Since the game at Kporo High school was so close, the list for the bus filled up quickly, and Miriam and the others decided to walk. They arrived after the bus, and the indoor court was already a cacophony of voices.
As they reached the visitor bleachers, someone called to Mat. At first, Miriam thought the boy in the Westwood jacket was Reed. But his hair was too short. He beckoned toward their group, and after a glance at his sister, Mat led the others to his spot.
Mat sat on one side of the other boy, and Key plopped down on the other. "Hey, Charlie," she said, "are Kaylee and Ketu here?"
"Doubt it. They prefer swimming. Island kids."
This didn't make sense to Miriam. "My roommate's from an island, and she's on the team."
"Really? Whose that?"
"Ayan Tyeen."
"Yeah! I saw her in the last game," Charlie said, "She's really good." Miriam swelled with pride.
They introduced themselves, and shook hands, but Miriam made sure not to look Charlie in the eye. If he liked Ayan, she didn't want anything bad happening to him. Then he turned to Tilli. "You're Sam's sister aren't you?"
"Tilli." Miriam noticed she did not offer her hand to shake.
"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you." He winked at the other girl, and a slow smile spread across her face.
"I'd appreciate that."
They didn't converse much longer because the game bagan soon after. Miriam was disappointed to see that Ayan wasn't one of Faraday's starters, but Tilli suggested the team's strategy would be different for Kporo High. Faraday got the first toss, and Wince smacked the ball hard across the line, over the heads of Kporo High's front row. One of their back row hit it back just in time. The ball went back and forth until Kporo sent it flying nearly as high as Wince had at the start. One of Faraday's front line backed up to hit it, just as Wince came forward, and the two tripped over one another as the ball hit the floor.
Kporo put the ball into the air again. This time, they sent it in a quick downward arc. One of Faraday's front line tried to kick it back, but the ball merely bounced off her foot, scoring another point. Miriam's hands went cold. Getting two points so quickly did not bode well. But Faraday was prepared for the next strike. Kporo sent the ball downward again, and this time, one of the front line slid under it, bouncing it across the line before the other team could catch it.
The score stayed 2-1 for nearly the rest of the first half. But in the last few minutes, one of the front line head-butted the ball to Kporo's side, and the players reacted too slow to beat it back. Miriam jumped to her feet and cheered along with everyone else as Kporo scored their second point.
At halftime, Charlie stood up. "Well, this has been fun, but I'm going to head back."
"But it's tied!" Miriam insisted, "Don't you want to know who wins?"
"Not as much as I want to be awake in the infirmary tomorrow." He nudged Mat. "You should think about leaving pretty soon too." He waved goodbye to the others and left the gym.
As Mat watched Charlie, Key tugged on his arm insisting he had to stay at least long enough to see Ayan play.
Mat grinned at his sister. "You're enjoying it despite yourself, aren't you?"
Key leaned away from him again. "I guess it's more interesting to watch than it is to play." The chords in her voice had that out-of-tune sound again, and from Mat's expression, she almost guessed he heard it too.
At the start of the second quarter, Ayan was front and center. Right away, the ball came flying toward her, and without flinching, she smacked it back across the line with her elbow. One of the Kporo players actually jumped out of the way, and they scored another point.
Despite Ayan's quick move at the beginning, the next several minutes passed without either team scoring. Then Faraday got the upper-hand again when one of the back line players used Kporo's tactic against them, hitting the ball downward. It sliced past Ayan, who dodged expertly, and landed on the ground, just over the line.
About ten minutes into the second half, Mat stood up to leave. When his sister tried to stop him again, he said his leg was bothering him.
"You want me to go with you?" Key asked.
"Nah. Stay and watch."
"It's fine. I don't like lightning ball." Again, the odd chords in her voice.
Miriam offered to walk back with him instead. He seemed surprised, but this time, he didn't argue. He picked up his crutch and headed down the bleachers. Miriam could feel Key's eyes on her as she followed, but she didn't turn to look.
The sun had set and the evening air was a lot cooler than the crowded gym. Miriam shivered slightly. "What was that Key said back there? About not liking lightning ball?"
"She does electricity magic. I think it takes the threat out of the ball." Mat swung his crutch as he walked, rather than balancing on it.
"But she didn't sound like the she was telling the truth." Miriam wasn't sure she wanted to admit to Mat that the chords in his voice and Key's were wrong, but she had no better way of understanding them.
"Well, she wasn't telling the truth... exactly..."
"How do you not exactly tell the truth?"
"Happy birthday Miriam."
"Ooh! What is it?"
Miriam's dad held a black box with gold inlay. He handed it to her delicately, like he might handle a glass dish.
She tried to mimic the way he held it as she took it and placed it on the table. When she opened it, a cut-out of the Alajan king's palace rose up from the box and a familiar lullaby began to play.
"This used to belong to your grandmother," her dad told her. "She gave it to me, and now I'm giving it to you."
Miriam listened and hummed along. One chord played that sounded... off. Miriam frowned at the music box. "That part's wrong."
A slim smile slid across her father's face. "Well, it's sort of wrong and it's sort of right."
"That doesn't make sense. How can it be right and wrong at the same time?"
He leaned in close to her. "I'll tell you a secret. The person who made this music box made it wrong on purpose."
"Why would they do that?"
He leaned back in his chair, an air of carelessness about him. "Whose to say? Some things we never find out."
"How do you know, then?" She asked. Her dad only waggled her eyebrows at her. Miriam ran around the table, and attacked him. He pretended to fall down, laughing, as the spring inside the music box ran down.
Mat kicked a rock down the street. "Well, she doesn't like lightning ball. At least, she never has. But she liked that game. So, it's not exactly true any more."
Something clicked inside Miriam, like a key winding a piece of clockwork. "Do people ever do that on purpose?"
Mat slowed his pace. "How do you mean?"
The key in Miriam's brain finished winding and a thought began to form. "Do people ever say something that's not exactly true on purpose?"
"I mean... I guess." And there is was. The off chord. The same off chord the music box played. Mat had said something that was both right and wrong at the same time, which must have meant he didn't guess people said such things on purpose. He knew they did. Now, Miriam wondered, why?
