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by Admin

  "Please open your purse."

  Confused, she picked up her purse and revealed its contents. To her shock, he withdrew a liquor bottle and a pack of cigarettes, then with a disappointing shake of his head, he escorted her out the exit. Poor Donald didn’t know what to do with himself, so he followed them.

  How humiliating it was to be escorted from the dance. Donald watched her with confusion all over his face. It felt like everyone watched her with curiosity or shock as Mr. Rivers removed her from the gym. But the person who stood out to her the most was Billy. His eyes were focused on her more intently than the others; he seemed especially empathetic and concerned.

  They stepped outside, and the door shut with a loud thud behind him. Raylee's heart beat crazily. How had those things gotten in her purse?

  Very gravely, Mr. Rivers said, "I've put a call in to your parents. We have a real problem."

  She looked helplessly at Donald, then back to her teacher. "I don't know how those got in there, Mr. Rivers. I don't drink. Or smoke."

  "Ms. Johnson, you have been a wonderful student, never been called to my office." He sighed as though reluctant to go on. "Unfortunately, I can’t just take your word." Raylee's attention shifted between Mr. Rivers and Donald as if they could supply an explanation.

  This wasn't right. None of this made any sense.

  A few minutes later, her parents were pulling into the parking lot of the school. They quickly got out and came forward to where the three of them waited just outside the side door of the gym. The worry and surprise shown undeniably in their faces.

  By the time they got home, at an early ten o’clock, her parents sat her down to hear her side. They were perplexed, troubled, but they let her speak first. She blubbered halfway through the dance events, but she finally managed to explain that someone must have planted the items there.

  Her dad said quietly, "Maybe it's this Donald. Perhaps, he's not a good influence."

  Her head jerked up, her mouth open in surprise.

  "No, Dad, he's not like that. You know I'm not like that. Someone planted them there."

  Her mind was so scrambled, her emotions so twisted that she was afraid she might look guilty and wouldn't be believed.

  She thought back to when they'd first arrived at the gym. "There was a senior caught with some alcohol. Maybe he had something to do with it, or one of his friends. You know me. I would never do anything like that."

  Her parents looked at each other, then their daughter, the perplexity and concern changing into understanding and satisfaction.

  Her mom reached out to touch her face. "We believe you. And we'll get to the bottom of this."

  Breathing out with relief, a few tears plopped onto her cheeks. Her mom held her close. When she released her, she gave her a smile of comfort. Her dad kissed her cheek.

  "We'll get this all worked out, okay?" her dad said.

  She nodded, grateful they believed her. She couldn't bear her parents thinking something about her that was untrue.

  After they excused themselves to bed, Raylee sat alone in the living room, flipping mindlessly through channels.

  Suddenly, she thought of Crystal. Why hadn't she pieced it together before? It couldn't be coincidence that she'd been talking to Mr. Rivers just before he came to talk to her.

  But she couldn't bring herself to tell her parents. Her parents raised her to be strong, and if they knew how Crystal managed to unsettle her almost every day, they might not have as much faith in their daughter. She couldn't bear the thought of that. Plus, Mr. Rivers would be informed, and Crystal would get into trouble. Which would mean that Raylee's issues with Crystal would worsen. She would know it was Raylee that told. She would come after her in more terrible ways.

  No. She couldn't confess.

  Closing her eyes, she bit back tears.

  At least they knew their daughter wasn’t interested in experimenting with drugs, and once they got over their shock, they were able to see the logic of the situation, that someone had indeed set her up.

  By the time they spoke to Principal Grabisch the following Monday, she was allowed to return to school after only one day of suspension. In fact, the principal went so far as to make an announcement about the seriousness of using drugs to reinforce his ‘Just Say No’ campaign while adding that the person or persons who set up their fellow student should come forward and confess.

  Of course, nobody did.

  THIRTEEN

  Raylee wished that Donald were here in the stands with her so they could talk about what happened at the dance, but he was busy suiting up to play safety. The final game of the season had gotten pushed back because of the icy grounds. They were playing one of the less competitive teams in the district, so spirits were high and confident that Silver Canyon would seal another win.

  She kept playing the other night over and over in her mind. How had the alcohol gotten there? The cigarettes? How did she not realize that something was going on?

  Some people snickered at Raylee as she sat on the top row of the bleachers, all alone. Others passed by and smiled at her out of sympathy. Most students realized how ridiculous the whole thing was and came by to tell her so, and Raylee was thankful for that at least.

  A moment later, Ryan emerged on the field, followed swiftly by David and Donald. Donald glanced up at her and smiled, and Raylee felt her heart skip. If he doubted her, if he'd thought that she snuck those items in, surely he wouldn't respond to her this way.

  The cheerleaders got to their places on the sidelines, their energy level high. Smack in the middle of them stood Crystal, tall and proud, as she led the squad through their first cheer.

  As she pronounced each word of the cheer, her nasty glare landed on Raylee. Instantly, she felt vulnerable, like she’d been caught doing something wrong. Crystal always made her feel that way—guilty and inadequate. She still didn’t understand why Crystal seemed to have a personal interest in hating her. She did everything she could to stay out of her way, but Crystal went out of her way to make sure she stayed in her way.

