Chapter #37Time to Right the Ship by: rugal b.   You decide that Tara can wait. She's nice and all but Luz is so much nicer and if you'd be making it up to Caleb with Tara, then you'd be making it up five times with Luz. Besides, you're curious about why she wants to talk to you. There has to be something more going on you think because if it was simply to tell you to stop butting in on "her team" then she wouldn't need to take it somewhere private. If it's something more than that then you'd certainly like to know.
"Look, we can talk any time right," you ask Tara in as comforting a tone as you can manage.
"Oh my god, you're actually going to talk to her," she asks back as her eyes go wide.
You try to keep the same tone and let her down as gently as possible. "If she came to me to talk in private then it has to be for something important," you tell her. "If it is, then I can't really blow her off. I can see her trying to get me in trouble with Anita or something."
"Yeah, I get it," she replies, her voice taking a crestfallen tone.
You're starting to really strongly suspect the rumors now. Or maybe she's just clingy. Either way you want to comfort her, just place an arm around her and say some nice words. Words that would, hopefully, lead to a passionate embrace with your hand running along her very nice (for Hannah has seen them plenty) abs as she giggles in her sweet, soft voice while you kiss her neck. Fuck, maybe you should blow off Luz and get a mask of Tara instead. Caleb would be more than willing to play that little fantasy out with you, especially if Tara actually is a dyke.
But you shake the thought away. You didn't become Hannah Westrick for your own personal desires but to help set things right for Evie. So if Evie's captain wants to talk to you about Evie, then you best go talk to her about Evie.
"I'll see you again in seventh and we can hash everything out after school, okay," you tell her in as positive a tone as you can muster without sounding overly fake.
That seems to soothe her, at least somewhat, for she nods and gives you a positive response. "Yeah, sure," she says a little brighter. "We can go up to Starbucks after school. There's this dopey guy that works there who, like, thinks he's suuuuch a Casanova. Like he'll hook me and other girls up on drinks or give us discounts or something like he's doing us a favor; like I'd blow him or something as thanks," she says with a laugh. "God, could you even imagine? Sucking a dick like that is just... eugh!"
"Yeah, sure, we'll meet up there," you tell her.
"Great! It's a date, then," she says happily before heading over to your usual table.
You shake your head as you exit the cafeteria. Either she's a dyke or she just phrases things in a very unfortunate manner and you could go either way on which is which. You're more confused about her than you were before you'd even talked to her.
* * * * *
"Hey Luz," you call out to her as you enter the walkway. She ignores you so you call out again. "Luz," you exclaim, practically yelling. Again that gets no response. "Hey I'm talking to you chocho," you call out.
This finally seems to get her attention and she looks at you with contempt. "Fuck you too, cunt," she greets you. "The fuck is your problem?"
"I dunno, maybe I don't like it when people invite me out to talk and then ignore me," you shoot back.
"Yeah? And maybe I don't like being interrupted when I'm trying to finish up a conversation," she says.
"So what do you want," you say as you cross your arms in frustration. "You wanted to talk about Evie, right? So let's talk."
"So what were you doing going around to my team to fuck with my players on Sunday," she asks.
You give a little small, defiant laugh at that. "You were there. Maybe you should tell your players to stop being fuck ups."
"Kind of funny how that only happens when you're around, 'cause they do fine otherwise," she retorts. "Even Evie was better yesterday."
"So did you call me out here just to bitch," you ask.
Her expression hardens. "No, but I heard you were talking to her this morning. Shit gets around after all," she says, "So I don't need you trying to butt into my team's affairs. You might think you can pull that nosy shit with Anita but not with me."
"Get over yourself, Luz," you say while rolling your eyes. "She came to me. She wanted to apologize for being a fuck up. I accepted her apology and agreed to help her stop being so fucking useless."
"Is that so? Well that's good because it saves me from even having to ask it."
"Ask what?"
Her look becomes more serious and less challenging to you. "Coach wants Anita and me to start getting rid of some, if any, dead weight," she explains. "Unfortunately, our little ratón is on that list."
