Played (19 page)

"Someone told Coach I broke team
rules. There's going to be an investigation. I'm benched tonight."

"What? You're not serious! That'll
kill our chances, what's Coach thinking?"

"I expect he's thinking about his job.
Slocum's going to start, and the third-stringer will back him up. I'll be
dressed, but Coach already told me he couldn't put me in at all."

"Fuck, that's messed up!"

"Tell me about it. I'd just like to
know who snitched."

"Bet it was Slocum. He's the only one
with anything to gain." Greg uttered a string of foul-mouthed expletives
as the implications sunk in. "Fuck, man! Smith and Greene are both hoping
to enter the draft after this season. No more games…"

"You think I don't know that? I'm
afraid I'm going to need a bodyguard when they find out."

"When are you going to tell
them?"

"I was hoping…"

"Shit, no! Don't ask me to do that,
they might kill the messenger. No, buddy, you're on your own."

"Thanks for being a friend," Drew
said, bitterness dripping from his tongue.

"Hey,
I
didn't kill you, so
count yourself lucky. Man, that bitch has a lot to answer for."

"I told you once, Greg, and this is
the last time."

"I know, don't call her names. But why
aren't you saying the same thing?"

"I don't know, man. There's something
about her…I don't think she did any of it on purpose. She sure didn't pour a
fifth of vodka down my throat every night last week. So just lay off her,
okay?"

With ill grace, Greg nodded. There was
nothing more to say, so he left.

~~~

Drew was sitting glumly in a run-down
Mexican restaurant on the west side of town, waiting for Rihanna to show up.
He'd chosen it because it was unlikely anyone else from school would be there,
and it was cheap. Besides, he and Ri shared a love of all greasy Mexican food,
and the servings were plentiful here. He was thinking he might as well indulge
in a beer, since his season was essentially over, when Ri walked in, followed
by…shit! What was Janey doing here?

Drew snapped his eyes away from Janey and
kept them resolutely on Rihanna.

"Would you like to explain
yourself?" he said. Both Ri and Janey flinched at the frosty greeting, but
Ri squared her shoulders and answered.

"Janey's here to apologize. If you
accept it, we'll stay for dinner. If not, I need to take her back to the dorm.
She rode with me."

This was the lowest blow of all.
His
Rihanna, taking the side of the woman who'd caused all his problems! Gone was
his mature acceptance of accountability for how he'd behaved. He didn't know
which was worse, the disappointment he felt like a blow to the stomach that Ri
wasn't one-hundred percent on his side, or the rage that Janey would blindside
him like this. With the two emotions warring, he was left speechless. Janey
took advantage of his silence to sit down and begin to speak.

"Drew, I thought we'd gotten past all
the drama. Before Spring Break, we were friends again, I thought. But now, we
don't seem to be on speaking terms, and I've heard you're still in trouble. If
there's anything I can do to help you fix this, please tell me what it is. I
think too much of you to let you ruin your career."

Drew cast her a bitter look and shook his
head. There was nothing she could do except turn back time and not sleep with
that bastard Mackey. He couldn't say that to her. Supposedly, he'd already
forgiven her. How could he tell her now that he was haunted by the memory of
their date and by what his imagination showed him when he thought of her with Mackey?

Janey hung her head, and then got up.
"Drew, I can't tell you how sorry I am. Mostly I'm sorry that we can't be
friends after all. I can tell you, though, that I'm over Justin Mackey, if
that's any comfort."

Turning to Ri, she said, "You don't
have to take me back, please stay here with Drew. I'll get a taxi."

Drew looked hopefully at Rihanna, who
seemed undecided. Then, realizing he was being very rude, he said, "No,
Janey, it's okay. Stay. You're right; I did say we could be friends. You guys
sit down and let's eat."

When the server came to bring their chips
and salsa, give them menus and get their drink orders, Drew ordered a Corona
and Rihanna put down her menu to stare at him. "Oh, no you didn't!"

"I'm benched tomorrow, Ri. The
season's as good as over, and I'll be lucky if the guys don't kill me. I might
as well have the condemned man's last meal," he joked weakly.

Janey looked stricken. She hadn't heard,
then. Drew looked questioningly at Ri.

"No, I didn't tell her. She feels bad
enough," Ri explained.

"Isn't there something…" Janey
started, but Drew shook his head.

"Someone narced. I'm benched until the
investigation, but without me, they've got no chance against UCLA," he
said, with no false modesty.

"Who did it?" snarled Ri. Drew
almost wished he did know. It would be a kick seeing his bestie tear the guy a
new one.

"No idea, unless it was Slocum. He
gets to start now."

"Sorry, Drew, we can't eat after all, we've
got an errand to run. C'mon Janey."

Janey threw Drew a look of apology as she
followed Ri. Both of them knew there was no crossing Rihanna in this mood. Drew
waved at them as his Corona was delivered.

"On second thought," he told the
server, "I don't want this after all. Would you offer it to one of the
people at the bar, and bring me a Coke instead?"

