The Game

Chapter Two

The slip happened, but the fall never came. Will had managed to reach out and grab me under my elbows before I crashed to the floor. I'm not going to mention the spark of electricity I felt at his hands on my elbows. Hallie would be squealing in glee right about now. She would be talking about how this is right off the pages of those teen romance novels she reads. And I would be rolling my eyes at her, if I wasn't living it out right now.

"Whoa! You okay!" Will said, looking concerned. I sheepishly nodded and blushed. Wait until Hallie hears about this. Figuring his strength wouldn't be able to hold me indefinitely suspended above the floor I tried to slip my feet back under me. I winced. It felt like I had sprained my ankle. Great. That was going to make serving concessions fun tonight.

I heard footsteps running up to us. Great, as if it wasn't bad enough that Will witnessed my humiliation, someone else had too. "Miss! Oh no! Miss, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" It was the school janitor.

"I'm fine, no worries! It's my fault for not seeing the sign that you so clearly have here," I reassured him, pointing out the now very obvious sign. Must focus less on Will and be more aware of your surroundings Leila!

"Are you sure? Do you need the nurse?"

"I'm fine, really. Thank you."

"Okay, be careful," he said. After making sure I was stable, he headed back in the direction of the maintenance room. I'm usually not like this, but he has always given me the creeps. I shuddered.

"Are you really okay? I saw you wince," Will said accusingly.

"Help me out of the water and into the library and I can tell you," I said. He wrapped his arm around me to support my weight and helped me hobble into the library. He steadied me and then let go, stepping back so I could test it out. I took a deep breath and tried a few baby steps. It was tender but not horrible. I smiled at him.

"I think I'll live." He laughed.

"That's good news. Why don't you have a seat and I will get you some coffee," he said. I smiled and nodded.

"Caramel macchiato," I told him. He walked away to the coffee bar area.  I leaned back in my chair. Well, I think I have enough to give Hallie now that she may back off for a while. Will came back carrying a steaming mug of coffee for me and one with a tea bag in it for him. He handed me mine and opened up his notebook.

"Thanks," I said, closing my eyes and breathing in the wonderful aroma of coffee. I glanced up at him and he was smirking. "What?"

"You are addicted," he said. I laughed. He wouldn't hear any denials from me.

"Okay, so how are we going to tell our scene with a modern twist?"

"I have an idea. How about cell phones?"

I gave him a skeptical look as I sipped my coffee. "Cell phones?" He shrugged, not seeming bothered at all by my skepticism.

"Sure. Everyone has one, so of course our pair of star crossed kids would have them. I was thinking we could have them talk in emojis and text speak?" And he was off, laying out a basic plot incorporating his idea. I have to admit, I could see it when he described it. I thought it over for a minute when he was done explaining. He stared, waiting for my answer.

"Okay. Let's do it," I said.

"Excellent! Fair Verona won't know what hit it," he said excitedly. It probably wouldn't hurt that our Romeo had an authentic British accent to go with our skit. I laughed. The bell rang and we gathered our belongings. I stood slowly, testing my ankle, worried that it had stiffened up after sitting for so long.

"How is it?" Will asked, gesturing to my ankle.

"It's a little sore, but it'll be fine," I said.

"Let me grab your books for you," he offered, shoving his own books in his messy backpack.

"Thanks," I said, relieved. I handed them over to him and we walked to my locker. Well, he walked, I limped. I really wanted to bring up Gwen and ask what he meant by it being final this time. He had looked so sad when talking about her before, though. I didn't want to make him sad again.

"So, what are you up to after the game?" Will asked, making small talk as we went to my locker.

"Probably spending the night with Hallie. How about you?"

"Jeremy and some of the guys are having a get together at his house. Video games and stuff. You and Hallie should come check it out if you get bored," he said. Wait, is he asking me out? Ah! What do I say? I want to go, but I've heard the stories about high school parties. Not something I want to be mixed up in.

Will must have noticed my hesitation. "It's a no alcohol get together, by the way. I wouldn't have invited you if it was," he said, bumping my shoulder with his. "I know you don't do that kind of thing.  And his parents are going to be there. Kay will be there too." Wait, he knew I didn't drink? He had noticed me enough to know that. Wait until I tell Hallie!

We rounded the corner to my locker. Looks like I wouldn't be able to surprise Hallie with the news after all. She was waiting at our lockers for me. Her eyes were about to bug out of her head when she saw us. I laughed to myself and Will looked at me curiously. I couldn't let him in on this joke, though.

"Um, yeah. That sounds cool. We might check it out," I said, smiling up at him.

"Cool," he said as we reached my locker. "Hey Hallie. How's it going?"

"Um, good, yeah. How are you?" Apparently I wasn't the only one with an incoherency problem around Will.

"Doing good, thanks." I opened my locker and took my books from him. "I better get to class. I can't get another tardy or I'll get detention," he said.

"Thanks for all your help today. And for the coffee," I said. I smiled to myself as I imagined Hallie's jaw hitting the floor.

"No problem. Hope to see ya later at Jeremy's. Otherwise, we'll go the whole weekend and Monday without seeing each other," he said with a wink. That's right. Monday was Halloween. We didn't normally get out of school for it, but they were letting us out this time for parent-teacher conferences. Will walked away toward his class and I couldn't keep the smile from my face.. As I turned back toward Hallie, I noticed Gwen standing in the connecting hallway. She was glaring daggers at me. If looks could kill, I'd be a goner. I quickly looked away and back toward Hallie.

"What was that?" she explained, smacking my shoulder in disbelief.

"Ow," I complained. "Not here," I whispered. I gestured over my shoulder with my head toward where Gwen had been standing. She must have still been standing there at her locker because Hallie didn't press further.

"In lunch then. Hurry up, I still need to run by my locker" she said, pulling on my arm. I laughed.

"Okay, okay," I said. I grabbed my lunchbox. As I did, a red envelope fell out of my locker on the floor. My name was written in block lettering across the front.

"Ooh, what's this?" Hallie said. She grabbed it off the floor before I could get it. "A love note from your new secret admirer?"

"Give that back!" I said, swiping for it. She took a step back and opened it.

"Huh," she said, looking confused.

"What? What does it say?" I held my hand out for it and she handed it over. Inside was a small square of paper. On one side was a graphic of a haunted house with a jack-o-lantern glowing on the porch. On the other side was a message.

You are cordially invited to a Halloween party, of sorts. Spend one night in the Monroe Mansion and win $20,000. Tell no one. Are you in?