A Wish Unwanted – Part 8
by Limbo’s Mistress

I could only stare at Tabitha, momentarily struck speechless. The weight of what she had just revealed to me was like a blanket that was smothering me. A really heavy blanket. Made of solid concrete.

Noticing my surprised reaction, she smirked and reached out to lightly tap me on the tip of my new button nose.

“Didn’t expect to hear that, did you? The smugness in her tone dug at my nerves.

Finally able to break through the whirlwind thoughts and emotions rolling through me, my temporarily disabled cognitive functions returned. Which allowed me to being voicing coherent, albeit shaky, word stuffs again.

“How do you know that she used the stone?” I was pretty sure Tabitha wasn’t lying. Still, I held out hope she was lying. That the nasty blonde was only trying to mess with my head.

Tabitha shrugged. “Because, she told me. Duh!” She rolled her eyes in an over-exaggerated manner. “Come on, doofus. Think about it. She knew something had been changed, but not what. When I came bopping into the school in my new uniform…,” she giggled evilly, her blue eyes glimmering with amusement. “You really should have seen it. Poor girl nearly had a conniption fit.”

“I’ll bet she did,” I grumbled.

Granted, I did think the mental image my brain conjured of Jennifer Winters looking like she’d just sucked on a lemon was pretty hilarious. The issues was that, knowing what she’d done to Tracy, I couldn’t find myself rooting for Tabitha. At least Jennifer had the balls, figuratively-speaking, to stab you in the front.

Tabitha, on the other hand, was sneakier than a Predator and nastier than a Xenomorph.

I guess my trepidation showed on my face, because the smile slowly faded from the girl in front of me.

“Anyway,” she continued. “She immediately pulled me aside to have a little, friendly chat. She informed me that I could keep my newly found popularity, and my position as co-captain, so long as I pulled my weight keeping the squad in line and I didn’t even think about challenging her role in the school’s hierarchy.”

“Which changed yesterday,” I said, more to myself than to Tabitha.

“Yes,” she said with a sneer. “Imagine how I felt when I woke up and knew that someone had used the stone to make a wish. Of course, I didn’t even suspect the changes to have affected me, until I got that call from Jen.”

The attitude Tabitha had thrown at the lunch table came rushing back to me. As well as the phone call I received right before fifth period. The call from Jen.

When I’d answered it, she had called me Sam right off the bat. However, she immediately launched into warning me, and Tabitha by proxy, that whatever was going on between us better get fixed and not screw up all her hard work with the squad. At the time, I managed to convince myself that maybe I had simply misheard her. Now, I couldn’t pretend otherwise.

“You told her!” I said in my most accusing tone, pointing a finger at Tabitha. “Like you, Jen knew something had changed. You were the one who told Pee-Jay and how she used to be Sam Davenport.”

“You bet your pert new ass I did. She thought I was full of crap at first. It took her scrolling through the photos and contacts on her phone to realize I was telling the truth.” She smirked at me. “Imagine finding out the nerdy dork you hate more than anyone else in the world is now as popular as you as well as her co-captain. She was so freaking mad.”

I nodded, only hearing about half of what she was saying. “I wonder what Jen’s wish was,” I said.

She sighed, apparently irritated that I wasn’t acting as upset as she wanted.

“She probably asked to be pretty and popular,” she said, throwing a ton of snarky sarcasm into her voice as she poked me again. This time in my right boob. “After all, isn’t that what we all wished for?”

I slapped her hand away, glaring at her.

“Not me. I didn’t want, nor wish, to be pretty or popular. Shaking my butt in front of a crowded football stadium isn’t exactly my dream.”

She chuckled with a shrug. “Then quit.”

“What?” I tilted my head, staring as if I’d misheard her.

“Quit the squad. Be like Tonya. I mean, regardless of whether or not you’re a Raiderette, you’ll still probably be counted among the top tier, considering how you look.” She shrugged again. “I mean, you can always explain that you just couldn’t handle the rigorous requirements of being the co-captain.”

I balled my hands into tiny fists and planted them on my hips, my cheeks instantly igniting. “That’s utter crap,” I spat. “I’m twice the cheerleader you are.”

Tabitha laughed, her eyes widening in surprise. “Is that so? Aren’t you the guy who once busted his ass just walking through the cafeteria?” Then she shook her head. “You know what? Have it your way, Pee-Jay. You want to continue to pretend you have what it takes? Fine. That’ll make it all the more delicious when Jen kicks you out on Friday. Doesn’t matter to me either way.”

She blew me a sassy kiss as she turned around to walk away. Before she could get more than a couple of steps, I chased after her. Reaching out, I grabbed her upper arm and spun her back around to face me.

“Tell me something, Tabs,” I said in a low, angry voice as I leaned in so close to her that anyone passing by might think I was about to kiss her. “What you think about me doesn’t mean shit to me. But do you feel any guilt at all about what you did to Tracy? Any remorse about using the stone to make your friend’s life worse?”

“Not in the least,” she said, sticking her chin out defiantly.

Despite her words, I saw something flash across those blue eyes. A quick show of emotion that was there for the briefest of seconds. Regret. Which told me she wasn’t as convinced about her conscience as she liked to pretend. However, before I could press her further, she yanked free of my hold.

“Enjoy your newfound fame while it lasts, Pee-Jay. Tick-tock.” Then she giggled and sauntered away.