"What's so unfortunate about that," you ask her. "If she sucks then she sucks. Dead weight needs to be cut loose." Mentally you cringe at that. You know you need to stay reasonably in character but you don't want to talk about Evie like that.
"Because I like her, alright," she fires back. "She could be better but she goes out there and tries harder than anyone else. That's more than I can say for some of the people on my team, or yours for that matter. But heart'll only count for so much and if she doesn't show improvement, then that's it."
You can feel the Hannah part of you thinking "good riddance" at that but you yourself take a bit more control. "Well I'm teaching her so she'll have to improve," you say.
"So's Anita. You think you can do a better job than her?"
"Think," you snort. "I don't think anything. I know I can."
Luz lets out a tiny, smug laugh at that. "You better hope so because it's your ass on the line too if she doesn't," she tells you.
"My ass," you exclaim in astonishment. "Why the fuck would I be in trouble if she doesn't improve."
"Because Anita thinks that it's your antagonizing of her that's preventing her from actually growing," she states. "You've got her walking on egg shells all the time. Anita thinks you're causing a problem. I do too. So the two of us and Bonny talked to coach about it."
"Like that matters," you reply, "coach likes me."
"Yeah, maybe. For now," she says. "But he likes winning more and he hates drama so if you're causing a lot of shit then he's gonna stop liking you real quick."
You hold her eye for a moment trying to gauge what exactly she's implying. You have an idea but you'd rather hear it from Luz herself. "What's that supposed to mean," you ask.
Luz gets a nice little smirk plastered on her face. "Lemme spell it out for you, Hannah: if Evie goes, you go," she states, "So you better hope that you're not all talk."
That gets your blood boiling once more. You wouldn't even need to force Hannah to want to help Evie, at this point she'll do it all on her own just to prove a point. "All talk," you snarl. "If I say I'm going to do something then I am going to do it. An iron-fucking-clad guarantee. So yeah, I'll help Evie. I'll make her the best goddamn player on the squad and then you and Bonny and your cousin can kiss my ass."
That smirk doesn't move from Luz's face. "Glad to hear it," she says. "Guess I'll tell Anita that you're on board."
She goes back down to your phone and a combination of the opportunity presenting itself and Hannah's emotions running hot causes you to practically tear the blank mask out of your bag and jam it right onto Luz's face. You feel eternally grateful that this walkway is far less heavily trafficked. You're not sure why, maybe the lack of bathrooms, but nobody uses it that often so you're able to wait the entire time for the mask to finish, grab it and head off before Luz has even recovered.
* * * * *
You've still got a little time left in lunch but you spend it away from the cafeteria in thought. Hannah's little display against Evie on Sunday may very well have sealed both of their fates. You're not sure how far along would be seen as improvement for her or how long you actually have, probably until November when the practice stops being practice and starts being prep for the season that starts in December, but you know that if you're going to work on her in order to save both of your asses then you're going to need to do it now.
But you're not sure how much time you'll have to put in either. Anita's the best and if she can't improve Evie at an acceptable rate then what can you hope to do? Will Anita and Hannah be enough? Luz is there too and she may be even better than Anita. Who else would need to help her? Dominique? Bonny? The four of you are the best players on the varsity squad discounting Tara as Evie doesn't play goalie nor would she have the strength or reactions to. Do you really need to devote a sixth of the team to helping one person just because the two squad captains like her?
But a thought occurs to you. You wouldn't need to do that, necessarily, would you? You can stop by the school before you meet Marc and swipe a mind band. Just slap it on Dominique or Bonny or Anita or hell even Marc himself then give it to Evie and she'll have improved with no effort or doubt required on your part.
But there's a part of you, the part that's Hannah Westrick, that's rejecting that. Hannah's pride is strong and you can tell it doesn't like the idea of cheating like that. No, it wants to do it the old fashioned way so Hannah can prove herself right, prove Luz and Anita wrong and rub their faces in it.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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