“Watch out!” I barely registered the feeling of déjà vu as I headed towards school. Abigail had walked with me again today, perhaps because she hadn’t been busy with whatever negotiations she’d been having with the Headmaster now. Distantly, it occurred to me this was the last day that would feel familiar to me, and even then, all the strangeness that had occurred had rendered the past two days otherworldly.

But avoiding a soccer ball for a second time brought me right back to the moment. I grabbed Abigail and pulled us both back as the ball whizzed by. Her eyes widened a fraction, her attention more focused on my hand around her wrist then us almost getting hit.

“Sorry about that.” The boy that rushed in front of us rang a bell in my head. He’d done the same thing the other day as well. The previous today? I wasn’t sure how to quantify the time.

“You’re pretty energetic for it being so early.” Abigail moved her foot and pulled the ball from where it’d smacked against a planter and towards her. “Be more careful next time, ok?”

With a winning smile, she kicked the ball back towards him. His gaze fell, looking sheepish as he stopped the ball with his foot, “Yeah, sorry about that again.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it Cinder?” I was too focused on the fact this boy was playing soccer than anything. I wondered what the chances were that I would choose someone who’d I’d already run into. Maybe because it was the first time I was going through this, so the Headmaster had made it easy.

Or maybe I wasn’t guessing right. I’d have to ask Fox during sixth period and hope he’d answer, “Yeah, we weren’t hurt.”

“See you then!” Abigail pulled me along, and I gave an awkward wave goodbye. His own hand was hesitant as he waved back and before I knew it we were inside and being pulled into a classroom.

Nia looked utterly frazzled, “I’m never playing sports again.”

“It’s not even basketball season.” I started.

“Speaking of sports, a boy almost killed Cinder before we got here.” Abigail said, and it shocked Nia well enough for her to relax her shoulders.

She pulled back, looking at me from head to toe, “Are you ok?”

“Some boys were kicking around a soccer ball and one of them kicked it too hard. What happened.” I waved away her concern instantly, instead wondering over this new development.

“Captain Queen B.”

I winced, knowing where this was going, “What she’d do this time.”

“She’s been on me since last season, but now she’s saying I never bother to practice anymore. We don’t even have practice, we just have conditioning for now! How am I supposed to practice with the team?” Nia groaned, leaning against one of the desks. “I’m also convinced she’s trying to harass all the freshman who aren’t prodigies off the team. You should have seen her this morning. She’s forcing them all to meet up. When I offered to join, she said this wasn’t about me and chased me out.”

Queen B, also known as Jen, was Nia and Abigail’s nemesis. I wasn’t sure how exactly it all started, but I knew the girl had it out for both of them whatever chance she got.

Abigail sighed, noting the time on the clock, “Is she on the courts?”

“…M-maybe we shouldn’t go over there.” Today was the day the story started supposedly, and I didn’t want Jen to have any part of it. I’d somehow managed to avoid her ire, but I wasn’t confident it would stay that way. It was miracle she hadn’t noticed me thus far.

“It’ll be ok! She wouldn’t try anything with the freshman around. Afterall, all we would need to do is report her to the coach. I’m sure one of the kids would squeal and back us up.” Nia and I exchanged glances at the sheer joy in her voice. It was the kind we knew indicated she was doing this whether we followed her or not.

“Well, let’s hurry before class starts.” Although Nia sighed, I could tell she wasn’t upset at this turn of events. To some degree, she’d probably grabbed us hoping Abigail would do something. The two played off each other well like that.

With Abigail at the helm, we went to the courts.

//

The freshman were exhausted from what I could tell. Sweat gleaned on their foreheads, and Jen kept calling out drills. I knew nothing about basketball despite going to most of Nia’s games, so all of it always sounded foreign to me. What I did know was she was overworking them to the point where it almost felt like it was crossing over into hazing.

“Did she do this yesterday, too?” I asked, watching as Abigail pulled ahead and wasted no time heading right towards Jen. She hadn’t noticed us yet, too busy on calling out things to the other players.

Nia frowned, “I’m not sure? I doubt she had their names though. Since basketball is in spring we don’t have any summer practices where we meet the freshman or anything.”

We hurried after Abigail as she planted herself right next to Jen. The girl raised her head, ponytail slipping past her shoulder in a wave of brown hair. Abigail was taller than her, although not by much. When high school started, I’d lamented over being the shortest of us three, only to realize I wasn’t just shorter I was just short altogether.

