The Star Player's Plus-Size Obsession

Chapter 02

Joyce's POV

The whole locker room froze when the assistant captain Leo's voice floated in from the hallway.

Emily stood in the doorway with her face as red as our uniforms. She looked up at him like he was a sunrise. It would have been cute if it were not so sad.

Brooklyn tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked toward the door.

"Nothing's funny, Leo," she said in her sweetest voice. "Just girl stuff."

He did not look at her. He was still looking at Emily.

"You good?" he asked her.

Emily opened her mouth. Nothing came out. She nodded three times, clutched her bag to her chest, and ran down the hallway toward the equipment room.

Leo watched her go. Then his dark eyes moved over the rest of us, one by one, like he was counting.

"Coach wants the squad on the floor in ten," he said.

"We'll be there," Brooklyn said. "Good luck tonight. Not that you need it."

He walked away without answering her. The door swung shut behind him.

Brooklyn's smile fell off her face. "Rude."

"He's always like that," Ella said. "He doesn't talk to anybody."

"He talked to the blob."

Nobody said anything to that. Brooklyn turned back to the room, and slowly... no. Her smile came back, wider and meaner than before.

"Anyway," she said, "who wants to know a secret?"

"Me," Ella said.

Brooklyn sat on the bench and crossed her legs. "We left a little surprise in the mascot head."

I stopped braiding my hair. "What kind of surprise?"

"A dead rat."

Ella's hand flew to her mouth. "No way."

"Way. It's been marinating for a week." Brooklyn examined her nails. "The janitor found it behind the vending machines. He didn't want to touch it, so we made good use of it."

"That's so disgusting," Ella said, but she was laughing. "She's gonna reek for weeks."

"That's the point."

"What if she finds it before the game?"

"She won't. It's stuffed up in the top of the head, under the foam." Brooklyn grinned. "She'll smell it the second she puts it on. In front of the whole gym."

The girls around us burst into giggles. I made myself laugh with them. It came out a little thin, but nobody seemed to notice.

Two hundred dollars, I thought. And another two hundred tonight.

I pushed the thought away.

Brooklyn turned her head and looked straight at me.

"So, Joyce."

"What?"

"Why has she been following you around anyway?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb. The blob." Brooklyn narrowed her eyes. "She sits with you at lunch. She waits for you after practice. Don't tell me you're friends with that thing."

The whole room was watching me now. I knew what my answer had to be. On this squad, you were either laughing at the joke or you were the joke.

"God, no," I said. "Are you kidding?"

"Then what's the deal?"

"She won't leave me alone." I rolled my eyes. "I said hi to her once in Biology freshman year, and she's been stuck to me like gum ever since."

"Ew," Ella said.

"Tell me about it. She texts me good morning. Every day."

The girls laughed again. This time my laugh came out easier.

"But hey," I said, "watching her humiliate herself will at least make her useful."

Brooklyn studied me for a long moment. Then she smiled.

"Good answer."

I let out a breath I did not know I was holding.

Brooklyn clapped her hands and stood. "All right, ladies, we have to hurry up. We got two minutes. Everybody's already lining up, so let's go."

"Wait, my bow," Ella cried. "Where's my bow?"

"On your head, genius."

"Oh."

"Come on, come on," Brooklyn snapped. "Move it. If we're late, Coach makes us run laps after the game, and I'm not running laps because Ella can't find her own head."

Everyone grabbed their pom-poms and rushed toward the door. I checked my lipstick in the mirror one last time and followed them out.

The hallway outside the gym was loud. I could hear the band warming up and the crowd stomping on the bleachers. The smell of popcorn drifted through the open doors.

Then I heard heavy footsteps behind me.

I turned around, and there she was.

Emily stood in the middle of the hallway in the Wildcat suit. The orange fur hung loose around her body. The tail dragged on the floor behind her. Two giant paws covered her hands, and the big furry head was tucked under one arm.

She looked ridiculous.

She also looked happier than I had ever seen her.

"Joyce!" She waddled toward me as fast as the suit would let her. "Joyce, wait."

"Em, we're late."

"I know, I know. Just one second." She was out of breath, and her cheeks were pink. "How do I look?"

I looked at the head under her arm. The wide plastic eyes. The fat cartoon grin. Somewhere inside it, under the foam, a week-old rat was waiting for her.

"You look..." I swallowed. "Like a wildcat."

She beamed at me like I had just told her she was beautiful.

"This is my chance, Joyce."

"Your chance for what?"

"Enzo might notice me." She squeezed the head against her chest.

"I've had a crush on him for two years," she whispered. "Two whole years. And now we're going to be on the same court. In front of everybody."

From the gym doors, Brooklyn shouted my name.

"Coming!" I called back.

Emily grabbed my arm with her giant paw. "Do you think he'll look at me? Tell me the truth."

I looked down at her hopeful face. Then I looked at the mascot head one more time and smiled.

"Oh, Em. You'll get his attention in that outfit."