Game On (5 page)

“No,” Maya said. “That's not true. If it is, then someone in the office screwed up because that's not what they told Nicole. …”

“No one in the office screwed up,” he said. “Nicole was told exactly what we were going to do with that poster, and I know that for a fact because I told her myself.”

“But … she told me …” Maya paused. “She lied to me?” Maya asked finally. “Why would she lie?”

“Because,” Nails told her, “Nicole didn't like how she looked in the picture. Ego makes people do bad things.”

So did hero-worship. Maya felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. “What are you going to do to her?”

“She didn't break in,” he said. “You did.”

Maya gulped in a breath. “Yeah, but she got me to do it.” Nails was unmoved. “So what happens to Nicole?” She could tell by the look on his face. He had absolutely no punishment planned for Nicole.

“Sneaking in was her idea!” Maya was getting more and more frustrated. “If you have me on a security camera, then you have her, too. You know I'm not lying.”

“Nicole's put in the hard yards here at the Academy,” he said. “You've been here a day and a half. She has goodwill in the bank.” It was clear that Nicole's preferential treatment had nothing to do with
goodwill
in the bank. Nicole was a star and Maya wasn't, plain as that. And the realization that they were held to different rules sucked.

“The only one who actually broke a rule was you,” he said. “The punishment for that is an automatic revoke of scholarship. And dismissal from the Academy.”

Maya's blood went cold. “This can't be happening. I haven't even unpacked my bags yet. …” But she'd been caught on camera breaking into the office. There was nothing to argue about.

“Dad,” a guy's voice said.

Startled, Maya turned to see someone sitting on a nearby desk. It was Travis. He'd overheard the whole thing. “She wouldn't be the first person to be duped by Nicole.”

Maya didn't think it was possible, but this great big bag of crazy just got crazier. Not only was Travis Reed there, but he was actually sticking up for her?

“It's more of a rite of passage,” Travis went on, playing with a stapler. “And it's not like she knew she was doing something wrong. Only Nicole did.”

He was! He was sticking up for her. And he was throwing Nicole under the bus to do it. Maya wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve this, but she was not about to question it.

Maya looked to Nails. She could see on his face that his son's words carried weight. But how much? Finally, Nails rose and looked down at her. No one should ever experience this man at this angle, she thought.

“You get one warning,” he said. “This was it.” With that, Nails went inside his office and shut the door.

Maya let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

She was alone with Travis. In the cosmic balance of things, this (major) misunderstanding was totally worth it.

“Thank you so much,” Maya said. “I owe you.” She was more than happy to be indebted to him. To tell their grandchildren how she repaid his benevolence with a soft kiss under Niagara Falls. Well, not under Niagara—they'd drown. Under another falls. Was there another falls? And why would they be kissing under it? Maya wanted to slap herself out of whatever cycle of insanity was going on in her head.
Focus!

“Nah, it was nothing,” he said. In truth, it actually was nothing. But to Maya it was the heroic act of a knight in shining armor. He had slain the dragon in her honor.

“I'm Maya,” she said. “I don't think we've been formally introduced.”
Formally introduced? Who says that?

“I'm Travis,” he said.

“Oh, I know,” she said. Could she sound like a bigger stalker? “I mean, your dad told me. When we saw you.”

“When you …?” He didn't remember her. Not from her tour with Nails, and by the looks of it, not from her parking-lot humiliation yesterday. She didn't love being that forgettable, but if that meant she had a clean slate with him, she'd take it. Happily.

“It doesn't matter,” she said. “Do you make it a habit of hanging around places waiting for the opportunity to save damsels in distress?” Maya heard herself ask the question. She realized then and there that she was flirting, something she never did. And now she knew why. She was abominable at it.

“Ha, no,” he said.

Silence.

Maya felt her time was running out. He didn't remember her twice and now she was in danger of being forgotten again. Three strikes and she'd surely be out.

“So … you just like offices, or …?” She was officially grasping.

“Nah.” He rolled up his track pants to tighten his laces. His calves were thick. “I'm just here waiting for my brother. We run in the morning.”