And Abigail and Nia were just tall. Abigail used it as a means of intimidation, “Isn’t it time for them to get changed? Classes are about to start and I wouldn’t want them to be late.”

“Fuck off Abigail.” She spun towards the two us, freckled face drawn into a scowl. “You two really drag each other into everything.”

“Language,” Abigail sang, her smile never leaving her face. The kids had all come to a stop, turning to see what was going on. Nia quickly moved to tell them to go to the locker rooms as Abigail kept Jen busy. “Is there a reason you like to act like the lead bully in the latest teen drama?”

“Is there a reason you have to be insufferable all the time by getting into other people’s business?”

“From one unsufferable person to another, I think you should get a better attitude. I don’t know who would want to follow a Captain that treats them like shit all the time.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As the last kid scattered, Nia slipped into the space beside her, “Look Jen, I don’t know what you said to them, but please don’t wear them down too much already. Our team is small enough as is.”

“What does that matter?”

“If we don’t have a team we can’t play.” Jen rolled her eyes at that, and her gaze somehow landed on me instead. I froze, waiting for her to snap at me next, but as always, she just ignored me.

I guess I had managed another day where she wasn’t bothering with my existence, “Since when have you ever taken the game seriously?”

She shoved past them right as the bell rang. I glanced back at her as she passed me. Her back was straight and she didn’t look back. Abigail’s complaints to Nia weren’t quiet, and I knew they were intended to be heard. Still, Jen didn’t react as she walked away.

“I can’t stand her.”

“I wonder if anyone can.” Nia shook her head. “We should head to class too before we’re late. You ok, Cinder?”

“Huh, me? I’m fine. I’ve always just thought she was a little scary.” I fell into step with them.

“That’s like finding me scary.” Abigail laughed, and for a second, I nearly said she was, too.

//

“This is Jen’s senior year, isn’t it?” Nia swatted at me with her pen, nearly getting me with the charm collection hanging off of it. Our teacher cut a glance our way, but we had already went right back to our normal position before he could notice. As he turned back towards the board, I continued. “Maybe since her last season is coming up, she’s being extra awful?”

“I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Why does she hate you so much?” I could understand Abigail. She could fight fire with fire, and did so without hesitation. It was a set-up for endless fights and confrontations. But Nia was more the type to keep things to herself and complain about things later.

Nia doodled in her notebook, pretending she was notetaking, “How should I know? She took one look at me freshman year and has hated me since.”

“She doesn’t seem to hate me, though…” The teacher cut a glance our way again, but with Nia doodling and me facing the front, it was hard to actually catch us. I could feel the annoyance radiating off of him, though. I kept pretending like we weren’t the ones whispering the whole class time.

“Lucky you.” Or unlucky Nia.

I kept quiet for a few minutes, before I whispered, “Is she…jealous?”

It earned another swipe from Nia, and this time I had to shift slightly to avoid getting smacked. Nia refused to answer the question, but there was no other explanation I could think of. At the end of the day, whatever was going on with Jen and Nia wasn’t really my business to get involved in unless asked. If it was Abigail, she would have kept pressing, and Nia might have even let her.

By the time class was over, I’d managed to make the teacher hate us even with the do-over. Me and Nia pointedly ignored him as we passed, pretending we hadn’t been two overly disruptive students who kept talking in the middle of lessons.

When we made it safely to the halls, Nia exhaled a laugh, “I would have preferred to not make the teacher hate us.”

“Sorry…! I was just worried—”

“You’re always worried. I think it’s what you do best.” She hooked an arm through mine. “Speaking of worried, we should meet up with Abigail. Knowing her she might go off and yell at Queen B again.”

“Right…” I let Nia drag me towards our usual spot, noting there was no fight in the halls this time. The two who’d caused it weren’t stuck in a loop. Although, even those who were, were acting slightly different this run.

As we headed on the path towards our usual spot, I couldn’t help but notice the boy from earlier. Something felt off about him, and as we passed, I noticed he was sitting on the planter, holding the top of his hand. His gaze was somewhere else, like he was waiting for someone.

There was red, and I blurted out, “You’re hurt.”

His head snapped up, and I wanted to snatch the words from the air. It only took a moment for recognition to light up his face, “Oh! You’re the girl from this morning.”

