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She shrugged. “What? I didn’t do anything.”
I took a few seconds to calm down. Losing my temper and screaming at her in front of the others wouldn’t get us anywhere. “You know exactly what you did.” Brenda ran over to Liz and Ursula and helped them stand. I glanced over. Besides cut knees and scratched hands, both girls appeared okay. “If you don’t want to be part of this team, feel free to quit.”
Miranda sucked on her teeth like she was sucking a sour lemon. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You’re suspended for the rest of the season, Ms. Halpern.”
“That’s not fair.” She pouted and stomped her feet like a toddler who’d been told no. “My dad is a sponsor of the sports program here. He won’t be happy.”
“I’ll be more than happy to tell him how you’re putting the safety of the other team members in jeopardy. Unacceptable.”
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “What’s unacceptable is having Liz’s sister as the assistant coach. It gives her an unfair advantage. The other girls and I think it’s totally biased.”
I gritted my teeth. “Everyone is treated the same on this team. You get back what you put in. If you wanted to prove yourself and get better, you would do the time and not complain about how unfair life is.”
She flicked her hair. “By kicking me off the team, you’re thwarting our chances at the meet. Liz can’t run and win every race.” She was right, but I wouldn’t go back on what I’d said.
“Sometimes, winning isn’t everything.”
She stormed off the track, and I went over to where Brenda was helping Liz and Ursula. She’d cleaned their cuts and was applying Band-Aids.
“You girls okay”? I asked.
“I’m fine,” Liz said. “I’m going to have scars on top of scars by the time I graduate.”
Ursula nodded in agreement. “Me too. I hate her.”
“Hate’s a strong word,” Brenda said. “She’s competitive but needs to learn how to stop cheating and sabotaging her team. Perhaps I should have a word with her.”
Liz snorted. “Like that would help.”
Brenda tidied the first aid supplies and glanced up at me. “Let me talk to her. It might help.”
“Be my guest,” I said. “While you try to make Miranda understand that the world doesn’t revolve around her, I’ll fill in the incident report.”
We both walked into the school building, and it was all I could do not to reach out and hold her hand. Before she disappeared into the locker room to attempt to reason with Miranda, I whispered. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“I can meet you at the theater if you’d like. That way, you don’t have to come get me. I mean, I know I’m only thirty minutes away, but—”
I placed my hands on her shoulders. “I’m picking you up for our date.”
“Okay,” she said, giving in. “I can’t wait. I’m excited. To see the movie, I mean.”
“Me, too.” I was excited, but it wasn’t about the movie.Chapter Five - BrendaI firmed my hands against my stomach. I was so nauseous, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I threw up half-way through the movie.
Tanner had texted about an hour ago to say he was running late and could we skip dinner and go straight to the theatre. That was perfectly fine by me because I didn’t think I’d be able to eat a single bite. He was stuck in a meeting with Principal Santino and Miranda’s parents. I’d talked to her in the locker room but couldn’t get through to her.
There was so much anger and jealousy inside of her. I didn’t know what she’d been through to cause her to act out the way she did. On paper, she had it all, friends, a loving family, and enough money never to have to work a day in her life. I guessed sometimes having everything also meant you had nothing.
I smoothed my hands down the front of my skirt. After trying on everything in my wardrobe, I’d settled on a short denim skirt with frayed edges and a silky camisole top. I hadn’t put on a bra, but I would wear a jacket to hide that fact.
I’d hemmed and hawed between wearing heels and a pair of Vans. I’d settled on the Vans. Since we would be sitting in a dark movie theater, no one would notice my shoes.
I’d taken extra care with my hair, and it now hung in loose, beach curls over my shoulders. And, unlike me, I’d applied some makeup—nothing much—some mascara and lip gloss. I still had some of my spring break tan, which meant I didn’t need any foundation or blush.
If anyone spotted Tanner and me on our date, I worried about what they would say or think. We could explain it away as both of us watching the movie before we showed it to the girls. Would anyone believe that? I, for sure, knew I wouldn’t. Why was I so anxious about being seen with him? We were both adults, and it wasn’t like we were dating even though he had asked me out, but not before I’d sort of asked him out.
