“Don’t play coy with me, Daisy, I’m your best friend. I know you’re crushing hard.”
Daisy wasn’t very open about her personal feelings. Sure, she had mentioned Jameson a few times but never in great detail.
“I thought this would be good for you, considering the rumor.”
“What rumor?”
Anna whispered into her ear, “About Rochelle Higgins.”
Daisy huffed. If she had to hear about Jameson and Rochelle one more time, she was going to lose it.
“I don’t think it’s true.”
Anna gave her a sympathetic look. “For your sake, I hope not.”
The first two quarters of the game went by without much action. Daisy stood when the crowd stood, and she clapped when others clapped.
Not a minute after the team was off the field, the cheerleaders began their halftime performance. Rochelle Higgins, of course, was front and center.
Halfway through the routine, the music cut out so abruptly the whole stadium went quiet. The cheerleaders jogged off the field like something had gone wrong, leaving only Rochelle Higgins and Clarissa Johnson standing at the fifty-yard line, confused and blinking under the lights. Then Bruno Mars blasted through the speakers. The cheerleaders rushed back out, grinning now, and Jameson and Sean followed behind them, each carrying an armful of red roses.
Daisy’s stomach dropped.
This wasn’t a performance. This was a question.
Her world spun.
A never-ending sea of red.
Anna squeezed Daisy’s hand, trying to console her friend. But when Jameson and Sean made their way to the two girls, holding a plethora of red roses, Daisy thought she might hurl.
She had been so wrong.
Ignorance at its finest.
Not wanting to continue the horror show that was occurring right before her eyes, she slipped away into the dark parking lot before the final rose fell into Rochelle’s arms. Anna caught up, worried, but Daisy waved her off.
She wasn’t broken. Not yet.Just stupid for hoping.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Daisy answered, harsher than she had intended. “I feel a little stupid, that’s all, but I’ll be fine. I just needed some air. Go back in with Ryan. I’m going to call my mom to pick me up.”
Anna bit her lip, uncertain about leaving her friend.
“I promise. Go.” Daisy faked a smile.
“Okay, but what should I tell Andre?”
“Tell him I wasn’t feeling well.”
Satisfied with her answer, Anna quickly hugged Daisy and headed back toward the field.
By Monday, the school buzzed with Sean and Jameson’s grand gesture. Daisy couldn’t escape it. Not in class, not in the halls, and especially not in the girls’ locker room.
For the first time since school had begun, she was dreading biology class.
