Page 36 of Penalty Shots

I push off from the door frame and stand next to Jenny. “Your mom doesn’t hate you, Rina.”

She looks up at me. Sad hazel eyes watching me.

“Yes, she does. You see the way she treats me. You, of all people, should know, Landry.”

Jenny looks at me to confirm.

“She’s tough on her,” I admit to Jenny. “But she doesn’thateyou,” I say to Rina.

“Well, she’s failing me. What kind of mother doesn’t want to see her own child succeed? She’s making it impossible for me.”

Jenny sighs, sitting down at the edge of the bed. She suddenly perks up. “Oh my god, I know! Let Keelan help you!”

My eyes snap to my girlfriend. “Come again?”

Jenny nudges me. “You’re a literal English Lit guru. Aren’t you getting a hundred in that class? Nobody in Mrs. Lopez’s English Lit class comes out with a hundred. He’s just the guy you need.” She turns to Rina excitedly.

Rina looks from me to Jenny and then back to me.

Icouldtutor Rina. If she really wanted me to. But I never got the impression she particularly liked me. In fact, she’s told me she hates me. She puts up with me because I’m her friend’s boyfriend. But if left with the choice, I doubt she’d ever voluntarilychooseto interact with me.

“I don’t know,” we both say simultaneously.

Jenny looks at each of us. “Come on! Are you two serious? You’re the answer to her problems. And it wouldn’t hurt to get out of this room, Rina.”

Rina stares at me as if willing me to shoot it down.

“She’s right. Finals aren’t for another week. I can whip you into literary shape,” I say confidently.

Jenny claps. “There! Problem solved.” She jumps off her roommate’s bed and bounces over to her own, grabbing the costumes she picked out for them to wear to the Delta Pi Gamma May the Fourth Star Wars party tonight.

“I didn’t agree to this,” Rina says, standing up and eyeing the costumes.

“Ok, but seriously, what choice do you have?” Jenny holds the very risqué Princess Leia costume up to Rina. Who looks down and shakes her head. “Absolutely not.”

Jenny laughs and brings the other costume up to her. It’s a Queen Amidala look from episode II. A flowy Roman-looking backless dress with a silver choker.

Rina sighs. “You seriously couldn’t pick less revealing options?”

Jenny’s hands go to her hips. “No, girl. You’ve got the curves. Show them off. Now, which will you be?”

She shakes the hangers of the two options. Rina shakes her head but picks the Queen Amidala dress and disappears into their shared bathroom.

I make my way over to Jenny’s bed and pull her to me. “You don’t have to try so hard, you know. Some people just prefer to be on their own.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and looks down at me. “I know. But… I feel bad for her,” she says in a whisper. “It’s like she’s her own worst enemy, and I can’t just stand by and watch her tear herself down.”

"Spoken like a true cheerleader," I smile.

My heart goes out to Jenny. She genuinely cares about people. It’s one of the things that drew me to her in the first place.

That… and she’s one of the hottest girls on campus.

Yes, she can be a little vain. And yes, she thrives on the attention she gets from others. But deep down, she cares.

I pull her closer, and I’m about to kiss her when the door opens to the bathroom. My eyes land straight on Rina. The fabric of her costume cascades down her curves and the silver choker piece around her elongated neck looks like it was made for her.

The word tumbles out of me without even realizing it. “Wow.”

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