Behind the Net

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content and mental illness.

Jamie can’t sleep. He stands in his kitchen, thinking about how Pippa’s ex has made her lose her confidence. He wants more for her. Pippa appears in the kitchen, wearing pajamas, and admits she’s been avoiding Jamie. She tells him Zach laughed when she played for him, and Jamie says he wants to hear that song. She gets her guitar and begins to play.

Pippa thinks again of how Zach laughed at her, then thinks of Jamie calling her songbird and telling her she’s tough. She realizes that her “song is about becoming a new person” (106), and Pippa wonders if the closeness she felt with Zach was ever real. When she finishes, she feels excited and proud. Jamie tells her Zach was never good enough for her, and Pippa realizes he remembers her from high school. She admits she remembers him, and Jamie is pleased that she calls him gorgeous. However, Pippa is wary of falling for Jamie, sure she’ll be crushed.

As Coach Ward preps the team for playing the Calgary Cougars, Jamie recalls Pippa playing and singing for him. He thinks, “I hope she knows she isn’t broken.