Page 21 of Penalty Shots

Troublemaker.

I turn to glare at him and he’s not looking at me. He’s facing forward, a hand over his mouth like he’s trying to hide a grin.

“Nope,” I shake my head. “I amnotdoing it.”

“Oh, come on, Ri!” Jenny insists. “It’s not going to kill you to try it.”

I look at her. “Are you serious? That’s exactly what can happen.”

Keelan comes up on my other side, whispering in my ear. “Just pretend it’s your mom.” He grins, and I slowly shake my head at the suggestion.

He’ssobad.

I look at Jenny who passes me the stick. I snatch it out of her hand reluctantly, sighing, “Fine. But I’m only doing this once.”

“You say that now,” Keelan insists. "Suit up,” Keelan calls out to the other side, where Ryker nods and begins slipping into the sumo suit.

“It’s way too hot for this,” I complain, waiting for him.

“You’re going to love it in there,” Jenny says, nearly squealing. “Make sure you get pictures,” she tells one of her cheer friends.

“Don’t you dare take pictures,” I say, pointing to the girl already getting her camera ready.

“Oh–ok,” the girl hesitates.

“Take the pictures,” Keelan whispers to her behind me.

To be fair, I won’t be recognizable in said pictures. Ryker and I are wearing identical suits except for the color of the… whatever the diaper thong thing is called. He steps up onto the ledge. And I do the same on the opposite end.

When Spring break kicks off at ASC, the student council organizes random activities around campus to get us in the spirit. This particular activity is called “Beat the Stress.”

Two people wearing sumo wrestling suits try to knock each other off the ledge and into a pool of jello. Lots of jello. So much jello, in fact, that I start to wonder if there’ll be a national jello shortage after this.

Also–who made all this jello? It must’ve taken weeks.

“On your marks,” Keelan says over a megaphone. I snap into focus. Ryker stretches his neck and bounces up and down, the suit looking much smaller on him than it does on me.

“Pretend it’s mom. Just pretend I’m fighting Elena Lopez,” I whisper to myself.

“Go!”

Ryker charges toward me, but I’m faster, running so quickly that I take him by surprise. He halts halfway. I use the momentum from my run to knock him with the giant pugil. He stumbles back but doesn’t fall.

Freakin’ giant.

I hit him again—this time with even more force.

“Jesus, Rina,” he says, struggling in front of me.

I keep hitting him over and over again. He’s blocking my shots—the thing he does best, considering he’s ASC’s starting goaltender.

But I keep at him. Relentless. Convinced, she needs to go down—my mom—not Ryker. Ryker’s just her unfortunate placeholder at the moment.

I catch his ankle with the pugil, and he slips, falling backward into the pool of jello suddenly covered in the red, soppy mess.

“Yes!” Keelan and Jenny are both screaming on the sidelines.

Oh my god. I did it. I actually beat her–him–I beathim.