Tamara's face lit up when she entered the Harrison Repertory Theatre building. The playhouse was small and quaint, but it seemed beautiful to her. She glanced at the high ceiling and felt a slight twinge in her neck as she craned to look at the top. Her feet carried her straight to the stage, almost of their own volition, because she couldn't stop taking in the sight. Tamara had no idea how she didn't trip. Then she looked across the open room. They had moved the risers back to clear the space for the haunted house, leaving the floor empty before her. It felt like a vast chasm, especially with the bright lights shining on her face. This made it easier to pretend she was in a large opera house, so Tamara started singing. She listened to the echo and closed her eyes.

"That's beautiful," Keisha said from the floor below.

Tamara stopped in the middle of a note and yelped. She couldn't see Keisha clearly when she opened her eyes because the lights blinded her. Plus, she stumbled and waved her arms around. Keisha positioned herself beneath her just in case, but Tamara caught her balance.

"Um, good evening, Sister Keisha!" Tamara said.

"Relax, girl. I don't want you falling and breaking your neck. Where are the rest of the pledges?"

"They will be here soon. I came here early to check this place out."

"Well, come with me. I want you to meet the HRT crew," Keisha said. "They're an interesting bunch."

Keisha waited at the bottom of the steps to ensure Tamara didn't stumble, but she didn't need to worry. Once Tamara joined her, they headed into the office building and found the HRT staff waiting in the lobby. Tamara couldn't guess their ages, but she thought none of them were under thirty. The oldest was a gray-haired woman with a pleasant smile. She wore her hair in a bun. Tamara wondered if she was their boss.

"Tamara, this is Mrs. London," Keisha said, gesturing at the older woman. Mrs. London smiled and shook Tamara's hand.

"It's nice to meet you. You can call me Mae," she said. "Are you the actress?"

"Yes, I am," Tamara beamed.

"Oh, an actress?" asked a large man with a Caesar haircut and a fake English accent. "I'm Bartholomew Morris, but you can call me Bart," he said, offering a clammy handshake. Tamara had to wipe her hand on her shirt afterward.

"Tamara," she replied. "It's nice to meet you. Are you from England?" she asked, trying to be nice.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's practicing his accent," Mrs. London laughed.

"It's good," Tamara lied.

"Thank you, my dear. What plays have you done?"

"Quite a few, but I'm currently doing Hello, Dolly!"

"Splendid! Are you the lead?"

"Not quite. I'm playing Irene."

"That's still fine. Stick with me, lass. I'll teach you almost everything I know," Bart said, placing an arm around her shoulder.

"Almost?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to give away all my secrets. Would I?"

Soon, the other pledges arrived, which seemed like a relief for Tamara. Keisha could tell Bart was testing Tamara's patience. They started laying out the floor plan for the haunted house.

"I know play practice will prevent you from being here all the time, so I need as much input as you can give me today," Keisha said to Tamara. "Do you have any ideas for rooms?"

"Ideas? I've never been to a haunted house, so I don't know."

"Have you ever done any scary plays?"

"Does Phantom of the Opera count?"

"Sure. What kind of props did they use in plays like that? We have access to HRT's props and costumes," Keisha said, pointing at a loft area at the back of the building.

"Oh, wow," Tamara said. She didn't answer Keisha because she had already started moving toward the loft. Keisha had to follow briskly. Tamara looked like a kid in a candy store, which amused Keisha. The amusement grew when Tamara started picking up objects and playing with them. "Whoa, what's this?" Tamara asked when they reached a wooden table with a hole in it. The hole led to a lower section. It appeared to be a compartment where someone could lie down.

"We used that to simulate an operating table," Bart said. "The person laid down here with their upper body poking through the hole. That way, we could place a fake body on the upper table and work on it like we were performing surgery on them. Once you covered everything up, it looked like we were operating on the person."

"We could use this," Tamara said. "The person inside the table could scream while we pretend to cut on them."