~~~

Back on campus, Rihanna was a madwoman on a
mission. She'd told Janey they were going to find out whom the snitch was, and
let the team know. Everyone would be angry, and they'd take care of the matter.

"Will they hurt him?" Janey
wanted to know.

"Not permanently, but they'll put the
fear of God into him. He won't do such a lousy thing again. Who do you know on
campus that you could ask?"

"No one, really. Alicia maybe. I
haven't spoken to her since she abandoned me that day Drew almost…"

""Don't remind me. Well, take one
for the cause, kiddo. Call her."

Instead, Janey sent a text asking Alicia to
meet her at the Student Union for coffee the next morning. She didn't really
think Alicia could help, but Ri insisted they leave no stone unturned. Then the
two of them sent Greg a text to find out where he was; they needed a pow-wow.

Greg brought the same group with him that
he'd gathered for Drew's intervention, minus Smith and Greene, who weren't
inclined to help after they heard about the benching. The other three young men
and the two girls sat at a big corner booth at Pancake Haus and discussed what
was going on. Greg had already told the others what he knew, and now they were
brainstorming who the snitch could have been. The most likely candidate was
Slocum, but they couldn't do anything to him until after the game, on the off
chance that they could win with him. The boys were putting forth appropriate punishments
when Janey had an idea.

She had been very quiet after being
pointedly ignored by the men when she and Rihanna got to the restaurant. Ri had
told them that if they wanted her help, they could accept Janey's presence, but
Janey didn't want to call attention to herself. Feelings were still running too
high. When the idea popped into her head, she spoke without a filter.

"I wonder if Mackey could have had
anything to do with it."

Instant silence fell over the loudly
expostulating group. Rihanna broke it.

"Shit! I'll bet he did! He got
punished big-time, and Drew got a slap on the wrist. Janey, is he vindictive
like that?"

"He told me even before the fight that
if something bad happened to him or his career, I'd be sorry. Yeah, I could see
him doing something vengeful to Drew. But, how would he have known about the
rule-breaking?"

"Drew was drunk when he punched him.
I'll bet Mackey smelled it on him," said Greg.

"What!? No way," Rihanna
exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. But, why
wouldn't Mackey just press charges?" Greg went on.

"Because, he was threatening me when
Drew went after him. He must have known I'd defend Drew and accuse him, and it
would have gone even worse for him."

Greg regarded her with surprise.
"You'd have defended Drew?"

"Yes, of course. He was trying to
protect me, like I said."

Rihanna was staring at Greg with an 'I told
you so' look on her face, but he had his own issues with her and refused to
meet her eyes.

"How can we prove it, and what do we
do about it?" said one of the others.

