The Lie

by Glasko Klein

  Leanna grinned at her friend in a way that she hoped looked reassuring instead of forced and said, “You’re starting to sound like my mom. C’mon, Jen, you’re a star when you want to be—you just have to stay focused and keep your head in the game. I know you’re going to do great at tryouts.”

  Jenny beamed back and nodded eagerly, and Leanna couldn’t help but feel bad. She really did believe that her friend would be able to get better, probably even good enough to make JV—if they had until next year to prepare. Less than a week really wasn’t enough time to get Jenny into competitive shape. She made far too many small, technical errors to be consistent, and at the very least, JV players needed to be able to keep a competitive rally going. Still, she really did want Jenny to be there with her at the tryouts. They’d gone through every other major milestone together and a big part of her wasn’t ready to let that go yet.

  “Well, let’s get to it then!” Jenny called, jogging to her usual side of the court. Her side just happened to be a little easier to defend because the sun was always at her back in the afternoons when they usually played.

  Leanna forced another grin and reminded herself to stay supportive as she called across the net, “Sounds good, Jen, but let’s switch it up this time. They’re not going to go easy on us at tryouts, and I’m sure at least half the time the sun is going to be in your eyes. You may as well start getting used to it now.”

  Jenny fiddled with her racquet, and Leanna caught a flash of concern on her friend’s face, but it was gone a moment later.

  “Fair enough,” she said, and the two switched sides and struck up a relaxed volley. After a few strokes, Leanna increased the intensity and started focusing more on her placement, sending Jenny jogging back and forth between the alleys just to keep the ball in play. From the redness in her friend’s face, it was clear that keeping up wasn’t easy, but Jenny was able to hold her own surprisingly well. Leanna was already starting to feel a little better. Maybe it wasn’t selfish to pressure her into trying out after all. Maybe it was just the push Jenny needed, Leanna thought.

  “See, you’re getting it now, Jen! We’re just going to have to keep working over the next few days.”

  Jenny was out of breath but managed a nod in reply before rushing back across the court to return Leanna’s perfectly placed shot. She made it to the next ball, but her technique had given out and she lost her grip on her racquet, sending the ball sailing straight into the net.

  “Wow, Leanna, you’re really good,” Jenny panted as she retrieved the ball. “I mean, I knew you were good, but I’m actually starting to feel bad for all those kids we beat to a pulp over the years.”

  Leanna laughed. “Well, it takes two to strike up a solid rally—you weren’t so bad out there yourself.” They smiled at one another, but Jenny’s grin quickly faded into another look of concern.

  “What about the rest of them, though?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The other girls. They all take private lessons and play indoors all winter and get new racquets every year. I haven’t even gotten mine restrung yet,” Jenny said, plucking nervously at the strings of her own racquet.

  Leanna remembered what her mom had told her last night and said, “You can’t worry about that. It doesn’t take fancy tennis lessons and indoor court memberships and brand new racquets to get tennis skills. You just have to commit to the game.” She sounded so much like her mom it surprised her, and for a brief moment she wished Jenny had been there at dinner last night so she could appreciate it.

  “That sounds like a line from a sports movie,” Jenny laughed.

  “Well, there’s a reason why they always have the same theme, right?” Leanna winked at her.

  Just then, they heard the familiar skid of bike tires from the edge of the fence and looked over to see the Gartner twins pulling up. Jenny nervously spun her racquet in her hand, but Leanna saw an opportunity. Teddy is good, but he isn’t nearly as good as Kelsey. And even when he wins big, he’s nice enough not to rub it in, Leanna thought. If Jenny can manage to even keep up with him enough for a set to be close, it will be huge for her confidence.

  “Hey,” Leanna called out to the twins, “you two back for a rematch? The game is singles this time. I’ll take on Kelsey.”

  The twins grinned at each other as they locked up their bikes. “You’re on,” Kelsey replied. “It can’t hurt for you to get used to some humiliation before tryouts roll around, Leanna.”

  “You’re right, I should get used to not laughing when you whiff the ball so I don’t fall over and embarrass myself,” Leanna teased.

