After stretching one more time, I finally rolled out of bed and headed to the shower. I passed Luke in the hall. He was dressed and by the smell of syrup coming from him, he’d already eaten.
“Geez, Pipe. I hope you’re not planning to go to school looking like that.” He gave me his best disgusted look as he scooted around me in the narrow hall. I stuck out my foot and tripped him.
“Dammit-” he yelled.
“Piper, get in the shower and leave your brother alone!”
Luke’s scowl immediately turned into a grin. Parents weren’t supposed to have favorites but I knew Luke was Mom’s. I showered quickly and even remembered to shave my legs. It was still warm during the day and I planned to wear shorts. I didn’t need prickly legs, especially with so much of them showing.
As I pulled out the hair dryer, I was thankful once again for air conditioning. First day or not, if I had to deal with humid heat there would be no blow-drying hair. It took forever but my long hair was finally dry. Pleased as I was, I decided I’d better run my straightener through it.
Once I was satisfied my hair was as good as it was ever going to look, I pulled down the basket with my makeup from the top shelf.
“Ew.” It had been so long since I’d put any on, the tubes were covered in dust. I selected the things I wanted to use, a tinted moisturizer, a neutral shadow, coffee colored liner and mascara, and last but not least- cinnamon lip color. The lip color was probably overkill for me but I liked using it on my cheeks and just barely there on my lips.
“Mwah.” I rubbed my lips together to even everything out and then left the bathroom without a backward glance.
In my room, I plucked my favorite pair of denim shorts from my desk chair. Shorts were my favorite article of clothing. It didn’t matter how tall I was when I wore them and I could almost always find a pair that were just the right length to show off some skin without being a skank and giving everyone a glimpse of my butt cheeks when I bent over.
Shirts were another story. On casual days, I was content to wear men’s t-shirts. There were actually quite a few brands that made nice shirts with comfortable and light fabric that didn’t make me feel like I was always wearing school spirit t-shirts. But if I wanted to look a little better than the schools best female basketball player, I had to really put in the time shopping.
Not only was I tall, but I had broad shoulders for women’s clothing. I was conscious of my posture and spent a lot of time in the weight room. Thankfully, I wasn’t flat chested, so when I did wear a shirt that fit a little snug, I didn’t just look like a guy with long hair in a muscle shirt. Still, it was difficult to find cute, flattering tops. I’ve been known to buy one of every color of a shirt in a style that worked for me. The shirt I found for the first day of school was cream colored with dusky rose flowers in a pretty print. I wasn’t usually into flowers but I noticed a lot of floral patterns when I was shopping this time and thought what the heck. I liked this shirt because it was long enough to cover the top half of my butt. It probably hit most girls at the top of their thighs.
I decided on some cute strappy sandals I’d gotten for a great price on clearance. A major benefit of having huge feet- there were always a lot of clearance shoes in my size.
One last look in the mirror. Was I trying too hard? I tried to think back to the first day of school last year. Had I put this much effort into it? I did. Didn’t I? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t doing this because of Drew. I wasn’t. Putting my best foot forward on the first day of my junior year of high school was important for me.
I shouldn’t be worrying about Drew. And whether or not he was going to talk to me. Would he try to kiss me again? Did I want him to? Okay, that was a stupid question. Of course I wanted him to, but was that what was best for me? Probably not. Ugh.
Just get over yourself, Piper. Yes, that would be my mantra until I stopped worrying about Drew and his stupid kisses.
The school parking lot was mostly full by the time Luke and I pulled into the spot we had paid twenty dollars for the privilege of parking in for the school year. Every year, the student council sold the spots as a fundraiser. Students paid the twenty bucks and then the spot was theirs to park in and decorate. Some people went all out, spray painting elaborate designs, cool cartoons, school pride, or whatever else. Others, like us (mainly because we couldn’t decide on a design we both liked), didn’t decorate and just had our names spray painted in by the student council sponsor, Mr. Bever. Except Luke and I didn’t even get our own names, just Hines Twins.