Ri looked at Janey before answering.
"I think Janey needs to go to Coach and tell him that if it was Mackey,
it's bullshit. Janey, you have to tell him what you just told us."

~~~

All during his solitary dinner and the
drive back to campus, Drew thought about what Janey had said. She and Mackey
were over, what did that mean for his chances with her? Would Janey go out with
him again, after all the misunderstanding? Did he even want to go out with her
again? If he were honest with himself, the answer to the last question was yes,
but he wasn't sure about his motives. Before, he thought he was falling for
her. After, he couldn't believe she felt nothing for him, especially after
Valentine's Day. She had to feel something, didn't she? But, she'd come right out
and said she was using him, how messed up was that? Did he just want revenge
sex, to use her because she used him? Or, after all was said and done, did he
still care for her?

Besides, what if she did use him? If he
could take her words at face value, she'd changed. She wanted to be friends,
and Rihanna, his oldest and dearest friend, must believe her. Maybe he could
just go with it, see what happened. By the time he got back to campus, Drew had
thought himself into a better mood and decided he'd ask Janey to go with him to
the after-game get-together, no matter what. The coast was clear, no Mackey,
and as far as he knew no one else.

Drew got to bed well before player curfew
and caught up on some badly needed sleep. His dreams were pleasant, even the one
with Janey in it. She was kissing him tenderly and telling him that he was the
only one; no one would ever come between them again. She was fully clothed,
which for some reason made him feel more comfortable.

Here was another moral dilemma. Even if it
was true that Mackey was just out for revenge, if Drew really was drunk when he
defended me, he'd broken school rules anyway. I'd already allowed several lies
of omission to stand. All this was my fault, what was one more lie? It was late
when the group at the Pancake Haus broke up, but Greg told me he'd go with me
to the coach's office before my first class in the morning, so Ri and I went
back to the dorm and to bed immediately. Morning would come early tomorrow.

I wasn't through sleeping when my alarm
went off, and evidently, Ri wasn't either, because a pillow sailed across the
room and hit me in the head before I'd silenced the alarm. As quietly as I
could, I dressed in the dark and made my way to the place where Greg had said
he'd meet me. I didn't know what I would say to Drew's coach, nor if it would
do any good, but I had to try.

Greg knocked on the door for me, and
ushered me in when Coach's booming voice said to enter. Then, his hand was gone
from my back and I realized that he'd melted back into the hallway and I was
alone with the intimidating man at the desk. He was looking at me with surprise
and I thought puzzlement on his face.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. It was the moment of
truth. Did he know who I was? I'd find out in a minute.

"Hi, er, Coach. I'm Janey
Nielsen." His face changed, and settled into hard lines. So, he did know.
That made it harder, and I choked back a dry sob before I said anything else.
"I'm here to correct an injustice, if I can, sir," I said, my voice
shaking.

"I'd think you would have done enough
harm, young lady. What can you possibly add to the fact that my star player
isn't available for tonight's game, and I suspect strongly it has to do with
you?"

"Yes, sir, I'm aware of that. But, are
you sure of your informant? Would you tell me who it was?" My voice was
stronger now. What could he do that was worse than calling me on my bad
behavior to my face?

"That's confidential," he
snapped.

"Is it? May I take a guess? Was it
Prof. Mackey?" I thought the answer was in the widening of his eyes.

"I think it was. If so, you've only
heard his side of the story. Would you like to hear mine?"

"I fail to see…"

"Coach, please. Just let me have my
say, and then you can decide. All right?"

"You're a very persistent young lady.
All right."

"Thank you. This goes back to the day
that Drew lost his head a bit in the Student Union. He's already been
disciplined for that, it's not fair to punish him further. What you may not
know is what happened just before he did that. Drew and a dozen or more other
students heard Mackey threaten me that if his hearing about our relationship
went badly for him, he'd make me sorry. Well, it did go badly, despite my
effort to be fair. I think he told you that story about Drew to get his revenge
on both of us. He had to know Drew was my friend when he came to my
defense."