“You have a brother?” Maya asked. How did she not know that?

Suddenly, his brother arrived. And she recognized him on the spot. The dog tag, the bed-head, the sour face. It was Jake.

Jake saw her. And laughed. “Wow. I heard someone broke into the office last night. It was you?”

Maya was shocked. That miserable dude was a Reed? The kid who hated the Academy so much he'd take any excuse to smash something here? He was Nails's son? Travis's brother?

“You two know each other?” Travis asked.

“No,” Maya said, just as Jake said “Yes.”

“She probably doesn't remember me,” Jake said. “Because she was staring at my behind the whole time.”

Maya went blank, except for three words:
Oh, my
, and
God
.

“Gotta run,” Jake smirked by way of a good-bye, then pulled Travis out the door.

Maya was left behind to wrap her mind around what had just happened. And wonder what on earth Jake could possibly be whispering about her in Travis's ear right now.

Oh yeah. Maya hated surprises.

“What are the chances?” Maya walked through the quad with Cleo and repeated the only words she could get out. “What are the chances?”

“I don't get it,” Cleo said. “How did you even meet Jake in the first place?”

“He broke me into our room when I got locked out,” Maya said, her head still spinning.

“That's who broke our window?” Cleo asked. “Why am I just hearing this detail?”

“I wanted to bleach my brain of the whole experience,” Maya said, queasy at the mere memory of it. “He was awful. I was stuck out in the hall, and he came slithering out of some girl's room—”

“Which room?” Cleo asked quickly.

“The one across the hall,” Maya replied.

“I knew it!” Cleo said. “I knew that girl was a skank!”

“Not really the point of the story,” Maya said.

“Right, sorry,” Cleo said. “She is a skank, though.”

Maya pressed on. “All he kept saying was how much he hated the Academy. When he wasn't trying to hook up with me, that is. I can't believe how different he and Travis are! Jake is a spoiled jerk, and Travis saved my life. I've been killing myself to make some kind of impression on Travis. I can't even imagine what Jake has told him about me!”

“Wait, back up,” Cleo said. “Travis saved your life? How?”

“I almost broke your record for shortest-lasting roommate,” Maya said. “I was crazy close to being kicked out if it wasn't for Travis. Actually I
was
kicked out when he got Nails to change his mind.”

“Kicked out?” Cleo asked, wide-eyed. “For what?”

Maya was too embarrassed to tell her, but Cleo wasn't going to let her off the hook.

“I ran into Nicole King outside the main office last night,” Maya said finally. “There was this poster of her that I guess she thought she looked terrible in. She tricked me into breaking into the office to steal it for her.”

Cleo started to ask a question, but Maya stopped her.

“Because I was an idiot,” Maya said. “That's why. I'm lucky Travis was there to plead my case or else I'd be on the bus home right now.”

“What happened to Nicole?” Cleo asked.

Maya shrugged. “Nothing. Technically she didn't do anything wrong.”

“What do you mean, she didn't do anything wrong?” Cleo asked.

“She stayed outside while I did the actual deed,” Maya told her.

“I don't get it,” Cleo said. “If what you did was bad enough for you to get kicked out, it was bad enough to get her kicked out.”

“I'm just telling you what Nails Reed told me,” Maya said. “She had ‘goodwill in the bank' or something.”

“Unbelievable!” Cleo said, steamed. “Nicole King could get some girl to break into an office and steal something for her and get away without a slap on the wrist, but you needed his son to keep you from getting your whole head chopped off!”

“Cleo, calm down,” Maya said. An angry Cleo was a scary Cleo.

“No,” Cleo said. “You should be getting more angry. This is ridiculous.”

“I know, but come on. …” Maya motioned around them. They were getting looks.

“There are different rules for different people here, and I'm sick of it!” Cleo closed her eyes and breathed deep, calming herself down. “Nicole can't get away with this,” she said simply. “If the Academy won't make her pay, we will.”

“ ‘Make her pay …'?” Maya asked nervously.

Cleo grinned. “We're going to strike where Nicole will feel it the most.”

