Above All Else Read Free Page B

times.
    â€œWe all have friends. Do you even know for sure that she’ll be there?”
    â€œNo. But likely. She said she would.” We were halfway to the park by this time.
    â€œThis is incredibly vague. You know that, right?” I said.
    â€œShe’s cute,” Riley said, then turned kind of pink.
    â€œWell, that’s good.” I said. “Wait, which girl are you talking about?”
    â€œMine. Like I just said, I haven’t seen yours.”
    â€œNow she’s mine?” I said. “I think this relationship is moving too fast.”
    â€œCute girls have cute friends. That’s just how it works.” He said it like it was the end of the conversation. “So, what do you really think about this whole Romano thing?”
    â€œI think he did it on purpose. Actually, I know he did. I was five feet away when it happened.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell Jared when he asked, then?” Riley said.
    â€œI didn’t want to get into it,” I said. Riley caught the ball on the side of his foot, and it shot into a hedge. He ran in, grabbed it and came back out to the sidewalk.
    â€œAnd?” Riley said.
    â€œAnd what?”
    â€œWas it wrong?” I stopped walking. Riley took another couple of steps, then turned around. “What?”
    â€œAre you serious?”
    â€œYeah. I mean, that Irvine guy is a dick. Like Jared said, he dives all over the place. He’d already got one call to go his way. He’s probably not even hurt.”
    â€œSo you think Rom should have taken him out?”
    â€œI think Rom was teaching him some respect.”
    I couldn’t believe what Riley was saying. “Seriously?”
    â€œI mean, I don’t think it was totally the right thing to do. And, honestly, Rom is an idiot and easily the worst player on the team. But people have to learn some way, right?”
    â€œWhere is this coming from?” I said. Riley was normally a reasonable person.
    â€œJared and I used to be in martial arts together. At the place where we trained, anyone who did anything dishonorable was banned. It’s not a bad policy.”
    â€œSo, who in this situation is dishonorable? Rom or Tim?”
    â€œTim.” I must have looked outraged, because Riley went on. “I’m not saying what Rom did was right. Okay? Just that it’s one way to deal with people who try and play outside of the rules.”
    â€œAre you buying into this above all else stuff?”
    â€œNo. But I want to win. Don’t you?”
    â€œI want to play my ass off, yeah. And if we win, then good. But it’s not what I play for.”
    â€œReally?” Riley said.
    â€œNo. How many people out there play as hard as they can and still lose?” Riley shook his head. “You have to play hard for yourself. That’s all that matters. To always try and get better. Period.”
    â€œSure, I guess. But I’ve done enough losing in my life.” We’d started walking again. The heat was seeping out of the day. Cars flashed past.
    â€œWhen do you ever lose? Soccer is all you play,” I said.
    â€œI used to skateboard—did you know that?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWell, that’s because I sucked. And like I said, I used to do martial arts, but I sucked at that too. My grades are garbage this term. I don’t have a job lined up for the summer or anything. My parents are going through a trial separation, and my sister is off at college getting, like, straight A’s or whatever. This team is all I have at the moment. When we’re winning, I feel like I’m doing something.”
    â€œSure,” I said. I’d had no idea all this was going on with Riley. We’d only begun hanging out the year before, when we both made the team. Before that, we’d moved in different circles.
    â€œAnyway, you should care too. I hear scouts are going to show for the playoffs, and word is a few have