“You really think it’ll be that easy?” Kira asked, shaking her head. “They hate us, Tessa. Like, pig’s blood at the prom hate us.”
“Gross. Look, K. I’m sure this will blow over. And I was thinking if we can find out who turned us in, maybe they’ll tell us why, give us some insight.”
“We’ll never be able to find them,” Izzie said, tugging on her messy ponytail.
I tsked. “Never say never. It’s so negative. Besides, if we find the culprit, maybe we can explain the positive force behind SOS, and they can become our ally.”
“I don’t want to talk to them,” Leona said. “I want to drop-kick them.”
“You know I don’t support violence.”
Leona clasped her hands behind her back, letting me continue.
“Now,” I said to the group. “Has anyone heard anything about who told Blaze?”
The squad was silent. My stomach churned uneasily. We’d been post-compromised for nearly forty-eight hours and nothing? It was so unusual for us. Izzie raised her hand I exhaled with relief.
“Thanks goodness. You have something?”
“Oh. Um, no. I just wanted to see if I could go get a drink of water. The stress is
making me very thirsty.” I stared at her. “Never mind.” She waved her hand and looked away.
“I heard something,” Maddie Thomlin, a sophomore, said from the back. “Peter Marachino is in my math class, and as he was passing around graphic pictures of me that he drew, he let it slip that Blaze had been IMing with whoever outed us. So it sounds like he knew the perpetrator before finding out.”
“Wow,” I said, impressed. “That’s a huge help, Maddie. Thanks.”
“It’s a guy.” Kira rolled her eyes as if we were all stupid. “I could have told you that. Like a girl is going to ruin the only chance she has of catching her boyfriend cheating? Not in a million years.”
“Good point,” Leona said. “Well, except for the fact that you told us the copy-Kitten was a guy last time. Hm, now who was the copy-Kitten? My memory is failing me here.”
“Don’t start with me,” Kira growled, stepping forward. Chloe grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Take it down a notch, K,” Chloe said. “We’re all teammates here.”
My eyes practically bulged from my skull, especially when Kira turned around and thanked her. Chloe was seriously crushing my toes, but I couldn’t deal with it right now. I had cheers to lead. Cheaters to catch. And more importantly, find out who turned us in.
“Well,” I said, getting their attention. “Then maybe a serial adulterer has gotten a hold of our identities and used them to ruin us.”
“That makes sense,” Leona said. “That way he can cheat without consequence.”
“There are always consequences,” Izzie said, looking out over the yard. “Especially when you lie.”
A prickle of concern raced over my skin, and I quickly jetted my gaze over to Leona who was staring back at me. She gave me the we-need-to-talk expression. I was so lucky to have her. Otherwise—now that Kira and I weren’t friends—I’d be all alone.
“Can we get started on the cheer now?” Chloe asked. “Unless, of course, you’re feeling overwhelmed between ESPN, cheaters, and your broken ankle. Maybe you should be taking it easy.” She smiled.
I was offended! “Chloe, I’m perfectly capable of leading the cheers, finding the traitor, and catching cheating boyfriends. I’m a multitasker. So I ask that you don’t question my authority.” Normally, I wouldn’t have reacted so negatively, but she was purposely trying to get under my skin. Between her and Kira my leadership was highly threatened.
“She’s right, Tess,” Kira added. “Maybe you are doing too much.”
“I am not going to take it easy! In fact, after practice tonight, I’m going to go home and write an entirely new routine.”
Kira looked down at the ground, seemingly off balance by my answer. Chloe smiled at me, an unusually pleasant expression on her face. She leaned to whisper something to Kira I couldn’t quite catch, but when things were settled, I adjusted my crutches underneath me.
“Now, about the schedule,” I said. “I need to find out everywhere Garrett Bash and the accused accomplice Stacy Sadera hang out. Who wants to do recon?”
“I will,” Chloe said. “I can’t wait to dive in.”
My mouth twitched. “Sorry, Chloe. You’re still on probationary status for two weeks. She frowned. “Izzie, how about you?”
She looked over at me, surprised that I asked. “Uh, okay.” Not the sort of enthusiasm I liked to see, but compared to how she’d been acting lately, this was a step up.
“And I’ll scan his e-mails,” Leona added. “Speaking of multitasking, I’ll also hack into the school e-mails and see if I can find anything to Blaze about us prior to the incident. I know how to hack into the computer lab.”
“Unethical but good,” I answered. “Killing two birds with one stone.” Izzie gasped. She was a member of PETA.
“Kira,” I said turning to her. “Do you think you can create a fake screen name and try Garrett on IM?”
“Psht. Done.” She picked at her nails. That girl was a genius at IM seduction.
“But no sexting,” I warned.
She rolled her eyes. “I learned my lesson on that. Lance McGill forwarded my messages to the entire school, remember?”
I did. I had been in home ec with Aiden one afternoon last year when he burst out laughing. At first, he wouldn’t say why as I continued to sew our latest project. Turned out, Kira’s, um … desires were onscreen for the entire world to see. And I’ll admit, they were kind of freaky.
I put my hands on my hips through the rungs of my crutches. “I’ll set up a stakeout in front of Garrett’s house, but I’ll need someone to drive.”
“I can,” Chloe spoke up, sounding anxious. I looked across the lawn at her cute blond hairstyle and perfectly fitted uniform, and I almost said okay. Until I saw her eyes—her dark, black-lined eyes. This was Chloe. And people didn’t change. Even Aiden didn’t change.
“Izzie,” I called, ignoring Chloe’s offer. “Can you drive? I’ll watch the house while you listen to the locker-room chatter on the wire. Luckily, they haven’t found the bug we planted under the bench.”