7 Clues to Winning You

by Kristin Walker

  The score was tied up, but James Forsberg sank a three-pointer at the final buzzer. The crowd erupted. Tara was freaking out, screaming for James. The Blue Stallion somehow did a back handspring, which had to be difficult with a horse head. The team shook hands with East Valley and jogged into the locker room, high-fiving each other and everyone they passed. Time to set my plan in motion.

  “James’s going to be in a good mood tonight,” I said to Tara over the noise of the crowd.

  “No doubt,” she said. “God, he was so hot out there.”

  “You know what?” I said.

  “What?”

  “I think you should wait outside the locker room and jump him when he comes out.”

  Tara gaped at me. “What?”

  “Why not?” I cried. “You said yourself things were going in that direction anyway, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” She ran her hand through the short points of her razor-cut hair and glanced toward the locker room.

  Meriton had a kind of honor code. The captain of any sports team was the last to leave the locker room. Like the captain of a sinking ship being the last one off. So I knew that once James left, the locker room would be empty. Did I mention that they keep the Blue Stallion costume in the locker room? That was a little tidbit of information that no one else at Ash Grove knew about, but everyone at Meriton did.

  All I needed to do was find something to distract James when he came out of the locker room so he wouldn’t see me slip inside before the door shut and locked behind him. Tara was going to be my distraction. At the same time, she was finally going to take her shot with James. They were perfect for each other. I knew it, and she knew it, and it was time to give her a nudge. Or a shove.

  “So make it happen!” I said to her. “Since when do you wait around for something? God, it’s not like he’s going to punch you and run away. He likes you. You like him.”

  She laughed and shouted, “Ugh, you are such a pain in the ass!” She wasn’t really mad. “Why do I listen to you?”

  “Because you know I’m right,” I said. “Come on.” I grabbed her hand and dragged her through the crowd to the spot where the players exited the locker room. I needed to be near the door, but Tara didn’t like it so close.

  “Not right outside the door!” she said, retreating a few feet. “I don’t want to look like some crazy, desperate stalker. What am I supposed to say? You were kidding about me jumping him, right? I’ll talk to him. I’m not jumping him.” She tugged on the V-neck of her top so that more of her cleavage showed.

  Talking wouldn’t be quite as distracting as grabbing James and planting her face on his, but I didn’t want to push Tara any more than I had. She could easily change her mind and bolt. I’d have to make the best of the situation. I checked my watch. I had to meet Zach at the gym door in fifteen minutes. When were these guys going to leave? Five minutes later, the players finally started streaming out of the locker room, showered and fully dressed in the shirts and ties they were required to wear to home games. I hadn’t accounted for showers. I checked my watch again. Nine minutes. A couple of girls from my old French class walked up and started babbling and gabbing to Tara and me. Another variable I hadn’t planned on! If these two ditzy femmes were still hanging around when James came out, I’d have to abort. They’d notice me going into the locker room for sure.

  “Pardon?” I asked. One of them had asked me a question. “Um, yeah, I miss Meriton. It’s way better here.” Who were these girls anyway? I didn’t remember them. Thank God they splintered off before James came out. I checked the time. Crap, four minutes until I had to meet Zach. If James didn’t come out in the next sixty seconds, there’d be no way I could make it.

  As if on cue, James opened the locker room door and stepped out. He spotted Tara immediately, as if I wasn’t even there. “Tara,” he said right away. “Hey. What’s up?”

  It was all the encouragement Tara needed. She stepped over to him, ran her hand up his arm, and started complimenting him on the game. I stuck my foot in the door and waited. When Tara and James’s heads inclined toward each other so they could say some more private things, I slipped inside without notice.

  Wow, I had been wrong about Meriton not having any kind of smell, because the boys’ locker room definitely had one. And it wasn’t pleasant. I searched around quickly for the mascot costume and found it in a jumbo locker in the corner. I also found out that it smelled even worse than the locker room. There was no way to wash it, so there must’ve been years of sweat and guy funk and other nastiness embedded in this blue horse. I hauled it out, trying to touch it as little as possible. I could only think of one X-rated position, which was to lie the horse on his back and make one of his hooves … well … pleasure himself. I know it sounds bad, but take my word, it looked much worse. The head had even tipped back a bit so it seemed like it was arching its back with ecstasy.

