Read Phoenix: The Rising for Free Online

complete with a purple and white starburst scrunchy. She was already two inches taller than Julie, and the ponytail added at least another two, making Julie feel like a garden gnome next to her striking friend. Julie didn’t have a stitch of purple on, but was wearing a plain, white, v-neck, baby tee. A crescent of porcelain belly was visible just above the waist of her jeans when she walked, but not enough to make her look slutty. She hoped.
    As they approached the girl’s bathroom, Julie made a split-second decision, grabbed Charsey by the arm, and pulled her through the door.
    “Julie! What the—”
    Julie took a breath and blurted it out. “Kas Penemue invited me to the after-game party.” She hesitated. “I said yes.”
    “ You have a date with Kas Penemue? Holy Crap!” Charsey shut the bathroom door and stood in front of it, hands on her hips, Jolly Green Giant style. In that stance, with her skimpy cheerleading outfit on, she looked like she was about to start a cheer. Any other time, and Julie might have thought it funny, but this date with Kas was a problem. Not only did she not want to go out with him, she had no intention of dating anybody. The risk was too great.
    “Yes, but now I need to know how to get out of it.”
    Charsey’s eyes widened. “Out of it? Are you nuts? He’s one of the most popular guys in school!”
    Julie turned and stared in the mirror. “I shouldn’t have told him I would go.”
    “Well, you did, and if you cancel, you’re gonna have one upset guy on your hands. If he gets in trouble on game day and can’t play, then you’re gonna have the whole school body to deal with.” Charsey grabbed Julie by the shoulder and turned her around. “Just go out with him. Just this once.” She squeezed Julie’s shoulder. “Who knows, you may end up liking the guy. And besides that, I’m gonna be at the party. It’s not like you’re gonna be alone with him.”
    Julie looked down at her hands, which were clenched white. Everything in her told her not to do it, but she knew she was going to.
    “Okay.” She looked up at Charsey’s smiling face. “But just this once.”
    Charsey put her arm around Julie’s shoulders and walked her to the door. “Good. I’ll pick you up before the game.” She opened the door and shoved Julie into the hall. “You’re gonna have a great time, Jules. Don’t worry!”
    Julie watched the door close, turned, and walked down the hall. There was no way she was going to have a good time. Zero. Zilch.
    ****
    The White Mountain Warriors ran onto the field, heading towards a gigantic paper-covered hoop decorated with a poorly painted rendition of their mascot. Charsey held one side of the hoop as the two huge Penemue brothers led the charge, ripping through the paper with their hands held high. The rest of the team followed close behind. Julie sat by herself, up and away from the crowd of screaming students who gathered down near the fence. She hadn’t really made friends with anyone other than Charsey and couldn’t quite figure out why Charsey decided to be her friend in the first place, considering that Charsey was one of the most popular girls at White Mountain . She figured it might have had something to do with the fact that her father was the new president of Bishop State Bank, plus the fact that Charsey could be a little shallow. She didn’t care, though. Being new in the community, she needed to show some sign of normalcy. She couldn’t be a total hermit. It also felt sort of good—to have a friend—someone she could talk to. She certainly didn’t get that at home. She even enjoyed Charsey’s idiosyncrasies. She was the ultimate ditz, and was always entertaining, even though she got on Julie’s nerves at times. Besides, Julie hadn’t had a best friend in years. It felt good.
    Julie looked over the roster. Kas was listed as a six-four, two hundred-fifty pound tackle. His brother was a half-inch shorter and four pounds lighter. She scanned