Chapter 1 #2
Charisse was more like an electron or a moon that barely stayed in Lin’s orbit. Yet she came back every time. It was rather funny to watch. Maybe that was why Lin had been so desperate to latch on to me. She needed someone more like her to balance out Charisse.
We came around the red brick corner, and a field of green opened up.
The track. A gray fairy circle of metal benches loomed in the center—the school battlefield.
My heart soared. As we walked closer, the green rubber separated itself, so you couldn’t tell the inner grassy field from the track itself immediately. It appeared like magic.
In spring, it would be full of athletes—sprinting, jumping, throwing.
But now, Stephanie and her crew wore tight little shirts and tiny skirts as they practiced waving their pom-poms. Okay, that wasn’t fair. Even at my old school, some of the cheerleaders were nice to me. I was sure not all these girls were under the Dragon’s thumb.
On the green, the school warriors stretched and put on equipment. Some donned pads, black and gold jerseys, and helmets before throwing balls and smashing into each other.
“Football? You brought me to watch football practice?”
My jeans felt thin as I slid onto the cold metal bleachers. I had no feelings one way or the other for the sport, but I’d rather be doing something other than just sitting here watching someone else.
But I was still under orders to make friends, and I wanted to make Mom happy. I was tired of hearing her cry. Besides, Lin might be able to find me a job, saving me some legwork.
“We go to every practice and game—well, when it doesn’t conflict with my own practices and performances. Her boyfriend is on the team.”
I didn’t know which part was more surprising. That Lin had a boyfriend, that he was a football player, or that she was that loyal. But I hadn’t seen him or been introduced throughout the day. Still, it was just the first day.
Maybe Lin just liked him and hoped he’d notice her. “Which one?” Not that I could tell the difference between any of them except for basic size and maybe general shade of skin: pale, medium, and dark.
“Number 64,” Charisse hummed.
I scanned the crowd, finally landing on an enormous figure with dusky arms. Yep. He was a person. Probably. I glanced at Lin, who hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
“I just come to watch our quarterback. He’s amazing. The reason why we’ve been the regional champs the last three years,” Charisse said.
“Which one is that?” The ball passing and warm-ups had subsided, and the coach was now running the entire group through agility drills.
“Number 12. Nigel Galbraith. He’s a dreamboat.
And he isn’t just all looks and football.
He’s super nice. A straight A student and cares about this school.
He never dates because there isn’t anyone here good enough for him.
Besides, his parents are always bringing scouts to watch him play.
They want him to go pro. There’s no room for a high school sweetheart with all that. We just call him Ni-guy.”
The sing-song-y rhyming nickname was so Charisse.
“Who’s ‘we,’ weirdo?” Lin scoffed.
I had to agree that he certainly knew how to throw and catch the ball, since now they’d separated into positions. The uniform made it difficult to tell how he was built, even though he was fairly close to where we sat.
His backside was rather eye-catching, though. My cheeks warmed. Bad girl. No way. I turned to face Lin. “So, what kinds of jobs do you know about? I’m willing to do pretty much anything. I can answer phones, run errands, type on the computer, cook fast food, clean...”
Lin finally turned her attention from the field. “What do you like to do?”
“You mean for work?”
“I mean, for fun.”
“Homework.”
“Please.” Lin rolled her eyes.
Did I dare reveal my secret? Lin and Charisse had shared their crushes.
“I play video games. All kinds. You name it, I’ve played it.
My favorites are MMORPGs, Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games with huge open worlds shared with other players that you can group up with to defeat bosses.
COTSA–Champions of the Shattered Age–is the best. My current fighter has a blood sword with a high DPS. It took me forever...”
“Stop, stop, stop.” Lin waved a hand in my face.
“You might as well be speaking Chinese to me. Actually, I’d have a better chance of figuring out what you were saying if you did.
At least some words would be familiar since my parents yell at me in it.
I’m assuming since there was a computer class on your schedule that you know something about the computers used to play those games? ”
“Of course. I hope to become a game dev. The classes required—”
“Ack. You’re doing it again. Anyway, I know just the person who’d love to hire a hot girl that speaks geek.”
“Hot girl?”