  I took a quick picture along with a couple of extra shots to be sure and then hauled the stench-soaked costume back to the jumbo locker. Once it was safely inside, I dashed to the locker room door, opened it a crack to make sure the coast was clear, and then sneaked out. Tara and James were nowhere in sight, which was great. I’d have to call Tara in the morning to get details, but right now I was late for meeting Zach.

  “Where have you been, young lady?” he said in his best Principal McKenna voice as I jogged up to him. “You’re thirty-seven seconds late. Detention for a week.”

  I had to stop and catch my breath. Subterfuge was exhausting. “Hey, you didn’t happen to see Tara go by, did you?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, hitching his thumb behind him. “She walked out of here with the team captain. Jealous?”

  “Ha!” I said. “As if.”

  I wasn’t jealous. I had my Senior Scramble picture. Tara could keep her captain.

  CHAPTER 20

  “HOW CAN SO MANY PEOPLE BE AHEAD OF ME?” I cried. “You have to tell me!”

  Luke sipped his soda, smiled, and shook his head. “Nope.”

  I had spent most of my date with Luke grilling him about the shock I got when I uploaded my Blue Stallion picture—thinking I was in the lead—and saw that over a dozen people were already on to the next clue.

  “There’s no way so many could have gotten the mascot picture before I did,” I said. “They had to be cheating. Photoshop or something.”

  “No Photoshop,” Luke said. “No cheating. All the pictures were legit.” He was enjoying this way too much.

  “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

  Luke leaned back, laced his arms behind his head, and said, “Actually, I’m enjoying it exactly the right amount.”

  I threw a French fry at his glasses, but he lobbed it back to me, laughing.

  “Tell me!” I cried.

  “I’ll tell you this much,” Luke said. “The mascot was doing some pretty nasty, raunchy things in the pictures.”

  I’d barely been able to get the bulky costume laid out flat on the locker room floor. How did they … ?

  “Wait!” I cried. “Somebody was wearing the costume in those pictures? How is that possible? There’s no way thirteen people could have stolen the costume, put it on, taken a picture, and returned it without being seen.”

  “I never said they did,” Luke said pointedly.

  My mind spun. There was only one answer. “Oh my God, are you saying that it was the actual Blue Stallion mascot guy in the pictures?”

  Luke winked at me. He popped a French fry in his mouth and grinned.

  “No! How … ? Why would he do that?”

  Luke shrugged. “Maybe people found a way to … persuade him.”

  Loud music with a heavy bass beat pulsated through the restaurant and made it hard for me to puzzle out what Luke meant. At last, I got it. I dropped my face into my hands. “Ugh! They PAID him! During halftime!” I smacked the table with both hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? Do you have any idea what machinations I went through to get that p
icture? I’m so stupid.”

  Luke scooped up my hands with his. “No, you’re not. You’re honest. Your picture was definitely the most genuine. Although, it was by far the least X-rated. Maybe PG-13 at the outside.”

  “Well, I worked with what I had,” I said. “The horse was obviously exhausted by the time I got to him since he spent the entire halftime intermission doing porn.”

  Luke laughed so loud that the people in the booth next to us stared. I blushed, even though I wasn’t embarrassed at all, because making Luke laugh felt like the greatest victory in the world.

  “So did you get the sixth clue?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but I have definite suspicions about it.” I narrowed my eyes and scanned Luke’s face for any hint of information about the clue. It had read:

  Welcome to the halfway point! We have a treat for you.

  You’ve earned a little rest stop with a super-easy clue.

  Find a sign with lettering that you can rearrange.

  Take before and after pictures of your funny change.

  “It’s too easy,” I said. “Something’s up.”

  Luke took a long sip of iced tea while I eyed him. Finally, he said, “It says that it’s a rest stop.” His voice and demeanor were overly innocent. Was he sending me a message? Or was he messing with me?

