"What? You want me to apologize to the math teacher?" Regina tilted her chin up slightly, looking down at Katie and Janis.
Behind her, a group of cheerleaders stood watching the drama unfold, their formation subtly centered around Regina.
On Katie's side, she had already explained to everyone how the math teacher had actually been helping someone—not doing anything wrong.
But Regina clearly didn't appreciate it. She had no intention of clearing Sharon's name, nor did she think spreading rumors was a problem.
"Fine, don't apologize," Janis said, rolling up her sleeves and firing off a broad threat. "But you'd better keep your people in line and make sure they stop running their mouths. Otherwise, don't blame me if I stop being nice."
Janis knew the cheer squad well—they followed Regina's lead.
If Regina wanted to, the rumor about Ms. Sharon buying illegal substances would spread across the entire school in no time.
"People have mouths. I can't control what they say," Regina replied with a fake smile. "And just because Ms. Sharon didn't buy anything illegal this time doesn't mean she never did. That little secret came from Katie, actually…"
Earlier, just to keep Regina off her back, Katie really had "sold out" Ms. Sharon.
Hearing that, Janis looked stunned. She turned to Katie.
"Is that true?"
Janis hated gossiping behind people's backs more than anything. In her mind, Katie had always been straightforward—someone on her side.
"I'm sorry, Janis," Katie said quickly. "I just said it casually back then. I didn't think she'd actually believe it."
"Oh… so that's what happened," Janis said, realizing the problem had started on their end.
Seeing the mocking looks from Regina's group, Janis still chose to trust her friend.
"Forget it. Let's go apologize to Ms. Sharon and clear this up properly."
With that, she grabbed Katie's arm and started to leave. She didn't want to stay here a second longer.
"Wait~" Regina called out, stopping Katie. Her tone turned threatening. "Our activity isn't over yet. Are you sure you want to leave?"
Girl Code Rule #1: Team members must obey the Queen Bee without question.
If Katie left now, she'd definitely be kicked out of the Perfect Body Club—and she'd probably lose her spot on the cheer squad too.
"Screw your 'activity,'" Janis spat, completely refusing to give Regina any face as she pulled Katie along.
But after just a few steps, Katie slowly slipped free from Janis's grip and stopped.
Lately, being part of the Perfect Body Club had given Katie a taste of what it felt like to be admired and surrounded by people. She didn't want to go back to being invisible.
Even Katie herself didn't realize it yet—but she was starting to look more and more like Regina.
"You…" Janis turned back, her expression complicated.
For a split second, guilt flashed through Katie's heart, and she almost stepped forward to explain.
In the end, though, she just shook her head slightly.
"All right," Damian said calmly, stepping in. He'd already noticed the changes in Katie.
"She's not one of us anymore. Let's go."
Damian pulled Janis back. As she was dragged away, Janis shouted,
"Katie, we're not friends anymore. Don't ever come looking for me again. It makes me sick."
---
Once Janis and Damian were gone, Regina looked at the Katie who'd stayed behind and smiled in satisfaction.
"Good choice, Katie," Regina said smoothly. "Who cares about a couple of losers, right?"
Still feeling guilty, Katie could only force an awkward smile.
"Come on," Regina said, throwing an arm around Katie's shoulders. It was the first time the two had ever been this close.
"Tell me more about Mike. I know you two have history."
At school, Mike was handsome, strong, and smart—pure potential.
Regina had originally planned to string him along for a while, let him come crawling on his own.
But after a few interactions, she realized she couldn't quite control him.
And with football season starting, if Mike performed well as a player, he could easily become the school's next big star.
Thinking about that made Regina feel even more urgent. She had to lock down Mike while she still could.
…
Time flew by, and soon it was Monday—the start of the interschool season.
The summer league used a championship-style, single-elimination format: lose once, and you're out. In the end, one team would be crowned state champion.
Based on district locations, the Texas Cup was divided into four brackets, all competing at the same time to determine the state's final eight.
Melford Public Middle School's opponent today was none other than last year's old rival: St. Martin Public School.
Because Melford had been knocked out in the first round last year, they earned home-field advantage this time.
"Today is the day we wash away our shame!"
"We're going to show St. Martin what we're made of!"
At the entrance, Aaron was fired up, giving the team a pregame pep talk.
He thrust his hand into the center, and one by one, the others stacked theirs on top.
"One, two, three—victory!"
"Let's go!!!"
As Aaron led the team onto the field, a wave of cheers erupted from the stands.
Football really is America's hottest sport. Even this first-round game drew two to three thousand spectators.
More than seventy percent of them were there for Melford—mostly residents from nearby towns.
Scanning the crowd, Mike spotted the Cooper family. Meemaw Connie was wildly waving her arms.
After everyone entered the field and the cheerleaders finished warming up the crowd, Coach George started assigning players.
In the end, Mike was left on the bench. After discussing it with Coach George and Assistant Coach Wayne, they agreed it was better to start with the more experienced Sam for the first game.
Mike didn't mind, but the look Sam shot him before heading onto the field was sharp and unfriendly.
Melford and St. Martin were both considered weak teams, and their skill levels were close.
Last year's win by St. Martin had involved a lot of luck.
Once the game started, two evenly matched teams quickly fell into a back-and-forth grind.
The ball was stopped again and again as both sides reset and launched second attempts.
Even though Mike found the game dull, it didn't dampen the crowd's enthusiasm.
Cheers for Melford kept rising in waves.
Thanks to the massive home-field advantage, by halftime Melford hadn't disappointed the fans. Three successful scoring drives put the score at 9–6.
In school-level games, teams usually only score a dozen or so points in an entire match.
By that standard, nine points in the first half was solid efficiency.
With victory seemingly within reach, Melford supporters kept shouting through halftime, trying to pass their energy on to every player.
Even the cheerleaders were extra fired up during the next round of crowd warm-ups.
With everything going their way, Coach George didn't mention sending Mike in. He was busy encouraging the eleven players who'd just come off the field.
But the hot streak didn't last.
The third quarter felt like a cruel joke on Melford.
During halftime adjustments, St. Martin's three coaches changed their offensive strategy. They switched to a straight-up, power-on-power approach—letting raw strength do the talking.
In head-on clashes, Melford's players suddenly looked cursed, getting pushed back play after play.
Sam, who'd shined in the first half, completely folded under pressure.
After one extended drive, he was forced all the way back into Melford's own end zone.
As St. Martin closed in on a potential safety, the crowd erupted in angry curses.