  Raylee did her best to concentrate on the two teams as they huddled in groups, but the cheer was hard to ignore, especially as it seemed directed at Raylee.

  "You’re no hero! You’re just a zero! Watch us smack you down! On your way to the ground!"

  Crystal was staring hard at Raylee with her almost-black eyes—shark eyes—that sliced into her as she sung the lyrics with loud deliberate precision.

  "Zero!"

  Raylee heard Crystal’s voice above the rest. Gina standing next to her, casting stones with her eyes at Raylee too. She didn’t know how a person could feel guilty about something that she had never done, but she was feeling that way now.

  In all her life, nobody looked at Raylee the way they were. More than just disdain, their faces exposed the actuality of what had taken place at Homecoming. If there had been the least bit of doubt before, she knew now with total certainty that they were the ones.

  Crystal sneered at her even as she mouthed the words of the cheer, followed by a deep wink that lasted three seconds.

  Raylee’s body stiffened with fear, and that fear wound itself around her heart.

  The two girls continued with their song as though they were just sweet cheerleaders rooting for the home team. With the rest of the crew, they swept their pom-poms over the front row, pleasing the small crowd, smiling big and wide as they spun left, hopped once, twirled left, interspersed, came back together, raised their arms high and gave their pomp-poms a final shake before they all froze on the final words, "We’re the Heroes!"

  Finally, Raylee managed to look away, though her heart wouldn’t stop jackhammering.

  What was she supposed to do? If she went to the principal, they would get in trouble, but then they would only make her life more miserable. But if she didn’t report them, they would know they had won. Either way, they probably wouldn’t stop. It was a catch-22.

  S
he spotted Donald running across the field. She so desperately needed to talk to him. Maybe he could help her figure out what to do. But the first half of the game seemed to drag on forever.

  Then she saw Billy on the sidelines talking to Coach Jarvis. He must be working out details about next year. Before she could give it much thought, halftime was called.

  When she glanced over at the scoreboard, she was surprised to see that Silver Canyon was winning 10 to 3. She’d been so bothered by Crystal and Gina's cheer, that she missed most of the game.

  Raylee got up from her seat. A few families were sitting at the bottom just a few spots away, so she had to wait behind them as they made their way down to the concessions stand. She kept searching for Donald on the field, but she couldn’t locate him.

  She decided to get into the hotdog line. Fishing inside of her pocket—she didn’t trust bringing her purse to school functions anymore—she pulled out a wad of dollar bills. She had just enough for a hotdog, a bag of chips, and a can of soda. As she tried to fold the bills back together, her hands began to shake. The looks they'd given her chilled her once more. She understood the phrase, ‘If looks could kill’ all too well now.

  A bunch of the Wild Cats began to spill into the concessions area.

  Where was Donald? She looked around desperately and saw Ryan and Henry gabbing to each other over by one of the tables. When she turned back around, there was only one customer ahead of her.

  How could Crystal and Gina have done this to her without her knowing about it? She thought she had been careful about her purse, hiding it under the table inconspicuously whenever she and Donald went to the dance floor. But they had been there. And the fact that she wasn’t aware of them confirmed how stealthy their mission had been. Which meant that they had been carefully observing her, waiting for the right time, that moment when they knew she would be too swept up in Donald’s arms to notice anything else.

  Raylee kicked at the dirt ground. She felt like a lovesick fool. She should have noticed them there. She should have never left her purse alone. Why was she so trusting?

  The guy in front of her grabbed his food and left. Just as she was about to approach the counter, someone grabbed her arm. She gasped and jerked away as she spun to see who it was.

  “Donald!"

  He frowned. “Hey, why so jumpy?"

  Her heart was thudding again, her hands were shaky as she clung to his jersey.

  "Hey, calm down," he whispered, concern in his eyes.

  She swallowed, let go of him, and stepped up to order her meal.

  “Here’s your change. Ketchup and napkins are over there," the student worker said.

  Carrying her Styrofoam tray to the bleachers, Raylee walked alongside Donald.

  “You okay, Raylee?"

  “Why? Don’t I seem okay?" She kept looking in front of her, afraid of breaking down again.

  “Actually, no." He half-laughed, having to jog to keep up with her. His hand lightly touched her shoulder and spun her so that she faced him. “Talk to me."

  She sucked in a deep shaky breath, noticing that her hands were trembling, the tray wobbling in her grip. “I know who put the cigarettes and whiskey in my purse."

  Donald’s half-smile and concerned expression turned all serious. “Who?"

  She lowered her voice. “Crystal. Gina. Maybe just Crystal. I don’t know."

  “How do you. . . I mean why do you think. . ."

  He doesn’t believe me.

  She shook her head and started walking away.

  He walked with her. “Don’t just take off like that. I'm just asking how you figured it out."

  She stopped, drew in a long sharp breath, and went over the details of the dance and what must have happened, especially emphasizing the exchange that just transpired on the football field.

  Donald's cheeks flared red. Without a word, he spun on his heel and headed off in the opposite direction.

