Page 1 of Jockstraps & Newspapers
Chapter one
There once was a SportsBall
“Cas,canyoutakea deep breath for me?”Lily laughed, trailing after her roommate through the apartment.Cassiopeia was a flurry of hair, fabric, and pumps.
“I will breathe when they’ve hired me.”Cassiopeia tossed back the last gulp of her coffee before diving into her pencil skirt.Everything was everywhere.Her hairbrush was on the breadbox.Her stockings were draped over the island.Her pumps were hung from the kitchen table.She needed to pick out the perfect outfit.Everything.Had.To.Be.Perfect!Nothing could be left up to chance.
“If you don’t breathe, you’ll go purple and that clashes with your outfit.”Lily flopped onto the couch with her bowl of fish and spicy rice.The siren’s fins flapped happily as she took a heavy scoop into her mouth.Shark teeth and serpent tongue, Lily was a teal skinned, purple haired, fish out of water.Scales lined her legs that she always dressed in flirty sundresses.
“Don’t.Tell.Me.That!”Cassiopeia whirled to face her roommate.“Do I look okay?”
“You look perfect, sweetie, relax!”Lily wagged a crispy piece of seaweed at Cassiopeia.
“But am I ‘hire me as a journalist’ perfect?”Cassiopeia struck a pose.
Lily put up her fork as a ‘pause’ motion, wiggled her phone out from her sports bra, and held it up.Snapping a picture, she inspected the image before flipping it to Cassiopeia to see.
Cassiopeia Darling frantically scrambled across the living room to the couch to see the picture.A plump Fae woman stared back at her with panic etched into every inch of her face.Straw yellow hair in ringlets around her shoulders, cute pointy ears, button nose, and freckles.In a ruffled white blouse, cherry red pencil shirt, and her chunkiest black belt.Cassiopeia fidgeted with her blouse as she stood up straight.“I think I look good?”
“If you don’t chill in the next five seconds, I’m dunking you in my tank.”Lily kicked at her roommate with her damp, webbed feet.
Cassiopeia yelped, scrambling away.“Okay, I’m going.”
“Good!Get out of here!You got this.I believe in you.Bring home that journalist cash!”Lilly bellowed after her roommate as she flew out the front door.
Cassiopeia didn’t used to be this nervous.She used to be confident in her everything.That was before it mattered more than anything that she succeed.Her grades in college and accomplishments with non-profits meant nothing.Her blog and social media presence meant zilch.Her independence meant nada…if she didn’t stand out amongst the behemoths of her family.
Middle child problems.
It’s hard being the middle sister of five girls.
Cassiopeia put her keys back into her purse and trotted down the apartment steps in quick succession.This would be the ticket to her name in shimmering lights.She was going to mean something in this town.Her name was going to be important.
An interview at Salamander Press in King’s Fall was a one-way ticket to big stories.No more sneaking pieces from what she could get her fingers on.If she got this job, it was press badges and stardom from here.The press was the biggest publisher in King’s Fall and the owner ofKing’s Falls Daily,The Council Papers, and all the other small newspapers that mattered in the city.And she got an interview with the head ofKing’s Falls Daily.
First, a weekly column talking about important topics…next, hard-hitting stories.Things were looking up for Cassiopeia Darling.Lily was right;she's got this!In the bag!This job was hers!
“Elliot!Getyourfluffbutt out of the locker room!”Coach Renner barked into the concrete maze that was the locker room.
Elliot stared at himself in the mirror, grimacing.A suit?They made him wear a suit?It ruffled his fur in all the wrong directions.He tried to shine his horns more, but they just kept getting yellower.Did he have the time to bleach them?This never used to happen.Picture day never mattered to him before!But this year was different.
“Elle, you good bro?”Toad, the green Dragos and co-captain, popped into the bathroom section of the locker room.He was in his usual pristine silver suit, making his jade scales pop.
Elliot fussed with the fur around his collar again and sighed.“Why does nothing fit right?”
“Probably cause your muscles are so big, my guy,” Toad snorted, jogging further into the bathroom.“You put on an extra hundred of rock-hard muscles this year, my dude.”
“Do I look stupid?Toad, be honest with me.I feel like a child wearing their pop’s suit.”Elliot wheeled to face the dragon standing behind him.
400 hundred pounds of lean muscle, long snout, shimmering fangs, and horns that made rocky mountains jealous, Toad was a D of pure delight.Green with a sprinkle of black scales around his neck, his co-captain was a SportsBall machine.With a scoff, the man they named ‘Mean Green’ on the field, rolled his obsidian eyes.“No, my guy, you’re fucking gorgeous.Look at you; fresh fur, shiny horns, and the new nose ring suits you.It matches the suit.You’re a minotaur dream.”
Elliot groaned, whipping back around to the mirror.He didn’t feel like a dream—he felt like a phony.He grabbed the sink with heavy fingers and stared at his reflection.No!No doubts!No head games!Get your head in the right place!You’ve got a team to make proud.
“You’re right.”He slapped the sink, careful not to beat it off the wall.
“Damn right I am, Cap.”Toad pounded his shoulder affectionately.
“I’m gonna look damn good in the game yearbook!”Elliot clenched a fist, pumping it before him.
