The torture, it appeared, was just beginning. The worst part of it was that as hellish as this was and as catty as they were all being, I knew that if things had gone differently and I’d woken up this morning as a noncheerleader, my life would have been a whole lot worse.
“Let’s go again,” Brooke said. “One, two, down, up, down … up.” She counted off the movement, and this time, as they hoisted me none-too-gently into the air, I actually managed to stay there. My form wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t so much a liberty as a “get me the hell down from here,” but I stuck it.
And from down below, Lucy took that exact moment to announce in her own perky, innocent, not-at-all-vindictive way that she’d asked my brother to homecoming.
“Aggggggkkkkkkk!” The noise I made as I fell off the stunt was only vaguely identifiable. The others didn’t let me hit the ground, but they did catch me in a way specifically designed to give me a wedgie, and I was about ninety-nine percent sure that they were doing it on purpose.
CHAPTER 36
Code Word: Homecoming
“That was the award-winning Bayport High Varsity Spirit Squad!”
Usually, making it through a halftime routine was a cathartic experience for me. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed it (perish the thought), but there’s something about that last “Bayport!” that gave me the same kind of rush that I had a tendency to crave. That said, the past few days had more or less cured me of my adrenaline addiction. For the time being, at least.
I also typically enjoyed the end of our halftime routine because it meant that I could slink back to the sidelines. Not so today. Not so at all.
“And now, we proudly present the members of this year’s homecoming court.”
Each of us was matched up with an escort. Mine was supposed to be a sophomore named David, but at the lastsecond, Jack redirected David toward one of the twins and took my arm.
“You ready to find out the voting results?” he asked, as he escorted me to the center of the field.
“Do I look ready to you?”
Jack smiled. “Ev, you were born ready.”
“Bite me.”
He leaned a little closer and whispered so that only I could hear him. “Don’t tempt me.”
I tried very hard not to smile, and succeeded only because I knew what was coming. I’d run into enough programs built by the Squad’s previous hacker to know that she was good. The projections were accurate, and I was going to win. I had to wonder—where were the homicidal psychopaths when you really needed one? Right now, I could use the distraction.
For a brief instant, I considered bolting off the field, but Jack tightened his hold on my arm as we came to stand on the fifty-yard line, facing the stands.
“What would you say if I told you I already knew the outcome?” Jack asked quietly.
“I’d say something along the lines of ‘join the club,’” I mumbled miserably.
“What would you give me if I told you that you were wrong?” Jack murmured, as Chip and Brooke came to stand on one side of us, and Chloe and her escort came to stand on the other.
“Anything,” I told him. “You name it, and it’s yours.”
“What if I want a dance?” Jack asked.
What the hell? I thought. This was a bet that I very unfortunately wasn’t going to lose. “Whatever you want,” I reiterated. Jack smiled.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
“The Bayport High homecoming court is a long-standing tradition here at Bayport. Each year, four seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores are nominated for the coveted roles of king and queen respectively. The nominated seniors are …” The announcer was dead set on extending my misery as far as was humanly possible, and he read through each of our names, pausing for applause with each one. Finally, he got to the point, and I winced in anticipation of his words.
“And this year, the homecoming king and queen are Chip Warner and Brooke Camden.”
I turned to stare at Jack, but his face was absolutely blank.
“Each year the sophomore attendant with the most votes is named the homecoming princess,” the announcer continued, and I prepared myself—gladly—for the indignity. At least next year, I wouldn’t be eligible for princess and would only have the queen thing to worry about. The junior girls didn’t know how lucky they had it.
“This year’s homecoming princess is April Manning.”
