| OCR Text |
Show them might be on scholarships. In the locker room before the game, Miss Fites was trying to psyche up the players by telling them this would be one of their biggest wins of the year if they could pull it off. But Kim could see that the pep talk wasn't working for Pilar. As she sat on the locker room bench, Pilar's knees were knocking up and down like a jack hammer. "What's there to be nervous about Pilar?" Kim whispered, feeling her own head tight. "You've practiced every afternoon for two weeks." "I know. But I am still scared. People will be watching me." "So? People have been watching you play for two weeks." "It's not the same. That's the team. I know them. The whole school will be watching me today." "Relax, Pilar, You'll be great. Everyone will be cheering for you." Pilar took a deep breath through clenched teeth. "That makes me scared. All those people." "Pretend they love you. They want you to succeed. They're pulling for you. They want to see good basketball. People like both teams to do good enough that the match is close. It's more exciting that way." "I want to play good, but I'm scared." "Long...Casteneda..." Miss Fites said, "I don't think either of you is good enough to miss what I'm saying." 120 |
