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woman?” Marvin asked.
    â€œAw, Marvin,” she said. She was embarrassed, and tried to subdue the joy that flooded her.
    â€œWell, aren’t you?” He touched her chin lightly with his fist and smiled. “You’d better be.”
    â€œHow come you didn’t tell me that the city’s leading basketball scorer is your ole man?” Allan asked. “Ole Marvelous Marv.”
    â€œHow could I know you two were tight? We’d better get on to the game.”
    â€œI have your ticket, baby,” Marvin said to Emma.
    â€œI have my own.”
    â€œWell, we have four. Come on, Allan.”
    â€œI’m not going.”
    â€œNot going?” Marvin asked. “What kind of spirit is that?” He pressed the ticket into Allan’s hand.
    As they went toward Marlborough’s section, Emma walked between them and smiled as they got reacquainted.
    â€œSo, Emma’s your old lady? I like that, man, really like that. Listen, I’m going on over to my side. We gonna beat you and make you happy while we doing it. Emma, I know you aren’t coming over.”
    â€œNo, I’m not, and no offense to Manning, Allan.” Then she thought, Will my Marlborough friends think I am still tied to them? She felt a surge of guilt that she was unable to give all of her loyalty to Manning.
    Cheryl and Dee ran to hug Emma. “Girl, the cheerleaders here at Manning are bad ,” Dee said.
    â€œToo bad Marlborough doesn’t have a jazzy pep club like that. If they did, I’d try even harder to get in it. How are you, girl?” Cheryl hugged Emma again.
    â€œHey, look. There’s Em. Hi, Em, what’s happening?” came from all sides. She was happy to see all the old faces and so pleased that she had been remembered with affection; but suddenly she had a feeling that she wanted Manning to win the game.
    From the starting whistle, the game was tough going for Marlborough; but they stayed in there, with cheers giving their team courage. The game was so close and intense the crowd was like a fuse, slowly burning to an explosion.
    Emma wanted to talk, but Marvin was too involved with the game to listen.
    By halftime, when Manning’s band was on the field and the drill team was thrilling the crowd, the score was fourteen to six with Manning in the lead. Marlborough’s section was a little subdued, but confident. “We’ll come back and beat you, what you bet?” Marvin said to Emma.
    Emma was joyful, but a bit disappointed. She had hoped that the victory would be complete at half-time. Now the game could go either way. “I hate to see you lose,” she said to Marvin, “but we’ve got the best team.… Hey, you miss me?”
    â€œWhat kind of question is that? I should ask you that. You seem to be making it fine over here.”
    â€œI’m not. It’s different. Real different. Nobody but Allan Page makes sense here.”
    â€œJust don’t let him make too much sense.” He looked at her and smiled.
    Emma laughed. “You wouldn’t be jealous, would you? I know what’s happening between you and you-know-who.”
    â€œYour grapevine’s working, eh? Women … just too much.”
    â€œI just bet. All girls wanting to make out with Marvelous Marv. Too much, indeed. Ha!”
    â€œListen, baby, I’m with you now. So let’s make the most of the day. OK?”
    â€œWhat’ll we do today?”
    â€œLet’s just play it by ear. But I do know we’ll go back to Marlborough and welcome our team.”
    â€œThey’ll need more than a rousing welcome to raise their spirits when we’re through with them.”
    â€œHey, there’s a Manning fan in our midst,” Marvin shouted. “Shall we kill her?”
    Emma’s friends all gathered around and chanted: “Beat ’er up, beat ’er up, yea, yea, yea!”
    When things had quieted down, Marvin said,