NERVOUS! stick goldstein

CHAPTER EIGHT, no scientific bias whatsoever - part two

Winnie currently sat in the kitchen next to Brooke at the island while Ashley stood by them. Brooke picks up the head scratcher and uses it. "This thing really can't be that good." She closes her eyes and sighs in content. "Why would anyone do anything else?' Winnie laughed a bit, smiling at her with amusement.  

"Tad never gives himself credit for anything." Ashley said. "It's infuriating. Last week, he got a B+ on a history test, and he gave me all the credit for it."

"What's wrong with that?" Brooke asked, setting down the head scratcher. 

"I tutored him in math." Ashley pointed out, grabbing the popcorn that was done out of the microwave and walked back over to her friends.

Winnie nods. "Okay, yeah, that's a problem." 

"I just want Tad to believe in himself." Ashley frowns, opening the bag of popcorn and pouring it in a bowl for her and her friends. "He's successful because of his talent and hard work, not because of some stupid sweatband. But the only way to show him that would be to duplicate, and then swap out the headband without Tad's knowledge."

Winnie takes a handful of the popcorn and eats some. "How would we even do that?"

"And what if it makes them lose?" Brooke worriedly adds. "I mean, we need to win every game to get to the playoffs."

"Switching the headband will have no effect." Ashley reassures her friends. "No study in the world has ever proven that magic is real."

Brooke laughs. "I know a David Blaine special that would beg to differ."

"A TV special is not technically a scientific study." Ashley tells her and Brooke tilts her head to the side, staring at her with confusion. "You see..." She pauses, realizing that Brooke or Winnie wouldn't understand what she says so then she smiles and says, "We'll circle back. Right now we need a plan."

Silence filled the air for a few moments before Brooke speaks up. "Got it." She smiles. "We go to the game, sneak on to the field, swipe Tad's headband off his head, then without him or any of the four hundred fans or your uncle noticing, we sneak the fake headband back on Tad's head."

"Why do we need to sneak onto the field when Winnie will already be there?" Ashley asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I would say good point, but I always have to be ready to play in case Coach wants me to." Winnie replied and Ashley nodded in realization.

"Can we actually pull that off?" Ashley inquired, glancing at Brooke.

"Oh, who knows?" Brooke smiles excitedly. "This is so exciting."

****

The next day Ashley sets her backpack on the kitchen island, holding up a headband with a smile. "See what I got here."

"Tad's headband." Brooke notices and her eyes widen. "You kidnapped Bandy?"

"Nope. This is Bandy Two." Ashley grinned.

"Wow." Winnie said with surprise. "It looks identical to Tad's headband."

"I took a brand-new sweatband and matched it to this picture." Ashley gets her phone out and shows a picture of Tad's headband to her friends. "Soaked it in tea overnight." She laughed.

"Ooh!" Brooke grins. "I like bad Ashley." She glances at the headband. "It looks right...But, well, what about the smell?"

"Yeah," Winnie sighs. "He could probably easily tell it's not his headband without the smell."

"Got that covered." Ashley points at her friends. "Pungent body odor is caused by a chemical compound called trimethylamine which is also found in many household foods," She walks over to the fridge with a smile. "Eggs, milk, beans, and most famously..." She pointed at her friends, gesturing for them to finish her sentence.