  “Mmm-hmm,” I said, just like Ms. Eulalie. “I remain suspicious.”

  “I guess you’ll just have to solve the clue and find out,” he said, swirling his straw around his glass with diabolical glee.

  We’d been picking at our near-empty plates for half an hour, and the waitress was getting cranky. Luke paid the check, a gesture that would cheerfully meet with Ms. Eulalie’s and Ms. Franny’s approval. Of course, they’d be horrified that Luke hadn’t picked me up for the date. He’d offered to, but it made no sense for him to schlep all the way out to Meriton and back to Ash Grove twice in one night. I insisted we just meet at the restaurant. Applebee’s wasn’t exactly the country club, but after you’ve spent a day in a Dumpster with someone, everything looks five star.

  “Are you ready to go?” Luke asked.

  No, I thought.

  “Sure,” I said. We laid our napkins on the table and stood up in perfect synchrony. When we realized it, we laughed simultaneously. Crazy.

  We left the restaurant, and Luke walked me to my car. A warm, damp breeze tumbled around us. The high sounds of the peepers and other spring frogs rang out in the distance. I deeply inhaled the fresh night air. “Ahhh,” I sighed. “I’m so glad March is finally over.”

  We got to my car and leaned against it, side by side. Luke stared up at the stars. “So … any chance for another Dumpster date tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Totally,” I answered. I’d go anywhere with him. “Wait! No!” I let my head thud back against the roof of my car. “I promised Tara and my other girlfriends that we’d hit the mall tomorrow afternoon. I can’t skip out on them again after last week, even though I’d much rather pick garbage with you.” It surprised me to say that. I adored my friends. Tara and I had been inseparable my whole life. Yet what I’d said was true.

  Luke nudged me with his shoulder and smiled. “It’s cool,” he said. “We’ll get together again. Soon.”

  I rolled sideways to face him. He turned to me. The polarity that had held us apart was gone. Now, the only force between us was one that pulled us together.

  A lock of hair blew across my face, and Luke tucked it behind my ear. His hand paused as his thumb caressed my jaw. He didn’t say a word.

  He just drew my face to his and softly kissed me.

  CHAPTER 21

  THE REAL REASON THE GIRLS AND I WERE HANGING out Sunday afternoon was so Tara and I could compare guy stories. I wanted to hear every detail of what happened with James after the basketball game, and I couldn’t wait to tell her all about my date with Luke.

  It was impossible to get anywhere with our stories because Veronica and Cerise were talking non-stop about their summer plans. Melissa could only stay an hour, and Veronica and Cerise had homework to do, so they bailed, leaving Tara and me alone at last. We made the rounds of the mall stores as we recounted our dates.

  “So wait,” I said as Tara and I sifted through the summer dresses in Forever 21. “James didn’t try anything else? Not even over the shirt or anything?”

  Tara shrugged one shoulder. “He grabbed my ass while we were making out. But yeah, other than that he was pretty tame. He didn’t even take off his tie. What about this one?” She held up a tribal print spaghetti strap dress.

  I crinkled up my nose. “Nah. This?” An emerald halter dress. Tara shook her head. I slipped the hanger back on the rack. “Maybe he’s gay … ?”

  Tara smirked. “No, he’s definitely not gay.” She chuckled to herself. “That much I could feel … I mean, tell.”

  I didn’t press for intimate details.

  I checked in the mirror beside us to see which of two colors looked best against my skin. “Okay,” I said, “so James is the captain of an athletic team, he’s in the top two percent of the class, he likes wearing ties, and he’s a gentleman. Don’t take this the wrong way, T, but he’s like the total opposite of you.”

  “I know!” She beamed at me like a kid at Disney World. “Isn’t it perfect? Opposites attract!” She was giddy. Tara—the girl who once ran into Jay-Z at the airport and didn’t even break a sweat—Tara was giddy over James Forsberg.

  “That really only applies to magnets. You know that, right? It’s not a philosophical compass for your life.”

