Miss Play Your Man

Adler POV:

It wasn’t that I didn’t care about Ledela’s speech or her tears, and I was certainly not the one to say I told you so—but I told her so!

Her boyfriend of the month stood across the courtyard at junior lunch with his buddies without a care in the world. As soon as the new girl Jamieson glanced his direction, he dumped Ledela. Typical Dayton.

This explained why we sat by the big oak tree with our backs to the student population, rather than at the picnic table claimed by the junior class. To top off Ledela’s miserable morning, Principal Burkhart gave her detention for dress code, or lack thereof.

“He said that my shorts were too short, and I told him he was killing my creative spirit. This was a Zendaya mockup from her 2019 Teen Choice Award outfit. How dare him, Adler.”

I patted her back, while taking a bite of my Uncrustable sandwich behind her head, playing with her dark brown hair and wishing I had her looks.

She’d give Zoe Saldana a run for her money with a thin frame and legs longer than a Texas football field.

I swiped my tongue out to gather the grape jelly on my mouth and smiled at myself. I would not give Zoe Saldana a run for anything. Maybe I’d beat her to the burrito line in the cafeteria, but that was it.

With wavy auburn hair, my light complexion stood out like a cheerleader on Harry Heights, but it did make my blue eyes pop. Courtesy of my biological mom that bailed when I was five. At least she left me one good thing.

“It’s just one detention, and at least you’re not missing the game on Friday.”

She pulled her face up from her knees and gave me a deadpan look. “It’s not like I’ll have a date for the game.”

No one had dates for the first football game of the year. Sure it was Texas, and you go big or go home, but not because of a lack of a date. This wasn’t prom, but Ledela seemed to lean toward ten on the melodramatic scale most days.

Ledela groaned and pressed her forehead to her knees. I continued to pat her back and assault my food when something hit the back of my head, knocking my Uncrustable to the ground.

“Savages,” I hissed, looking around for the culprit of the football lying beside me.

Of course, my stepbrother stood on a courtyard table, laughing at me with his friends. They stood around him as if he were the Prince of Texas, with stupid caveman laughs and varsity athlete jackets.

Despite his good looks and attempts to hide his brains behind his football skills and his perfect smile, he was tolerable, mostly. His mom, Mrs. Shana, married my dad when we were twelve. You would think after five years together that we would get along, but that was like asking Joe Exotic to get along with Carol Baskin.

Not happening.

If you asked me, Huxley Jacks probably caused the most recent hurricane and maybe helped Carol Baskin get rid of her husband. Who knew for sure?

I flipped him the bird and grabbed the football, tossing it into the closest trash can before walking back to the lone tree.

“Don’t be a killjoy, Poops!” Huxley yelled at me.

I ignored his nickname for me and dug through my backpack for a bag of pretzels. I’d be damned if he ruined my lunch.

He gave me that nickname in sixth grade when I begged Dad for this white outfit from Old Navy that resembled a snow bunny with white fur around the hood and soft material. Until the cafeteria’s burrito gave me the poops and well—you know.

The nickname stuck.

“What am I going to say on my blog, Adler? I was supposed to have an entire week of maneuvering through first base through home base. Now I have no expertise in this situation. How am I going to make it up to my fans?”

Ledela’s lifelong wish was to become a YouTube star. She never missed a day on her video blog, and surprisingly, there were many teenage girls that wanted to chat about makeup and boyfriend advice.

Sounded exhausting to me.

I did my homework while her videos played on my laptop and commented about what little I heard. I should totally win the best friend of the year award.

I tore open my pretzel bag. “Ledela, I think it’s a bonus that you didn’t sleep with him. Obviously, it would have been a wasted purchase on your v-card.”

She huffed and wiped beneath her eyes. “Whatever, Adler. I mean, it’s easy for you to say, you don’t care about dating or status.”

“That’s not a lie,” I said, standing with her.

“Why does your advice always turn out right? You told me not to date Dayton. How do you know so much about boys when you don’t date?”

I popped another miniature pretzel into my mouth and shifted my gaze toward the troop of gorillas doing lame parkour off the junior's picnic table.

If Huxley was good at anything, it was playing girls, and that meant I had an up-close seat on the sideshow he called his dating life. Not to mention I sat in my closet that shared a wall with his room and listened to him with his friends.

