“Aw, man, this is gonna be sweet!” Fee signed and said as they swept the venue with their eyes.

Cai signed something with a cheeky look on her face.

“Not even your snide comments can dampen my spirits, ma’am.”

More signing.

“Do your worst,” Fee challenged.

Thumbs-up and a grin.

They were so disgusting. And kind of cute. And disgusting. “Are you two done? Can we find seats already?” I inquired. This had been the right decision. Being around these two and all this other excitement was keeping my mind distracted from the rest of my body and its rumblings.

After Fee interpreted, they both shrugged and continued walking. I started to follow them, but then noticed a sign for the snack bar. I hadn’t eaten all day. My stomach had been too agitated, but now it was pissed at me. “Wait! I need food. Text me when you find seats. Want anything?” The atmosphere in here was starting to make me a little giddy, which wasn’t generally a word I used to describe myself, especially after the crap Priam and Vicki pulled last night.

They passed on the food but agreed to text me. I followed a stream of people toward the snack bar in the outer concourse of the arena.

As I waited in line, I watched two little girls with their dad at the snack counter, ordering candy and drinks. Both wore neon tights, crinkly crinoline skirts, and bright purple T-shirts with ROLLER BABE written on the back. Even better, their dad also wore a crinoline skirt and a T-shirt with the same words on it.

“Order?”

“What?” I said.

The girl waiting for me to give her my order blinked at me emphatically. “Order?” she repeated.

“Oh. Uh, I’ll have a lemonade. And a hot dog. Please.” The two girls in their purple skirts pushed past me, one in front and one behind so I was pummeled from everywhere with crinoline. Their dad gave me a Sorry look as he tried to catch up with them. Roller derby warriors in the making, I guessed.

By the time I’d found Fee and Cai, the teams were warming up, circling the track and stretching. As I stood and watched for a moment, entranced, the guy behind me grunted and said, “Down in front.”

I gave him a toned-down version of my best bitch face and then took an extra-long moment to stretch/annoy him. I was in no mood for anyone else’s bullshit. Fee and Cai seemed to miss the whole thing, because when I sat back down, Fee just side-glanced at my hot dog—they and Cai were both vegetarian—and said, “Mm… pig butt.”

I stared at them and took a big bite, then smiled through the processed meat and bun.

“Dang, you cold, girl,” they said, then whistled and crossed their arms.