  As usual, Teddy either failed to pick up on the harsh edge of his sister’s taunts or just chose to ignore them. “Sounds good to me! Let’s get to it, Jen!”

  Jenny squared her shoulders and did her best to look determined, but a trace of fear still managed to sneak its way onto her game face. “All righty, Teddy. I think I might surprise you this time.”

  And Jenny did surprise him. Just not in the way that she hoped.

  5

  Rather than the confidence booster Leanna had hoped it would be, Jenny’s singles match with Teddy turned out to be a disaster. If she was being honest with herself, Leanna knew that she hadn’t exactly done a whole lot to help things along.

  She had managed to stay supportive of her friend during the first game—the first half of it anyway—but then she’d quickly got sucked into what was probably the most competitive match she’d ever played. She and Kelsey had gone point for point until Leanna had been able to secure the win. But based on what Teddy had told her, his game with Jenny hadn’t gone nearly as well. Jenny managed to hold her own for the first game but lost her fighting spirit by the second. After that, she didn’t win a single point. To make matters worse, Jenny had left the park without saying goodbye. Leanna had been so wrapped up in her game, she failed to notice.

  Later on she had texted Jenny, who made up some excuse about having to get home in time for dinner. But Leanna could tell Jenny was upset based on her short, infrequent replies. So at school the next day, she had promised Jenny that they would hang out and do a non-tennis related activity that weekend to take her mind off of the match with Teddy. Jenny had agreed, although she had seemed a little reluctant. Leanna was starting to think encouraging Jenny to go to the tryouts had been a bad idea.

  * * *

  Now, it was Friday night and Leanna was waiting outside the mall, where they’d agreed to meet for some food court pizza and an early show at the Cineplex. Jenny was almost a half hour late, and she hadn’t answered any of Leanna’s texts.

  Leanna let out a long sigh and checked her phone again, but nothing had changed since she’d last looked at it—not even the time.

  She was about to try calling Jenny when she heard, “Hey, Lee!” Leanna quickly pocketed her phone and tried to look as if she hadn’t been anxiously waiting.

  “Hey, Jen, glad you could make it! Did you get lost and accidently wind up at Tetterman’s?” Leanna said, regretting the joke as soon as she made it. But Jenny just smiled like nothing was wrong and gave her a hug.

  “Sorry, I got wrapped up talking to my mom,” she said.

  “About what?” Leanna asked.

  Jenny brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes and said, “Just tennis stuff, nothing big.”

  Leanna really wanted to ask her friend what she meant by that, but she bit her tongue, remembering how she’d promised Jenny a tennis-free evening.

  Instead, she just said, “Let’s eat!” and they made their way to the mall’s food court.

  Leanna was anxious to start the evening off on the right note, but it didn’t take long for things to start getting tense. As soon as they sat down at one of the food court’s tiny plastic tables, Jenny jerked her chin at Leanna’s tray and said, “Going for the salad I see. That’s a new one.”

  Leanna smiled nervously and did her best not to look at the greasy cup of breadsticks on her friend’s tray
across the table. “Well, I’m trying to eat a little healthier. Think of it as spring cleaning.”

  Although Leanna didn’t go into more detail, she didn’t have to. Obviously she can tell my newfound taste for leafy greens is related to next week’s tryouts, Leanna thought.

  Jenny tried to force a smile, but just wound up looking angry. “You know what, that’s a good idea,” she said, standing and picking up her tray. “I think I’ll go trade up myself.”

  While Jenny was making her exchange with the cashier, Leanna tried to think of a way to change the subject. When Jenny returned to the table, she said quickly, “So what movie did you want to see? Teen Witch 3: Witches in the City just came out.” It was the latest installment of a long-running series of movies about magically gifted high school girls, and the two had been fans of it practically since they’d first met.

  “I dunno, I was thinking maybe we could try and sneak in to College Party,” Jenny said, pushing her salad to the side of her tray and picking up a slice of pizza.

  “Isn’t that rated R?” Leanna asked.