I stood there for a few moments after she was gone, willing myself to calm down. If not that, then to at least stop shaking with the myriad of feelings fighting within me. Sensing that my window for getting to class on time was closing rather quickly, I grabbed my backpack and headed off in the other direction. I kept my pace to a brisk walk, because running would only attract unwanted attention.

Somehow, I managed to make it both through the door and halfway down the aisle to my seat before the bell rang. I dropped my bag onto the desk and plopped into the seat. Leaning forward, I put my head on the smooth leather of the backpack and sighed. It must have been a lot louder than I intended, because a second later, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

I turned around to see Candice leaning forward over her own desk.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a low near-whisper.

I started to tell her the truth. Not about Sam, or the wishing stone, but the real answer to her question. Then I paused when I noticed she had was seemed to be genuine concern on her face. She wasn’t just asking to be nosy. Or out of some ass-kissing points. She had seen my entrance and actions and was actually worried for me.

Real empathy for a girl who hadn’t existed before yesterday.

But … she had. At least for Candice and everyone who hadn’t had a turn with the stone. I knew, from experience, that if I pulled out my phone, there would be dozens, if not hundreds, of photos with Candice in them. Events and instances she’d had with Penny that were as real to the anxious blonde as any without. Years’ worth of practices, lunches, parties, and other gatherings.

A shared history that firmly cemented the two of us in friends and teammates.

I forced a small smile on my face. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

She gave me a slightly dubious look, but didn’t challenge my statement. I’m sure she wanted to inquire further, but the beginning of the morning announcements, as well as the fact that Mrs. Thomas was only about five feet away, prevented any additional discourse.

My leg jangled up and down nervously as the boring broadcast droned on, with the hard-nosed teacher constantly looking my way, obviously trying to catch me not paying attention. Finally, after what seemed to be about a month and a half, the old battle axe moved closer to the front of the room.

I quickly grabbed my phone, kept it down near my lap, and fired a quick text to Charlie. In it, I informed him Jen had used the stone and also knew we had, too. A second later, the phone vibrated with his reply.

“Not good. Source?”

My thumbs flew across the virtual keyboard. “Tabs,” I wrote, then hit send.

His next reply was almost instantaneous. “I really h8 her.”

I nodded in agreement as I typed. “Same.”

Another nearly inaudible buzz. “Meet w/ Tracy in 3rd?”

I sighed as I transmitted my response. “Can’t. Clubhouse.”

“That sux.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself. The smart thing to do, at least from Sam’s point of view, would be to meet up with the two of them so figure out some kind of damage control. So far, I knew of five people who had made a wish. Two of them I considered to be enemies. The remaining three of us were like a party of adventurers, and the first rule of role-playing was to never, ever split the party.

Problem was, I had no doubt Tabitha would be more than eager to tell Jen I’d blown off the traditional daily gathering of Raiderettes for a second day in a row. For all I knew, that might be enough justification for Jen to convince the others I wasn’t fit to be a Raiderette. Then I’d be kicked off the squad.

That single thought sent an unexpected, icy chill rolling through me. The source of which I immediately recognized. Fear. Not of Tabitha, and not of Jen. At least, not directly. It was the idea of being thrown out of the Elite scared me something fierce. The frigid terror the two of them would decide to join forces and destroy everything that Penny had apparently worked to gain.

Part of me argued that I should be perfectly okay with that. I’d never cared much for the cheerleaders, or their moronic jock allies. Having the wish force me into a position of authority within the despised clique should have been torture. I mean, Sam had flippantly told Cindy that if she hated being on the squad so much, she should just quit.

If she were here now, would she laugh and point out my hypocrisy?

Like most people, by which I mean most teenage boys, I had mixed feelings about the girls who jumped up and down in short skirts at sports events. Yeah, they were great to look at, and there was no denying the energy they managed inspired in their audience. But they always seemed so superficial. Aloof. Untouchable. Better.

Sam’s issues, though, ran contrary to the rest. Under Jen’s direction, they had all looked down on him. Like he was something they had stepped in. Less than a person in their eyes. So he had taken to thinking of them as a bunch of vapid, bimbo slut who used all their brainpower to wiggle their asses and shake their boobs.

As time went on, he’d even started to lump Cindy in with them.

As Penny, however, I’d discovered them to be rather diverse in personality and character. Sarah, for one example, was really funny and extremely loyal to Penny. True, she might not think very highly of Charlie, but at least she didn’t openly despise or tease him.

Now that I gave it some thought, I seemed to recall she was also more tolerant of Sam than the rest of the squad.

Candice was the physical epitome of Sam’s opinion of the Raiderettes. She not only had the perfect proportions and exterior appearance of what the word “bimbo” might conjure mentally, but she also didn’t seem to be the brightest star, academically speaking. If the text messages between her and Penny were to be taken at face value.

However, I’d also discovered she had a caring heart and always seemed to inform Penny when she found out one of their mutual friends was having a hard time. Most of these messages also included suggestions for making those going through a rough time feel better.

She, too, never really attacked Sam directly herself. Simply guilty by association.

The more I thought about it, the more I started to realize that the only cheerleader who had personally attacked the former me was Jen. The rest of them were really only guilty of sitting idly by to let it happen. That didn’t exactly exonerate them, but knowing what I knew now, I could see why they would have been hesitant to cross her. Especially for the sake of some nerdy dork none of them actually knew.

The phone buzzed with another message from Charlie. “Call u l8tr.”