For educational purposes, of course.

“Huxley has a big mouth,” I said with a shrug. “I’ve picked up on a few things.”

Ledela looked over at him. “Do you think he would help me? Maybe I can make a blog about catching a guy?”

“If you let him get to second base, sure, he’ll do anything.”

“Well, maybe—”

“No,” I hissed. “Don’t subject yourself to Huxley. I can help you if you want.”

“Would you really?” she asked with her fists underneath her heart-shaped face.

“Yeah, yeah. You can come over Thursday, and we’ll go over some stuff.”

“Thank you,” she said, turning as the bell rang for fifth period. “Now I have to go endure gym with Dayton.”

Gym sucked for far more reasons than Dayton. Huxley and Dayton were there, on top of having to do whatever activity that Coach Carter conjured up with her cauldron the night before.

“It’ll be fine,” I said, trying to encourage her.

***

Everything was not fine.

Mayday.

We walked into the gym after changing into the horrid Soffee shorts and white t-shirt, only to see a huddled group of girls staring at us.

I checked my shoes for toilet paper or another poop incident, but I realized everyone stared at Ledela instead, which would normally make her smile and do her model strut, but this type of attention was unwanted.

In the center of the makeshift girl group stood Jamieson, the new girl, and she looked sad. Not for herself but for us. Savannah, the class gossip since kindergarten—when she told everyone I liked Brett Hudson, which was true, but damn, can’t you keep a secret?—walked over toward us.

Her clothes swallowed her tiny frame. Her ponytail swung as she almost skipped in excitement, which was a telltale sign for her. When she stopped, her hip swayed to the side, and she placed her palm there. “I hate to be the one to tell y’all this.”

“Really, Savannah?” I asked. “Do you really?”

Ledela shoved her elbow into my rib. “Tell us what?” she asked.

She glanced around at the group of boys that stood together underneath the basketball goal. The boys we’d been stuck with for years. “So, Dayton told the entire gym that you’ve been crying over him since he broke up with you this morning and that he only went out with you so he could, quote, get some, and it wasn’t that good anyway, unquote.”

I felt Ledela’s temperature rise beside me, so I slipped my arm around her waist to keep her grounded, but I could feel it wasn’t going to work.

Was that an eye twitch?

“Oh hell to the no, he didn’t,” she said, her head swinging. That meant she was about to throw a ‘hissy’ as my dad put it, and her momma was coming out of that carefully guarded place where she hid it inside.

“Ledela, he isn’t worth the lies or heartache. Let it go like Elsa.”

I swore steam rose from her ears.

Ledela pulled from me like a quarterback on the run and dashed toward the cart of basketballs on the other end of the court. I watched in horror, with most of the class, as she grabbed two balls and started tossing them at Dayton’s head.

“You jackass! I didn’t sleep with you, and you know it!”

“Oh no,” I whispered, hurrying toward her.

Dayton shrunk behind two of his friends who dodged the balls easily. Huxley stepped out from the group with a wide grin on his face. I tried to grab her waist and stop her, but she elbowed me, sending me to the floor.

My hair whirled around, and I landed on my butt. “Ledela, Coach is gonna—”

“First you break up with me in front of people and now you’re lying,” she shrieked, tossing another ball right toward his pecker.

I tried to get up and felt someone haul me to my feet from underneath my arms. Huxley wrapped his arm around my shoulder and smiled. “Your girl’s gone crazy, Poops. We needed some entertainment around here.”

I shrugged him off. “She’s going to get suspended.”

Huxley shrugged and watched with amusement.

Ledela paced his friends like a lion, trying to get a space where she could hit him. Buzz, the school’s linebacker, tossed one of the balls at her head, and Ledela fell backward.

“Oh, heck no,” I said starting toward him, but he decked me in the head with another one.

I fell back, stars dancing in my vision as I looked up at the gym’s ceiling. I shook them away and saw someone grab Buzz by the shirt and push him backward.

Ledela whispered, “Are you alive?”

I glanced over at her lying out on the court beside me. “Why did you do that, Led?”

“Stop it!” Coach Carter yelled. She blew her whistle blasting our ears.

