Page 6 of That's Too Pucking Bad

Maya bounces around the room for a minute, still hyped up about the party, while I pull out my phone and stare at the screen. My mom hasn’t texted yet, which is weird. Maybe she’s still sleeping or something. I glance at the time. It’s late enough that she should be up by now.

“Just call her,” Maya says, noticing me hesitating. “It’ll be fine.”

I nod, dialing my mom’s number and putting the phone to my ear. It rings a couple of times before she picks up.

“Hey, sweetie,” she answers, sounding groggy. “How’s it going? Settled in okay?”

I give her the quick rundown of my day, leaving out the part about the weird Caleb guy eating my chips and inviting me to an invitation-only party.

“Well, sounds like you’re adjusting pretty well. I was worried,” my mom admits, and I can hear the concern in her voice. “But you’re handling it like a pro.”

“Yeah,” I say, glancing at Maya, who’s practically buzzing with excitement across the room. “Uh, there’s this party tonight… Maya, my new friend, invited me. Can I go?”

My mom pauses, and I can already picture her overthinking it. “A party? On your first day? I don’t know, Remy…”

“Moooom,” I groan, rolling my eyes even though she can’t see me. “It’s not like I’m going to stay out all night. I’ll be fine.”

Another pause. “Alright, fine. Just don’t do anything crazy, okay?”

“When do I ever?”

At that she laughs. “Just promise.”

“Promise,” I say, crossing my fingers behind my back. I mean, how bad could this party actually be?

We hang up, and I glance over at Maya. “I’m coming.”

She squeals again, literally jumping up and down. “Yes! This is going to be so fun, I swear.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Alright, alright. So, what’s the dress code for this thing?”

Maya grins, already rifling through her closet. “Something sexy, but not too obvious. You know, like you’re not even trying but you look hot as hell.”

I snort. “Right, because that’s so easy. And I don’t have clothes here.”

Maya pulls out a tight black dress and tosses it onto her bed. “Trust me. You’ll kill it. Now let’s find something for you.”

I sit back, watching as she digs through her closet like a woman on a mission. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into, but something tells me tonight’s going to be anything but boring.

Chapter 2

“Man, coach is riding us way too hard today,” Caleb grumbles, collapsing onto the bench beside me, dripping sweat and out of breath.

I chuckle, wiping my face with my towel. “You knew what you were signing up for, dude. First day back, gotta put the work in.”

Caleb groans. “Doesn’t mean he has to be a slave driver about it. It’s like he wants us dead before the season even starts.”

I shake my head, laughing. “You’ll survive. Maybe.”

He tosses his gloves down, annoyed but grinning anyway. “Yeah, easy for you to say. You’re used to it.”

“Captain’s got to set the tone, man. You know that.”

Caleb huffs, leaning back against the locker, his expression shifting from annoyed to... something else. I know that look. He’s about to bring up the party.

“So... you coming to the thing tonight?” He asks, trying to play it casual but failing miserably.

I shrug, noncommittal. “Not sure yet.”

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