Keisha wrote notes on her tablet while they talked. The ideas started flowing because HRT didn't throw out props if they could help it. Their limited budget meant they had to reuse anything and everything. Moving around the loft proved challenging because they packed it with objects. Keisha couldn't believe the random assortment of items they found. The loft stretched almost the entire perimeter of the round building, so it was a large area. She began worrying about fire hazards because they stuffed props in whatever corner would fit them.

"Is that the front of an old car?" Keisha asked.

"Oh, yes. We got that from a junkyard. The lights and horn still work if you attach a battery," Bart replied. "It's a good background prop for car scenes. We couldn't fit a full car on stage, but this was enough. It's surprisingly light."

"I have an idea. What if we put it on a rolling cart and then build a barrier? When people enter the dark room, we flip on the headlights, honk the horn, and ram it into the barrier. All the people will see and hear is a car coming at them. They'll freak out," Tamara said.

"I like it. You're getting pretty good at this, Tam," Keisha said.

"Thanks," Tamara said, blushing a little. "I'm just thinking of things that would scare me."

While they spoke, the other pledges were sifting through the costume section on the other side of the loft. They occasionally held up items and yelled across the way, but their voices echoed. Hearing them wasn't an issue.

"Check it out! I'm a pirate!" Claudia said, showing off her hat and eye patch.

"I don't think a pirate room would be terrifying," Tamara replied.

"You don't find pirates scary?" Claudia asked.

Tamara shrugged and said, "Try to focus. Please."

"Who put you in charge?" Claudia asked.

"She's your activities director, so she's with me. Now, focus like she said," Keisha replied with a stern glare.

"Yes, Sister Keisha. Sorry," Claudia said, removing the hat and eye patch.

Claudia continued looking, but Hana wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, she admired the dresses. Hana's hand caressed a silk dress. She pulled it off the rack and held it up before her body to judge its size.

"You would look cute in that," Chloe said.

"Do you think so?" Hana asked.

"Go try it on."

"But Sister Keisha and Tamara said to focus. This isn't a scary costume."

"Add some makeup. You could be a zombie ballroom dancer," Chloe laughed.

"No, I'll try it on later," Hana said, placing it back on the rack. Chloe felt that would never happen. Nevertheless, she took the dress and put it aside. While she did this, Claudia asked a question everyone had on their minds.

"Hey, Chloe. Did Marla tell your parents like she threatened?" Claudia asked.

"Yeah, and they didn't care. Mom saw through what Marla was doing and told her to stop. Besides, I have already explained everything to Mom and Dad. They know what kind of club I joined."

"I bet that pissed off Marla."

"Of course, but she stays pissed off these days," Chloe shrugged.

Meanwhile, Barb arrived and joined them in the loft. "Hey, how are things coming?" Barb asked.

"They're going well. Tamara has a bunch of ideas already," Chloe said.

"Nice! Well, I've got more good news. Shawna and I will join your flag football team, so we have enough now," Barb said.

"Sweet!" Claudia said with a fist pump. "We'll have practice tomorrow."

"Oh, yay," Hana said sarcastically.

"Relax. It won't be that bad. We'll have you and Tam on the offensive line. Flag football is non-contact. All you have to do is get in the defender's way," Claudia said, waving her hand.

"What about defense?" Barb asked.

"We'll put them on the line for that too. Run at the person with the ball and grab for a flag. The faster players will take care of the receivers," Claudia shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not expecting us to be great. Just have fun."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

***

Claudia's reassurances didn't assuage Hana's fears. She was feeling nervous by the time she reached practice the next day. They met on the intramural fields. The area was wide open, which made it quite windy. It was already a chilly morning, so the breeze amplified this problem. Hana shivered despite her sweatshirt. Worse yet, recent droughts had taken their toll on the grass. The wind kicked up dust, making Hana cough.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah. I'm good," Hana said, giving her a thumbs-up, but the expression in her eyes said otherwise. "Oh, no! Sister Felicia, don't document this!" Hana added when she saw Felicia approach with a video camera in her hand.

"It's my job," she said.

"But it's practice."

"It's your first practice. This is worth documenting," Felicia shrugged.

Barb was with her, looking tired. She was starting to regret committing to all these activities. They required her to get up early far too often.

