I just happen to have jumped ship a little earlier to pursue mine, leaving them behind in the wasteland that is Butler High. Which means I can’t let them know that, so far, things here are Quite Shitty, Actually.

And that’s just my friends. I broke my family in half for this, my mom moving with me to Atherton since she can work remotely as a customer service rep, and my dad staying behind with my brothers, who refused to move. That means as far as everyone’s concerned, this must be the most worthwhile thing I have ever done, and I’m proving it with a uniform selfie, a locker photo, and anything else that screams “I am Atherton’s new Golden God.”

I have to make this work, for all of them.

And yeah, for myself, too. This is my shot. My only shot, since while select high schools might be making exceptions for female players, the chance at playing in college is even closer to one in a billion. There may come a day I can’t name every single girl who’s done it, but for now, I chant some of their names in my head like a mantra of possibility, even though I know being a placekicker or safety isn’t like being a QB. Katie Hnida. Sarah Fuller. Morgan Smith. Toni Harris.

Each name is a deep breath, getting me back to where I need to be, which is being able to face a lunch crowd. I’m never gonna be a team leader if I can’t even do that, so into the masses I go.

Any minute now.

Okay, really, I should spend lunch reviewing the plays in those videos Coach Sundstrom sent me.

Yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do.

I’ll make friends tomorrow.

Probably.

Chapter Two

-AMBER-

Cara’s seven minutes late meeting me at my car after practice, but that’s no surprise. She’s late for everything, always; it’s a wonder she even still has a job. Now I’m gonna have to drive like a maniac to get her there on time, praying I don’t get yet another ticket. My car isn’t anything fancy—an old Nissan Altima handed down by my dad when he and his then-new wife, Angela, upgraded (always upgrading, that father o’ mine!)—but if I lose the ability to drive it, I can kiss every single thing in my life outside of school goodbye.

I scroll through my phone while I wait, flipping through pictures from cheer camp this summer, feeling the corners of my lips lift up at the memories. I may be a dork, but I love everything about it—jump contests on the beach, impromptu dance parties, Spirit Night—and yeah, managing to sneak in some time with a certain cheerleader was definitely a seasonal highlight.…