  “Where are you going?" She was worried. What was he going to do?

  Unwilling to lose sight of him, she set down her tray on the lid of a recycling can and hurried after him as he weaved his way through the crowd of students milling about the concession stand area. Gina and Crystal were taking a break, sipping on cups of water.

  He went right up to Crystal. "Why did you do it?"

  She looked taken aback, as though no one had ever confronted her before. When she didn't respond, he pressed harder. "Does it make you feel better about yourself to hurt someone else?"

  Crystal simply said, "You know, Donald, you used to be so much cooler until you started hanging out with her again."

  "You ruined her night, Crystal. What did you think that would—"

  Without hesitation, Ryan suddenly appeared and yanked his football mate to an isolated area over near the trash bins.

  Ryan was yelling something at him.

  At first, Donald looked annoyed, but then he grew just as angry as Ryan. The conversation became heated fast. Then things happened in one swift motion. Ryan pulled his fist back and socked Donald square in the face. Donald didn't hesitate to swing back, his fist landing on Ryan’s side.

  Smirking, Crystal and Gina sauntered a little ways off, finding a place to sit to watch the show.

  Disgusted at them and worried over the boys, Raylee dashed through the cloud of people, and darted over to the fight.

  Ryan gave Donald another strong blow, this one to his rib cage. Donald instantly dropped to the ground.

  “Stop it! Stop it!" she screamed at Ryan. He seemed surprised to see her there suddenly, then looked around like he didn’t know what had just happened.

  Donald was trying to get to his feet, hunched over as he groaned in pain. Raylee grabbed his hand and gently pulled him up, leading him to a nearby table.

  “I’m sorry, man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Oh, man, I’m so sorry." He followed them. Donald tried to shoo him away but ended up cringing as the motion clearly exacerbated the injury.

  “What did you hit him for?" Raylee confronted Ryan.

  “He accused Crystal of the incident at the dance. He has no right talking about her like that." His words spilled out weak and unsure. She even noticed a hint of guilt in them.

  Raylee studied him. His eyes were filled with longing as he glanced over at Crystal. "You're not over her, are you?"

  He looked to Raylee, remaining silent as he clutched his side.

  Raylee glowered. “You know she did it. Stop covering for her. I bet you watched her do it, didn’t you?"

  Ryan looked away as though he were ashamed, muttering another apology.

  “I’m going to get Coach," David said, having just come up on the tail end of the fight.

  A few minutes later, Coach Jarvis appeared with a couple of trainers, who went immediately to work on doctoring both boys; Ryan was being treated a few yards away at another table. The coach was talking something over with him before he came over to Donald.

  The coach didn’t waste any time. “I thought you might save your injuries for the field, son."

  Donald let out a weak laugh.

  Coach jerked his head toward Ryan. “Davis blames himself, said he started it, said not to blame you."

  Donald nodded.

  Coach patted his shoulder. “Okay, son. I’m going to have to have you out for the rest of the game, same as Ryan. You’re in no condition to continue playing." All light-heartedness pushed aside, the coach's face turned furious, his bottom lip tense as he grinded out the next words. "Since this is our last game of the season, I can't bench you, but both you and Davis will be hearing from Principal Grabisch first thing Monday." With a serious last look, the coach took off.

  Donald’s lip was bleeding. Raylee felt guilty, this time because she was. She should have never mentioned their names. Then Donald wouldn’t have gotten enraged and Ryan would have been able to keep his temper in check, and they would have been able to finish the game. She loo
ked down, feeling miserable.

  "I'm so sorry."

  Donald lightly touched her hand. “Don’t blame yourself. You did the right thing."

  “But now she’ll know. Then what? Watch over my shoulder constantly? If she can’t stand me now, imagine how much worse it will get when she realizes that I told Ryan."

  Donald sighed and shook his head. “He’s not going to say anything."

  “How can he even be friends with her, knowing what she did?"

  “I don’t know what he plans to do, but I think he's too,” He winced in pain as the trainer tended to his wound, “afraid to say anything. He doesn’t want this to get out of control any more than you do."

  Ryan had come over and was reaching out to Raylee with his left hand as he held onto his side with his right. “I didn’t know what she was up to, not until she and Gina actually put the plan in motion."

  So, it was both of them.

  His lips pressed together, he gave her a slight nod as he walked away. He seemed truly sorry. Yet she still felt the unsettling sensation that something worse was to come.

  Donald’s treatment was done. She helped him to his feet. As they made their way to the parking lot, she had the strange feeling that someone was watching her. From the corner of her eye, she could make out Crystal standing very still, glaring at her. Shivering, she drew closer to Donald.

  ***

  Christmas break came fast. Donald would be spending the holiday up north with some extended family. Raylee had hoped he'd be around to come to church, but she was glad that Paul would be going with her at least.

  With Donald gone, she started reassessing their relationship. They weren't dating. They were friends. But what kind of friends? Her friendship with Paul felt different than the one with Donald did. With Paul, she knew what to expect, but when it came to Donald, she could never be sure.

  Hopefully, the break would give her enough time to think about her relationship with Donald, and that where they stood would soon be made clear.

  FOURTEEN