That’s how we were known at Eastridge Heights. The Hines Twins. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have my own identity. To not be known as half of a whole. Just Piper Hines. Not Luke’s sister or twin. Just. Me.
But that wasn’t my life and so I accepted my fate. The good thing was that on the whole, I liked my brother and for the most part, he didn’t hate me. We were The Hines Twins.
Eastridge Heights was a big school by Indiana standards. We were 4A in sports and have been known to dominate in basketball.
Football- not so much. And this created The Great Divide. As far as the athletes were concerned, you were either football or basketball. Not both. During football season, the basketball players played league ball. During basketball season, the football players wrestled or played hockey. The basketball guys were three season athletes, they just played basketball all three seasons.
Anyway, the football guys were complete lug heads. There were a few exceptions. Very few exceptions. And it seemed as though during the actual weeks of football season the douche-baggery was worse than usual.
Case in point.
Upon arriving at school on the first day, Luke drove the Jeep to our assigned parking spot. In white spray paint were the words ‘Hines Twins’ as was expected. What wasn’t so expected were the words painted beneath. ‘Sasquatch’ and ‘Little Guy’.
“Assholes.” Luke jerked the Jeep into park.
“It doesn’t matter, Luke.” It didn’t. But I knew it made him crazy. And I didn’t care for it much, either, but it was how things were.
That didn’t keep me from wishing things were different, though.
“I’ll come back after school and fix it, Pipe.” Luke placed his hand on my arm and I knew when I looked into his face what I’d see. Sorrow. Compassion. Anger.
It was always the same.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me.”
Yeah, Drew might have been the excuse I’d given myself for the extra effort I’d put into getting ready this morning, but that wasn’t really the reason. At least, not the only one.
“Of course I worry about you. You’re my sister.” The muscles in his jaw twitched and I knew he was itching to punch something. Or someone.
“It’s not going to be like last year, Luke. I won’t let it.”
He looked skeptical.
“I’m serious. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, it just matters what I believe about myself.” And that was the truth. So what if kids at school teased me relentlessly about being tall? So what if boys at school made it their life mission to torment me? None of that mattered. At least, that’s what I was trying to convince myself.
Because this year I wasn’t going to let it bother me. This year, I wasn’t going to hide. This year, I was going to stand tall, well taller, and not be ashamed. It was time to embrace my height. It was time to accept that I could be beautiful even if I was as tall or taller than most of the boys at my high school. Who cared? It wasn’t like I could help it. Just because my mom picked a sperm donor that was abnormally tall, didn’t mean my life had to be ruined. And it wasn’t.
I was going to make something of myself and prove all these idiots wrong. I was going to play in the WNBA someday and no jock from po-dunk-ville was going to stop me. Let them call me Sasquatch. Because I swear, one day when I came back to visit my hometown in the off season, I’d find them working as used car salesmen. And then I’d sign an autograph for their ki
ds because I was going places!
Whew.
“Let’s go. We’re almost late.” Luke got out of the Jeep and slammed the door shut with more force than was necessary.
Taking a deep breath, I followed him. This was about me. My attitude. What I was going to do. I just had to let go of everything else.
Chapter 10
Drew
The first day at a new school. Man, it sucked. It took all I had to get up this morning and get ready. I’d been sitting in my car for a good twenty minutes before I saw Luke and Piper drive up in their Jeep. Piper. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since last night. When she finally emerged from the Jeep, her long legs glowing gold in the morning sun, I had a sudden urge to run to her.
I snorted. What was I thinking? The last thing I needed to do was run anywhere near Piper. As comforting as it would be to lose myself in holding her, kissing her. I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Couldn’t happen. Shouldn’t. That didn’t keep me from wanting it, though. Unfortunately.
The warning bell dinged.
