Hakeem grins.
“What about a chain of hearts?” Seth asks. Faces turn to look at him. “We sell a heart for a dollar and people can put names on it. Or a message. And then we hang them somewhere.” He shrugs.
“Good,” I say. “What else?”
“We can ask teachers to sponsor us,” Damari says.
“Or kinda like that, we can get pledge challenges. Gear it toward hockey,” Braxton suggests.
“We can hand write some letters,” Seth offers. Again, he gains everyone’s attention. Seth grins. “You all know how to write, right?”
Leo shoves him, rolling his eyes.
“How about auctioning off dates?” Leo suggests. “Dean Stommer puts on a big festival twice a year on campus. We could auction ourselves off as dates to the highest bidder.”
“Ohhh and make little trading cards or something. Kind of a spoof but with cute, endearing qualities about us as incentive,” Braxton suggests. “Like Seth enjoys playing soldier on the ice when no one’s looking but always dies against his invisible enemy.”
Seth smirks but then shakes his head. “I have a girlfriend.”
“What happened to Danny?” Leo asks.
“Wait—I thought you were with Samson,” Hakeem says.
Seth smirks again. “I also have two boyfriends, though they’d be fine if I did the date thing. Lola would not.”
“What’s the gender-neutral term for ladies’ man?” Damari asks.
I laugh. “Okay, okay. I like all these. We’ll end here, but I’d like at least one idea from each of you emailed to me by the end of the week. For now, let’s get to practice. Time to see what you can do in person.”
CHAPTER 3
LEMON
Faster!” I shout. “Collin, I know you can move quicker than that. What’s with the sloppy footwork?”
“Yes, Coach,” Collin says.
“He’s coming off an injury,” Declan, a physical trainer assigned to the team today, reminds me, and I huff in frustration.
“Mind your injury,” I yell.
“Yes, Coach,” Collin calls back.
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter, glaring at the cluster show at the far end of the field. “Don’t hurt your own teammates, Adam!” I holler.
I’m not oblivious to my coaches glancing at me. Norman specifically, since he’s the closest. Declan keeps watching me too. I hate when he watches me. It just reminds me that he chose a stupid math guy over me.
Too bad, too. He’s just… pretty. He’d look good beneath me as I ride him like the stallion he is. I bet he takes orders really well.
Not that I’ve given that much thought.
“You’re… angrier than usual,” Declan points out. “What’s up, Lem?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
It’s been pointed out to me that maybe I’m being childish about this. I have always had a very large budget and now that it’s more “reasonable,” I shouldn’t be throwing a tantrum. I should want my school to excel in as many areas as possible because it brings in more funding.
I’m spoiled. I’m acting like a snotty baby. There’s no reason to be pissed.