I hurried to my feet, seeing everyone freeze. Huxley had Buzz by the collar, fist mid-air, as Buzz cowered away from him.

Hmm. Not that Huxley hadn’t stuck up for me before, but he looked mad this time.

Coach Carter started pointing toward people. “Go. To. The. Office!”

She pointed at me last.

Me? Adler “Good Girl” Ray? This had to be a mistake. However, when I didn’t move, she shouted, “Now!”

Shiitake.

Ledela and Dayton were summoned for sacrifice first. Maybe Principal Burkhart would take his frustration out on them. My leg tapped nervously against the tile floor of the waiting area outside of his office.

Huxley leaned over toward me and tapped the back of my head.

“Calm down, Poops. You’re not going to get in trouble with your outstanding record. Plus, Ledela started it.”

I glanced over at his dark green eyes and dimpled smile. “Do you think I’ll get detention?”

“Oh, for sure, just nothing that’ll stick to your pristine record. We don’t want Yale thinking you’re a hellion, do we?”

Buzz groaned from a chair on the opposite wall, holding an ice pack against his black eye. Huxley rolled his eyes. “Pussy,” he spat. “You shouldn’t have hit my sister. You’ll think twice next time.”

God, I hope there wasn’t a next time.

Buzz turned his gaze toward the opposite end of the room. I’d never seen him so quiet before. “She’s not really your sister,” he mumbled.

Huxley tightened his first against the chair arm.

I went to ask why he was so protective lately when the door opened and Ledela walked out with tear-streaked cheeks and Dayton on her heels.

Principal Burkhart was strict, a no-nonsense southern man, with a stereotypical overly large cowboy hat and a belt buckle the size of a plate. He even taught FFA because no one else could place a cow like him, apparently.

“Huxley and Adler, in here now.”

I cringed. The only time I’d been in his office was to get my perfect attendance award and my plaque for honor roll. This time it looked menacing with cow skulls and western décor hanging on the walls.

Had that deer head always been there? Principal Burkhart’s eyes were enough. I didn’t need Bambi judging me too.

He sat in his chair with a huff and laced his fingers over his stomach. “I’m surprised to see you here, Adler. You, Huxley—ah, not so much. Ledela and Dayton stuck up for you both, but to be honest, I expected more.”

Nerves skated down my spine.

Huxley leaned forward, his usual suave smile on his face. Normally, Hux could get out of stuff, but I didn’t think it’d work here. “Principal Burkhart—”

“Cut the crap, Huxley,” he said.

Huxley leaned back in his seat with a frown. If I weren’t so nervous, I would have laughed at his failed attempt. His good looks could only get him so far in life it appeared.

“I’ve already decided what I’m going to do with you. I spoke with your teachers, and it looks like Mrs. Rita thinks you’re not applying yourself, go figure, so she suggested you work on an extra piece for the English contest this month. If she thinks you put in enough effort, I won’t suspend you afterwards. Until then, you will have half a day detention every Saturday.”

Huxley’s smile faded, and he shifted his gaze toward me. He was annoyed, especially since he stuck up for me. “Principal Burkhart,” I said sweetly. “I know Huxley is obnoxious—really, I live with him—but he was just sticking up for me. Buzz hit me in the head—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” he said, swiping his palm through the air. “Huxley is in here more than I am. Now, you, Miss Adler, aren’t a regular on the trouble train. I know you were helping your friend Ledela, but participating in the impromptu dodgeball game wasn’t smart. Sometimes we have to let people bury themselves, so we don’t get stuck, do you understand me?”

“Yes sir.”

He leaned back and sighed. “I’m going to give you a warning—”

Huxley sat up to protest, as he did at home, but Principal Burkhart’s sharp look shut him down. “Now, get back to class and no more trying to kill one another.”

I scooted from the room casually until I made it to the hallway, where I sprinted toward my classroom.

Huxley’s footsteps echoed down the lone hallway gaining on me as I almost made it to the door.

His rough hands gripped beneath my arms, and I fell to the tiled floor in a defense I always used when tickled. “Don’t, please,” I begged through laughs.

Huxley’s grin widened when tears slid down my cheeks. “You’re going to help me with this, Adler Ray, and make it good too. I just got a month’s worth of Saturday detentions because of you, and Principal Burkhart gives you a warning! Yeah, right, you’re helping me, Poops.”

