Page 53 of Home Field Advantage

As expected, that shuts her up, and Virany picks that perfect moment to beckon me over so we can pair up for partner stretches.

When Diana and Zoe arrive two minutes later, joined by Taylor, it’s clear they’ve had no luck tracking down Cara, either in person or by phone. Which sends them straight back to me. “Are you sure you don’t know where she is?” Zoe’s voice drips with disbelief.

“I really don’t,” I say, keeping my focus on the various muscle groups of my arms and legs. “Maybe Kelsey does.”

Everyone’s heads swivel to look at Kelsey, who narrows her eyes at me. “Of course I don’t know where she is. I would’ve told you already. Besides,Iwas here this morning.”

“Well, she’s not answering textsorcalls,” says Diana, her face grave.

Crystal mutters a swear under her breath. “Okay. We’ll have no choice but to change it up. Ella, you’re flying in Cara’s place tonight, and we’ll bring up Mandy from JV to cover you, though that isn’t gonna work for the Gator Grind.…” She pulls out her choreo notebook and does some quick scribbling, continuing to murmur her thoughts while the rest of us watch her work—Crystal’s process is not exactly collaborative. Even Nia keeps quiet, silently flexing in anticipation of a more leg-heavy routine.

“Should some of us go out looking?” Ella asks, ever the sweetheart. The girl doesn’t have a cutthroat bone in her body.IfIwere getting my first shot ever at lead flyer, I sure as hell wouldn’t be looking to change that up. “I’m getting a little nervous. It was one thing when we assumed they were together,” she says, gesturing toward me, “but if they’re not—”

“She’s been gone all of five minutes longer than Ammo was,” Kelsey cuts in. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

I’m sure she is too, but it does bug me not to know where she is, even if our friendshipisover.

And then, with a flash, I realize that I do.

Because if there’s one place Cara Whelan would go after telling me about her gravest sins, one place where she’d ignore a barrage of frantic calls and texts, it’s the home of Confession itself.

“You think it’sfinethat two members of the squad have missed half a day when the homecoming game is in a few hours?” Crystal demands.

Sara and Kelsey exchange a smirk, and I realize that either Crystal’s averygood actress, or she has no idea that the team is planning to throw the game tonight. But Sara and Kelsey do, and judging by the way Virany’s biting her lip, she does too. And now I wonder if I’m giving Cara too much credit by thinking her absence has more to do with Jesus than Jack.

I scrutinize the rest of the team, trying to figure out who’s in on it and who isn’t. Either Kelsey was lying and knows exactly where Cara is and what she’s up to, or she wasn’t, but shethinksshe knows. Kelsey doesn’t want anyone looking forher, and Ella does. And I know Kelsey’s in on it, which means Ella isn’t.

Nia is too dedicated to Crystal to be part of any plot that doesn’t include her. The same is probably true for the rest of the seniors. But other than Ella—sweet, unassuming Ella—everyone else seems seriously suspect.

Which means about half the squad has been plotting and consciously leaving me out of it.

But it also means half the squad hasn’t. And maybe there’s something I can do with that.

“Kelsey, you’re a member of Cara’s church, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

I turn to Crystal. “I bet that’s where Cara is. Praying on the game. You know how spiritual she is, and how much pride she has in the team. I’m sure she just lost track of time asking God to watch out for the Gators and deliver us a win in front of the alumni. Maybe Kelsey could go check there, since she’s familiar with the building and everything.”

I have no doubt Kelsey’s scowling at the back of my head; I’m pretty sure I can feel my hair singeing. But I keep a sweet smile on my face when I turn around. “You wouldn’t mind, would you? Cara obviously wouldn’t want to miss tonight’s game, and I’m sure everyone would feel better knowing where she is for sure.” She opens her mouth, and I cut off what she’s going to say before she can even try it. “I’d go myself, but I wouldn’t want anyone to have to cover for me for any moreof the day, seeing as I already missed the morning. Which I am so, so sorry about,” I add to Crystal, plus Nia, Diana, and Zoe for good measure. “Maybe Sara can go with you, since she doesn’t have to practice with a new flyer.” That still leaves Virany, Claire, and Ella here, but I can deal with that.

“Okay, fine,” Crystal says with a wave of her hand, too involved in her own plotting process.

Now, to press my luck. “Virany, maybe you can go to the office to have them page Mandy here?”

When no one steps in to stop her, she shrugs and goes. Of all the cheerleaders on the squad, she’s dead last in actually giving a shit about it, and even if she’s in on the plot against Jack, I would guess her commitment level is squarely at “Sure, until something more interesting comes along.” You can always count on her being willing to do something as long as it’s not what she’s already doing.

And now it’s down to Claire, who I know full well is crackable. So here we go.

“As long as we’re doing some reworking for tonight, this morning I had a sudden realization for how to update our ‘All Our Gators’ cheer—part of why I was late was because I was writing it down and making copies for everyone.” Of course, by “sudden realization” I mean I pored over it for an hour, but they don’t need to know that. “I know we’ve had some trouble with, um, some names rotating in and out of the QB spot, but I finally figured out how to make Jack’s name fit.” I holdup the stack I spent way too much time on and start handing it out before anyone can object. “It’s really a tiny nothing change—just switching Matt and Lamar, and changing ‘Excellent’ to ‘Preeminent,’ and then it totally fits!”

The enthusiasm in my voice is matched by exactly zero expressions, but at least Crystal’s eyes are scanning it, her mouth sounding out the beats. Taking their cues from her, Nia, Diana, and Ella start doing the same. They may not have wanted to take a minute to do this themselves, but there’s no honorable justification for refusing it when someone else has done the work.

“I don’t think we should be making any changes without everyone here,” says Claire, an edge of desperation in her voice. “This is just begging for us to make a major screwup on the field tonight.”

“You really don’t think Cara, Sara, Kelsey, and Ella can handle this?” I ask, letting my voice fill with the subtext of “Wow, you must think they’re total idiots.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Claire says hotly. “God, this is why—” She cuts herself off and looks around the room, but the only person there who knows how she was going to finish her sentence is me.

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