Sighing, I opened my car door and stepped out, desperately hoping the school had good air conditioning. Why had I decided on black today? Oh, yeah, to piss my mom off. She insisted with my coloring I should be wearing brighter colors. She always bought me pastels. What guy wore pastel? Although, I could go for a baby blue every once in a while.
Today, though, I stuck with the black that had become my trademark over the last six months. Black t-shirt. Dark wash distressed jeans. Black combat boots.
Ha. I briefly wondered what the guys from the basketball court would think. They’d never seen me wear anything but gym clothes. Well, I was back to my ‘don’t mess with me or I’ll kick your ass’ look for school, complete with leather strings around my wrists, a chain hanging from my belt loop, and I’d even put a bar through the piercing in my lip. I wasn’t grungy. I’d even gotten a haircut. Badass didn’t have to mean unkempt.
Damn.
Here goes nothing.
Why did every school smell the same? The familiar scent assaulted me, dragging me further into this reality I wanted to escape. I’d tried to talk my parents into letting me do online school but it was a no go. They’d tried to force me into some snobby private school, but I’d threatened to move out and live with my cousin who was few years older than me and already in college. It wasn’t an idle threat and I halfway wish I’d done it, but Kittie had thrown a huge fit and begged me not to go.
The compromise had been Eastridge Heights. Of course it helped that they had such a stellar basketball program. Coach Dennis Tillman was even a friend of my dad’s from back in his college days. They’d played together in college and had even gone to the Final Four back in the day.
I didn’t give a shit. It didn’t matter to me one way or the other. I wasn’t playing for Coach Tillman or anybody else. I loved playing basketball. Loved it more than just about anything. But I didn’t play for championships. I didn’t play for a team. I especially didn’t play for my dad. I played for the game. I played for me.
“Hey, Drew. What’s up, man?” Noah walked toward me, his hand raised for a high five that morphed into a handshake slash bro hug.
“First day of school, man,” I replied, my tongue fidgeting with the bar in my lip.
“Dude, when did you get that thing?” Noah’s eyes narrowed on the piercing.
I shrugged as we made our way down the main hall. “A while ago.” It had been one of my first, and probably most extreme, rebellions. Well, that and the tattoos. Dad cut back on my allowance after those. But really what else was a kid supposed to do with all that dough?
“Cool.” Noah nodded, taking my changed appearance in stride. “What’s your first class?”
“AP Bio,” I replied.
“AP, huh,” he asked, brow raised. Yeah, I got that a lot.
My face relaxed into a cocky grin. “How about you?”
“Actually, I’m in that class, too.”
“Good, you can show me the way.” Noah was cool. He was a senior this year and I could tell he was in a different realm than the other guys. He was more serious. Even his ball playing was more mature, thought out. The guy had his act together.
I’d thought back quite a few times to Piper talking to him at my house the day they all came to swim and wondered if there had ever been anything between them. I felt confident if there had been something, it was in the past. Not that I should care, I reminded myself.
The classroom was packed already and for the first time, I felt nervous. And glad to walk in with Noah.
“Dude, Noah.” A guy I didn’t know stood up from his seat to greet Noah with a back-slapping hug. “What are you doing in here, man? This class is for juniors.”
Noah just laughed and shook his head. “I took Physics last year. It got me all off track.”
“Hey, man, I’m Dustin.” Dustin held his hand out to me.
“Drew,” I told him, accepting his fist bump and glancing around the room. There were only a few open seats. I usually preferred to sit in the front as far away from the door as possible because my legs were so long and I didn’t want to have to worry about wedging them under a desk in the back or tripping anyone if I sat where people walked at the front. All the open seats were in the middle.
Ugh.
Noah found a seat near Dustin and I wound my way to a seat a few rows over and sat sideways rather than stuffing my knees under the desk. I avoided the curious gazes of the other students by staring my notebook on my desk.