As tears streamed down my face, I fought the urge to hit him in his. “Okay, I’ll help you, but you have to help me.”

He sat back on his shins and lifted a dark brow. “Shoot.”

Huxley POV:

Mom frowned when I tossed my dirty football clothes onto the sectional in the living room.

Mr. Clean got it all wrong with the bald guy. Mom would have been the perfect candidate for a cleaning commercial. She bled cleanliness and hairspray. I couldn’t remember a time where she didn’t call after me to pick something up or take a bath.

“Get those sweaty things off the leather, Hux Bear, and don’t pretend like you didn’t get in trouble at school today, because Adler told me.”

I tossed Adler the side eye as she pretended not to hear from the kitchen table, her nose in a book like usual. Nothing had changed since sixth grade, not her looks, her hobbies, or her boobs while we were talking about it.

“Mom, I didn’t start it.”

Mom tucked her dark hair behind her ear and placed a plate of fried chicken on the table. “I know, Adler told me what happened, and frankly, I’m glad you stuck up for her. Good for you, finally acting like a brother.”

I rolled my eyes and took a seat beside Adler. I watched her ignore me, the small beauty mark on her face moved as her lips tightened. “Stop staring.”

“Just wondering why you’re being nice,” I said, snagging a piece of chicken. “Oh wait, it’s because you need my help for something. You plan to tell me this century? I’m a busy man.”

“I’ll tell you after supper. Ledela is going to call me, and she can help explain.”

I couldn’t imagine what either one of those girls would need help with. Hell, they both made excellent grades, unless it had something to do with Dayton today.

Mr. Steven walked in a few minutes later with his same daily routine of hanging his hard hat on the coat rack and shrugging out of his plaid button down. He owned a construction company, which explained the two-story house that my Mom and I couldn’t afford by ourselves.

We did all right before Mr. Steven showed up, but nothing this nice for sure.

His auburn hair matched Adler’s, but his skin was darker from working outside, and his eyes brown.

“Hey y’all,” he said in that slow twang. He kissed Mom’s head, and walked over to the table, wide eyes excited like always. Mr. Steven wasn’t the stereotypical stepdad that spent more time with Adler than me or secretly hated my guts.

He was more of a dad than my biological one by miles. It’d taken some getting used to on my part for him to be in charge versus my mom, but I couldn’t have asked for a better stepdad.

“How was football practice?” he asked, taking a swig of his drink.

“Good,” I said. “Coach wore us out today so we could have a break before the game. You still coming?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “Anything happen at school today, Baby Girl?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Yeah, actually, we got sent to the principal’s office for Ledela going crazy on Dayton for lying about them sleeping together—”

He gave her an uneasy look. “Okay, did you get in trouble?”

“No.”

I huffed while I took a bite of chicken. “I did, for sticking up for her. Buzz hit her in the head with a damn basketball.”

“Language Huxley!” Mom said from the stove.

Mr. Steven winked. “About time Adler got herself into trouble, I was beginning to think she was a mutant or something.”

“Ha, ha,” she said, not looking up from her work. “Is that permission to start breaking curfew?”

I laughed. “Yeah, right, where would you go, the library? Or Ledela’s house?”

Adler kicked my shin from beneath the table.

Mom placed the sides on the table and sat next to Mr. Steven. “Adler said you have to enter an English contest? You’re so good at computers, I don’t understand why you can’t just express your feelings into a story son, or at least try.”

I hated to express my feelings and better yet, I hated writing them down. Computers were easy and straight forward, feelings weren’t. Maybe it stemmed from my biological dad letting me down, even after I cried to him, it never changed. Since then, it felt useless to tell someone how I felt.

I couldn’t remember the last time I saw him, maybe three years ago, but I told Mom after that crapshoot of meeting his new girlfriend, that I didn’t want to go back.

And surprisingly, he didn’t care.

“Well, she is going to help me since she got me into this mess.”

Mr. Steven grunted, which was normal since we’d started eating. “I think it’s a good idea that y’all spend more time together,” Mom said with a smile.

If you say so.