  “Well, yeah, that’s why we’d sneak in. It’s not like they’re going to ID us once we’re actually in the theater,” Jenny responded before taking a large bite of pizza.

  Leanna stirred a cup of dressing into her salad and frowned. It wasn’t so much that she was afraid of getting in trouble for sneaking into a movie that was bothering her—she actually thought it was pretty dumb you had to be 17 to see an R-rated movie anyway. Instead it was that sneaking into a raunchy, fraternity-focused comedy was pretty out of character for Jenny.

  “It just doesn’t seem like your kind of movie,” Leanna said, trying to be casual.

  Jenny glared at Leanna. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing, it’s just not what we usually do,” Leanna said, trying not to get sucked into an argument.

  “Well, we’re big high school kids now, trying to get onto JV with Kelsey and all that. I’m sure she’d want to see College Party,” Jenny said.

  Leanna forced herself not to roll her eyes. “So this is about tennis still then,” she said, cutting to the chase.

  “Yeah, Leanna, it is,” Jenny snapped. Suddenly she deflated and looked down at her food in embarrassment. “It’s so easy for you, you know? You can just hop on the court with someone like Kelsey and all of a sudden you’re practically a pro. It’s not like that for me,” Jenny said softly. “I know I’m just going to embarrass myself at the tryouts and then get stuck on the C-squad. I’m thinking of not even going.”

  It was the perfect way out for Leanna, but at the same time it was the last thing that she wanted to hear because it meant she had to make a choice. She could either continue encouraging Jenny and risk her friend being crushed if tryouts didn’t go well, or she could let Jenny talk herself out of trying out for the team at all. But Leanna really didn’t want to go to the tryouts by herself.

  Leanna didn’t doubt that she had the skills, but as tryouts approached, she was starting to realize how much pressure she was feeling. There was pressure from her mom, not only about following in her footsteps to tennis greatness, but also about being able to afford college. There was pressure to out-perform Kelsey—it was one thing to be the reigning champ at Tetterman’s, but it would be even more satisfying to get a better spot on the team than her rival. There was even some pressure not to let Jenny down.

  Leanna would have liked to think that she was pushing Jenny to try out in order get her friend out of her comfort zone, but deep inside she knew that she was afraid to show up at tryouts by herself. She only had one shot to impress the coaches, and having Jenny there for support would make her feel more confident. Anything I can do to make things easier is a chance I’m going to have to take, Leanna thought. Even if that means Jenny winds up bombing her own tryout.

  Knowing what she needed to do, Leanna took a deep breath and said, “Oh, stop it, Jenny, everybody has bad days. I’m sure you’ll do great, and I’ll be there with you, so even if it doesn’t go well, you’re not going to be alone. I promise.”

  “Really?” Jenny asked.

  “Really,” Leanna responded, cracking a smile and picking up her slice of pizza. “Now let’s eat. And we can see whatever you want,” she added.

  Jenny grinned back at her. “Well you know it has to be TW3.”

  “I know,” Leanna laughed. Thinking back to all the times they’d watched the earlier Teen Witch movies made Leanna feel a little better about things. Their friendship had already made it through hundreds of tennis matches. Besides, she hadn’t really done anything wrong—she’d just encouraged her friend to push herself. Even if things don’t go well, Jenny can’t blame me for that, can she?

  6

  When Leanna and Jenny arrived at the school courts for tryouts on Monday after school, the coaches split all the freshman into two groups, with Leanna and Kelsey in one and Jenny in the other. Leanna tried to keep an eye on how Jenny was doing and offer smiles of encouragement whenever the two caught each other’s eye. She wasn’t sure who the silent acknowledgements benefited more, her or Jenny—the competition was fiercer than she’d expected, and it was reassuring to see her friend out there with her, even if they weren’t on the same court. When the tryouts progressed from basic drills to more competitive, head-to-head play, Leanna wound up facing off with Kelsey again.

  “Nice to see how you do without that pal of yours,” Kelsey sneered from the other side of the court. Leanna bent down to scoop up the ball she had just smacked straight into the net. Kelsey’s first serve had been wicked.