"You're saying Prof. Mackey lied about
Drew?" he asked.

"I'm saying he told you a story
designed to hurt Drew, out of revenge." If I could get away without saying
he lied, I would, because I suspected it wasn't a lie. But, if the campus cops
who took Drew into custody hadn't noticed, maybe it was. I didn't know. I did
know that Mackey was capable of pettiness.

"Can you bring witnesses that heard
Prof. Mackey threaten you?"

"I didn't know most of them, but I
have an appointment with a friend that Mackey threw out of her chair when he
confronted me. She may have stayed to hear, or she may be able to tell me whom
the others were. They were interviewed by campus security, too. Shouldn't they
have a list?"

"Bring me a witness, and I'll take it
under advisement. But Drew still doesn't play tonight if we haven't sorted it
out by then."

I jumped to my feet. "Thank you, sir!
I'm on it."

I literally ran out of his office, nearly
bowling Greg over in the process. "Come on! We have to find the witnesses
to the Student Union fight. If someone else heard Mackey threaten me, he may
change his mind."

"You mean, Drew might get to play
tonight?"

"Only if we can get a witness to your
coach before the game. Hurry!"

"Wait, Janey, slow down! Your roommate
was there, remember? She's the one who called Drew about what was
happening."

I stopped in my tracks. "That's
right," I said, "why didn't she volunteer to come with me to talk to
your coach?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"She's in class right now. Can you
wait for her there? I have an appointment with a friend who was there before
Mackey scared her off. If you can find Ri, bring her to the Student Union,
okay?"

"Sure. Where is she?"

"History, I think. Maybe just wait at
the front door to the building. I don't dare text her, she forgets to mute her
phone and I don't want to get her in trouble."

"Okay. See you in a while."

We parted ways and I rushed to the Student
Union, where I expected to meet Alicia within the next ten minutes. I was
staring at my coffee, trying to remember the details of that morning when
everything went crazy, when Alicia approached silently and took a seat. I
startled, and spilled a bit of my coffee.

"Hi! Oh, sorry," she said.

"No problem. After recent events, I
should be more alert in here," I smiled.

"Listen, Janey, I need to apologize
for abandoning you that morning. I shouldn't have left."

"It's okay. That's what I wanted to
talk about. Did you hang out in the crowd? I may need to find someone who heard
what Mackey said to me."

"Really? Why?"

"Long story. Did you?"

"No, I was scared. I left."

"Did you see anyone you knew on the
way out? Someone who might have stayed to watch? You heard what happened, right?"

"Yeah, everyone on campus heard what
happened. The only one I saw that I knew was Rick, you know, the little gay boy
from our first semester class?"

"Gay? No, I don't think I know
him."

"Sure you do. He sat right in front
every day, and he was always drooling over Mackey like the rest of the
girls."

"Oh, I think I do know who you mean. I
didn't know he was gay."

"How could you not?" she laughed.

"Well, to be fair, I've never been
around any gays. Is that why he walks the way he does?"

"Totally. Listen, I'm not against
gays, you know that, don't you?"

I didn't know one way or another, or why
she would be so anxious to tell me, but I nodded. "Of course."

"Well, he might have stayed to watch,
or he might not have. I don't think the effeminate ones like violence."

"Do you know his last name?"

"Ummm, Brickner? Yeah, I think that's
it. Can you imagine going around with a name like Rick Brickner? I bet he
totally got called Rick Brick when he was younger."

"Thanks, Alicia. Hey, do you want to
do me another favor?"

"Sure," she said, "I owe
you. What is it?"

"Do you think you can locate Rick and
bring him here? We're trying to save Drew's NBA career." Her eyes went
wide.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know he'd been
drafted. Yeah, I can try. I think he's a theater major, too. I'll be back when
I've got him."

As Alicia walked away, I added not
correcting her about Drew's draft status to my list of lies of omission. I was
collecting quite a batch of them. Before I had time to process what was
happening to my integrity, though, Greg was there, with Rihanna in tow.

"Hey, girl, Greg here practically
kidnapped me. You do know I'm missing class, right?"

"Sorry, Ri, but it's about Drew."

"That's what he said, or I wouldn't
have come. What's up?"

"Coach said he'd reconsider letting Drew
play, if I could produce a witness that heard Mackey threaten me. You heard
that, I know. Come with me to tell him."