I could imagine ten thousand other things I’d would rather do than spend time with Adler Poop Ray.

***

Adler knocked on my door around eight pm. I answered in my basketball shorts, no shirt, and a freshly wet head from my shower.

She looked like a tiny nerd with her glasses on and a pile of hair on top of her head. She was on the short side, tiny really, with a small nose and big eyes.

She reminded me of a nerdy fairy. It would be cute if she weren’t such a killjoy.

“Come on,” she whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” I asked. “Mom and Ray are in their room, probably getting it on—”

“Ew,” she swatted at me. “I don’t need that imagery. Come on, I have Ledela on messenger.”

I followed her into her room with gray walls and purple flower décor. That was also something that hadn’t changed since I’d known her. Adler Ray wasn’t accustomed to change. She sat down on her bed and turned her laptop toward me.

Ledela sat Indian style with her hair wrapped in a towel. “What the hell happened to you, are you sick?” I asked.

“Typical male, just because I don’t have makeup on, doesn’t mean I’m sick. Are you sick? You look a little pale.”

I rolled my eyes. “You better get to the point before I leave.”

Adler twisted the screen and gave Ledela a stern look. “So, Ledela has a blog—”

“No,” I said walking toward the door.

Adler jumped up and pulled me back. “Stop it and listen. She has a blog, and her plans were messed up when Dayton pulled his crap today, she wants your help with showing women what a guy wants in a relationship. She promised her fans something about relationships.”

Fans? Right. I can’t imagine who would watch Ledela for any kind of advice.

“That’s stupid and a waste of my time.”

“If you want help with your English project then give her some ideas, Huxley.”

She crossed her arms as if she were serious, but I knew she’d do anything for me not to tickle her. “Oh yeah, you’re the boss lady now?” I asked.

Ledela sighed. “I knew this wouldn’t work, why don’t you just help me Adler? Do a Q&A about relationships and boys.”

She’s kidding, right? I couldn’t stop my laugh. “You’re asking Adler for relationship advice? Seriously, you’re desperate. She’s never been on a date. When is the last time you’ve seen her speak to a boy that wasn’t me or a teacher?”

Red tinted her cheeks. “I know more than you think I do. Just because I don’t date the losers in my class doesn’t mean I wouldn’t know what to do if the situation presented itself.”

Ledela nodded. “Hell yeah, so we don’t need your help anyway.”

Color me curious. I felt the need to be involved in this to see my stepsister crash and burn, but we needed something more than a silly blog. Something that would draw attention to Adler’s ridiculous attempt at drawing in a guy, and me, get to see her try to seduce a male. I was sure it’d be something horrid that resembled the Animal Planet.

Hilarious.

“You still trying to get YouTube famous, Ledela?”

“Is Chris Hemsworth the hottest Chris?” she asked.

“How would I know?” I asked. “How about I amp up the stakes for you, how about I help you two set up a website? This will get killer views on your blog, for sure.”

Adler looked suspicious. “What kind of website?”

I was winging it, but it’d work, Ledela was too easily persuaded, hence the relationship with Dayton.

“I build a website for the girls of Montlake. They can come and ask Adler questions about their relationships anonymously. She could even play the guys that broke someone’s heart. We’ll have to work on a signed agreement with the girls so that they feel safe confiding in you.”

I sat back with pure joy at the look of outrage on Adler’s face. It was all candy and lip-gloss until I mentioned interacting with a guy. We both knew Adler was no dating guru. She turned red when the young nurse practitioner at the doctor’s office asked for her name.

“Awesome!” Ledela yelled. “That would draw serious views to my blog, Ad, and can you imagine the buzz at school about it?

“No,” Adler said sitting back on her shins. An oversized Yale shirt hung to her mid-thighs, covering her pajama shorts. The ones she always wore, because they were her mothers. Adler or Mr. Steven never spoke about her, but I knew deep down Adler missed her absence, or she wouldn’t keep those dingy shorts.

“I don’t think so. I can’t play someone’s heartbreaker?”

“Why not?” I asked. “You said you’re good with guys—prove it.”

Adler’s pink cheeks turned red, and she bit her lower lip. She hated when I dared her to do something. It wasn’t in her soul to deny a dare, which was why I brought out the big guns.

