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turned away when she came to Melanie Gordon.
    Melanie was the token outcast. She had drab brown hair that looked like she never washed, a face full of acne, and pungent body odor. She wore the boys’ uniform—gray pants instead of the blue tartan skirt or black dress pants—and an oversized blue polo shirt.
    I only spoke to her a few times during my school years. Despite her poor hygiene, she was nice, albeit a bit strange.
    Melanie watched Geri as she walked away from her with a hint of pain in her eyes. As I pulled out my shirt, I paused to see what she would do. She shuffled into the corner and turned her back on everyone, while the girls nearby sprayed deodorant behind her. I felt a pang of pity for her.
    Geri jumped into my line of vision and whipped off her shirt. “Do you like my new bra?”
    “Geez, Geri!”
    She burst out laughing and pulled on the dark blue sports polo shirt. “Well, I like it. It’s got Playboy bunnies on it!”
    I giggled.
    “So . . .” She leaned in closer to whisper. “Who’s next, huh? I’ve noticed Justin and Brian checkin’ you out.”
    I shoved her shoulder. “Ew! I think I’m done for a while.”
    “Done? Ha!” She tugged her black shorts on under her skirt, then whipped the skirt up over her head. “You will never be done with boys. You like ’em too much.”
    “Maybe it’s time for me to change.”
    She glared at me, then flicked my temple.
    “Ouch!”
    “Who are you and what have you done with the real Cadence?”
    “Geez, Geraldine! Can’t I have some time off?”
    “What the hell, Cadence?”
    I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to fight with her. “There’s just no decent guys around.”
    A wide grin swept across her face. “Okay, yeah, you’re right on that one.”
    We finished changing and headed out to the field, arms linked together. The teacher divided us into teams and, as usual, split up Geri and me. I found myself with Brian. He stood a head taller than me, with a skinny build and light brown hair. Kind of nice looking, but nothing outstanding.
    “Hey, Cay,” he said as I walked across to join the team. “I’m glad I’m on your team, ’cause you’re seriously scary when it comes to playing footy.”
    I flexed my bicep. “I will destroy them with my awesomeness.”
    He raised his eyebrows and laughed. “Hey, that was funny.”
    I paused and realized what I said was way ahead of its time. “Yeah, I’m good at making up crap.”
    He grabbed me in a headlock and I shoved him off. Melanie walked up beside me. Brian cleared his throat and took a step back, but I didn’t move. According to the social code of conduct, I should, but I’d noticed something I never had before. She was quite pretty. She had gray-blue eyes and a hint of a dimple in her cheek.
    A ball smacked me in the face and everyone laughed. I glared at Geri, who bolted.
    We lined up across the field. Geri and I positioned ourselves opposite each other, right in  between some of the most athletic boys in our grade. She roared at me, which brought eye rolls from the boys around us. It was our thing, and I’d missed it. I scratched the ground with my foot and snarled at her. She chuckled evilly and bent over, waiting for the boys to pick the whistle from behind the teacher’s back.
    My team won the kick-off and we walked to the try line. Once in position, Brian did the kick-off. As soon as his foot touched the ball, Geri came screaming at me. I charged right back at her, and somewhere in the middle, we collided. We struggled and wrestled with each other, yanking off our tags, before I finally wrapped my leg around hers and knocked her to the ground.
    The teacher, as usual, yelled at us as I climbed on top of her and held her down. She shoved me. “Just once, can’t you let me win?”
    “No.” I grinned.
    “Cadence!” The line surged up around me and Brian gestured for me to get up. “Are you done? We need a girl who can actually play.”
    “Miss Anderson!”
    I swung