“Uh, yeah.” Leona widened her eyes. “Pretty sure that goes without saying.” She turned her attention back to me. “We need to lay out a suspect list.” She reached down to fish her hand through her black leather purse before pulling out a small notebook and clicking her pen. “Number one,” she said. “Aiden Wilder.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What? Why would you suspect Aiden?” I wasn’t sure if I should be offended. Aiden might have slept with Mary Rudick, but I wouldn’t believe that he’d hurt me like this.
Leona tsked. “He’s a suspect, Tess. He knows about us. He knows the team. And let’s face it, ruining your social life is in his best interest.”
My fingers began to shake so I folded them carefully into my lap. She was wrong, but I had to be objective. If I wasn’t, she might start to question my leadership skills, and right now, I needed to be strong. “Suspect number two,” I said firmly. “Chloe Ferril.”
Leona laughed. “You always blame her. I don’t think she’d try out for the squad if she planned on destroying it.”
“She could be trying to cover her tracks.”
“True.” She scribbled on her pad, and we both looked to Izzie. She was staring out the window, not even paying attention.
“Iz?” I asked.
She looked over, startled. “I didn’t do it,” she said defensively. She reached up to absently tug at her snarled curls.
“I know,” I said slowly, exchanging another concerned glance with Leona. “Just wondering if you had a suspect for the list.”
“Oh. No, I don’t.” She turned away and went back to gazing out the window. I swallowed hard. Her behavior had become increasing erratic the last few days. I was seriously worried.
“I’ll add some of our ex-clients and maybe even Christian,” Leona said.
I tensed at the sound of his name. It’d been months since I’d seen the guy who had almost broken up Aiden and me. But I didn’t really suspect him. He seemed to have moved on, especially since he was taking classes at the community college now.
“By the way,” Leona added, still writing in her notepad, “I don’t want to get all mopey and talk about it, but Chris broke up with my voice mail last night. I didn’t want there to be any confusion at school.”
I gasped, but she waved me off.
“Let’s just say he didn’t appreciate SOS’s personal involvement in private situations. But imagine that in Neanderthal jock language.”
“Tragic,” I murmured. Leona and Chris were peanut butter and fluff together, but if he was going Stone Age on her, it was a good thing they broke up. She deserved better.
Then it hit me. Joel! What would he think about my spying? I was too distressed to call him last night, and now I didn’t know if he hated me!
My breathing sped up as I stared back at Leona. “Joel,” I said. She nodded before dropping her notepad back in her purse.
“He probably won’t be stoked.”
“Sugar. You’re right.” I considered my options. I could call him and try to explain, or I could show up at school, all brave and on crutches (increasing the sympathy factor). Definitely the crutches. I’d need all the help I could get.
“Izzie,” I said, pulling her out from her zombie daze. “Are you ready to bust out those sparkles? Today requires a little extra shine.”
Her face brightened as if she’d just woken up. “Definitely. It’s time for an injury makeover.” She grinned as she stood to get her supplies.
I felt relieved seeing Izzie acting more like herself. Then again, makeovers made everyone happy. They were like magic.
Leona sighed. “I’ll get the glue gun and sequins.” Well, except for Leona. She found them a bit tedious.
As I watched her walk toward the kitchen, I worried. I wasn’t sure a well-accessorized cast could make up for the fact that the school hated us. Or that I might lose my captainship because of my injury status. Heck, even Joel might turn his back on me today.
And then there was the matter of ESPN. I groaned, resting into the couch. I hoped Leona and Izzie brought extra sparkles.
From: Joel Fletcher <[email protected]>
To: Tessa Crimson <[email protected]>
Sent: Tues, October 8, 8:00 AM
Subject: I’m worried!
God, woman! Are you okay or not? I’m not at school today, so if you’re around call me. I’m out of my mind with worry.
Oh, and yeah. I miss you or something like that. :-)
Joel
Chapter 6
On the way to school, I debated about asking Leona to take me back home, but ultimately, I knew I’d have to face judgment. And honestly, I thought I could turn it all around. Like a basketball-game comeback! Those were so inspiring!
Unfortunately, Blaze Harmon had been right. The school was less than thrilled when we showed. Even with my adorable crutches and decorated cast (sparkles really did cheer anything up) our peers were not friendly. None of them even asked about my ankle.
In fact, in the halls, I got called the B word, the D word, and even the C word. One person used a p-word, but I think it was in Spanish.
“Oh, thank God,” Kira said, running up as Leona, Izzie, and I stepped into the school hallway. Her eye makeup had been wiped clean, leaving her eyes naked and red. It made me uneasy seeing her so disheveled. It reminded me of the way she looked when she was the copy-Kitten. Kira met my eyes. “We’re getting slaughtered, Tess. Someone even trashed my locker.”
I gasped. “Vandalism?” Those were repercussions I hadn’t anticipated. It might be best if we took the bus for the next few weeks so that our cars didn’t get keyed.
“Cheerleading spies,” someone said, and I turned to see Stuart French sneering at us from across the lockers. “Who knew they were smart enough to use a camera?” He and his buddies laughed, but I straightened my posture.
“I’ll have you know,” I pointed a finger at him, “that I am an A student and member of the honor society.”
“Ooh …” he mocked.
I narrowed my eyes. Leona stepped up in front of me. “Well,” she said to him, “we were smart enough to figure out that when you were trying to date Magdalena Garza, you were stuffing a sock into your tighty whities so she’d think you were well-endowed. But just between us”—Leona shrugged—“I think she was disappointed. Because after you guys hooked up, she totally researched the internet for how to increase a man’s size. Hope she gave you some good tips.” She smiled and grabbed my arm, helping me crutch down the hall.