Page 7 of Reign of the Queen
"Did I say I wanted to play street ball with y'all?" I ask, giving him my sternest eight-year-old look. The kind I've seen Mrs. Jenkins give to the neighborhood kids when they sass her.
"Is that a joke or something? Let's go, I need one more for my side, and they're all waiting. Come on, Amelia, move it."
Finn drags me down the street from my house to where there's a bunch of kids in front of his, faded blue-painted house. The ratty old hockey nets are set up in the middle of the road, ready for a street ball showdown.
"Just make sure you’re hitting the right net this time, got it?" He gives me this look of stern expectation.
"Yeah, yeah, it was one time. Jeez, never gonna live that down." I shake my dark, brown-haired head. The heat makes my waves stick to my neck and forehead.
As we get closer, I see two boys and a girl I don't recognize amongst the group. They for sure don't go to school with us or live around here. I slow my pace down so Finn is practically dragging me down the road and across dried-up, straw-looking lawns.
"Who's that?" I nod my head toward the strangers.
"Oh, um, that's Carter, Theo, and Melinda. They go to the new school I'm starting after mom marries that guy. I met them at that fancy country club mom works at." I watch him wipe the sweat from his brow across his forearm. Yuck.
As we keep moving closer to the group of newbies, I see the kids who usually play with us off to the side awkwardly. They don't look too happy with the presence of the newcomers either.
"Hey Rosie, hey Charlie, Jessup," I call as we approach.
"Hey, Amelia!" Rosie calls back. Charlie and Jessup just nod.
Finn and I stop in front of the new kids, and I take a closer look at them. They are definitely not from around here. The two boys are wearing Nike shorts and T-shirts and what looks like brand-new running shoes on their feet. The red-headed girl looks like some kind of pretty doll in her pink shorts and a rainbow top; her hair is all done up with a pretty bow. She's got cute white running shoes on her feet, too, complete with three pink stripes on the side.
"Y'all, this is Amelia. She's my neighbor from up the road. She's gonna be on my team." I see Finn motion to the other three. "You take Charlie for your team, and I'll take Rosie and Jessup for mine."
"You sure about that, Finn? She don't look like she can run much," the blond-haired one says. I'm unsure if that was Carter or Theo. The other one and the girl snicker and laugh at the comment.
I tuck my chin into my chest, suddenly not wanting to be here at all.
"Why would you say that?" Rosie asks, hands on her little hips, southern belle style. Rosie's a little force to be reckoned with, afraid of nothing and no one. I wish I was a little like her most days.
All three of the new kids look at each other and snicker. "Cause she ain't exactly small, is she? How is she gonna run after the ball? She’s as big as a car!" The red-headed girl, Melinda, answers back, giggling.
I look at Finn, and he doesn't look back at me but runs his hand on the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Let's just play, alright?"
The other three shrug and move to one side of the road. Charlie goes over to their side but looks like he'd rather skin a cat than be part of their team.
"Well, I never…rude, just rude," Rosie says, her pretty, braided white-blonde hair swings back and forth. "Don't worry about them, Amelia; they just ain't got no manners and no sense God gave them." She grabs my arm and drags me over to our side of the road.
The game begins, and the ball starts flying around between Finn, Jessup, and the blond boy I think might be Theo. As they get closer to the net, I move into position to block the net, helping Rosie, who's playing goalie, out. Just when I am about to get my stick on the ball, I feel a massive shove from behind, and I fall to my knees. The pain is instant and sharp; I've torn the skin on my knee and blood wells up from the scrapes. I look up at who shoved me, and it's the other boy, the one whose name might be Carter.
"Move cow, you're in the way!" he yells down at me and flies by, swinging his stick.
Before I know what I'm doing, I'm up and chasing him with my stick. Once I get in close, I cross-check him hard, and he flies to the side, falling and dropping the stick to brace his hands. "What the hell, cow, why'd you do that for?"
"Stop calling me that; you're rude and mean!" I shout at him from above, spittle flying from my mouth.
I notice the other boy, Theo, approaching. "What's the matter, moo-moo, your feelings getting hurt?"
"Stop it, guys, come on, let's just play," Finn calls out.
"Naw, man, this cow just knocked me over. I'm not playing with farm animals." Carter’s blue-gray eyes blaze with anger, he gets up and dusts off his clothes.
"MOO! MOO!" I hear the girl Melinda shouting from the other goalie area.
"MOO! MOO!” Carter laughs.
"What's the matter, cow, didn't get your milking today?" Theo shouts at me with a malicious glint in his eyes and a sneer across his face.
