Courtney groaned softly, giving me an apologetic look. “This is what they do. If she’s not back, they don’t leave. She’s the star.” She shrugged. “Or she was.”
“This is insanity.” I felt like I was watching a cult. They were all brainwashed, and I looked over their faces as I moved toward the parking lot. They were blank, except for excitement brimming in a few. Raelynn glowered, and she stood at the end of the line with a hand resting on her hip.
I spotted Mason waiting for me in his Escalade. I ran over and got inside, but when he reached for his keys, I said, “Wait.”
He paused. “Something wrong?”
“I just want to watch.”
He leaned back in his seat, watching with me.
We waited, and twenty minutes later, Faith ran past us toward the team. They began clapping. Raelynn’s glower diminished. As Faith ran to them, they came over and patted her on the back.
“That’s strange.”
“Why?”
Mason’s question threw me. “They support her like a parent would cheer for a kid. That’s weird.” I looked at him. “Isn’t that weird?”
He started the engine. “They’re supporting their star runner.”
She wasn’t the star anymore. It would’ve been cocky to say that out loud, but I couldn’t help thinking it.
“You just started today,” Mason said as we left the parking lot. “You turned everything upside down. It takes a while for people to adjust. They’re supporting another teammate. In the future, they’ll support you too.”
“That’ll be weird too.”
“She’s not going to give up that spot without a fight.”
I frowned at him. “I know that.”
“No, I mean, she’s going to push herself harder. She has someone to catch now. They’ll all push harder now.”
“So, I’m kinda helping them in a way?” That pissed me off.
He laughed. “Kinda, but you don’t stroll through the door and take the spot at the top without a battle. She’ll give you a battle. I think she’ll do it in a dirty way, but it’ll be there no matter what. You just gotta fight for your spot at the top.”
“It wasn’t like this in high school.”
“You were already at the top.”
I glanced at him again. “What do you mean?”
“You came in, and you fought Kate. What do you think she was doing? She wasn’t just fighting you for me. It was more than that.”
“I wasn’t at the top in high school.”
He reached over. His hand covered mine. “You were with us. We were the top.”
I turned my hand over and laced our fingers together. “Did you have to deal with this in football?”
“I wasn’t the top my freshman year. I’m up there now. Me and another guy.”
“It wasn’t like this with track.”
“Because everyone did different events, but I bet you’re considered at the top there.”
Maybe, but he was right; it was more individual there. I let out a sigh. I was starting to come down from the adrenaline wave. I could feel myself crashing a bit.
I leaned my head back against the headrest and murmured, “I haven’t been this angry in a long time. I mean, I don’t know. It’s different. It’s—”
“How it was when you were at the Academy?”
“Yeah.”
“Like I said, it’s because you’re doing your own fight. And I can’t help you with this one.” He pulled up to a stoplight and looked over as we waited. “I wish I could.”
I squeezed his hand. “I know. I feel the same when you’ve had your battles.”
The light turned green, and after that, we were silent.
I was already thinking about the next day’s practice.
MASON
“Yo.”
I was crossing the parking lot to the sports center when I looked over to see Logan behind me in his yellow Escalade. He had the window rolled down and an arm propped on it. He waved me over.
I shifted my gym bag to my other shoulder. It was early in the morning—not Sam-early, but early for me. She was probably already off on her third run with the team, and my day was about to start in thirty minutes. And I’d be busy all day—running drills, watching game tapes, and lifting weights. We’d be here until three or four this afternoon. Yesterday’s breakfast had been a one-time deal.
“What’s up?” I frowned. “You slept at the house last night.”
“I know. I brought Taylor and Sam in for practice this morning. What are we going to do about those two girls?”
“Sam says it’s her fight.”