Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(8)
Abby begrudgingly conceded the point. “I guess.”
“Besides,” Katherine continued, smiling amusedly at her friend, “the look on Brad’s face when I refused him was totally worth it.”
Abby let out a surprised bark of laughter at that and shook her head incredulously. “Only you would think something like that.”
The rest of the school day passed basically uneventfully for Katherine. She still received some odd looks, no doubt due to the circulating rumors, but Brad didn’t approach her again. And she had even managed to successfully keep the mystery of the shoe still sitting in her locker banished from her mind. Katherine would go as far as to say that her afternoon had been positively dull until the final school bell of the day rang and cheerleading try-outs began.
She picked up on the negative energy as soon as she entered the locker room to change into her work-out clothes.
Mallory, Jacqueline, and Heather, who were whispering conspiringly to each other in one corner of the room, immediately stopped when they spotted her. Katherine could feel the blonde’s glare directed at her as she quickly tugged on her shorts and loose-fitting t-shirt. Abby, who had entered the locker room with Katherine, was looking nervously between the two girls. Katherine could only assume that someone had told Mallory about Brad inviting her to sit with him at lunch and that’s what had the girl so aggravated.
Mallory’s anger became more and more obvious throughout the try-outs. She had to have purposefully bumped into Katherine half a dozen times while they were being taught routines to memorize, and she was fairly certain her toes were bruised from being stomped on. The blonde had even completely knocked her off her feet once, immediately offering a falsely sweet apology after doing so, more for Couch Benson’s sake than anything else.
Just as Katherine had expected would happen, everyone made the squad and the coach let them go after announcing that voting for team captain would take place at the end of the week.
It was only after try-outs were over that Mallory finally confronted her.
Katherine was one of the last girls left in the locker room, having opted to wait to use one of the more private stalled showers rather than the large communal one. She had just tugged on her shirt and was about to pull her gym bag out of her locker when the metal contraption was slammed shut. Startled, Katherine turned around only to come face to face with the furious Mallory.
“I always knew you were pathetic Katherine, but I didn’t think you’d stoop so low as to go after someone else’s boyfriend.”
Katherine sighed. She just knew something like this was coming. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mallory.”
Mallory twisted her face into a mocking smile. “Really?” she questioned sarcastically. “Cause Heather told me you were talking to Brad today before lunch.”
“So?”
The blonde looked positively indignant. “So? So what makes you think you’re allowed to try to seduce my boyfriend?”
“I’m not trying to seduce anyone’s boyfriend!” Katherine immediately retorted, starting to get a little offended.
“Then why were you talking to him?” the blonde demanded, not looking like she believed the brunette for a moment.
“He was talking to me. He invited me to sit with him at lunch! And he said you two broke up, so don’t start in on me about going after your boyfriend.”
Mallory’s face paled at that, her angry expression deflating a little. Her infuriated snarl was quickly back in place, however, and she looked twice as livid. “Don’t think that just because he’s talked to you means he’s interested,” she bit out cruelly. “Why would he want someone like you, a pathetic little nobody, when he could have someone like me?”
Katherine’s shoulders slumped a little at the hurtful comment despite the voice in her head telling her that the blonde was just lashing out at her due to her own insecurity. “Look, Mallory-”
“No, you look,” the blonde rudely interrupted. “If I find out you talk to, or even look at Brad again, you’ll regret it. Keep your grubby paws to yourself.” With that warning given, Mallory stomped furiously out of the locker room.
Katherine sighed. Why did Mallory have to be so dramatic? She tried to shake off the confrontation, choosing instead to concentrate solely on packing up her gym bag.
It wasn’t until Katherine left the locker room and began walking back toward her hallway locker to grab her homework that she finally allowed her mind to return to the shoe. She had almost been able to forget about it what with all the Brad and Mallory drama.
Almost.
Making the quick trip to her locker after try-outs was forcing her to once again confront that particular issue, however.
After packing her books and homework into her book bag, she finally forced herself to take a real good look at the shoe. The sneaker, which had been white not more than three days ago, was now a dingy-looking grey and covered with filth.
Cautiously picking up the shoe, Katherine could see that the tongue was in tatters and that the sole of the shoe and its red laces were missing.
Katherine startled and almost dropped the grimy sneaker when she saw what appeared to be a crumpled piece of paper shoved deep into the toe of the shoe.
What in the world?
Taking a moment to remind herself to breathe, Katherine immediately recognized the feeling rapidly growing in her gut. It was the same feeling that had plagued her three nights ago at the old, abandoned house on Miller Road and again this morning when she had first seen the shoe.