I sighed softly and put the phone back into my bag. There wasn’t much I could do about the situation. Dwelling on it was just going to turn me into a basket case. Which would make people notice and probably start bombarding me with questions about what had me upset. Best I could do was put on a happy face, pretending like everything was hunky dory, while waiting for my melancholy mood to burn off like a morning fog bank.

In other words, fake it until I make it.

When the bell ending homeroom sounded, I gathered up my things and turned to Candice.

“See you at the Clubhouse,” I said, pushing another super-iffic Pee-Jay smile on my face.

It must have seemed genuine, because she beamed an identically pleased one back at me.

“See you then!”

I left class and walked down the hall, continuing to act like my old self. Well, Penny’s old self, that is. Which meant a lot of waving, smiling, and walking with a joyous bounce. As I turned the corner, a couple of guys I thought might be on the lacrosse team approached and encircled me. My Jock Alert began to scream and I found myself tensing up, instinctively looking for an escape route.

“So … Pee-Jay,” the one right in front of me, blocking my way, began. “Since the parentals are in D.C. for the next two days, I’m going to have a little party tonight at my house. I was hoping you might consider making an appearance. Maybe bring the rest of the squad with you?”

I started to ask why he thought I would be able to convince anyone of anything. Then I mentally kicked myself as I remembered who I was now. Still playing my part, I smirked up at the boy … Jason? Jerome? Definitely something with a “J”.

“That all depends,” I said in an amused tone as a weird idea entered my head.

“Depends on?” he asked with a confused tone. The other two with him looked equally puzzled.

“On who all is invited to this gathering?”

This made the J-named boy relax. “Oh, well, pretty much everyone.”

I continued to smile up at him, pondering if I should include an eyelash batting.

“Including the dorks and nerds?” I asked.

There was a moment when something passed across his face. A wave of haughtiness or arrogance. His mouth opened for a second, then closed as he stared down at me. If I was a betting gal, I would say he was about to tell me that I didn’t need to worry, since there was no way he’d allow undesirables to attend.

But he must have seen something in my eyes, paired it with some better-known facts about Penny’s past, and made a completely different decision.

“Sure, I guess,” he said. “I’m not sending them an engraved invitation or anything, but if, uh, any of them show up, they won’t get tossed out.” The two behind him nodded their heads in agreement after a half a second.

I stared at him for a few more seconds, then flashed a pageant-winning smile.

“Well then, I shall do my best to have the Raiderettes attend.”

The boy on the left, David Something, grinned at me. “You’re the best, Pee-Jay,” he said, giving me a jaunty salute. Then the three of them broke away from blockading my way and went down one of side hallways, already plotting their plans for the coming evening.

I watched them disappear, then shook my head. If I accomplished nothing else in my life as Penny, I could enjoy the fact that I’d just convinced a boorish jock to include the less popular on his guest list. Granted, Jason/Jerome/James didn’t seem too thrilled about agreeing to my terms, but he’d obviously weighed and measured, deciding that having Charlie and his circle of friends hanging around was less damaging than having Pee-Jay Davenport turn down her invite.

Suddenly, a powerful observation came down on to me.

I’d changed the narrative. Until now, there probably wouldn’t have been a Raiderette alive who would have hinged her attending a party on whether or not the less prominent were invited. However, Pee-Jay did. At least, the Pee-Jay she was now.

However, before I could continue to ponder exactly what that meant in the whole school status pyramid, Sara walked up to me. Without so much as a break in step, she looped her arm through mine, and tugged me in the direction of Miss LaCroix’s classroom.

I looked down at our intertwined limbs, then grinned at her.

“You can’t just walk up and take someone, you know.”

She rolled her eyes, smirking at me. “Not entirely true. Besides, you’re already mine.”

“Oh, is that so?” I asked, sticking my tongue out at her.

A slow nod of the head. “I claimed you years ago. First day of freshman year.”

“So, if I’m yours …” I began, lowering my voice to a more sensual pitch.

She giggled. “I’m just loaning you to Lee. On a temporary basis, of course.”

“You’re horrible,” I said, meaning just the opposite.

In French, my mind began to wander back to my interaction with Tabitha in front of my locker and rolled forward through everything that had transpired since then. It seemed kind of surreal. Like I was in the middle of a movie or television show where the audience had more clues than me. There still seemed to be pieces of this puzzle that I hadn’t encountered yet. A clue I didn’t consider because it was staring me pretty much in the face.

Unfortunately, my brain didn’t seem to be able to do multiple things at the same time. Miss LaCroix actually had to reprimand me twice for answering a question “en Anglaise” rather than “en Français”. Flummoxed, I apologized profusely (in French, of course) and shoved my musings aside to pay better attention to the lecture.

It didn’t help when my phone buzzed with a teasing text from Sarah.

“Stop thinking about your hunky man during class.”

I shook my head. If only that was what had me all twisted up.

History wasn’t that much better. Mr. Andrews continued his lecture from the previous day, droning on and on until it seemed like the hour-long class lasted just shy of six months. I’d started off actually trying to pay attention, but then started thinking about Jen and the decisions I was going to have to make between now and Friday. From there, Mr. A’s monotone voice lulled me into a state of near-slumber.

When the bell sounded, it caught me so off-guard that I nearly jumped right out of my seat. As did about ninety percent of the class. I quickly scooped my belongings into my arms and bolted for the door. I’m pretty sure there was some mention of an upcoming quiz, but I wasn’t sticking around to hear the rest.

Halfway down the hall, I caught up with Candice. When she saw me coming, she slowed down until I managed to reach her. Then we walked together toward the exit. More than a couple of people who passed by spoke to me. Most were variations on the same theme.