“This morning…? Are you Mr. Soccer Ball?” Nia leaned over, noting what it was that I had. The top of his hand was bleeding.

“Ah, yeah. I’m still really sorry about that!” The grip on his hand tightened, and I flinched as I could almost feel his wound fold up.

There was more red, still, “You should go to the nurses office.”

I broke away from Nia, removing his hand to see it. The top was pretty scraped up, like he’d skidded it against concrete. He didn’t move his hands away, and let me take a look at them. “It’s fine. I’m waiting for someone, so I was just going to deal with it after.”

“…Here.” I fished out a mini first aid kit. Between Nia and Abigail, the two were also masters of getting hurt, and I decided I needed to prepare for the worst. For all the times they made fun of me for it, I had been patching them up from all their scrapes.

“Oh! No, it’s fine. You’ll get blood on you.”

“I don’t mind.” Pulling out an alcohol wipe, I tried to get off as much blood as I could. He winced, but kept his hand in place as I dug around for a band aid big enough to cover his hand.

Nia was laughing under her breath again, “I’m Nia and that’s Cinder, by the by.”

“Kade.” He watched me as I stood, and I tried not to stare. “Thanks for this.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome. Hope we didn’t bother you too much.” I scooted back to Nia’s side, and she looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes. I couldn’t help but try to compare him to Abigail’s own words. She hardly ever talked about guys or dating, but of the few times she did, I couldn’t recall if blonde-hair, blue-eyed, sporty types made the list.

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know Abigail’s type at all. If all these scenarios were going to be based closer on Abigail’s wish than my own, then knowing that kind of thing would help with predicting what to expect from the key player in all of this. It’d be hard to bring it up naturally, since we tended to talk about anything else.

“It’s fine.” It was hard to concentrate and easier to get stuck in my own head. “I’ll see you around?”

He was looking at me when he said it, and I didn’t know how to feel, “Yeah, I’ll see you around.”

With as much calm as I could muster, I headed with Nia to our usual spot. The minute we were there, I collapsed on the ground, feeling my nerves fraying. I’d wanted to interact with him, rather, I needed to, but I didn’t know how to approach someone. Did I come off as weird? Was I already failing miserably and he thought I was a freak?

Abigail eyed me, having already taken her seat in the grass, “Everything ok, babe?”

“I talked to a boy—”

“A scarring experience I’m sure.”

“—and I feel like I wasn’t totally normal during it.” Nia was no longer hiding her grin as she sat down and pulled out her favorite snacks from her bag. I buried my face in my hands. “I was normal, though. Right Nia?”

Nia glanced at Abigail, a sharp curve to her smile, “I’m sure holding hands on a first meeting might be off putting—”

“I was bandaging his hand!” She was full on laughing, and Abigail rolled her eyes.

With a joking shove to her, Abigail turned towards me, “I guess your first aid kit came in handy once again. Who was the lucky boy?”

“Soccer boy.” Nia said at the same time I stated, “It was the boy who almost hit us with the soccer ball earlier.”

“Oh, karma I see. Was he hurt badly?”

“Just a scratch.”

She offered me her half of a cookie, and I took it from her and nibbled. My one lunch was peeking out of me from my bag as I unzipped it, but I couldn’t find it in myself to have an appetite.

Nia gave half of her own cookie to me as well, and pouted at both of them, “It’s fine. I’m just not used to talking to people.”

Neither of them seemed to care nor listen to me. I watched as Abigail opened her chips and set them down in front of her, with the opening clearly pointed my way. Nia did the same. It was like they were both trying to mortify me by pretending to comfort me with food. It’d been a long time since it’d happened, and I was melting into the earth now that it was happening again.

Nia popped a chip in her mouth, “Well, I can’t say this isn’t going to be an interesting school year. Especially if this is how the first week is going.”

She couldn’t even begin to fathom how true her statement was. Abigail nodded, “I think it’s too early to tell. We still have a whole year to decide right?”

Despite myself, I finished both Abigail’s and Nia’s cookie halves. One chocolate chip and one sugar cookie. As I finished, Abigail glanced back, “By the way, did you catch his name?”

“The boy’s?”

“Yeah.”

“He said it was Kade. Why?”

She shrugged, a glint in her eyes, “Just in case.”

I speculated what she meant by it for the rest of lunch.