She threw the hot Pop-Tart on a plate and pointed upstairs. “Totally unacceptable. I mean, you’re the school quarterback. It’s junior year. You need to try harder.” I followed her up the stairs. She pulled out nice jeans and a popover sleeveless shirt. “This is adorable and will make you look less like the quarterback and more like a kickass junior. Also, lose the ponytail. You won’t take the field until after school,” she said.

I bought the shirt at the start of summer because it was on sale, but forgot it was in my closet. “Okay. You’re right. It’s the first day. I should try harder.” Everyone knew I was the assistant principal’s daughter and the quarterback. It was time to live up to my reputation.

“And even though you’re tan and shit, put on some makeup. Let’s show the world your baby blues.” She pinched my cheek and motioned for me to follow her into the bathroom. “And don’t wear a sports bra.”

“Do you know how much crap the guys will give me when they see me like this?”

Hayley jerked my chin to keep me looking at her instead of my reflection. She waved a mascara wand in front of me. “Hold still. Just a bit will make the biggest difference.”

I huffed as though it was an inconvenience, but secretly I loved it. I missed things like this with my mom. Mom wanted to show me how to apply makeup so it looked natural before she passed away, but I was too stubborn and didn’t want to think about my mom not being around so I ignored her attempts. I thought she would survive and that we had time. I was wrong. “Thanks for doing this.”

“That’s what family does and you’re basically my sister.” She hugged me.

I ended the hug early because I didn’t want to start crying. The first day of school was always emotional. My dad was clueless, but I struggled not having my mom here for support. The first day was a day of new beginnings. My mom used to leave notes in my lunch like “Be strong, be fierce, be you.” Then she would drive me to school playing loud eighties hairband music. I pretended to hate it, but I knew all the words and sang along under my breath.

“We’d better get going if we want to get a good parking spot,” Hayley said.

“How do I look?”