“See you tonight, Pee-Jay.”

After the four one, Candice glanced over at me, a curious expression on her face.

“Something going on tonight?”

“One of the lacrosse guys is having a party tonight. He came up to me on my way to French to invite me to come. The invitation also includes the whole squad.”

“Oh?” Candice smirked. “This lacrosse guy? It wouldn’t happen to be Jacob Hayworth, would it?”

Jacob! That was his name. I have no idea where I got Jerome from.

I nodded. “The very same one.”

“That’s awesome. Did he say if it was a regular party or a pool party?”

Shooting her an incredulous look, I asked, “Why would he have a pool party in October?”

Now it was the blonde’s turn to look surprised. “Uh, because his pool is heated and they’ve got those standing sun lamps around it. You should remember that Pee-Jay. God, we’ve only been to his house like ten times already.”

I’m glad I didn’t do what I felt like doing. Which was slapping myself in the forehead.

Way to go, Sam. You’ve gotten so used to acting like Penelope, you forgot you don’t know everything about her life. I mean, remember the photos on your phone? In them you and Tabitha look liked pretty good friends. Pay better attention next time.

I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Sorry, momentary brain fail. Must be a result of listening to Mr. A for an hour.”

Candice nodded. “I have him for American History. Never have I wanted to be from another country so badly. I mean, I’m sure it could be interesting, but the way he goes on and on, makes me want to claw my eyes out.”

“No eyes clawed today,” Sarah said as she dropped in on my other side, once again linking her arm within mine. “I’ve declared today to be an eye-claw-free day.”

“We were just talking about Mr. Andrews and his thrilling tales of historical adventure,” Candice said. “As well as Jacob Hayworth’s party tonight.”

Sarah laughed. “Brad Pollock said something earlier about Jacob’s parents being out of town.” Then she looked at me. “He asked if I knew if you were planning on being there. I told him that I wasn’t sure. Poor guy looked crestfallen.”

“I thought it might be fun to go,” I said. “For all of us to go.”

Candice smiled. “Then go, we shall.”

We exited the main building and walked down to the sports complex. Once inside, another set of steps took us down to the lower level of the structure. The door at the bottom was the entrance to No Man’s Land.

I couldn’t count how many times Sam and his friends had voiced a plot to sneak down to the room when they knew it’d be vacant, just so they could leave a bunch of condoms and a shitload of STD pamphlets?

Besides the fact that none of us knew how to pick a lock, we also agreed that the fifteen minutes of joy the prank would provide didn’t offset the beat-down we would get afterwards. Then there also the fact that Sam would never do anything like that to Cindy. No matter who she chose to be friends with.

I grabbed the door’s handle, pulled it open, and stepped inside as I tried to act like I’d been there a thousand times before. However, since I really hadn’t, some amount of gawking did take place.

The interior of the Clubhouse was a single huge room with ceilings about twelve feet high. The lights running over head seemed to be less harsh than the ones in the gym above. Closer to what would be considered natural lighting. Despite having no actual partitions, the area was divided into two sections.

One was obviously designed with relaxation and socializing in mind. A large, flat screen television hung on one wall. Currently, it was tuned to one of those mind-numbing reality shows. The kind that garner ratings by having manufactured drama between a group of people who have to deal with each other. Rather than simply walking away. Arranged in a semi-circle before the monitor were three comfortable-looking sofas. Spread out on the floor around them was about a half-dozen gigantic beanbags.

The whole place seemed to fit perfectly into the mental image one might have of a place devoted to nurturing the vapid musings of a bunch of cheerleaders.

The non-hangout other half sported several thick mats, arranged in a single row on the floor. Angled mirrors attached to the wall allowed anyone who stood on the mats to see themselves, but not anyone in the congregation portion. It didn’t take a massive amount of brainpower to realize that the matted area was for trying out, or practicing, routine moves.

Kara was sitting on one of the couches. Well lying on it, to be precise. Her legs were stretched out across the lap of a brunette named Jordan Patterson. Both of them had their phones in their hands, and, by the looks of it, were texting each other. A blonde haired girl, Melissa Inez, was draped across another couch. She currently had a textbook open in her lap and was making notes on a pad precariously balanced on the arm of the furniture next to her. Leaning against the front of Melissa’s couch, eating sliced apples from a dark blue container, was the only junior on the squad, Shelly Robinson.

They all looked over as the three of us entered the room. Candice sauntered over and dropped herself onto the other end of Melissa’s sofa, then helped herself to some of Shelly’s apples. Sarah and I both headed toward the one empty couch.

The only people not in attendance were Tabitha, Jen, and Melanie Shoals. Melanie had been in Sam’s chemistry class last year. From what I could remember, the cocoa-skinned girl had been, if not nice, at least cordial.

Kara looked up from her phone over to Sarah and I.

“Peej, are we putting in an appearance at Jacob’s soiree?” she asked. Then she turned her phone around to show me a string of text exchanges. “Mark Bullard said you said we would be there, but Ricky Jones said you said we might be there.”

I glanced at Sarah, then back to the redhead. “I said maybe. I didn’t want to actually commit until we decided as a group if we were going.”

“I’m down,” Shelly said. “So long as it doesn’t go all night long. I’m supposed to be home by eleven.”

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

“Chad’s already texted me twice,” Sarah said. “Guess I’ll tell him that he can pick me up at seven.” Then she looked over at me. “Unless you’d rather us ride together.”