As intimidating as Nicole was, Maya still couldn't help but fear for her in the face of Cleo's fury. And also fear for herself.

Cleo and Maya made their way from the quad to the practice courts. On court one, Nicole was swinging away. It was one
thing to see Nicole strike the ball on TV, but in person it was something else. The power was staggering. Every time Nicole hit the ball, it was as if Maya could feel the force of the blow. How did she get that good? Maya wanted to know. Badly.

She also wanted to know what Cleo had in mind for Nicole, which was still just as big a mystery.

“Listen,” Maya said. “I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours, but I've hit my trouble quota. I've already gotten kicked out of the Academy once today.”

“Relax,” Cleo said. “We're not going to get in trouble.”

Nicole hit her last serve, then returned her racket to her bag. She quickly toweled off, threw her bag over her shoulder, then left.

“Too late,” Maya said, relieved. “She's gone.”

“And we're going with her.” Cleo smiled.

Cleo watched as Nicole headed into the locker room. Then she grabbed Maya's arm and followed.

By the time Cleo and Maya arrived inside the locker room, Nicole was already in the shower. Visions of
Psycho
danced in Maya's head, and she hoped there was nothing sharp and pointy nearby.

Cleo's eyes searched, then landed on Nicole's tennis bag. “There it is,” she whispered. She went over to it, unzipped it slowly to keep the noise down, and then started digging maniacally.

“What are you doing?” Maya said in a hushed yell. Cleo didn't stop. “She could come out of the shower any second and see you in her bag! Are you insane?”

Maybe Cleo
was
crazy. Had Maya aligned herself with a lunatic?

Cleo just stayed focused on the task at hand. Finally, she located what she was searching for and pulled it out. Nicole's cell phone.

Maya was even more confused—and more freaked out—than before.

“It's unlocked,” Cleo said, pleased. “Really, Nicole, for someone sooo famous, you should protect your stuff better.”

As Maya watched, totally rooted to where she stood, Cleo took Nicole's phone and tiptoed closer to the shower. Maya went bug-eyed when Cleo proceeded to slip it under the shower door—and take a picture.

“Cleo!” Maya hissed.

Cleo just smiled and scurried back. She held the picture out to Maya.

“How awful is this?” Cleo asked giddily.

Maya looked at it. The picture was totally harmless, revealing nothing. But between her tangled, wet mess of hair; the contorted look on her face; and the epically awkward angle of the shot, it was without a doubt the single most unflattering picture of Nicole Maya had ever seen. Actually, it was the single most unflattering picture of anyone she'd ever seen.

“Awful,” Maya agreed. “Can we go now?”

“We're not done,” Cleo told her, having fun.

Maya had had enough.

“Okay, that's it,” Maya said. “What is this plan? Tell me now.”

“Okay,” Cleo said, relenting. “Nicole's always on Twitter and Facebook.”

“I know,” Maya said. “I follow her on foursquare, too.”

Cleo rolled her eyes. “And assuming she doesn't log in and out with every single stupid thought she's compelled to share with the world …” Cleo confirmed her theory as Nicole's Twitter account popped right up on the screen. “Nicole wanted to keep that framed poster out of sight because she didn't like how she looked in it. Well, then, we're going to hang a worse one. For everyone to see.”

Cleo handed Maya the phone, the picture attached and ready to go out on Nicole's Twitter feed.

Maya went wide-eyed. “We can't do that!”

“You're right—
we
can't,” Cleo said. “You were the one who was wronged. You should get the honor of pulling the trigger.”

“No, no, I can't,” Maya balked.

“We have to do this,” Cleo asserted. “Maya, these rich kids can't get away with treating scholarship kids like we're gum on the bottoms of their high-heeled shoes.”

“Yeah, but this picture …,” Maya said. She looked at it again. It was truly awful.

“This picture is barely even PG,” Cleo said.

“Listen, Cleo, I get what you're saying,” Maya said. “But … Nicole is my idol. Yeah, she did something crappy, but it's not like she did what she did to get me in trouble.”