Page 162 of Cruel Steps

“Wait, what did I do?” Abby asked.

The girl with the clipboard glared at her. “You swapped out the script.”

“I tripped,” the slushie girl, Kadie, tried one more time.

“No, you didn’t,” a group from below said, showing their phones. The people cheering for me had moved up, and I spotted Cody and Jenny. They glared at the sorority girls, and I felt better knowing I had them in my corner. The emcee took the phone, and we watched it together. Clear as day, it showed the girl picking up the cup of liquid someone else had slid onto the back of the stage and then “tripping” toward me.

“That’s not fair. You can’t disqualify me,” she screamed as the clipboard girl ushered them off stage.

“And the glitter?” Holden asked.

“That was the cannons. They released early,” the emcee said, looking over at the stage. “Except they were supposed to be pointed out to the crowd.”

“So someone tampered with them?”

“It looks that way. I’ll look into it, and whoever did it will be dealt with. You have my promise.” Holden nodded and turned to leave the stage. “Wait, we haven’t done the male nominees yet!”

My boyfriend stopped, turned to the crowd, and shouted. “Wolves!”

“Wolves!” everyone shouted back.

“There,” Holden said, making the guy chuckle.

“Our male spirit winner is Holden Adler, giving the football and dance teams ten points each. We’ll reconvene tomorrow, with less stickiness, for the scavenger hunt, followed by…”

The emcee’s voice trailed off as Holden marched us further and further away. I shivered, the numbness dissipating now that we were off the stage. Holden took me into the locker room and walked me into a shower stall. I let him undress me and then rinse me off. He didn’t seem to care one bit that his clothes got soaked in the process. The warm water beat down on me, heating me up and breaking my resolve as I cried in his arms. He held me, soothing me with his touch and letting me cry until I had nothing left.

“Why are girls so mean?” I asked.

“That’s something I’ve never understood,” Holden said, drying me off. He wrapped a big towel around me and shucked off his wet clothes. He stood in the locker room naked, but I suppose he was used to that. He took us to his locker and pulled out spare clothes, dressing me in his, then putting on his own. It felt nice to let him take care of me, to feel like I mattered to someone.

When we left the locker room, we both stopped when we saw a crowd gathered outside. Cody stood at the door, turning to see us when they chanted.

“Mer, Mer, Mer!”

“What is this?” I asked.

Jenny skipped to us, smiling. “Your fan club.”

Kendra, from my anthropology class, broke away. “Hey, Mer. What they did today was awful, but we wanted to let you know we have your back. You’ve got AES’s vote.”

“Um, thanks.”

A few more people came up after her, introducing their club or group and saying something similar. It was so shocking that I almost didn’t believe it was happening to me.

Once the crowd thinned, Cody and Jenny each gave me a hug and walked off, leaving Holden and me alone. He was quiet as we walked to the parking lot.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Until today, I never thought about the impact I could have on others. I knew people looked up to me because I played football, but I thought about it objectively. It got me certain privileges, and as long as I won, I kept up my end. But today, listening to all those people chant for you and support you, I realized I’ve been wasting my platform. You’re making a difference, Wildcat, and all you’re doing is being yourself. You’re the true star of this campus.”

Shocked, I stared at Holden, convinced I’d misheard him.

“I’m so lucky you gave me a second chance. You’re my inspiration, Wildcat.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, baby. You.”

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