About thirty seconds before the final bell rang, I glanced up when a short middle-aged man wandered into the room carrying a steaming mug of coffee and a stack of loose papers about five inches thick under his arm. His graying hair stood on end and his thick glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” he said without preamble. “We’re going to draw names for lab partners and move everyone to the back.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed lab tables set up with two stools at each. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with this too small desk. The bell rang and the chatter in the room quieted just a little. The teacher, whose name I knew from the printed schedule in my backpack was Mr. McGowan, shuffled through the sheaf of papers he’d set on the cluttered desk at the front of the room, peering at them over the rim of his glasses.
Noah leaned past a couple of girls to talk to me. “Mr. McGowan’s pretty cool. I had him last year for AP Chem.”
I just nodded since he leaned back into his seat, apparently not needing a reply to that. I was glad to hear Noah thought this strange guy was cool because the sloppy presentation notwithstanding, he seemed like he had the potential to be hard-nosed.
The bell rang and Mr. McGowan stood up straight with a single sheet of paper in his hand. “Well, it seems as though we are only missing-”
He was interrupted as the door swung open and an out of breath Piper stumbled into the room.
“Miss Hines.” Mr. McGowan glared. “Find a seat, Piper.”
“Sorry, sir.” Piper’s already flushed cheeks turned cherry tomato red as she made her way into the closest seat with her head down. She hadn’t noticed me.
“Now, as I was saying, we’re going to split into lab teams. You and your partner will be a team for labs as well as many classroom assignments. I suggest you work together. Use each other as resources. The more you cooperate with your partner the more you will learn which will lead to a better grade and hopefully college credit.” Mr. McGowan picked up a glass fish bowl from his desk and dumped slips of paper from an envelope into it.
Sitting sideways like I was, I had a clear view of Piper. Her eyes were still down and her cheeks were still abnormally red. She visibly struggled to calm herself down and I wished I could reassure her somehow. Yeah, right. Given our brief, albeit explosive, acquaintance, I didn’t think seeing me would be comforting to her at all right now.
Keeping one ear out for my name bei
ng called by Mr. McGowan, I took a second to scan the room. It was a brainy bunch. A few nerds. A couple preppy looking guys with perfection complexes if their pressed polos were any indication. I checked out a couple girl-next-door types. Cute, but nothing too interesting. A book worm here. A jock there. Typical high school diversity. I’d seen a cluster of girly girls checking me out, interest blatant in their expressions. I really hoped my name didn’t get pulled out of that bowl with one of theirs.
My eyes found their way back to Piper. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger-
“Noah Jacobs.”
Hearing Noah’s name distracted me from studying Piper. Noah stood at the edge of the room waiting to hear who his partner would be. Most of the class had made their way back to the lab stations with their partners.
“Tierney Hiatt.”
I glanced around the room, interested to see who Noah had been partnered with. The bookworm. The girl, Tierney, kept her eyes down as she closed the book she’d been reading and set it on the stack on her desk. Her hunched shoulders and curtain of dark hair hid most of her face from view. Mostly, I noticed the glasses on her nose and the fragile, delicate way she moved. For some reason, she reminded me of Kittie and I was glad she’d been partnered with Noah. He was nice and I figured he was pretty popular at this school. Maybe he could bring Tierney Hiatt out of her shell.
“Piper Hines.”
My attention snapped back to Mr. McGowan for a second before focusing again on Piper. She sat hunched over her seat like she awaited execution. I wished she would look up.
“And Drew Thompson.”
Chapter 11
Piper
No. Freaking. Way.
Had he been in here the whole time and I didn’t know? How was that even possible? I’d been more flustered than I wanted to let on about the spray paint on our parking spot and it was even worse when I walked in and Luke and I went our separate ways. I hadn’t spotted Dannika yet and as it happened my locker was smashed between two football players. And so went my first and last use of my hall locker. I’d be lugging everything around in my backpack for the rest of the school year.
Dating: One on One: Eastridge Heights Basketball Book 1 Page 7