“Yeah,” King says, like I should know this. “Devlin’s sister.”
“What?” I ask, reeling with shock. Devlin has asister?It doesn’t make sense. I’ve never once seen her coming or going from Devlin’s house, and I watch it more than I’d like to admit. Not to mention she blends into the crowd so well she’s practically invisible. That’s not something I expect of a Darling. I thought I’d blend in, but I couldn’t do that for a single day at this school, and no one even knew me yet. She’s from a family everyone puts on a pedestal, but I’ve never heard anyone so much as say her name at school. And she drives a Prius, for fuck’s sake. How is this Grampa Darling’s favorite?
But that’s not what bothers me. What bothers me is the stupidest reason of all. Devlin never mentioned a sister.
Get it together, bitch, I tell myself sternly. I can’t go getting all gooey over Devlin. I have a plan. A plan to destroy him. I have to remember that I hate him, that this is all for show. And why the fuck would Devlin tell me about his sister? It’s not like we’re dating.
And even when we are, when he’s kissing my feet, I won’t care about his sister. I’ll only care that he loves me enough that I can break him and his family once and for all. I won’t care that she might be a casualty in this war.
All is fair.
“She’s nothing special,” King says, bringing me out of my spinning thoughts. “Not like you.”
“I saw her outside their house,” I say. “I thought she was the help.”
King laughs. “I hear she’s the academic type. She’s hot, though. Better than his mom.”
“Are you really going to do that?” I ask, looking up at my brother as we continue down the hall.
He shrugs. “You gotta do what you gotta do. I don’t mind cougars.”
“Yeah, but…”
We arrive at the gym before I can articulate how I feel about that situation. King pushes open the door for me, then steps in and heads for an office off the side of the gym. A coach I’ve seen around campus stands and comes to meet us halfway across the gym. King reminds me to find him at practice when I’m done, then excuses himself after shaking hands with Coach Snow. When he’s gone, Coach turns to me. She’s short and muscular, skin tanned and tattooed below the rolled sleeves of her black polo shirt. Her short blonde hair is combed in a swoop back from her forehead, and she can’t be much older than most of the students here.
“Thanks for stopping by,” she says, motioning for me to follow her to her office. “I’m on my way out to my girls’ practice, but I just wanted to catch you before you left for the day.”
“Thanks?”
“As you probably know, I lost four of my girls mid-season, and I hear through the gossipvine you might be interested in a position on the squad.” Coach sits down and kicks off her tennis shoes, reaching for a pair of canvas flats.
I’m sure she got a call from Daddy. I seriously doubt the Darlings are going to let me on the cheer team if they got Lacey and the other disgraced Dolls kicked off, but at least I can tell him I tried.
“Okay,” I say slowly.
“I looked you up, and I’m impressed,” Coach Snow goes on. “Your last school’s squad was really something, and you’re clearly talented. You interested in trying out?”
She straightens from her shoes and tosses the flop of bangs off her forehead, propping her hand on one knee and looking at me expectantly as she waits for me to accept her offer. Her voice is all business and her eyes are shrewd. I have no doubt she’ll be a tough coach—the best kind.
“Yes,” I say, shaking my ponytail over my shoulder to hang down my back and squaring my shoulders. “I’ll have an original routine choreographed by next Friday.”
“That’s not necessary,” Coach says, standing and gathering up a pile of pompoms and dropping them into a crate as she talks. Her sleeve slides up, revealing a pride tattoo that confirms what I already suspected.
“I don’t mind,” I say. “I want to try out and earn my spot, just like anyone else on the team. I don’t want anyone to think you’re giving me special treatment.”
Coach Snow snorts and stands up, tucking the crate of pompoms under her arm. “Is that how things worked at your last school?”
“I just don’t want the other girls to resent me,” I say. “We’re already taking their friends’ spots. It’s not going to make for a very cohesive squad if they hate us.”
She quirks an eyebrow. “Us?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say. “I have two friends who will be trying out with me.”
She rubs her temple, and for a minute, I think she’ll say no. I’m not going to cry about it if she does, but I don’t want to be on the squad with a bunch of bitches who hate me. If I climb, I’m bringing my friends up with me.
“Okay,” she says, lifting her head and nodding. “Next Friday.”
She starts to turn toward the door, but I stop her. “Wait,” I say. “Are you… From around here?”