“Oh, yeah.” Charisse turned to me, looking up and down. “You have a good figure. That red hair is fantastic.” She tugged on my braid.
My heart started pounding, not in a good way, and I couldn’t get enough oxygen. I felt like I was living a nightmare. Onstage, being dissected for all to see. I pulled my jean jacket closed.
Charisse kept going. “Natural highlights and lowlights all interwoven. Loose, it would fall in a glorious sunset down your back, wouldn’t it?
Freckles are considered cute nowadays, but you don’t wear any makeup at all.
Those khaki eyes are so unusual; they would really pop with the right eye makeup.
I can give you some tips and tricks. Whenever we don’t have a dedicated makeup person, I usually help everyone out. ”
My voice finally emerged, sounding like a troll being choked. “No, no, no, no...” The last thing I wanted was attention.
Lin’s hard gaze met mine. I wasn’t sure if she could see the depth of the panic in them or not, but she threw me a lifeline anyway. She grabbed Charisse’s arm and turned her away from me. “Molly likes to downplay her best attributes, so let’s go with ‘cute’ instead.”
“But—”
“Charisse, heel. Molly, I’ll take you to the computer place after practice.”
“What time does it end?” Thank goodness, a breather.
“Five,” Lin said.
I looked through the scuffed-up plastic at the digital time on my watch, already shaking my head.
I needed to escape their eyes. But also, I had to be home and make dinner before Mom got there.
Some people were reliable. And it was the little things I could do to help make life easier, now that it was just the two of us. “Sorry, I can’t.”
Lin sighed deeply. “Fine. I’ll leave early just this one time. I don’t want Maddox to think I’ve abandoned him.” She stood, dusting off her black pants, and pulled keys out of her pocket. “Let’s get going.”
Did I want to go? They seemed to think that I would only get the job because I was pretty.
I loved to work with computers in any way I could, and not only would it help my bank account, but it would also look great on a college application.
As we walked through the parking lot of used cars, my mind kept whirring.
I’d also get to play games and maybe gather some insight about what the customers liked or disliked about the games they played for my idea book.
Yet could I stand being ogled by a bunch of gamers?
“Ooh!” Charisse squealed. “Can I drive?”
“Not in this life,” Lin said as if she’d said it a million times.
I stood there, a headache starting as I weighed the pros and cons.
Lin and Charisse seemed nice. They wouldn’t put me in real physical danger, but they didn’t understand my discomfort with being leered at.
It was a possibility at any job. And any income could make the difference between college and a future full of low-paying jobs.
Lin turned back to me, spinning her keys on a finger. “Are you coming?”
SPARKLING GALAXIES swirled across a blue background, deep as the darkest night, wrapping around the sides and over the roof. The car was a painting come to life, only done professionally, not the spray-painted, battered rig, that I expected from a high schooler.
I hesitated climbing into Lin’s masterpiece; Charisse did not.
The four-door sedan rode low enough for her to slip in easily. “Shot gun! I’ll pick the music. I love the new purple and blue swirls and the stars. They look like they’re twinkling in the sun. It’s so pretty!” Charisse said.
The interior was pristine white leather and bigger than my bedroom. Lin and I seemed worlds apart. I stared at her. Would this job be the right fit for me? I couldn’t know until I tried.
“Don’t worry. I won’t charge you,” Lin called from the driver’s seat.
I stood dumbfounded. Did that mean she normally charged people?
“C’mon. We’re on a tight schedule, right?” Lin said.
I nodded and finally opened the rear door, sliding in.
The car smelled of oranges, but there was no air freshener hanging from the windshield.
I couldn’t tell that the car was running.
It was so quiet, and the movement forward was smooth.
The only thing that gave it away was the passing scenery.
This was luxury. Lin was a walking contradiction.
“We’re going to DragonByte. My parents own the strip mall, so I’m friendly with the owner. It’s not far from school.”
Wow. The car was one thing, though it had been a pretty big tip-off Lin’s family was well off.
But her parents owned a whole strip mall?
Maybe it was a small, ratty thing. And if she really was a rich kid, why didn’t she have more friends?
I’d expect people to line up to impress her. Also, why was she helping me?