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encouraging, so she turned back to me. “Like the hockey team? It’s just a stupid game, and it’s juvenile and whatever, but those guys?” She shook her head, looking almost admiring. “They’re a team . They have each other’s backs. I envy them that.”
    “Yeah, that would be nice. I don’t know if girls do that? I mean, I’d like it if we did. I’ve never played a team sport.” I glanced at Annalise, but I knew she’d never been athletic in any way, and she honestly didn’t seem too interested by the idea now.
    “I’ve never done a team sport, either,” Karen admitted. “So, you’re right, maybe it does work for girls. Just not for us.”
    “Too bad there’s not some way to get that feeling without all the running around after a stupid chunk of rubber or leather or whatever,” I said.
    And then a new voice from over my shoulder said, “Maybe there is.”
    We all turned to see Ms. Coyne standing there. She was really good at sneaking up on conversations and listening in, and we’d clearly just been eavesdropped on. But she didn’t seem even a little bit embarrassed by it. “I think there is probably something about sports that makes athletes prone to bonding. Physical exertion can be a form of meditation, almost, breaking down barriers and helping people access their true emotions. And of course they’ve all had the importance of ‘teamwork’ drilled into them since they were tiny tots. But that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who can feel that way.”
    “So, what are you suggesting?” Karen asked. She sounded cautious, but I could tell she was as intrigued by this as I was.
    “Oh, I don’t know.” Ms. Coyne’s eyes danced. “I think it’s up to you to figure that out. But if you’re interested, and you come up with any ideas, let me know. I’d love to be part of it.”
    “We do all the work and you step in for the fun part?” Karen asked. She was mostly joking, but not totally.
    Ms. Coyne didn’t seem worried about that. “Yup. Sounds good. Let’s do it that way.”
    And off she went to do whatever she did with some other group. Karen looked at me carefully. “I really don’t want to play a team sport,” she blurted out.
    I laughed. “Good. Me neither! Let’s just forget the whole thing.”
    “Well, maybe not. Maybe we could still do something . Still find a way to be on the same side of something. Not a sports team, but… I don’t know. I guess we wouldn’t bond as tight as the guys have, since they’ve been playing together for years, but…we could do something .”
    Annalise frowned at her. “Where is all this coming from? You’re new to town and don’t have friends yet? Is that it? So you think you’re going to bond with us ? Don’t you understand that you already chose your team when you started going out with the captain of the Raiders? Honestly, is that not enough for you? Any clique in this school would love to claim you; you don’t need to make up your own group.”
    “I don’t want a clique ,” Karen protested. “And I don’t want to hang out with people who are only interested in me because of who I’m dating. I want something real . Friends, but…more than that. Or different, at least. I want a team. Allies. People who’ll have my back.” She could obviously tell she wasn’t getting anywhere with Annalise, so she turned to me again. “I don’t want to fight with some guy for the Scottish crown, and I don’t want to go to war. I don’t even want to line up opposite a bunch of other people and pretend to go to war, fighting for a puck or whatever. But wouldn’t it be cool to…”
    She trailed off, and I could see the excitement draining out of her. She’d had a crazy idea, and we’d listened politely, but we weren’t going to be sucked into her scheme. The problem was, I liked her crazy idea. “It’d be cool to be like the movies, where the one person is walking toward the big showdown and thinks he’s on his own, but then