Page 92 of Enemies in Paradise

I should have worn ear plugs.

I think that at least once every time I’m with these girls, even when they’re cheering me on. Once, after practice, when we were back at the studio, they had a screaming contest.

Ascreamingcontest.

It was as brutal as it sounds. Seriously, forget waterboarding. The military should adopt the torture tactic of having girls in a small space scream as loud as they can. Their prisoners would give up any info to stop them.

And my players’ parents are looking at me to put a stop to the suffering their kids are inflicting on all of us.

“All right, all right.” I raise my hands up and down to signal for them to be quiet. I get a glance from most of them, but other than that, they pretend they can’t hear me—and Iknowthey can. They don’t care what I’m saying. They’re too busy holding hands, jumping up and down, still screaming.

Actually… I might use this as a defensive play once we’re on the ice against another team. That is, if I win against Cassie tonight. I put my fingers between my lips and let out a long, sharp whistle that finally quiets the girls. I take it as a compliment that there’s no fear in their eyes when I do that now,but I also need them to take me seriously. “No more screaming. Best behavior in there, got it?” I say to them. “We’ve got one chance to convince the city council to let us keep the pond.”

The girls nod as one, their faces earnest.

“Can we scream if they don’t?” Aspen asks, completely serious.

I shake my head even though I like the idea. “No.”

“Maybe just a little?” Brighton adds, pinching her fingers close together.

“Absolutely not.” I make eye contact with each girl, so she knows how serious I am about that.

“Fine,” they mumble collectively.

“We’re going to win, so we won’t need to scream anyway.” Hazel tosses her hair back with a confidence I wish I had. “It’s like Taylor says, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Taylor Swift wasn’t the first person to say that.” My words get lost in Hazel’s pep talk.

“We have a plan, and we will not fail!” Hazel’s voice rises with enthusiasm. “Let’s mastermind this thing!” She pumps her fist, the girls break out in a cheer, and I keep my comments to myself about making mastermind a verb.

I notice Cassie’s Charger in the parking lot and I do a double take when I realize she’s still in it. I can’t help myself. I tell the girls I’ll be right back, then jog to Cassie’s car and knock on the window to get her attention.

She starts, then returns my wave. I’m not sure if the guarded look she sends with her wave is because I startled her or because she’s worried. I almost stop to ask if everything’s okay, then I remember, I want her to be worried. In fact, I want her to be even more worried than I am.

And I am very worried.

I don’t want to dampen the girls’ enthusiasm, but we’ve got a tough battle ahead of us. Maybe I should have warned them howtough; I just wanted them to go into battle confident. Sometimes it’s better not to know how stacked the odds are against you.

Especially when you’re a ten-year-old girl.

They’ll learn that lesson soon enough. Too soon.

But not tonight, if I can help it.

We walk into City Hall, where a bored teenager at the reception desk points us toward the chambers where the council is meeting. They used to meet in portables out back, but with all Paradise’s recent growth, the city added a wing to the old brick City Hall building originally built in the 1800s.

I’ve never been in the new city council chambers, but when I walk in, I’m surprised by both the size and niceness of it. At the front of the room is a semi-circular table with five large leather chairs on the other side of it. There’s a podium facing the table, and behind the podium, five rows of cushioned folding chairs, like in a theater.

The officialness of the room makes me equal parts nervous and curious about how much money the city council has at their disposal. If they could build a space this nice for themselves, why can’t they buy a pond and build a park that all of Paradise’s residents can use?

I’m considering this when Cassie appears next to me. The girls are testing all the folding chairs, so the thwacking of seats ricocheting up and down fills the room.

That, or the pounding in my chest is making that sound.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi.” None of the worry I thought I saw on her face remains. “You ready for this?”

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