Love Match by Monica Seles

over.
    â€œThat was incredible!” Lindsey said. “Normally, I hate to lose. I mean, who doesn’t hate to lose? But you creamed me. On the bright side, I can now say the girl who held her own against Donata Zajacova punished me in our game.”
    â€œWhat?” Maya didn’t even know what Lindsey was saying as the girl continued to ramble on about everything under the Florida sun. It came out so rushed, like she was racing to getin everything she could before Maya left. All Maya could make out was “Blah, blah, blah, story on the Wall!”
    Was this what Maya sounded like when she first met Nicole? But Maya had known Lindsey for weeks now. They’d grabbed frozen yogurts after practice together a couple times. She never talked like that before.
    â€œI mean, you squashed me,” Lindsey continued. “You scored point after point, and I was stuck on love.”
    â€œWhat?”
Stuck on love
was such a funny little phrase, but Lindsey was right. She hadn’t scored a single point.
    Maya hadn’t even noticed. Just like she hadn’t noticed the small crowd of classmates that had gathered to watch their game; that were still hanging by the other side of the fence.
    Suddenly, all the million things that had been crowding Maya’s mind came flooding back. Jordan. Travis. Jake. The Wall. Everything. It didn’t help that Lindsey wouldn’t shut up.
    â€œThank you,” Maya said, when she just wanted to tell Lindsey to get over it. Maya was hyperaware that she had to be kind even though she had an overwhelming desire to get out of there. She didn’t want anyone confusing her with Nicole.
    After enduring a few more gushing tributes, Maya excused herself as politely as she could and left the court. She wanted to be alone, but she needed something to drink. Water wouldn’t be enough to restock the electrolytes she’d lost in that game. She knew she should get away from the area, but nothing would quench her thirst like one of the energy drinks they served at the café beside the courts, aptly named Slice.
    Heads turned to see who’d come into the café, and everyone lingered a bit longer than usual when they saw it was Maya.
    While all the attention in the place was aimed at Maya, she was focused on someone else: Nicole. Oddly, the most popular girl in school sat alone, hunched over like she didn’t want to be disturbed. Nicole must have spent some time cultivating that pose of casual indifference. It was rare to see her without a pack of admirers.
    Maya discreetly eyed Nicole. The tennis star held her icy drink against the same wrist she’d nursed while she put makeup on after her match.
    Nicole was casual about it. The drink just seemed to be resting there. She certainly didn’t look like she was icing her wrist. But to Maya it was as bright as a neon sign on a dark country road. It had been days since the tournament and she was still in pain. That wasn’t good.
    Nicole raised her drink and their eyes met. Without a word, Nicole slammed down her cup and stood, making a quick exit. She wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed. She was mad. Maya knew her secret. And it was going to cost her.
    Maya sat with her drink at a table in the corner doing her best to adopt Nicole’s unwelcoming pose. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to think she was like her former idol, but she had to admit it worked. Everyone backed off, which gave her some time to consider what to do about Nicole.
    It was crazy that Nicole hadn’t seen a doctor about her wrist. That much was obvious since it wasn’t wrapped and cold drinks weren’t exactly the best way to ice an injury.
But why?
The next major tournament was weeks away. She had plenty of time to heal. If anything, Nicole could use the injury as anexcuse for why she hadn’t played that well against Dona. Bloggers still gave her a hard time for not crushing Dona. It was a completely unfair