Page 11 of Out of Bounds

"We shouldn’t have asked him anyway." Cleo slammed her fist against the elevator’s button. "No. I have Coach Lawson in my office."

I opened my mouth, but she blared on.

"The alums are on the phones,mybosses. We’ve got something big in the works, something we’ve got to get you in for!"

With a looming sense of unease, I walked into the elevator. "What’s going on?"

"One moment." Cleo stretched out from the inside of the elevator and smiled at Miles. "I’ll see you later, baby."

I faced the back of the elevator, rolling my eyes. Miles followed Cleo around like a sick dog. It was hard to watch. I mean, have somepride. Being a professional means being aprofessional. Not making everyone dry-heave behind the bleachers.

The door closed and Cleo pressed the button to her office, ten, fifteen, twenty times in a row. "Trust me, Ryan. We’re going to have some real fun."

5

Kassie

Half-Baked Apology

One of those long-lasting, vengeful headaches throbbed right behind my temple. The consequence of a lack of sleep if I ever had one. My roommate—Zariah—kept throwing suspicious looks my way as we took our places in Mr. Ishisaka’s nine-in-the-morningAnimation And Its Formcourse.

"Kass. You have to get eight hours in."

I set up my drawing pad, pencils, and the rest of my orchestra. "How’s your RA application going?"

"Don't put the spotlight on me."

"That good, huh?"

She sighed deeply, and I couldn’t help the laugh. Zariah was starting up her sophomore year with a big vision board, to become a resident assistant, one of the people on campus who kept dorms from burning to the ground. Did I understand it?

No.

Best case scenario, she’d get free housing. Worst case scenario? A whole semester of babysitting freshmen or—yikes—student-athletes.

"We’re not focusing on me." Zariah crossed her arms over her chest. "We’re focusing on you getting moresleep. Tell me it was something good. Tell me it was someDirty Dancingmontage out in the pouring rain with a gorgeous man who you couldn’t let go of if you tried."

"That’s me. All the time in the world for dancing montages."

"Tell me you weren't working again."

With a grimace, I continued setting up my workstation.

"Damn you!" Zariah cursed. "I told you if they don’t listen, I can get you a spot at the hotel. You said you'd talk to them—"

"How about this?" I pulled a packet of caramel chocolates from my bag, courtesy of the two-in-the-morning burlesque show I’d made too many rum and cokes for. "History quiz on Friday. Each right answer gets a chocolate. I’ve got notecards here somewhere."

Stifling a yawn, I dug out my stack. The unmistakable stain of someone’s drink curled the cards' edges.

"I'm not forgetting this. Youneedsleep." Zariah sniffed.

"Uh-huh. Lotte Reiniger, two things about her, feature film fact and something she’s known for."

"Oldest surviving animated film and…rotoscoping?"

"Silhouette animation." I flashed the card but tossed her a chocolate anyway. "Some of her work led to the development of the modern multiplane camera, but the quiz will probably be looking for just silhouette animation. Alright, Segundo de Chomón." I held up the card.

"Spanish…hey…that dinner you had with the football guy…team captain, right?"

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