Page 1 of Playmaker

One

Maddie

I just need to study.

That’s all I need to do.

But how oneartham I supposed to do that with all that racket going on downstairs?

Slamming the textbook in front of me closed, I move to the window and part the blinds to observe the party going on below. With my parents away for their annual anniversary trip, my brother decided to throw a spring breakextravaganzanow that we’re back from our respective colleges, but with the noise they’re producing, I wouldn’t be surprised if our neighbors tell our parents when they return, or worse, call the cops.

I don’t understand how Ethan has even stayed in contact with the friends he used to associate with in high school. Since I graduated, the only person I’ve stayed close to has been Maya, but she’s my best friend. The people I did lab projects with and spoke to during lunch were always kept in the background, and I was fine with that. If I had fewer people to hang out with, it allowed me more time to study. After all, I didn’t get into Briarwood—the best pre-med school in the country—by smoking blunts and getting trashed every weekend likesomepeople.

A shrill laugh echoes from the patio below, and I roll my eyes when I spot a girl draped across my brother’s lap. Her hands are running through his hair, and she seems to cling to every word he says like it’s the last time she’ll ever hear him relay some irrelevant story about his glory days on the high-school football team.

Unlike me, my brother decided to attend community college until he figures out what he wants to do with his life, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s days like this that I wish he’d grow the hell up already and focus on building his future rather than groping a random girl’s ass.

He could have gone far with football. He wasgreatat it. If he had just taken the scholarship he was offered, he might have been as good as—

No.

Absolutely not.

Despite my best efforts, my eyes stray to the guy sitting beside my brother, and I attempt to fight the surge of butterflies dancing in my stomach. Cameron Holden, also known as my brother’s best friend, is theepitomeof a fuckboy. He’s red flag central, and personally, I think he should wear a warning label every time he leaves his house.

Cameron got into West Bridge for football, and he’s already their star player, even if it’s only his junior year. Everyone predicts he’ll make it to the NFL, and maybe that’s what makes him so conceited. Whatever the reason, Cameron thinks he’s the greatest thing to walk the planet, but I’m always first in line to remind him that he’snot.

The Cameron I used to know, back when he and my brother were kids, was much cooler than the version he transformed into once he hit high school. The nerd with glasses who was obsessed with collecting Pokémon cards was my first crush. I drew hearts with his name in them in all my diaries, and when I went to sleep, I’d dream of a life where he’d fall for me, too, and all the conversations we had when my brother wasn’t around didn’t make justmegiddy and feel as if I was on cloud nine, but him as well.

There was a time when I thought we were more than friends until . . .

No.

I willnotthink about that day.

After he basically exiled me from his life, I felt embarrassed to admit I ever felt that way about Cameron, and when I get these random twinges of butterflies, I do everything in my power to shut them down. My heart doesn’t seem to realize he isn’t the same boy he used to be, or maybe it’s reacting due to the science of attraction.

Any normal person would see Cameron on the street and fall head over heels for him. He’s six three and ripped, with facial features that could have been chiseled by Michelangelo himself and a smile that could rival the hottest of deserts here in Arizona. Whowouldn’twant to jump his bones? It’s natural to want to pry his hand off the breast of the girl he’s currently groping and place it on mine instead.

At least, that’s what I try to convince myself.

The bass of the music gets louder, drawing me from my thoughts.

Doesn’t Ethan realize I have the MCATs to study for? Since I’m only a freshman, I can’t take the test until next spring, but I don’t care. Every moment counts, and I had planned to keep myself holed up in my room the entirety of spring break to take advantage of no distractions.

Clearly, that isn’t going to happen.

With an annoyed huff I leave my room in just a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, ignoring the fact that I look like a bum as I head downstairs and throw open the sliding door to the patio.

Ethan glances in my direction with a beer in hand, seemingly amused by the expression on my face. “Yes, Maddie?”

“I’m trying to study!” I attempt to yell over the music. As soon as the sentence leaves my lips, I realize how insane I sound. We all just got finished with finals for the semester, so the next two weeks should be time to wind down and celebrate.

The girls I’ve never met before snicker in the background, but I ignore them and keep my eyes on my brother.

“Why don’t you have a drink?” Ethan suggests. He reaches over to grab one from the cooler and passes it to me, and I hate how the object feels cold and unfamiliar in my hand. “It’s springbreak, Maddie. Emphasis onbreak. Stop being such a bore all the time.”

The girl sprawled across his lap bites her lip to keep herself from laughing, and it only fuels my anger. I don’t like parties. I never have. At least not now, at this point in my life. My only goal is to become a doctor, and achieving that requires an immense amount of focus. I’ll have time for partying and getting shit-facedafterI graduate medical school.

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