  Losing the first rally hurt, but Kelsey’s words did even more damage. Leanna knew she had a point. She had been a bundle of nerves all day worrying that her encouragement hadn’t been enough and that Jenny was going to back out of tryouts at the last second. She had been so relieved when she met Jenny at her locker after class and saw her pulling out her racquet. But Leanna brushed off the memory and tried to focus on the match. Kelsey was in rare form, and Leanna had to start playing on her level if she had any chance of making the team. Okay, Leanna, concentrate, she thought. You can worry about Jenny later.

  “Hey, you ready over there?” Kelsey called out from the baseline, where she was anxiously bouncing a ball against the surface of the court. “You can think your deep thoughts later.”

  Leanna jogged back to her own baseline and called, “Let’s see it then, Gartner. Hope you didn’t tire yourself out too much with that first serve.”

  Kelsey hammered the ball straight into the inside corner of Leanna’s service box, but this time Leanna was ready. With a perfect block, she sent the return deep into the court. She advanced toward the net, ready for Kelsey’s next shot. When it came, Leanna crouched down and answered with a perfect drop shot that sent Kelsey charging toward the net too. Kelsey got there, but barely, and she popped up a weak return that Leanna easily swatted toward the back of the court where Kelsey had just been. That’s more like it, Leanna thought. Now I just have to do that a hundred more times and I have this in the bag.

  As Leanna slipped into the zone, she didn’t just forget to shoot Jenny an encouraging glance now and then, she forgot she was there at all. It took all her energy just to keep up with Kelsey, who had found her own groove. By the end of the first three game mini-set, they were running each other ragged on every point, sprinting from one side of the court to the other to return each other’s ground strokes then pressing up to the net for an equally punishing exchange of volleys.

  Finally, after an intense showdown at the net for the set point, Leanna managed to clinch the first set by dropping the ball into the back court with a well-placed lob. Kelsey pivoted and dropped back with a sprint worthy of the Olympics, but it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t catch a piece of the ball.

  “Wow, Kelsey, you got good. Like, really good,” Leanna panted as they both grabbed their water bottles.

  Kelsey wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and smiled—
and for once it seemed genuine. “Well,” she replied between breaths, “we’re in the big leagues now. Did you really think I was going to let you get a top spot without a fight?”

  Kelsey managed to win the second set with some tricky maneuvering of her own, pulling out a technique Leanna had never seen her use before—the kick serve. She must have spent all winter at the indoor courts across town practicing that, Leanna thought bitterly, wishing for the millionth time that she could afford to take lessons there. She made a note to keep an eye on Kelsey’s serve in the third and final set.

  The short sets made things easier in terms of endurance, but it also meant there was almost no room for error. Leanna had the serve in the first game, and she tapped into what was left of her energy to increase her aggression. She started rushing the net immediately, taking Kelsey’s returns out of the air with vicious volleys.

  Kelsey clawed her way back in the second game, taking advantage of Leanna’s fading energy by keeping her running all over the court until she started losing her technique and accuracy.

  Leanna’s lungs burned and her legs ached, but it dawned on her that this had probably been the most exciting match she’d ever played. “You really meant it about not letting me get a spot without a fight,” she called. “Once we’re on the team, we’re gonna have to play together a lot more. The other schools won’t even know what hit them.” She could taste the sweat on her lips as she smiled across the court at Kelsey, who seemed to be having a lot of fun too.

  “Yeah,” she called back, “if they don’t stick you on the C-squad once I’m done crushing you.”

  Leanna laughed and shook her head before jogging back to the baseline on her side of the court to start the third and final game. But going hard during the whole match made Leanna exhausted—her arms were burning, and she could hardly lift them above her head, much less keep her toss accurate. Kelsey was starting to wear down too, but that made their skills even at best, and it soon became clear that Kelsey had the edge. She kept up with her strategy of making Leanna run for every return, and it worked. Kelsey had fought her way to a break point when Leanna’s arm finally gave out, ending the contest by sending her serve straight into the net twice in a row, losing on a double fault.