To Annie, it felt like coming home.

The sound of the skates on the track, the feel of the cool air in the soaring space, and the smell of . . . well, maybe it would be better not to dwell too much on the smell in the roller rink, which was a less-than-fresh blend of old carpet, sweaty skaters, and burned popcorn.

Annie stood on the threshold and smiled at the scene before her.

The music was loud, just the way she liked it. Jesse was at his usual post, tinkering with the wheel beds on the rental skates, Liz was leading the Liberty Belles in their pre-skate stretching routine, and Coach Ritter was making sure the girls were giving it their all.

Lauren was the first one to notice Annie and let out a cry of delight. In the next second, Annie was being mobbed by her teammates, crushed in a wonderfully welcoming group hug.

“Hey, hop-along,” Holly joked. “It’s about time you showed your face around here.”

“I agree,” said Coach, smiling and handing Annie a stopwatch. “As long as you’re out of commission, I can use an assistant coach.”

“I accept,” said Annie.

Then Coach blew her whistle and the team headed for the track. Coach hung back to accommodate the slow progress of Annie’s one-crutch gait.

“So how’s it feeling?” Coach asked, indicating the ankle. “Healing well?”

“You tell me,” said Annie, lowering herself to a nearby bench and hiking up the leg of her jeans.

Like a superhero shifting identity, Coach Ritter became Nurse Ritter and began a careful examination of Annie’s ankle. Annie was pleased to note that there was hardly any pain when her coach pressed her fingers around the bone.

“It’s actually looking really good,” said Coach Ritter. “The bruising isn’t as bad as it was and it’s barely swollen at all.”

Annie felt a rush of hope. “Do you think I’ll be able to skate soon?”

“Well . . .” Coach smiled. “Soon is kind of a vague term, but yes, I think so.”

“In time for the Halloween bout?” Annie pressed.

“I want that as much as you do, kiddo. But I really wouldn’t presume to say. That’s up to your doctor.”

Annie frowned. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

Coach gave her a sympathetic look. “I’d say ‘be patient,’ but I’m talking to a teenager and I know that patience isn’t in the teen repertoire.” She laughed and helped Annie up from the bench. “Now c’mon, let’s make these Belles do some drills. You’re my official timer.”

As they headed for the track, Coach paused. “And by the way, I really had a great time at Rosie Lee’s the other day.”

Annie beamed. “I’m glad to hear that. The food really is great, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And your dad is a terrific guy. He’s got a great sense of humor.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, sure . . .” Was it Annie’s imagination or was her roller derby coach blushing? “Dad’s the best.”

“He showed me your babysitting ad,” said Coach, smiling. “Are you free to babysit my two monsters tomorrow night for a few hours?”

“I’d love to!” Annie replied. Brandon and Abbey were adorable.

Looking after them will be a piece of cake, Annie thought.

“Great! I’ll pick you up at seven,” Coach said.

Then she blew her whistle and the Belles began their drills. Annie tried to stay focused on the timing but Coach’s blush kept distracting her. Was she reading too much into it?

After several minutes of serious skating, Coach called for a break and went to find Slammy Tammy, the High Rollers’ coach, to arrange an impromptu scrimmage.

Annie joined her teammates, who were huddled at the side of the rink, drinking from their water bottles.

“It’s not the same without you on the track,” said Carmen, giving Annie a smile.

“Yeah,” said Lauren. “I’m lost without my derby wife.”

“You didn’t look lost to me,” Annie said. “You were wicked out there.”

Liz looked across the rink at where the High Rollers were stretching. “I can’t help feeling like it’s their fault that you got hurt,” she grumbled.

Annie shook her head. “I was the one who let anger get the better of me.”

“But that Dee Stroyer egged you on,” said Holly bitterly. “She went for the jugular.”

Annie couldn’t help but look surprised that this remark had come from Holly.

Holly rolled her eyes. “I know, I know, I’m one of the biggest ‘eggers’ in the league. But when I do it, it’s only jokingly.”

“She’s right,” said Sharmila. “If Dee hadn’t taunted you, you wouldn’t have reacted the way you did, Annie.”

“Mentioning Tyler was hitting below the belt,” Carmen agreed.

Annie was genuinely touched by how protective her team was being on her behalf. They were right. Dee had wanted to infuriate Annie with all those cracks about asking Tyler to the dance. So maybe Annie and Dee were equally to blame for Annie’s injury. “Well,” she said, “it’s over and done with, and there’s really nothing we can do about it now.”

As the High Rollers went into a huddle and sang one of their psyche-out chants, Holly flashed a mischievous grin. “Not necessarily.”

“Uh-oh.” Liz frowned, planting her hands on her hips. “What are you suggesting, Holly Terror?”

Holly shrugged. “Just a little play-acting. All in good fun, of course, but I say we make the Rollers think we’re a bunch of crazed maniacs! I bet then that Dee Stroyer, and everyone else for that matter, will think twice about pushing our buttons.”

Sharmila’s vivid green eyes twinkled. “Sounds like fun.”

“Sounds like a stint in the sin bin,” Liz corrected.

Holly shook her head. “Not if we go wild before the scrimmage.”

Lauren cocked her head. “Huh?”

“Watch and learn, freshman,” said Holly. By way of demonstration, she gave the unsuspecting Sharmila a good hard shove.