 "Whoa, chica. I did hear it; don't
you think I thought of that last night? But, Coach knows me. He knows I'm
Drew's best friend. Do you really think he'd take my word over Mackey's?"

"Oh," I said, deflated.

"Have you talked to your friend Alicia
yet?"

"Yeah, she headed for high country
when Mackey threw her out. She said the only person she saw while she was
leaving was a boy named Rick from our first semester class. She said she'd try
to find him and bring him here. I guess you could go on to class, now."

"Fuck it," she said. "I'll
stick around and wait for this Rick. Maybe I'll recognize him."

We had a long wait, as it turned out Rick
was in the next hour's class by the time Alicia found him, and then he was
reluctant to come. Alicia told us later she'd had to threaten him with exposure
of his crush on Mackey if he didn't come.

Rick was a slender boy with pretty features
and longish blonde hair that he wore hanging over one eye. Now and then, he
tossed his head, only to have it cover his eye again. I imagined that he'd be
very attractive as a girl, but right now he was a sullen boy, his blue eyes
stormy and his full mouth set in a grim line.

"What do you want?"

"Rick, did you hear Prof. Mackey
threaten me in any way the day we were fighting here?" I asked, as gently
as I could.

Rick took on a mulish look. "I heard
you
threaten
him
."

My mouth dropped open. "When did you
get there? I only defended myself."

"You said you'd go to the dean and get
a lawyer," he said.

"In response to what? Did you hear me
say if he threatened me again?"

"I heard what I heard."

"You little weasel, what's Mackey to
you? Does he switch hit?" Ri snarled. Rick turned white.

"Oh, my god.
You're
the snitch!
You weren't within a mile of Drew that day. What did you tell the coach?"
Greg had put it together, and Rihanna, Alicia and I were in shock. One thing
was certain, though. There'd be another altercation, and this time it would be
Greg in trouble if we didn't stop it.

Ri stood and put her hands on Greg's chest.
He was in a threatening stance, his hands in fists at his sides. Alicia had
narrowed her eyes at Rick and her eyes were darting around, apparently trying
to think of something else with which to threaten Rick. Rick was cowering and
tears were gathering in his eyes. I couldn't stand it.

"Everybody, sit down. Rick, did you
tell Coach a lie about Drew?"

"It was his fault. Justin's depressed
and won't talk to me, and it's all that asshole's fault!"

"Do you mean Drew?" I said,
speaking gently, as if to Gracie when she was having a tantrum.

"Yeah, Andrew Craig. Mr. Big Man on
Campus. Basketball star. Why should he get all the attention?"

Ignoring his bitterness, I drew a breath to
straighten the boy out. "Rick, it wasn't Drew's fault, it was mine. I
slept with Mackey, and that's against school rules. That's why he was
suspended."

Rick flinched when I made my confession.
"But…when?"

"When what?" I asked, confused.

"When did you sleep with him?"
The question was impertinent, embarrassing and none of his business, but I felt
compelled to answer.

"The weekend before Spring Break. Why,
Rick?"

Rick's wail drowned my last question. He
was crying in earnest now, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. Alicia got up
to give him a hug and try to calm him down.

"He told me he was going out of town,
that's why he couldn't see me. He cheated on me!"

I felt the blood drain from my face.
"Rick, are you saying you were with Justin before that?"

"Y-yes. I thought he loved me."
If I'd had to draw a picture of misery at that moment, it would have had Rick's
face. However, I had urgent concerns. I was trying to think of a way to ask
delicately when Ri beat me to it.

"You little fag, you better not have
AIDS," she said, again snarling as before.

"I d-don't. I get tested all the
time."

A weight lifted from my chest and I was
able to breathe again, but we still had a problem. He hadn't admitted he'd
heard Justin threaten me.

"Ri, that's enough. Rick, you lied to
coach. You need to tell him the truth. Will you go with us?"

"What will he do to me?" he
quailed.

"We'll protect you. He won't do
anything, but Drew has never done anything to you or to Mackey except defend
me. It's not fair to ruin his life."

A huge bubble of rage was keeping me from
breathing deeply. If I had anything to do with it, Mackey would never teach
here again. He'd led this poor boy on, for God knows what reason, and he'd
knowingly disregarded my health and safety, not to mention everyone else he'd
played with for who knows how long. As soon as I straightened things out for
Drew, I was going to start a campaign to ruin Mackey.