“Come on, Adler, this is going to be huge! I can link this to my blog, and we’ll have tons of hits. Maybe get you a real date out of this.”

Adler turned redder than those cherry tomatoes she brought to school for a snack. Who ate cherry tomatoes for a snack, you ask? Adler.

“I-I—”

“She can’t do it, Ledela,” I said with a shrug. “I can give you a few pointers for your blog—”

“I’ll do it,” she blurted out, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Ledela started a happy dance and squealed. “Thank you! I’m so excited! How long will it take you to get the website up?”

I gazed into Adler’s ice blue eyes, loving the stubborn look she returned to me. “I’ll be back with you ladies, ASAP. In the meantime, Adler, since this was a favor for a favor, you can start plotting my story. I’ll be in touch.”

I walked out of her room and into my own. Not only would I get help with my English assignment, but I’d also swindled Adler into seducing a boy. How my dreams have come true.

***

Adler didn’t wait on me in the morning. Her small Honda was absent from the driveway by the time I made my toast.

“Where is your sister?” Mom asked.

“I guess she has somewhere to be.”

My guess was away from me, so that I couldn’t harass her about the website. I’d gotten the bones ready the night before, but it’d be a couple of days before we could launch. In the meantime, I planned to watch Adler unravel herself.

All you had to do was look at her and she’d tell on herself.

I could count on one hand how many times she’d actually made a mistake, but she went right inside and told her dad. Her guilty conscience must resemble Hitler because she couldn’t live with guilt or nerves.

“Be home right after football today to work on your story,” Mom said. “We can’t have you suspended because you don’t try on this paper. Somehow, you’ve went without being expelled or suspended, and I don’t want to battle that demon once college comes around.”

I hid my smile. I’d be home all right. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I zoomed my pickup into the last senior parking space, jumped out, and grabbed my bag from the bed of my truck. A group of cheerleaders lingered by the front doors to the school, taking selfies, and French braiding each other’s hair.

One of the junior girls bounded up beside me when I grabbed the front door handle. She looked vaguely familiar. Maybe she dated Michael, the quarterback, last year.

“Huxley,” she said, twirling the end of her dark brown ponytail around her finger. “You have time for a picture?”

Talk about fans. Maybe Ledela did need my help after all. I shrugged. “Yeah, sure, I’ve got a minute.”

She tucked into my side and took a quick selfie. She checked the picture before sliding her phone back into her jeans. “Maybe I could send it to you on Facebook and you post it?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “You can just tag me in it.”

She pursed her lips. “You think Adler can help me with my Spanish homework?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask her?”

She grabbed my forearm when I went to go inside. “I tried, but she told me she wasn’t falling for me trying to get to her house because you lived there.”

I laughed. “You can’t blame her for not falling for that.”

She huffed. “I really do need help.”

“Yeah,” I said, patting her shoulder. “You do. I’m sure there are tons of Lying Anonymous groups around. Dallas is a big place.”

I left her standing at the door. For Adler being shy around boys, she didn’t care about calling out a girl that just wanted to see me. Our first year of high school, there were a slew of girls that tried to befriend Adler because of me.

She shot them down early. Ledela had been the only one not trying to hook up with me. Mainly because being famous was more important than getting laid to her.

It was something that I admired about Adler. She was a true friend and she deserved one in return.

My first half of the school day dragged by. Lunch was my favorite subject anyway. My best-friend Liam met me at the pizza line with his goofy grin. His bulky headphones hung around his meaty neck, and it never failed that he had food on his shirt from breakfast.

“Dude, I heard you were sent to Burkhart yesterday? You banging Ledela or something?”

I cringed at the thought. Ledela was a pretty girl, but wild and dramatic. I could never figure out why Adler and she were so close, they were complete opposites, but oddly enough, they fit.

“No, who said that?” I asked, winking at the cafeteria worker so she’d hand me an extra slice of pizza.

Liam swung his leg over the bench seats at our usual table and took a bite. “Everyone. They said you jacked Buzz up for throwing a ball at her.”

Rumors. You couldn’t piss in the junior class without everyone knowing. Despite the school being huge in Dallas, it didn’t matter. Word of mouth traveled faster than text messages.

“No, he tossed a ball at Adler’s head and knocked her down.”

