Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(15)
Despite Abby’s following premonition of Katherine’s gruesome death by Mallory’s hands, however, she didn’t see the blonde – not even during a shared class, British Literature – until cheerleading practice. To her surprise, Mallory steadfastly ignored her in the locker room and throughout most of the practice.
Unfortunately, that didn’t stop her friends – and in particular Heather and Jacqueline – from making awful faces at her and constantly elbowing her and tripping her when the coach wasn’t looking. Not even her newfound grace could help her and she lost track of how many times she fell during practice.
She was finally given a reprieve around six when Coach Benson blew her whistle, signaling the end of practice. She was sitting on the floor next to Abby, stretching her legs and arms with the rest of the squad, when the coach made the announcement.
“I’ve tallied the votes for team captain that all you girls cast last Friday,” she informed them, as she clasped her hands together excitedly.
Katherine saw Mallory straighten up from where she was sitting across from her and squashed the urge to roll her eyes. Everyone on the squad, including the blonde herself, knew Mallory was a shoo-in for the position.
“And the captain of the cougar cheerleaders this year, as voted by their peers is,” Couch Benson paused, trying and failing – at least in Katherine’s opinion – to create a sense of anticipation. “Mallory Flanders!”
Katherine clapped politely with the rest of the girls as the blonde’s name was announced, though certainly not as enthusiastically as Mallory’s sidekicks.
“And Katherine Mayes!” the coach declared abruptly, catching everyone by surprise. “It was a tie! Looks like this year, we have co-captains!”
Abby squealed and slapped her on the back excitedly, but Katherine was ignorant of her friend’s reaction and the other congratulations she received. She only had eyes for Mallory, who’s previously pleased expression was quickly turning sour.
Katherine didn’t understand it.
Why did so many of the squad vote for her to be captain? She wasn’t even that good at… Oh.
She had been doing really well in practice this past week – she was more nimble and agile than she'd ever been before.
She felt the sudden urge to scream. Great. Just great. Another reason for Mallory to hate her.
Suddenly, Abby’s premonition of her death wasn’t looking all that unlikely. She hoped Mallory didn’t have any sharp objects handy – like a pair of tweezers or nail clippers in the purse she liked to haul around.
“I’ll need both you girls to stay after practice so we can discuss some of your responsibilities as co-captains.”
Coach Benson’s instructions jerked Katherine out of her morbid thoughts. She glanced at the clock and just barely suppressed a groan. It was already twenty minutes past six. If the coach was as long winded as she normally was, there was no way she’d be able to shower and make it back to her house before Brad arrived for supper.
Half an hour later, she and Mallory were finally dismissed. Katherine forced herself to keep her shower brief – a mere five minutes – before she quickly dried her hair with one of the coarse towels the school provided and made her way to her locker to change into a fresh set of clothes. Mallory, too, was finished showering, and the atmosphere was tense as they both dressed, the only two left in the locker room.
“Going to be late for your little date with Brad, aren’t you?” Mallory questioned coldly, breaking the silence.
Katherine debated if she should even bother responding before deciding she could probably save herself some trouble by telling the girl the truth. “Mallory-”
“Forget it,” the blonde briskly interrupted. “I give up. You win, Katherine.”
Katherine was truly perplexed. The blonde sounded tired, an almost defeated quality in her voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t act innocent. You know,” Mallory accused. “You have Brad. You have captain. You have everything I want. So congratulations. You win. You’ve managed to completely ruin my life.”
“I don’t-”
“Save it,” Mallory snapped, before slamming her locker and storming out of the room, leaving Katherine in the empty space. Something resembling guilt began to form in the pit of her stomach. She scolded herself as soon as she identified the feeling. Mallory had always been horrible to her and she had absolutely no reason to feel bad for the girl.
She pushed the feeling away.
Just like she had to so many of the other negative feelings she’d been experiencing lately.
Katherine caught a glance of the clock on her way out of the gym and clenched her teeth in frustration when she saw the time. It was already past seven. All she could do was hope that Brad’s football practice had run late and that he hadn’t shown up at her house yet. She wasn’t optimistic, however, when she didn’t see his car in the near-empty student parking lot.
She forced herself to drive a little faster than she usually would have on the way home and hurriedly parked her car in the garage when she saw Brad’s Ford pick-up sitting in front of her house. She entered the house through the door connected to the garage.
“Mom? Dad? Brad?” she called as she haphazardly shucked off her shoes.
She didn’t receive a response, but didn’t think much of it as her attention was immediately caught by the awful smell permeating the air. She followed the odor down the carpeted hallway and into the kitchen where she immediately spotted the large pot of stew on the stovetop. She quickly turned off the burner it was sitting on and lifted the pot’s lid, only for her nose to be further assaulted by the horrid burnt smell.