Caught off guard, Sharmila went spinning across the track, just barely managing to stay on her feet.

“That’ll teach you to mess with my skates!” Holly barked.

Sharmila didn’t miss a beat. “Touch me again, Red, and I’ll mess with more than just your skates.”

Annie’s eyes were wide as Holly skated out until she was standing toe stop to toe stop with Sharmila.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!

By now, Jesse had joined Annie on the sidelines, curious about the screaming match.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“They’re putting on an act,” said Annie, watching as her two teammates began to circle each other like panthers ready to attack.

Holly was positively screeching now. “Listen up, Godzilla . . .”

“You put your grubby little paws on me again and I will take you out!”

“Please!” Holly rolled her eyes. “The only thing more fake than your threats is —”

“Your hair color?” Sharmila shot back.

That did it! The Belles and the Rollers watched in stunned silence as Holly flung herself at Sharmila, grabbing her by the shoulders. But Sharmila was ready. She wrapped her arms around Holly’s waist and squeezed.

“It’s a brawl!” cried one of the Rollers.

“Look at them go!” said another.

Liz allowed the girls to pretend a little longer before she grabbed Lauren and they skated out to break up the fight. Liz hauled a hissing and sputtering Holly off Sharmila, while Lauren secured Sharmila’s arms behind her back.

“Guess you didn’t hear what I said about people keeping their hands to themselves!” Sharmila screamed. In the next second, she’d ducked out of Lauren’s hold and was pulling Holly across the track by her ponytail.

Carmen giggled. “My turn,” she whispered to Annie, then bombed out to the track to throw herself on Liz.

“Do something!” cried Annie, grabbing Jesse’s arm. “Somebody’s gonna get hurt.”

“Nah,” said Jesse, grinning. “They’ll be fine. Nobody’s even gonna break a nail.”

Annie glanced at the High Rollers, who were watching the fight in amazement. A few of them looked a little nervous, and Annie didn’t blame them.

Then came the peal of a whistle and Coach Ritter barreled across the track, stopping on her toes in the center of the action.

“Enough!” she shouted.

The girls immediately ceased their faux-kicking and mock hair-pulling, and caught their breath.

Annie watched as the High Rollers exchanged glances. She was pretty sure that for the most part they knew the whole brawl had been a sham, but a few of them looked worried that the Belles had anger management issues.

Coach was looking pretty angry herself. “What in the world was that?” she demanded.

“Theatrics,” said Holly. “We just wanted to remind them who they’re dealing with, that’s all.”

“Who they’re dealing with,” said Coach sternly, “is a well-trained team of athletes who should know better than to behave like a bunch of psychos on the track!”

“We just wanted to scare them,” Liz said sheepishly. “We wanted them to think that we were loose cannons, so they’d be less likely to mess with us.”

Coach sighed. “I understand,” she said. “I do. You’re upset because their antics are partially to blame for Annie’s injury. But in my opinion, nonsense like that is what gives roller derby a bad name. If we want this sport to be taken seriously, we have to behave like serious athletes — at all times.”

Holly lowered her eyes. “It’s my fault, Coach,” she confessed in a mumble. “The whole thing was my idea.”

Annie was pretty certain Coach would have figured that out without a confession.

Coach was quiet for a long moment. Then she sighed heavily. “Okay. You don’t intimidate an opponent by out-bragging, out-threatening, or out-trashing them. You do it by going out there and out-skating them. Never again, team. Do I make myself clear?”

The girls nodded, and murmured, “Yes, Coach.” Even Annie, who hadn’t actually taken part but felt guilty by association, muttered an apology.

She decided to take Coach’s advice to heart. Next time Dee Stroyer or anyone else got under her skin, she would just have to rise above it and make it about the skating and the skills.

Not about Tyler Erickson.

Coach gave a firm nod. “Now,” she said, “get yourselves together. The scrimmage starts in five.”

A few of the girls went to the lockers to splash cool water on their sweaty faces. Sharmila stayed behind to deal with her long, gorgeous mane of velvety black hair. The craziness had caused it to come loose from the French braid she wore. When she accidentally dropped her hairband, Jesse practically dived to pick it up from the floor.

Or at least that’s how it seemed to Annie.

“Nice work out there,” Jesse said, handing Sharmila the band. “You got out of Lauren’s half nelson without batting an eyelash. You were like Houdini or something.”

Sharmila laughed. For a second, Annie couldn’t believe that this feminine giggle was coming out of the same tough brawler she’d just seen on the track.

Annie fiddled with the stopwatch as Jesse continued to talk to Sharmila, who expertly folded her long glossy hair over and over itself until the plait was back in place.

Annie wasn’t sure why Jesse paying attention to a pretty girl should bother her. Maybe she was just feeling jealous because she was certain that Tyler would never look at her that way now — not after she humiliated him by turning him down for the dance.

She didn’t get to think about it much longer, because her teammates were returning from the locker room and the High Rollers were already on the track preparing to scrimmage.

“Thanks for the show,” Dee Stroyer said in a sarcastic voice. “Maybe next time you can do Wicked for us.” Then she let out a nasty, sarcastic laugh.

Annie gritted her teeth and vowed that next time, she’d put Dee Stroyer in her place.

The only problem was she’d have to get back on her skates to do it.