  Tara grabbed an animal print crop top from the next rack over, then unbuttoned her tie waist top and stripped down to her bra right there in the store. “But we’d make a smokin’ hot couple. God, I hope he asks me to prom.” She pulled the crop top over her head and shimmied into it. “When’s Ash Grove’s prom?”

  I shrugged. “No idea. End of April? Beginning of May? A few people are talking about it.” I checked the price of a baby doll dress.

  Tara pulled the sleeves down off the shoulder and posed for me. “What do you think? Does it look slutty?”

  “I don’t think so, no.”

  Tara pouted. “Then forget it.” She peeled it off and tossed it onto the rack. She slipped into her tie waist top and started doing up the buttons. I hung up the crop top for her.

  “So what about you and Luke?” she said. “Are you opposites? I bet you don’t exactly come from the same tax bracket. Is he smart? Nerdy? What? Ooh, you should try this on. Take off your shirt.”

  I laughed and snatched the peasant top from her. “I’ll use the dressing room, thank you. Hold my purse.” I also grabbed two sizes of a one-shoulder sundress I liked. I didn’t trust the sizes on the tags.

  Tara followed me to the dressing room area and plopped down on the upholstered bench outside the dressing room doors. I went into an empty room and started to change.

  “I don’t even know what Luke looks like. Is he hot?” Tara shouted to me.

  I blushed, even though there was no one but my reflection to see me. “I guess so,” I said. Of course he was hot, but you don’t go shouting that out in the middle of a clothing store.

  “Do you have a picture of him? I want to see.”

  I had only one picture of Luke, and it was on my iPhone. “Check the pictures on my phone,” I said. “There’s one of him in … um … the big green … bin.”

  “You mean the Dumpster?” Tara called louder than necessary.

  I closed my eyes and took a cleansing breath. “Just find it,” I said weakly.

  Tara was quiet for a minute, so I figured she was zooming in on Luke’s face to gauge his hotness level. I heard her call, “Uh, Blythe, what’s this picture?”

  “I told you!” I said in a loud whisper through the crack of the door. “It was for charity!”

  “No, not that one,” she said. “I mean the one with the Blue Stallion costume.”

  Oh, God. I never deleted the extra shots!

&nb
sp; “It’s nothing!” I yelled. I was down to only my panties because the sundress had a bra built in. I grabbed it and held it over my chest as I bolted out of the dressing room. “It’s garbage. Here, let me delete it!” I tried to grab my phone, but Tara held it out of my reach.

  “When did you take this?” she asked, relishing the sight of me dancing around her in my underwear as she kept the phone away from me. I noticed that everyone in the store could see me nearly naked, so I raced back into the dressing room. I didn’t see any other option than to spill to Tara about the underground Senior Scramble.

  I poked my head out and whispered, “It’s for the Ash Grove scavenger hunt. It’s back on, but it’s a total secret, so you can’t tell anyone about it, okay? Everybody could get in huge trouble. Like suspended.” I pulled my head back inside and scrambled to strap on my bra. The hooks wouldn’t catch.

  “This picture was for some scavenger hunt at Ash Grove?”

  “Yeah.”

  Tara gasped. “How could you do that to your own school? Wait, when did you take this?”

  “Friday night,” I said. “While you were talking to James after the game.”

  Tara was silent.

  I said, “We had to get a picture of the Meriton Blue Stallion in a compromising position.” My bra finally hooked. I grabbed my yoga pants and hopped around on one foot as I tried to pull them on. “I sneaked into the guys’ locker room and took it.”

  “Hold up,” Tara said. “Is that why you were pushing me so hard to jump James when he came out of the locker room?” Her voice was suddenly somber. “So you could sneak in to get this picture?”

  I stuck my head out the door. “No. I mean, sort of. Maybe yes, but it was like a two-birds, one-stone kind of deal.” She was still staring at the picture on my phone. A salesclerk gave me the evil eye, so I ducked back inside and talked through the crack in the door. “I wanted the picture; you wanted James. It all worked out, right?”