I thought Cara was not so subtly throwing her hat in the ring for captain by leading the charge for the anti-Jack rebellion, but if she skips out on homecoming, there’s no coming back from that. Was I wrong the whole time? Or did she only just decide to pivot away?

And of course, if it’s not gonna be me (and it’s certainly not), and if it’s not gonna be her (and it’s certainly not), then … who’s it gonna be?

Somewhere along the way, that became the least important question.

Because the most important one doesn’t have a thing to do with Cara.

I haven’t tried getting in touch with Jack, and I’m not going to. She’s right to be pissed, and nothing I can say is gonna fix it. But tonight we’ll see if anything I can do will fix it, and that’s what has me bouncing in my tennis shoes.

Or it’s what had me bouncing in my tennis shoes. An “I mean business” glare from Diana dries that right up. None of this will work if I don’t get out on the field tonight, even if it means pretending I’m all in for plan Fuck Up Jack’s Life.

“What, are you two in your first fight ever?” Diana snaps. “Great day you chose for it.”

“We’re fine,” I lie, because if they smell blood in the water, they’ll never drop it. “Guess we both had shit to do today, and I’m here, so I bet she will be soon too. Maybe she’s having trouble getting a ride.”

“Whatever,” Zoe says with a roll of her eyes. “Just get to the gym. Crystal and Nia are waiting.”

My stomach grumbles at the mention of skipping lunch for a squad meeting, and I wish it hadn’t been too filled with butterflies all morning for me to eat in between detective work, plotting, sending awkward messages, and making even more awkward phone calls. I’m gonna have to beg another one of those nasty energy bars off Coach.

While Zoe and Diana hunt the halls to see if Cara’s shown up, I make my way to the gym. There, I get another minute of “Ohmygodwherewereyou thankgodyoureherenow” from Crystal and Nia, and then I join Kelsey, Sara, Ella, Claire, and Virany in their stretching corner while we wait for Zoe, Diana, Taylor, and, of course, Cara.

“I was wondering when you were gonna show,” Kelsey says immediately, because of course she does. I don’t know when she and Cara became besties, but I’m guessing if anyone knows where C is right now, it’s her.

“So nice to know you were worried about me, Kels!” I say sweetly. “Everything is fine. Just wanted to make sure my hair looked extra shiny.” And good luck calling me out on that.