I shook my head. “No. Tell Chad I’ll let him escort you this time. But he’ll owe me one.”

She giggled and began typing on the screen in her hand.

The door opened and Melanie came through.

“Hey, skanks,” she said with a grin as she waved at us. Making her way to where we were all gathered, she sat down on the arm of Kara and Jordan’s sofa. “What’s the word on tonight?”

“Peej says yes,” Sarah replied, nudging my leg with her knee.

“You know Jen’s going to be pissed she’s out of town. She’ll be the only Raiderette not getting her groove on.”

Melanie shook her head. “Not just her. Tabs isn’t going either.”

That drew my attention. From what I knew, mostly from rumor and speculation, only death or hospitalization could keep the squad from making a unified appearance. I’d thought Cindy was being overly dramatic when she’d relayed that tidbit, but it was beginning to turn out the damned group really was like a cult.

“Oh?” I asked, looking at Melanie. “Any idea why?”

The other girl shook her head. “Not really. Though, I’m kind of glad she’s not. She’s had a freaking stick up her ass all day.”

Kara looked over at her. “Yeah, she seemed uber-pissy in homeroom this morning. Came in mumbling under her breath and slamming her books around.” Then the redhead went back to her phone, already moving on to another interest. Apparently either Tabitha was known for her tantrums among the rest of the squad or else none of them really cared if their former secondary leader was upset.

I managed to not smile. So, looks like I had managed to get under Tabitha’s skin with my comment. Even more than she had gotten under mine. After all, I was dealing with my worries internally. She was the one skipping what was slowly becoming a major social event.

Her absence was sure to raise questions among the rabble.

Sarah pulled out her phone and typed a quick message. Then she dropped her phone back into her bag and leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I don’t want to go to any more classes today,” she moaned. “Can I go home?”

I laughed and patted the side of her head. “Afraid not. We must suffer through the day with a smile on our faces and a wiggle in our step.”

“What about lunch?” Jordan asked. “You can handle lunch, right?”

Melanie snickered. “Lunch is just an extended free period. We hang out here, then we hang out there. It’s the same, but with some walking and food thrown in.”

Candice shook her head. “Not exactly the same, though. Lunch comes with boys.”

Sarah snickered. “Glad something comes with boys.”

Which brought a round of giggles and cackles from the rest of the squad. Just like that, the debate about attending Jacob’s party was over. As was the speculation about Tabitha’s attitude. Of course, I was the only one who had an inkling of a clue about the reason. Though, I had to wonder how much of my blonde antagonist’s emotional state had to do with the guilt trip I’d thrown in her face, and how much was her worry that Jen would accept Pee-Jay’s place as readily as she’d accepted the new Tabitha’s?

Melanie and Candice had both been right in their assessments about lunch.

Once again, we were outside at the tables in the middle of the quad with the football players. Surprisingly, a few minutes after I sat down with my tray (pasta alfredo with chicken), Tabitha emerged through the door and made her way to the table.

Of course, she refused to meet my gaze as I watched her carry her own lunch to an empty spot between Shelly and Melissa.

“Where were you?” the junior asked her a second after she sat down. “You totally missed the discussion about tonight.” Then she frowned. “Oh, that’s right. You weren’t planning on going, were you?” Funny enough, the other girl sounded sincere, but her word choices were an obvious stab at the angry blonde.

Tabitha’s face twisted into a grimace that made her look like she’d just been forced to lick a lollipop retrieved from a dirty ashtray.

“Yes, I will be at Jacob’s party.” She glanced over at me for a split second, still wearing her sourpuss expression, then looked away. “After all, we have to show how solid our team is, right? No dissension in the ranks.”

I bit down on my lip and made a point of turning my face away before I could laugh aloud. Tabitha must have talked with Jen. Hell, she probably called her the moment she heard about the party, hoping the Raiderette head honcho would tell her to put a stop to my evil machinations. If that was the case, then it would seem the call hadn’t gone in Tabitha’s favor.

Jen had told me that she didn’t have the time to figure out what the hell was going on between me and Tabitha. Just the we had better get it sorted out.

I would bet my tutu she’d given those same marching orders to Tabitha. Told her to suck it up for the good of the squad. If so, then perhaps Tabitha’s attitude stemmed from the fact that she was beginning to realize that Jen didn’t give a shit who I used to be.

So long as I could pull of being who I was now.

At the other end of the U-shaped table, Lee said something to Mark Byers which caused the two of them to laugh. Then he glanced over at me, flashing that dazzling smile in my direction. At first, I wondered why he didn’t just come over and sit beside me. I mean, after the rather passionate kiss we’d shared in the parking lot, it seemed a bit stand-offish of him. Then, as I glanced around, I realized that none of the guys were sitting with their girlfriends.

Chad was the closest player to our side, but Kara, Shelly, and Candice were between him and Sarah. Mark, who I was pretty sure was dating Tabitha, sat even further away. And so on.

Of course, not all of the girls were paired up with guys from the football team. In the course of my online information gathering from Penny’s phone, I had discovered that Melissa was seeing a guy who graduated last year and now attended State, and Shelly was on again/off again with a cute brunette who played the flute in the marching band.

It wasn’t that we didn’t talk to each other during the period. We just remained in our respective groups while doing it.

As the hour came to a close, those with their next classes all the way on the other side of campus excused themselves. Those that had a partner at the table left together. Eventually, only Sarah, Chad, Lee, and myself remained.

