Page 18 of The Do-Over Girl

KALI

The cheerleading squad’s first meeting is in my classroom after school one day after try-outs. We need to hit the ground running. The ladies arrive all at once like a smiling and bouncy version of a girl gang. It turns out that Mia was a shoo-in for the hockey cheering squad. She has massive figure skating skills, which she confessed was due to her figure skating background as a child, including a few trophies. I had to tease that info out of her.

She tries to get me to talk about my cheerleading experience at APA—all the girls try—but this isn’t about me, so I refrain. It’s an easy decision to name her captain of the squad with her maturity, skills, and downright goodness.

“He’s so cute,” Shelly says.

“He’s hotter than cute,” another girl says.

“Who are we talking about?” I approach the gathering in the hallway just outside my door.

“There he is,” one of the girls whispers.

Dylan walks by and looks at Mia. Shelly goes to him. They talk about the renovation work starting over the weekend, and Mia asks if she can help, too. I can see in her eyes she’s attracted to Dylan, but then, so are all the girls.

“I’ll do it for free,” Mia says. “Maybe we can get a bunch of kids to volunteer. You know, do some of the small stuff, like clean up and getting rid of debris.”

“That just might work. We’re doing the clean-out after practice Saturday.”

“You have practice on Saturday?” Shelly pouts.

“It’s unofficial. Extra skills work for the guys who want to get to the next level.”

I can hear Nash’s sales pitch in Dylan’s words. It’s what he always said about his extra time spent at the rink, all those evenings when I used to watch him and bring hot chocolate to warm him up. Of course, we did other things to warm up, too. Shit. When am I going to put those X-rated memories to rest?

“That sounds like a great plan,” I say. “Mia, why don’t you work with Dylan and his dad to organize the recruitment? Keep a list of volunteers, when they can work, and what they can do.”

“Sounds great,” Dylan says. “I’ll talk to my dad. Maybe you can come over later and…meet with us?” he asks Mia, and I recognize that spark of interest.

Match made, if I’m not mistaken. Or at least interest sparked. Matches made in high school, even the strongest ones, are almost always fleeting. I ought to know. Everyone in high school predicted Nash and I would be married with kids by now.

We were voted senior class couple and had a special photo taken for the year book. The book I haven’t looked at since I left for New York. The one I’ve carried around with me from college to my first apartment, then my condo. And to here at the Andrews Point Inn. Shit. What does that say about me?

* * *

Nash disappearedover the weekend to fulfill some unknown obligation, according to Mrs. Pike. Still, I know he’s at the practice rink for extra ice time with the team and overseeing the renovations at the arena. Though I’m not sure what he does in the evenings, I refuse to speculate. He already drives me crazy.

At breakfast on Saturday morning, Steve appears and says goodbye before he takes off for the weekend.

“I hope you finish your next chapter, Kali. I’m looking forward to reading it when I get back Monday.”

“I will.” Now that I’ll be left alone to my own devices. But that’s a good thing. I’ve been making some progress on my novel—a coming-of-age story set at a private school. Hey, I figure I should take advantage of the material at hand.

What I should do is start my outreach to NHL teams and retirees. But honestly, I know I need to talk to Nash before I use his name. Also, I need to find out what’s bothering him.

But the next week, I barely see Nash. He’s still ghosting us at dinner and keeping to himself, and I can’t hide the disappointment from myself anymore. I feel a need to reconnect with him to close the loop between us. So we can be friends, of course, nothing more.

There, I admit it. Is that so terrible? My heart answers with a twisting ache, but the longing in my soul wins out. There’s no way I’m going to let him continue to ghost me. If for no other reason, we need to work together on this mission, right?

* * *

It’s Friday,and the hockey season begins with the first pre-season game to be played in the newly refurbished arena. I walk by and look at the big tarp covering the sign over the entrance doors. It appeared yesterday, supposedly for an unveiling after tonight’s game. Archie says when it falls, the clock officially starts ticking on our deadline to raise money.

In school, I look for Nash all day, but he’s elusive, either holed up in his office or at the rink. He has no Friday classes because it’s always a game day, according to the team’s schedule—which is posted everywhere, along with giant posters of every player on the team.

I’ll take partial credit for that since my cheering squad put up most of them. I walk by a giant poster of Dylan in the most prominent position in the lobby on my way, following the delicious scent of muffins. Mia was in charge of Dylan’s poster, and I couldn’t help noticing the way they’ve been looking at each other all week. They’re so sweet together it makes me smile.

The bell dismissing students rings, and mayhem breaks out, kids shooting from every direction, mostly heading out the front doors, but a lot of them stop at the bake sale tables set up in front of the Nash Lewis statue and trophy case. Seeing the life-size statue gives me a pinch of annoyance every time I see it.