My Secret Halloween Treat

I slammed the car door to my new BMW and ran for the front door of the school. The sooner I could get out of these clothes, the better. I’d change in my car, but it was too small and there were too many other kids
around.

The bathroom was filled with cheerleaders touching up their makeup, girls hiding out so they didn’t have to talk to people, and of course, those who actually needed to use the bathroom. The second I got a stall, my jeans were replaced by a pair of comfy shorts, and the new blouse covered in ruffles was replaced by a T-shirt. And the matching cardigan? That got shoved to the bottom of my backpack. No way I was wearing that.

I sighed in relief and leaned my head
against the stall. The fancy clothes were to appease my mom’s constant yammering about dressing appropriately for my ‘station.’ These were to satisfy my need to be me.

My perfectly styled hair was pulled up into a ponytail, despite my perfectly manicured nails doing their best to thwart my need to be comfortable. When the ensemble was finished off with a pair of dingy Converse that I had to hide from the maid—yes, maid—I finally pulled open the stall door.

“Samantha Williams.” Anna, my best friend and head cheerleader, turned and sighed. “You’re the only person I know who actually glams down for school.”

“Stop calling me that.” I shoved my way between cheerleaders and grabbed a paper towel to wash off the awful makeup Mom insisted on that morning. “Don’t you guys have a pep rally this morning you’re
supposed to be running?”

Anna checked her watch. “We have a few minutes. Are you coming?”

I shook my head. “I had to miss practice this morning because Mom was on one of her rampages, so I need to butter up Coach. Otherwise, I’m going to be stuck on the bench for the game tonight.”

“Which? Volleyball or tennis?” Anna raised an eyebrow and reapplied her already-perfect lip gloss.

When the paper towel didn’t work on the eyeliner and mascara, I yanked out a makeup wipe. “Volleyball. But if Mom asks—” I shot her a glance.

“Yeah, I know. You’re about to finish your tennis match.” She turned and leaned against the counter. “One of these days she’s going to catch you.”

“I’m a senior, Anna. I’ve been pulling
this off for three years. She’s not going to pull herself from her super-fancy office at the top of the highest skyscraper just to watch me whack a ball across the court.”

The bell rang and the crowded bathroom emptied out. Sure, I probably shouldn’t have said all that out loud with so many ears around, but I’d been doing the same thing every day since I started high school, so it was old news.

Anna zipped her makeup bag shut and set it in her backpack. “I still say you’re treading dangerous waters, Sammie. She’s going to realize you’re a senior and leaving in a few months at some point, and then she’ll want to be with you every second. It happened to me.”

“Yes, but you’re also your mom’s identical twin. At some point she’d have to pick up on the fact that you borrow all her clothes.”

“I guess.” Anna looped her arm through mine and dragged me out into the hallway. “Now come on. Coach Harris’s office is by the gym so we can at least walk together.”

Students waved as we passed—mostly for Anna’s benefit. I’d declined the attention for long enough that I’d finally achieved my goal—invisibility. We stopped long enough to drop our bags off at
the locker we shared, then headed for the PE hall.

I hugged Anna. “Good luck in there. Don’t fall and break your leg.”

“If I do, I’ll blame you.” She grinned and pushed her way through the throng of people waiting to get inside the gym.

Coach Harris sat at her desk going over paperwork when I got to her room. “You missed practice.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll stay after today
and work until the game.”

She finally looked up at me. “I’m moving you to middle. Sheri’s ankle is still bothering her. I’ll make sure Janelle stays so she can set for you.”

My eyes widened. “But I’ve never played that before.”

“You do every time you step foot on the court, really. Now we’re just moving you over a little. We can go over the steps in PE so you’re ready for the game tonight.” She set aside the paper she’d been looking at and rubbed her eyes. “For now, though, we both need to get to the assembly. They’re going to pull us out onto court, so we should probably be there.”

I groaned. Anna had warned me, but I’d planned on the meeting with Coach to last a lot longer. Coach Harris laughed and stood.

“I’m beginning to think you came in here to get out of the assembly and not because you missed practice.”

“Maybe a little of both.” We walked from her office to the gym and found seats along the bottom row where the rest of the team already sat. I nodded at my teammates before turning my attention to Anna.

She was a natural out there on the court. Her mom trained her to be a cheerleader from the time she could walk, and every movement oozed confidence. My eyes drifted from the cheering to scan the crowd behind her. Students either cheered along or sat talking to their friends. A few read books or stared at their phones. My eye caught the gaze of a guy near
the edge of the bleachers.

I quickly glanced away. No one was
supposed to notice that I wasn’t paying attention. But my eyes kept drifting back to him. His jeans were torn, but that was no different than half the kids here. His flannel shirt hung loosely, and his hair was covered by a stocking cap, but man, he was cute. Oh shoot, he was looking at me again.

Thankfully, Anna introduced the team just then. “I just wanted to remind you again that the football team isn’t the only sport playing right now. The volleyball team has won all their games and they’re playing again tonight. Who’s going to be there?”

A few cheers broke out here and there as we went out onto the court. I smirked. So much for getting people to our game.

“That’s what I thought.” Anna grinned. “That’s why we’re going to have ourselves a little friendly competition. I need six football players out here.”

No. I shook my head at Anna, but it was already too late. It was one thing to have to go out on the court, but to play against the football team in front of everyone? That was going too far. Coach Harris pulled Anna aside and argued back and forth before finally sighing.

Curse Anna’s bubbly personality.

Six rather large guys came down on the court, laughing and joking with each other. After all, they were awesome and unbeatable. What could playing against six girls prove? With a glance at Mystery Guy, I clenched my fists and turned to Coach.

“You think you know the transitions well enough that you can play middle right now?” She asked.

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Good. Everyone just . . . don’t get
hurt.” Coach moved off to the side and chewed on her thumbnail—something that was usually only reserved for our toughest rivals.

At first the game was mostly just the guys messing around. They hit it however they could to get it over the net. But when they realized we actually meant business, they started concentrating.

Their points started racking up, and that made my blood boil. We were only going to fifteen points, and they had us by a couple of points. I looked over at Coach, who nodded at me. I took a deep breath and stood next to the net, ready to block.