"Where's Mistress Shawna?" Claudia asked.

"That's a good question. If I have to be here at 8 AM on a Saturday, so does she," Barb grumbled.

"Relax! I'm right here," Shawna said. They turned to look at her and reacted with surprise. Shawna lacked makeup, except for black lines below her eyes. They were the kind athletes used to cut down on the sun's glare. She also had her hair in a small ponytail. Shawna looked so different they almost didn't recognize her. Felicia raised her camera, but Shawna pushed it down gently. "Fel, don't film me. I look terrible."

"No, you don't. You look..." Felicia began, but she paused. "Very badass," she finished with a smile.

This brought a grin to Shawna's face, and she winked at Felicia. "Thanks," she said, then donned a mouthguard. It was black. Shawna placed it in her mouth and smiled. Felicia noticed Shawna had written the words "Kiss my ass" on it in white letters.

"You're giving away our secret," Felicia said.

"Everybody knows," Shawna said, but the guard muffled her words slightly.

Shawna stretched, so the pledges followed suit. Claudia and Shawna taught them how to stretch correctly because a few had never played sports. Once they were ready, Claudia handed them index cards with different plays drawn on them. Everyone had their assignments, so she personalized each card to show them what to do. Kennedy played quarterback, Chloe was her center, Tamara and Hana covered the offensive line, and the rest handled the receiving. Since they couldn't play defense and offense simultaneously, Claudia invited Aeternum's pledge team to practice with them, making Hana more anxious.

"This looks like a weird game of Tic-Tac-Toe," Tamara laughed as she looked at the cards.

"I tried to keep it simple. Just do what the lines show," Claudia said. "And try not to fall over," she added to Tamara.

Tamara did her best but tripped on the third play they practiced. "Oh, poopy!" she cried. Claudia gave her a strange look, but she didn't say anything. Next, Tamara ate dirt and yelled, "Dagnabbit!"

Claudia couldn't remain silent. "Okay, I have to ask this. What's your deal with cursing?" Claudia said. "Are you super religious or something?" she added, helping Tamara to her feet.

"No. The only time I've been to church is for weddings and funerals. I don't like cussing. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Never change, Tam. It's cute," Claudia said, patting her on the back.

The practice continued without any injuries unless you count wounded pride. Dan intercepted one of Kennedy's passes a few plays later, so Kennedy cursed under her breath.

"Good catch, Dan," she said when he handed her the ball. "I shouldn't have thrown that one."

"Thanks, and don't worry about it. You've thrown some good ones," Dan replied.

"Yeah, you're impressing the hell out of me," Craig Kilpatrick said. He was a handsome kid, and he knew it. Craig was Aeternum's pledge president. He had the confidence and swagger that fit such a position. Craig poured on the charm when he approached Kennedy. Dan tried not to roll his eyes. "I can tell you've played football before," Craig said.

"I played a lot of flag football in my younger days," Kennedy said. She emphasized the last few words, but Craig didn't take the hint.

"You could teach me a thing or two. How would you like to discuss football over lunch?"

Kennedy sighed before motioning for Craig to follow her away from the pack. Once they were a few feet away, she spoke. "Look. You seem like a nice boy, but this isn't going to happen. I'm old enough to be your mom."

"I understand," he replied, holding his hands up. "Figured it was worth a try."

"No harm done. And I'm flattered, but let's get back to practice," Kennedy said. She returned to the huddle with a conflicted look, which Hana noticed.

"Are you okay?" Hana asked.

"Do you think I should have given him a chance? Am I weird for even thinking that?" Kennedy asked.

"Nah, Mama K. You're single, and he's good-looking," Claudia said.

"Yeah, but the age difference is too much. Also, why does this keep happening? Guys in my classes have been hitting on me. Do you think I'm hot, or is it just the allure of an older woman?"

"Mama K, you're smokin'," Tamara said. "Literally and figuratively!" Tamara added with a huge grin when she realized what she said.

"Don't remind me. I need to cut down on the smoking. I'm getting winded too easily," she chuckled. "But I'm not that great looking."