“Ah,” he said over his food. “Poor Ad.”

Liam had been my friend since ninth grade when Coach put us together for sprints. Where I was lean and fast for wide receiver, Coach moved Liam around for defense. He was built like a refrigerator—the new kind with two doors.

“Speaking of Adler,” he said. “Where is she?”

I glanced over the cafeteria toward her normal seat, but she wasn’t there, and neither was Ledela. “Maybe she skipped lunch today, which is weird because she eats as much as me.”

Very weird. Adler never missed lunch. Even that time in sixth grade when she had the poop accident, she ate her second burrito on her way home to change.

We finished our pizza and headed toward the courtyard. Adler and Ledela’s place at the table was empty and so was the tree where they lamely tried to hide the day before.

Curiosity tugged at me, so I texted her.

Where are you?

Liam’s girlfriend Jacee met us at the outside table, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, and her pretty face scrunched in annoyance. Heather, my ex-girlfriend, stood beside her, texting to avoid eye contact. We weren’t to the friendly stage just yet; an occasional wave was our limit.

“Liam!”

Here we go.

“Why did you like that Kimmy girl’s Facebook post last night?”

“Ah dammit, woman,” he mumbled, running a palm over his shaven head. “Jacee don’t start, she made a good point—”

“Yeah, sure. You don’t even know what she said, you just like her boobs because they're bigger than mine.”

Jacee began to pout which was my cue to leave. Liam could do better than Jacee, and her constant insecurities, but he was shallow, and Jacee was cute.

I’d stopped hanging around them after Heather and I broke up. I couldn’t stand to hear her constant nagging. Give the poor guy a break.

I made my way around the campus, a few girls waved at me, and I acknowledged them carefully, one wrong move and underclassman girls would attack.

Adler had me curious about her whereabouts, not worried, because she’d never get into trouble voluntarily.

I checked my text messages, she’d read it, but hadn’t responded.

Rude.

I shoved opened the double doors leading to the main high school where her locker sat and walked down the empty hallway.

I called her, hearing vibration from the girl’s bathroom, and then a curse.

Hiding in the bathroom wasn’t her style. Not by a longshot.

She answered on the fourth ring. “What is it?”

“Why are you in the bathroom?”

“Go away,” she hissed.

“Now I have to stay. What’s going on in there?”

She hung up on me, so I waited. I leaned against the alcove wall in front of the bathroom and crossed my legs. I still had ten minutes left of lunch.

The door creaked opened a few moments later and Ledela backed her way out, pulling Adler by her wrist. “You look amazing, come on, hurry up.”

I stepped to the side, so Adler wouldn’t chicken out, and watched her fix her clothing. I felt my stomach drop. No way in hell was this Adler.

She fixed her glasses on her nose and sighed. “I look like Jacee and Stephanie.”

“You look hot.”

Adler examined her blue jean skirt that barely met dress code and her loose off the shoulder top. It wasn’t just the outfit; I’d seen Adler in a swimsuit before, it was the effort on her face. The makeup. Not just something simple, but something a normal teenage girl wore.

I felt myself tip on edge. If I thought keeping Adler from trouble was easy before, I wasn't so sure now.

“What is this?” I asked, gesturing toward her body.

Ledela turned toward me. “Tell her she looks amazing.”

“No, she looks like a neon sign that says date me—among other ungodly things that your stepbrother shouldn’t say.”

“Good!” Ledela said. “That’s what we’re going for. When we get the website started, it’ll be easy to distract the heartbreakers.”

“I’m not going to actually date them, Led. It’ll be online, everyone would know it was me if it was in person?”

Ledela frowned. “This will boost your confidence with them, trust me.”

Ledela was the last person Adler needed to trust. This was a lame attempt at doing a makeover on Adler. Adler looked like a borderline thot and that wasn’t okay on my stepsister.

This was a bad idea, and I thought of it. Way to go, Huxley.

Adler met my gaze. “I feel exposed.”

“Because you are!”

“Chill out, Brother Bear,” Ledela said. She checked the time on her cell phone. “The bell is about to ring. Let’s go get your stuff.” She shuffled Adler down the hall and toward her locker. “Let us know when you have the website ready!”

Mayday.