Lily had been at the game, and when it was over she told Ben they needed to walk into town for ice cream, Lily Wyatt always believing that ice cream could cure just about anything wrong in your world, or the whole world.
“What if I said I didn’t want any company right now, or ice cream?” Ben said.
“You’d be wrong,” Lily said. “You know you want both.”
Sam and Coop and Shawn and the rest of the players were tearing into the snacks that Mrs. Manley had brought, cookies and brownies and chips and Gatorade. Ben and Lily were sitting at the top of the bleachers, just the two of them.
Chase and the Darby players were already gone, even though the scoreboard was still lit, still had the final score on it.
“I really don’t feel like it,” Ben said.
“Well, now you’re just being plain old silly.”
Coop yelled up from the court that he and Sam were going to Shawn’s house to play video games, maybe throw a football around on the cool turf field his dad had built for him behind their house. Ben told them to go ahead, maybe he’d check them later, for now he was going to hang with Lily.
“See how easy that was?” Lily said.
“Let me just go tell my parents we’re going into town.”
Lily said, “I already did.”
When they were outside, Ben told Lily what Chase had said to him after making his shot to win the game.
“You believe that?” he said.
“Oh, it doesn’t sound so terrible to me,” she said. “You make it sound like he stole your bike or something.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“You know how guys trash-talk each other during games.” She pounded her chest a couple of times and then in a deep, caveman voice she said, “Me good. You bad.”
Ben said, “You’re telling me you think it’s okay?”
“Well, as okay as boys being boys can ever be.”
Smiling as she did.
“I don’t recall you ever acting like that when you scored a game-winning goal in soccer.”
“But you know what?” Lily said, “I want to sometimes. You’re telling me that you never do?”
“I might want to,” Ben said, “but I never do.”
It was only a short walk from Rockwell Middle School into town. They were passing the YMCA now, Ben feeling a sudden urge to tell Lily he’d decided to pass on getting ice cream after all, wanting to go inside his dad’s Y and see if there was a free basket in one of the gyms.
Instead he said to her, “No matter how much I might want to pound my chest when my team wins, I don’t. C’mon, Lils, you know that’s not the way I think you’re supposed to act.”
“But, see, that’s the thing, not everybody thinks the same way you do,” Lily said. “And I gotta tell you, McBain, it would be pretty boring if they did.”
“Now I’m boring?”
“Nope. Maybe a tad sensitive, I’m thinking. Never boring. And neither is Chase.”
“What’s Chase got to do with this?”
“Practically everything?” Lily said.
“Are you asking or telling?” Ben asked. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell with you.”
“Hey, I just think he’s fun to watch,” she said. “Remember, when I first heard about him, I thought he sounded like he might be a pretty cool rival for you. And that was before I saw him play. Now that I have seen him play, I’m positive he’s going to be a totally cool rival for you.”
Ben said, “So I’m boring and he’s cool and fun. Got it.”
“Now you really are being silly,” Lily said. “I’m just saying that the two of you going up against each other this season can be cool and fun. Mostly because you’re so different. Like when you got me to watch that movie about Bird and Magic, that’s what I came away with, how different they were, and not just because of the way they played. Magic was all smiles all the time and Larry Bird, he was so serious you wondered if he ever smiled.”
Ben made a motion like he was checking something off an invisible list.
“Check,” he said. “I’m also too serious.”
Lily poked him with her elbow so he could see her smiling at him again. “Usually? No. Lately. Yes!”
Ben said, “I can’t believe you like that guy.”
“I like watching him play,” she said. “I like watching you play. And I’m not gonna lie to you, Big Ben, but I can’t wait until the next time you two play against each other.” She put out her hands, like he was going to cuff her, said, “There, I’ve confessed, take me away, Officer.”
Ben didn’t want a rematch with Chase right now. But he did want to be playing. Alone. On the court at McBain. Wanted that more than ice cream, more than being with Lily. But he knew if he told her that, she’d start in all over again about him being too serious.
When she thought he was acting like that, she called him the king of the non-smilers.
Ben said, “I’m glad you find this all so hilarious.”
“Oh, lighten up, McBain,” she said, “you know I’m not really busting on you.”
“Glad we cleared that up.”
Lily said, “Do you want my honest opinion about Chase?”
Back to Chase. It was as if he were going for ice cream with them.
“Do I have a choice?” Ben said.
Lily said, “I honestly think you should look at him as a fun challenge, and not act like even the idea of playing against him is worse than having your TV privileges taken away.”
Ben didn’t say anything right away, both of them waiting for the light to change at the corner of Main and Elm, and so Lily finally said, “Well?”
“You’re right,” he said.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, Lils, you are right. So thank you.”
“Just doing my job.”
He didn’t think she was right. Not even close. He couldn’t believe Lily — of all people — didn’t believe the guy was out of line for chirping on Ben after the game. Couldn’t believe she thought this hot dog was fun to watch. But he knew that if he didn’t drop the subject, drop it right now, she was going to think he was even more fixed on Chase. Or more sensitive on the subject than she already thought he was. Basically Ben just wanted the conversation to be over now. So he ended it in a way that had always worked for him in the past. Or almost always worked. Ben’s dad joked sometimes, even in front of Ben’s mom, that the most important words in the English language for any guy were these:
“You’re right, dear.”
“I gotta chill on Chase or it’s going to be a long season.” Ben said.
They crossed Main Street and walked through the door to Two Scoops, sat down at the counter, and both ordered banana splits, Lily announcing that there would be no more talk about Chase Braggs or the Rockwell-Darby game for the rest of the afternoon.
But while they waited for their ice cream, Ben was still thinking about Chase. Thinking that it really was like the guy had made the walk into town with them, almost like they should have ordered something for him.
It wasn’t enough that Chase had made the shot. Or that his team had won because of it. Or that even when the game was over he was still talking.
No.
Now on top of all that, there was something just as bad.
Maybe worse.
Lily thought the guy was cool.