"Nonsense!" Chloe said. "Plus, the fall social is coming up. You'll need a date."

"Do we have to have one?" Kennedy asked.

"We won't require it, but this is a social. The whole point is to bring a date," Barb said.

"I'll go stag. There's no one my age. I'm pretty sure they frown on dating teachers even in college," Kennedy said. "Now, back to football. Enough chatter."

"I agree," Shawna said. "You guys are driving me crazy."

"Go stag?" Claudia asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm just as lost," Hana replied. "I have no idea what she means."

***

By the time their first game took place, they were as ready as possible. The problem was that Phi-O's pledge team was their opponent. The prospect of playing them filled some of the pledges with more dread than they already had, but it motivated Claudia.

"Beating them would wipe that smirk right off Marla's face," Claudia said.

"Do you think we can do it?" Hana asked.

"Of course, we can. Dana Blake is their captain, and she doesn't know anything about sports," Claudia laughed.

Claudia and Hana talked as they headed toward the intramural fields. When they arrived, they found the place packed. It was a large area. They held multiple games. The air filled with the sounds of cheering, chanting, and whistles. Some pledges held signs. One group even had a drum with their club's logo on it. They beat it to rally their fellow pledges to victory. The atmosphere somehow made Hana feel both motivated and scared.

They found the rest of the team warming up across the field from Phi-O. Shawna was makeup-free again. She painted the black lines underneath her eyes. Barb figured Shawna wore them more for the look than anything. Shawna fixed her gaze on the other team as she stretched. She only acknowledged the pledges' greeting with a nod. Hana followed the stare and saw Shawna was looking at Marla.

"Hana, relax. You look too tense," Barb said. "You as well, Shawna," Barb added, but Shawna ignored her.

"I'm fine," Hana replied, but her voice came out an octave higher than she expected. She started stretching, hoping it would calm her. Hana didn't know proper stretching techniques, so she followed Shawna's lead.

When it was time, the referee said, "Let me have the captains in the middle of the field."

Claudia attached the flags around her waist and walked toward the ref. She didn't look at him because she was too focused on Dana Blake. Dana was a slender girl with strawberry-blonde hair. She didn't seem athletic. They picked her as their captain more for her confidence and attitude. That arrogance showed in the smirk she wore when she looked at Claudia.

"They made you the captain?" Dana asked.

"I could say the same thing to you."

"Look at you guys. You don't even have enough pledges to fill a team, so you brought in ringers. Tell that psycho bitch to stop staring at me, or I'll slap her," Dana said, nodding toward Shawna.

"Tell her yourself. I dare you."

"Enough!" the ref said. "I want a clean game. Understood?" They nodded and stopped talking. "Good! Now, we will have a coin toss. KMA is the home team for this game. They will call it in the air," the ref continued before flipping the coin.

"Heads," Claudia said.

"It's tails. Would you like to start on offense or defense?" the ref asked Dana.

"Defense. Let's see what they've got."

Claudia gave Dana one last grin before huddling with her team. She had to shake her hands to regain some feeling. Claudia had been clenching them tightly. A hum of energy replaced the numbness as they lined up for the opening drive. Claudia laughed when she saw the pledge across from Shawna recoil at the sight of Shawna's mouthguard. Her reaction made Shawna smile wider, which caused a muttered insult from Dana. Thankfully, their first play erased Dana's enthusiasm. Kennedy came out swinging. She launched a long pass to Barb, placing them within twenty yards of the end zone.

"They shouldn't allow members to play on their team. It's supposed to be pledges," one Phi-O pledge grumbled.

"Like that even matters," Claudia said.

The muttering increased when Claudia ran the ball in for a score. The Phi-O team didn't expect them to be good. Even Tamara seemed energized by their quick success.

"I didn't fall over!" she beamed.

