Paper Flowers (Pretty Plastic People) ★

002. Liam Alvarado

002. Liam Alvarado

At Aquino High, in order to move up, you have to knock someone else down a rung.

The rest of the school day drags, like every day has since my senior year began. I have tennis practice afterwards, and in less than fifteen minutes I've changed into my uniform and jogged out to the court. The season hasn't officially started yet, but I go hit some balls every afternoon after school anyway. Being team captain and the number one player looks good on college applications, and even though I've already applied to all the Ivy Leagues, I have to maintain my image.

Cassidy Clark joins me just like she does every day, so that I'll have someone to return my shots. Not only is she likely going to be the number one player on the varsity team, but she's ranked in the country. She's already committed to play in college at a Division 1 school.

"What'd you think about calculus class today?" she asks, twirling her racket as I grab some balls and stuff them in the pockets of my skirt.

I bounce the first ball up and down a few times, savoring the purposeful thumps it makes on the hard court. "You mean the material or the fact that Allison tried to one-up me?"

When I serve the ball, it slams neatly into the service box, and Cassidy returns it before calling out, "The latter."

We rally back and forth for a few seconds, until I hit the ball past the base line. Cassidy runs me so furiously from one side of the court to the other that I'm already dripping sweat, but I welcome the workout. Just like everything else in life, I savor the challenge--otherwise, it's no fun at all.

"I think Allison's just looking for attention," I say finally, as I send the balls over to Cassidy so she can serve. "She clearly didn't know what she was talking about in class today, but she just wanted to make a scene."

Shrugging, Cassidy bounces one of the balls up and down on her racket. She looks contemplative, like maybe I shouldn't be speaking so harshly about my sister. But I know better. At Aquino High, in order to move up, you have to knock someone else down a rung. And who cares whether or not that's my sister?

For the next hour, Cassidy and I are too absorbed in tennis to talk anymore. I welcome the silence, because all I have to focus on is powering the ball as hard and accurately as I can across the court, where Cassidy will return it with a grunt typical of the professional-bound tennis player she is. By the time we stop for water at 4:30, I'm gasping, gulping in mouthfuls of freezing February air.

"You're going to the football game tonight, right?" asks Cassidy. She's already recovered and is perched on one of the bleachers, wiping her perspiring face with a towel. She glows when she sweats. Sadly, I become red-faced and sticky.

Even though I know what time it is, I turn on my phone screen out of habit. "I guess," I say. I have just enough time to go home and shower--I'll have to do my homework after the game. Odd as it is for there to be a football game on a Monday night, I'm willing to go just for the chance of running into Spencer--and to make sure Celia doesn't cling to him all night.

Cassidy grins and hoists her tennis bag over her shoulder, simultaneously zipping up the pocket that holds her rackets. She looks like she's bound for the US Open. Chewing down on my lip, I realize I'll probably never beat her for the number one spot on the team. And that should be okay, shouldn't it? After all, tennis is her life. It's just a hobby for me.

Still, as my best friend waves and jogs off to her Jeep, I can't help but feel a twist of envy.

It's a five minute drive back to my house, which I could have easily walked in ten minutes if I didn't have to tote along my tennis bag and backpack. Allison's silver car is already parked perfectly in the driveway, so I pull up on the side of the road because I can't get around her to enter the garage. Dad's car is absent--he must still be at work.