Fix You Read Free

I come?”
    A couple of the boys looked like they wanted to invite her, but once again, it was the tall boy who answered. “No girls allowed.”
    “I’m a good pitcher,” she lied. Truth was she hated baseball, but anything was better than the solitude that had plagued her for days.
    Apparently she’d chosen the wrong position. “I’m the pitcher,” the tall boy said angrily. “And I told you. No girls. Come on, guys.”
    They continued walking toward the park as Zoey’s eyes filled with tears. She batted them away quickly. Boys were jerks.
    She walked back toward her front porch, disheartened. She’d exhausted her mother’s list of so-called fun summer activities. She was tired of coloring, watching movies and reading. While her room was unpacked and completely decorated, her parents were still busy painting and fixing up the rest of the house. She’d offered to help several times, but they told her she’d just be in the way and instructed her to go out and make some new friends, play.
    Zoey sank onto the top step of the porch and sighed. She hated this stupid town, this stupid house and those stupid boys.
    Another boy came running down the street in the direction of the park. Clearly he was late and trying to catch up with the others. Zoey didn’t stir, didn’t bother to wave. What was the point? No girls allowed. The brown-haired boy had almost passed her house when he noticed her and slowed down.
    When he turned to look at her, she felt a stirring of hope. Maybe this boy would be nicer than the others. She lifted her hand and waved.
    He stopped and approached her house. “Hi,” he said.
    His face was friendly, open, and Zoey liked him instantly. She grinned. “Hi.”
    “You’re new here, aren’t you?”
    She nodded. “We just moved in last week. I’m Zoey.”
    The boy’s smile widened. “I’m Robbie Granger. I live across the street, three houses down that way.” He pointed to a home with deep blue shutters and a wide front porch that resembled the one she was sitting on.
    She gestured to the glove in his hand. “You going to play baseball with those other boys?”
    He nodded. “Yeah. You wanna come?”
    “They told me no girls were allowed.”
    Robbie frowned. “Since when?”
    Zoey shrugged. “I don’t know. The tall boy just said I couldn’t play.”
    “That would be Jeff. He’s a jerk.” Robbie glanced toward the basketball net hanging above her garage. “My best friend, Johnny, used to live here,” he said. “We spent all last summer playing basketball. You shoot hoops?”
    Zoey didn’t, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t learn. “A little. There’s a ball in the garage. Johnny’s family must’ve left it behind. You want to play?” she asked hopefully, spying an end to at least one boring day.
    Robbie tossed his baseball mitt to the ground. “Sure. I hate baseball.”
    She hopped up quickly, dashing into the garage to grab the basketball at the speed of light. She was afraid Robbie would leave if she left him alone for too long.
    For a few minutes, she watched him shoot, then she took a couple turns. When it became obvious she’d never played the game in her life, Robbie taught her how to shoot, then they spent the rest of the afternoon playing Horse.
    By the time the other boys returned from the park, she and Robbie had formed their own little club of two—boys and girls allowed. Jeff teased Robbie about playing with a girl, but Robbie shrugged off the taunts, not rising to the bait. Zoey knew then and there he was the coolest person she’d ever met.
    When the other guys drifted back to their houses, she and Robbie walked to the middle of her front yard and dropped down to sit on the cool green grass. Robbie lay on his back looking at the sky, so Zoey followed suit. He pointed to a cloud that looked like a grizzly bear and she spotted one that looked like a teacup.
    “Thanks for teaching me how to play basketball,” she said after several moments of