“Think Coach will cut practice short?” Chad asked Lee as he moved to sit on Sarah’s other side. “Otherwise, I’ll have to choose between not showering or being late to the party.”

Sarah crinkled up her nose and elbowed him in the ribs. “There is no choosing, babe. If you show up at my house all stinky, you will be going stag to Jacob’s. A smelly party of one.”

Chad plastered his hand over his heart, attempting to look like he was mortally wounded. “That hurts, babe” he said in a mock-crushed tone. “You would toss me aside over a little thing like body odor?”

My friend nodded. “In a hot second. I’ll leave you standing on my porch and steal Peej from Lee and make her my date.” She leaned over and took a deep sniff of my hair. “At least she smells nice.”

I started to giggle, but a second later, Lee’s nose swooped in from the opposite side and sniffed as well.

“I have to agree with your girlfriend, dude,” he said to Chad. “Pee-Jay definitely smells a thousand times better than you.”

Chad arched a brow. “That’s a mighty bold claim, Taylor,” he said. “Perhaps I should test your evidence.” He waggled his eyebrows at the three of us as he started to rise from his seat.

“Time-out!” I said, holding out my hand. “Can we just put a pin in the whole ‘smelling Pee-Jay’ thing? I’m not a damned scratch and sniff.”

This brought another round of laughter. I joined in, but didn’t really feel the humor. Yeah, Sarah’s actions had been, seemingly, for the benefit of busting Chad’s balls. Lee’s might have been some of the same, coupled with whatever was developing between us. But Chad? Surely he hadn’t really been about to walk over and smell me. Right?

Sarah finished her water, dropped the empty bottle onto her tray, and stood up.

“Come on, stud,” she said to Chad. “Walk me to class so I don’t get lost.”

The jock jumped up so fast it looked like he’d been shot out of a cannon. He grabbed both his and Sarah’s trays and balanced them perfectly as he walked over toward the trash cans. Sarah grabbed her backpack and looked down at me.

“See you in the locker room.” She gave me a flirty smile and sauntered off with Chad.

I shook my head and turned to see Lee staring right at me.

“Alone at last,” he said.

A flutter, which was not completely unpleasant, drifted across my mid-section. Stirring those new feelings. There was something about the way he stared at me, like he was looking at a priceless piece of art, or maybe a beautiful sunset, that kept tickling all of Penny’s special spots.

“That we are,” I said, trying to sound casual. Even though I could feel a pleasurable prickling running along the surface of my skin.

He smiled. “So, I was thinking …”

“Which is a good thing,” I interjected.

“I’m glad you approve. Anyway, since Chad is picking up Sarah tonight, would you do me the pleasure of allowing me to escort you to the party and back?”

I arched a brow at him. “Like … a date?”

He paused, seeming to mull my question over for a few seconds, then nodded.

“Yes. Like a date. An evening where I pick you up at your home, ferry you to a place of fun and entertainment, then return you safe and sound before your designated pumpkin time.”

I still had no clue what all had transpired over the first one. So far, I hadn’t been pop quizzed on any of the conversations we might have had. Or anything, intimacy-wise, we might have done. To make it even more difficult, I couldn’t ask Sarah for details. Nor had pre-Sam Penny been kind enough to make notes for me to study.

Smiling back at him, I gave my head a single nod. “Yes, you may,” I said. “You know, this will be our second date.”

“Yes, I know,” he said as he reached down and took one of my hands into his. “Hopefully you’ll be impressed enough to allow me a third ... and a fourth, and so on.

That electrical sensation jumped by about one point twenty-one gigawatts. A shudder, the good kind, ran through my body and caused certain areas to become more alert than others. I wasn’t aroused, per se. But I was definitely feeling a little swoony.

Over a cute boy. Of all the things I was trying to keep a handle on, it was the blatant attraction I felt toward Lee that threw me for the highest loop. I mean, I understood that Penny was straight. At least, mostly. I think. However, as attractive as a lot of the guys that crossed my path were, none of them seemed to pull me in like Lee did.

I honestly believe if Penny had been a lesbian, she still would have had the occasional fantasy about the football player. There was just something between he and I.

I glanced over at the clock visible through the cafeteria’s window, then gave the hand encircling mine a little squeeze. British Lit was going to be starting in just under ten minutes. Lee followed my gaze to where I was looking, nodding as he stood up.

“Can I also walk you to class again? I really enjoyed it yesterday.”

“So did I,” I admitted.

We disposed of our trash and made the trek inside and down the corridors to our shared classroom. As we moved through the throngs of students doing likewise, several people expressed their intentions of seeing me at that evening’s gathering. A lot of people, actually. Most of them male.

If the increased attention bothered Lee, he didn’t show it. Nor did he try to do that possessive thing of putting his arm around my waist. Claiming me as his and warning away any other suitors. Instead, he simply kept pace beside me, greeting and high-fiving any of his friends we encounter along the way.

Part of me wished he’d held my hand at least.

When we arrived in class, he slowed down a step, allowing me to enter the room first. Several people waved excitedly in my direction as I headed toward my seat. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was experiencing what a celebrity must have to deal with. Yesterday, I’d been too overwhelmed to really notice. However, it seemed like Pee-Jay was liked by just about everyone.

Not just the other cheerleaders and the jocks.

I sat down, cracked open my book, and prepared to answer any Ancient Mariner questions that Mr. Eastman might hurl my way. I guess he decided not to put me on the spot for a second day in a row. Total bummer.

