Shut Out(70)

Behind them, off in the distance, I also spotted Randy. It still hurt to see him, to remember the way he’d broken my trust, but not as much as it had a couple weeks ago. And that hurt wasn’t nearly enough to dim my excitement and pride tonight.

I turned to face Chloe. “Do you think we’re about ready?” I asked.

“I hope so,” Chloe said. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get out of here and have my wicked way with Shane.” She glanced over my shoulder and winked at him.

“Chloe, do you like him?” I asked.

“Who? Shane?” She shrugged. “As a friend. I’m not in love with him or anything, but… It’s kind of like, we both know what we want. Neither of us wants a relationship, and we’re both cool with that. I like that he doesn’t make me feel like a tramp just because I don’t want to have his babies one day.”

I laughed. “Fair enough.”

Chloe didn’t have all the answers, either. I knew that now. But she had known something all along that I hadn’t: that being ashamed of what you want or how you feel is pointless, and letting anyone else make you feel ashamed is a waste. We all wanted different things, and that was okay. Chloe wanted sex without commitment. Mary wanted to wait until she was ready. And I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I didn’t want to make any decisions until I knew. And I was proud of that.

“Everyone’s here,” Cash said, coming over to stand next to me. “Are you ready?”

“Very.”

I looked at Chloe, who nodded and whistled loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “Listen up!” she called. “The less you talk, the sooner we can get this over with and you can all go home and do whatever it is you plan on doing—and I’m sure most of you have some interesting plans.” She grinned and a few of the boys cheered.

I could see several girls rolling their eyes, even in the steadily lowering light of the sun.

“All right,” I said, taking over from Chloe. “So, as you know, the girls all took an oath when the strike started. We figured the only way to really finish this was if the boys did the same oath, ending the rivalry. Does, um, anyone have something you all can take the oath on?”

“I do,” Adam said. He was carrying a backpack, I noticed, and he swung it to the ground. “Just a second.” He dug through the bag’s contents for a minute before producing a magazine. He held it up, and once again the guys cheered while the girls groaned.

“Sports Illustrated?” I said to Adam. “Really?”

“Hey,” he said. “Ellen told me you guys took a vow on Cosmo, and that’s about sex. So it’s only right that we swear on Sports Illustrated, since this is a sports rivalry.”

“But was the swimsuit edition really necessary?” Ellen asked him.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Yes, it was.”

Chloe burst out laughing.

“Fine,” I said, walking over and taking the magazine from Adam. “This will work, I guess. Okay, everyone stand in a circle, please. This will just make it easier.”

They moved obediently, and I felt like the ringleader of a circus.

“All right. So here’s how it’s going to work. I’m going to say the oath and then pass the magazine to one of you guys. All you have to do is say, ‘I do,’ and then pass it on to the next person until it makes it all the way around the circle. Sound good?”

A few of the boys nodded. Others just shrugged. Cash gave me a reassuring smile.

“Adam,” I said, walking over to him. “It’s your magazine, so why don’t you go first?”

“Gladly.”

“Okay.” I cleared my throat, suddenly wishing I’d actually written down an oath for the boys to make instead of just winging it at the last moment. But I was trying to be more spontaneous, learning to let go a little. This was a baby step. “Um… all right. Do you hereby swear that the ten-year rivalry between the football and soccer teams of Hamilton High will end here and now, that you will, uh, no longer participate in the hazing, pranks, or fights associated with the rivalry, and that you will, at the very least, be civil to the members of the other team so that this rivalry dies once and for all?”

Adam took the magazine from me and laid his hand right over the model’s chest. “I do,” he said, grinning.

Then he passed the magazine on.

I watched as each boy agreed to the oath—many of them smiling at their girlfriends and not even glancing at the nearly naked swimsuit model on the cover of the magazine. I could feel Randy’s eyes on me when his turn came, but I wouldn’t look in his direction.

“I do,” he said.

And it continued.

“I do.”

“I do.”

“I, uh, do.”

Cash was the last person in the circle to get the magazine. He grinned at me as he agreed to the oath, and I grinned back. This wouldn’t have happened without him, and I knew it. He’d done so much, been so helpful, even when I wasn’t aware. Even when I kept trying to hate him.

“And I’ll keep this,” Adam said, tucking the magazine back into his bag. He straightened up and turned to Ellen. Then, without warning, he took her into his arms, lifted her off the ground, and spun her around.

The sound of her laugh was like music.