"You did good, Tam," Claudia said. "Now, I want you to get to the quarterback. Just rush at her, but don't contact anyone. Grab for the flags. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Tamara said. A look of worry replaced the glee she had seconds earlier. She trembled as they readied themselves for their first defensive stand. Tam looked at the Phi-O quarterback. She was at least three inches taller than Tamara and in much better shape. Tamara stared at her for too long, so she reacted to the snap a half-second late. Fortunately, her hesitation worked in her favor. It confused the girl across from her, and Tamara slipped past her. Tamara's hand reached for the flag, but she tripped and tumbled into the Phi-O quarterback, knocking her over. The referee threw a flag. "Oh, crab apples! I'm so sorry! Please don't throw a flag. It was an accident!"

"Get off me!" the quarterback yelled, shoving Tamara aside. "This isn't tackle football!"

"I didn't mean to hit you!"

They didn't believe her, and the tensions grew because of the incident. Shawna's interception further fueled the growing anger. Dana was shooting daggers at Claudia with her eyes.

"Did I tick them off?" Tamara asked.

"A little, but they were already going to hate us," Claudia said. "It will be alright," she added, but her voice wavered. Claudia knew her statement wouldn't ring true when Dana lined up across from her on the next down. Chloe snapped the ball to Kennedy, so Claudia ran down the field. She turned to look and felt Dana's hand scrape her eye, causing her to stumble. "Hey! Where's the flag, ref!? She did that on purpose!"

"No, I didn't!" Dana lied.

Claudia rubbed her face to soothe her aching eyeball while checking for a penalty. The ref threw his flag, but Dana did her damage. Claudia could see her smug expression with her good eye.

Before long, Phi-O tied the game. They were reaching the end, so KMA needed to score. Everybody looked tired, and Tamara had a few scrapes, but they also seemed determined. The problem was that Dana covered Claudia again, and Dana wanted blood. Kennedy threw a pass to Claudia, resulting in a simultaneous catch by Dana and Claudia. They both grabbed it and fell to the ground. Neither girl wanted to let go, so they wrestled in the dirt.

"Give it to me!" Claudia said through gritted teeth. The ref had already blown his whistle. Claudia was the rightful owner of the completion, but Dana didn't care. She elbowed Claudia in the gut, snatching the ball from her grasp. "That's it!" Claudia roared and jumped on top of Dana. She heard an eruption of whistles and yelling, which became background noise. Claudia concentrated on deflecting punches. They rolled around, and the rough surface scratched at Claudia's skin as hard as Dana's fingernails. Then Claudia felt hands wrap around her waist and pull her away. "No, let me at her, Mistress Shawna!"

"Calm down," Shawna hissed. "You'll get us in trouble."

Claudia looked at Dana and saw some of her fellow pledges were also holding Dana back. She noticed fury in their eyes, but the fight ended.

"This game is over! I'm disqualifying KMA!" the referee yelled.

"What!? Why?" Claudia asked.

"You attacked her."

"No, she elbowed me! Didn't you see that?" Claudia asked, but the ref ignored her. She struggled, but Shawna held firm. Claudia breathed deeply until she felt her muscles relax. Shawna must have felt it because she released her. However, the peace didn't last.

"I thought I told you to control your dog," Marla said. Claudia hadn't noticed her approach. She felt Shawna's arms hook her again as she lurched toward Marla. "Oh, you're a feisty one," Marla laughed.

"Ignore her," Shawna whispered. Claudia turned to look at her and saw Shawna's scowl. She thought Shawna might be talking to herself as well. Claudia threw her hands up in compliance, so Shawna let her go. The second Shawna backed away, Claudia stormed toward her dorm and didn't look back. She had to leave before she made things worse. Claudia heard the other pledges call to her, but she blocked out their voices.

Dirt and blood caked Claudia's skin, but she didn't go to the showers. She paced around her room, muttering curses to herself. A poor water bottle paid the price for Dana's actions. Claudia flung it against the wall. It bounced off her leg on the rebound, but she didn't care. She was thankful her roommate was gone. Then, a sound made Claudia jump. Someone was knocking on her door. She expected it to be the other pledges, but she found Shawna on the other side.

"Is this going to be your new look?" Shawna asked as she looked at Claudia's dirty and bruised skin.

"I haven't taken a shower yet, Mistress Shawna."

"Well, you don't have time now. Bledsoe wants to see all of us in his office immediately."

"Oh, no."