Lee stopped me just outside the door when class was over, pulling us both out of the flow of traffic.

“So, what time do you want me?” he asked.

I blinked, staring up at him. “I’m sorry?”

He laughed. “To pick you up, I mean.”

I relaxed a bit, though my heart was still pounding. It hadn’t been his question that had thrown my emotions into disarray, it had been my interpretation of said question. For a second, I’d gone to a place that was a bit scarier. A place beyond soul-searing kisses and longing looks.

A place where a girl might do something huge with a boy she liked.

“Six-thirty?” I managed to say without stuttering. It was a pretty safe bet my folks would be gone by six.

He grinned a knee-wobbling grin. As in, it made my damned knees wobble.

“Six-thirty it is.” Then he quickly leaned in and brushed his lips lightly across mine. It was just the ghost of a kiss. Like the Ghost of Kisses Yet to Come.

I was surprised I didn’t moan in response.

Then he pulled back and walked off. Not with a cocky swagger or a boasting strut. Just a guy with a little spring in his step.

With my head still swimming, I made my way to the sports complex, once again fielding a dozen greetings from the people I passed. Right before I reached the exit to take me outside, Claire Bender and her boyfriend, Jonas Tate, saddled up beside me.

“Pee-Jay, you’re going to Jacob’s tonight, right?” Claire asked.

I nodded. “I am. How about you?”

“Yeah,” Jonas said. “At first we weren’t going to. But once we heard who was planning on going, we decided it might be a lot of fun.”

“Great,” I said, swatting at the slightly creepy vibe the pair was broadcasting my way. “I guess I’ll see you both there.”

“Definitely,” Claire said, smiling as if I were her best friend. “Later.” The two of them looked at each other, then peeled off, turning right while I went left.

“Well, that sure as hell set off my spider-sense,” I mumbled as I stepped through the door and headed to the gym.

As before, Sarah was arrived before me, although she was already inside the locker room this time. While we changed clothes, I mentioned to her my odd run-in with Claire and Jonas.

“That is weird,” she agreed as she laced her sneakers.

“I know. The way they just …latched onto me?”

The other girl gave me a knowing little smirk.

“Not that, Peej. Them going to Jacob’s party. I mean, seriously, when was the last time Claire Bender went to any sort of event that wasn’t officially school-sanctioned? Hell, the Chess Club has a more robust social life.” Then she stood up and lightly tapped me on my bottom with her palm. “Better get that booty in gear, Peej. You don’t want The Butcher to make you run laps again today.”

“No, I do not.” I agreed, grabbing my other shoe.

I managed to finish dressing and make it onto the floor with the rest of the class before Coach Burchett got started.

“Volleyball Day Two,” she barked. “Keene, Matthews, Lewis, and Davenport. You four are the captains. Pick your teams. Like yesterday, match ends at six points. Winners will play the winners. Losers play the losers. Go!”

The four of us in charge stepped away from the group, eyeing the twenty remaining girls who stood around in a disorganized clump. Some of them smirked, giving little nods in our direction. They already knew whose team they were going to be on. A few more looked slightly bored with the whole thing.

There were some, though, who wore worried expressions on their faces.

It was the look of people who knew they were going to be the last chosen for a team. I knew it all too well. In every gym class of my high school career, I’d been selected only because they had to be to even out the numbers, not because I was actually wanted.

I doubted that would be the same, even if Penny hadn’t been selected by The Butcher.

Monica went first, immediately choosing Stephanie. Caitlin’s first choice was Elle, and Tamara Lewis picked Kara. I, of course, chose Sarah. It didn’t fit in with what I had in mind, but I did it because: A) Sarah would be crestfallen if she wasn’t on my team, and B) the two of us working together might be able to pull it off.

“Mallory,” I said when it was time for my second choice. “Get over here.”

Tracy’s head popped up, her eyes wide with surprise. She wasn’t the only one. The rest of the girl standing on the sidelines looked like they couldn’t believe Pee-Jay had purposefully chosen the overweight girl.

Tracy jogged over to stand next to Sarah. Well, it was a bit more of a waddle, but there was some pep in her step. Funny enough, Sarah didn’t seem upset in the least. In fact, she reached out toward the other girl as she arrived and gave her a quick high-five.

Soon, all twenty-four members of the class were in one of four groups. Talent-wise, Caitlin’s team was probably the strongest. Besides Elle, she had selected two girls, Marjorie and Cristina, who played varsity soccer, and two others who ran track. Monica’s crowd was equally stacked, with Danielle, one of her volleyball teammates, two soccer players, and a girl named Jessica Hart, who wasn’t really athletic, but was a part of the semi-popular clique.

Tamara had Kara. She also had one of Caitlin’s fellow basketballers, a girl named Roxanne Little. The rest consisted of Sue, Wendy Shoop, and Gina Cable. Wendy was the captain of the debate team and Gina was the stereotypical computer nerd.

As for me, I’d rounded out my team with Chloe, Stacy Coltrane, and an exchange student from Bangladesh named Akhi. Akhi was more petite than the rest of us, and wore a pair of thick glasses that magnified her wide brown eyes to near-comical proportions.

However, I might have been the only one who noticed her thin legs were taut with muscle beneath the dusky flesh and her arms were equally defined. The girl might not be a traditional athlete, but she was definitely in great shape.

The first match, between Caitlin and Tamara, was closer than I’d expected. Roxanne got in two solid spikes right off the bat, with Tamara and Kara both adding to their side’s points. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t prevent Caitlin’s group from scoring the match-ending point.

