” Cocaptains Haley and Sasha gathered the soccer team in a pregame huddle. The girls piled their hands in the center of the circle. “Ooooooh let's go!” they chanted, clapping, revved up for their first home game of the season.

“Let's start the year out right, everybody,” Sasha said as they ran onto the field. It was a crisp fall afternoon. Haley pumped her legs and arms to warm them up. “Go Hawks!” a trio of freshmen shouted from the sidelines. The stands were full, especially since the boys' varsity team lined the front row. They had their first home game that day too, after the girls played. Knowing the boys were watching psyched up the girls even more.

“Forward momentum, girls!” Coach Tygert called out as they took their positions. “Stay on your toes!”

Haley glanced at the spectators just before the ref blew her whistle to start the game. Reese sat at the end of the front row in his soccer uniform, his dark hair gleaming in the sun. He flashed her a smile and waved, and Haley's face flushed happily. Reese really was perfect boyfriend material. He and Haley shared so much in common: they worked hard in school but could play hard too—whether on the soccer field or with friends. Plus, they even lived next door to each other. How cosmic was that?

The whistle blew, play started and Haley lost herself in the game. Sasha immediately cornered the ball and, with her long legs, dribbled it up the field toward the North Bergen goal. She aimed a long, graceful kick at the net, but the North Bergen goalie blocked it.

“Good hustle, Sash!” Haley called as they went on defense. The Hawks blocked several attacks at their goal, and perky sophomore Christina Schindler made a nice pass to Sasha, who scored one for Hillsdale. North Bergen came back to tie the game just before the ref blew the whistle to end the first half.

“You're looking good out there, girls,” Coach Tygert said. “But let's be more aggressive. Their goalie's shaky—keep shooting and we'll score again.”

Haley waved to Reese as she returned to the field for the second half, but he didn't see. He had his head down and was hastily scribbling in a workbook now, apparently too focused on solving math problems to watch Haley play.
He'll look up once the whistle blows,
Haley told herself.

The second half plodded along with no score on either side. It seemed as though Hillsdale might have to settle for a tie, if North Bergen didn't manage to score on them by game's end. With only a few minutes left on the clock, Haley intercepted the ball and found herself mere feet from the goal, with most of North Bergen's defense behind her. She arced the ball toward the net…the goalie jumped, missed and the ball went in!

“All right, Haley!” her teammates squealed, jumping on top of her and hugging each other. “Two–one Hillsdale!”

“Nice job, Miller,” Coach Tygert shouted.

Sasha patted her on the back. “Way to win the game, superstar.”

As she jogged back to her position, Haley glanced into the stands to get her usual thumbs-up from Reese. But he wasn't even looking at the field—his head was still buried in a thick textbook.

He hadn't seen her goal.

One of his teammates saw Haley staring and nudged Reese, then pointed in her direction. Reese looked up from his book and waved absently.

Too late,
Haley thought.
I already caught you not looking.

Haley was distracted for the rest of the game. She played fine, even blocked a last-ditch North Bergen sideline kick for a steal. But every time she checked the stands, Reese wasn't paying attention.
Why does he even bother to sit there?
she wondered. It was just a charade. He might as well be in the library for all he cared about the game. Maybe Reese Highland wasn't such perfect boyfriend material after all.

Hillsdale won, 2–1, thanks to Haley's goal, and as she jogged off the field, passing the bleachers on her way to the locker room, Reese reached for her hand with a half shake. “That goal was, um, a beauty,” he said sheepishly.

“Thanks,” Haley said. But what she was thinking was,
How would you know? You didn't even see it, you liar.

“I'd better start warming up,” Reese said as he and his teammates jogged onto the field. “Are you going to stay and watch our game?”

“I can't,” Haley said. “I've got too much
homework.
” She turned and jogged off to the locker room to take a hot shower, and celebrate the win with the rest of her team.

Are Reese and Haley in trouble? Reese is so focused on school and extracurriculars right now that he's totally neglecting his girl. He barely watched Haley's game, completely missed her all-important goal, yet he expects her to stay and cheer for him? Not likely.

Okay, so it's fall semester junior year, a pretty stressful time for any high school student. But is that really any excuse? If Reese neglects Haley to pad his college applications, what does that mean for their love life down the road? Will this go on all year? Or will Reese eventually find his way back to her? Should Haley put up with it, or does she deserve better? After all, she's pretty busy herself. Maybe a part-time boyfriend makes sense.

What should Haley do now? Maybe she needs to go home and think about the relationship and where it's headed. To send her home to mull over Reese's behavior, go to
"GUEST APPEARANCE"
. Or perhaps what Haley needs is to clear her head with some quality girl time. To have her stick with Sasha after the game, go to
"BUYER'S REMORSE"
.

Looks as if dating Reese does have a downside. Sadly, no one's flawless. Not even Reese.