The thing that stood out to me the most about the match was how Tamara, Kara, and Roxanne had pretty much dominated most the work. Sure, the other three girls tried to help, but every time they had the opportunity, they found themselves getting upstaged by the more popular girls.

Those three hadn’t even given their less-graceful teammates a chance to even participate.

When it was our turn, I glanced over at Sarah as we stepped onto the court.

“We’re do this as a team,” I said, tilting my head to indicate the other four arranging themselves on one side of the net. “Win or lose.”

She replied with a slightly arched brow, then tossed in a smile.

“Just as long as I get to spike one into Monica’s face.”

Coach Burchett blew her whistle and the match began.

Tracy served the ball, which got bounced into the air by Jessica, set up perfectly, but Jenny Fulton, then slammed home on our side by Monica. The tallish brunette high-fived her teammates, then looked over at me and waved.

Over the next fifteen minutes, our side took a pounding. We managed to score three points, two of them the courtesy of some really good teamwork between Akhi and Chloe. Sarah didn’t get her spike, but she did throw her weight behind my constant encouragement to the rest of our team. When Stacy missed two easy digs in a row, she made it a point to give the disheartened girl a couple of friendly pats on the back, and told her she’d get it next time.

When the last point was scored, we had lost six to three.

“That sucks,” Tracy said. “I was really hoping for a win.”

“Can’t win them all,” I said.

She glanced around to make sure no one else was in ear shot. “You could have totally saved a couple of points if you’d tried. I’m sure that body is a lot faster than you were using it.”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t going to knock Akhi or Chloe out of the way just to keep from losing a point.” I shrugged. “Maybe Before Pee-Jay would have, but not me”

Caitlin’s team won their second match as well, handily defeating Monica’s squad six to two.

I really would like to say that me and my girls staged an awesome comeback to win our second match. Having proven that everyone was a valued member of the team would have resulted in our scoring point after point after point. Probably in a series of montage-worthy snippets accompanied by a really intense rock song.

The reality though, was a lot less inspiring. We gave it our all, each of us encouraging the rest, and the four less sports savvy poured their all into the match. However, the sound of the whistle found us with a second “L” in our ledger. Soundly defeated six to one.

Chloe must have mistaken my less-than-pleased expression as a reflection of my feelings toward her, Stacy, and Akhi. She came over to me as Sarah and I walked back toward the locker room and frowned.

“Sorry we let you down, Pee-Jay.”

I stopped, staring at her. “What?”

Sarah paused as well, glancing between the two of us. She tilted her head to the side as she turned to face the other girl.

“Did you really try out there?” she asked her.

Chloe nodded emphatically. “I did. Honest. I mean, I pretty much hate this class as it is, but when we won yesterday, and then Pee-Jay picked me again today, I thought maybe something had changed. Like maybe I was going to get to be on a winning team from now on.”

I sighed. “Chloe, the fact that you went out there and tried means more than scoring the most points. It’s easy to look on the other side of the net, see people who you think are better than you, and give up. You didn’t. None of you did.” I glanced over at Sarah and grinned before looking back at Chloe. “That makes you a winner in my book.”

Ever watch those stupid awards shows? Where all the celebrities dress in thousand dollar outfits and parade up onto the stage to accept yet another statue for doing their job? There is a look some of them get, usually when they seem to only be there for contractual reasons, when the envelope is opened and their name called. It’s a look of unexpected pleasure mixed with gregarious surprise.

Chloe’s face lit up just like that. Like I’d opened a red envelope and named her the official MVP of my team.

“Really?” she asked in a low voice. Almost as if she expected me to immediately counter that I was joking.

“Really,” I said, still smiling. I nodded my head at Sarah. “We both think that, right?”

Sarah’s response was immediate and seemed as sincere as my own. “Right.”

“Thanks,” she said, beaming. Then she turned and headed toward the locker room door, practically skipping.

I turned to look at Sarah. “Thanks for backing me up. Not just with Chloe, but with the choices I made. I didn’t choose based on who would help us score.”

“Maybe not. But not a single one of them probably felt like you’d called their names because you were out of options. You made sure they knew you picked them because you wanted them.”

I shrugged, feeling a bit of my old self try to deflect the compliment. “Pretty dorky, huh?”

She grabbed me in a hug, squeezing tight. Then released me.

“You’re good people, Peej. That’s what I love about you.”

I thought about what she said as we left the gym floor ourselves. I, as Penny, was a good person. I’d thrown expectations aside and operated based on my experiences with a life that no longer existed. The questions, though, about my behavior bothered me.

Was Penny a good person now, because I was in the driver’s seat? Or had she always been far less snobby than her fellow Elite? According to what I’d learned, she had at one time been a friend of Charlie and his so-called dorks. Exactly as Cindy had. Did Penny cast them aside when her figure, and her corresponding social level, changed? Or had she remained more grounded?

Surely there was a way to find out without sounding like I was insane. I mean, I couldn’t just ask some random person if they thought I was behaving as less of a bitch recently. I likewise couldn’t grill anyone who’d used the stone, because their memories of Pee-Jay were as ethereal as mine.

In the locker room, I grabbed my shower kit and towel only to turn around to see Sarah and Kara, still in their gym shorts and tees standing there staring at me. Before I could ask why they weren’t getting their own stuff ready, I remembered that there was still one more activity that had to be completed before I could call an end to the school day.

Cheer practice.