Ladies' Choice (re-uploading SOON)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sitting on my bed, I had my hands full with making the decorations I promised to help Penelope with. Bits of red construction paper surrounded me, a visual representation of my mental state. Penelope wanted paper hearts to be hanging from the ceiling like floating valentine day cards, but the high school government had their hands full already and I never agreed to something faster in my life. Even the club's advisor thanked me for my help. Another vote in my favor for MVP, I hoped. Between this, the soccer team having one of our best seasons to date, having the second highest GPA in the year (damn you Daniella James), and having enough friends to fill a party bus, they had to give me the award.

This MVP would finally be a reward for all my blood, sweat, and manic episodes. Acclaim at my fingertips, I will cut a million of these cheesy paper hearts if I could hear my name be called.

Elena and Skipper were on my laptop screen sitting at the edge of my bed while they cut up their own fake valentines to help the cause. We all watched the same Youtube tutorials and after falling down the rabbit hole of five-minute craft videos that somehow landed us on fidget toy reviews to us giving up, we compromised and listened to music instead. Skipper was the DJ and most of the bands she played I had never heard of and were almost all explicit.

I appreciate the noise.

The talking and music blocked out my annoying thoughts.

Staring at me, Daniella's letter sat on my desk. I was actively trying to not look at it, like it was a ghostly jump scare in a D-rated movie I could see coming, but still frightened me.

"I don't know why you're so worried about getting MVP," Skipper said, pouring an uncomfortable amount of glitter on her valentines. Imagining even a little glitter on my floor, scattered and hidden, made my skin itch. Glitter and cockroaches were the only things that could survive nuclear war.

She said, "You are the poster child of MVP."

"That's just not true," I said, thinking about Jess.

Jess was the MVP and as fast and as hard as I was trying to catch up with her, I could feel myself lagging behind. While I tried to shine, my light always snuffed out, and I had to panic and replace lightbulb after lightbulb. Jess was the sun. She was always shining somewhere. Wherever she was now.

"Let's change subjects," I begged. "Have you chosen what book you're going to do your essay on in AP Lit? I'm gonna use Don Quixote."

Skipper made a face. "Let's change subjects."

"Are you excited about your date with Mona?" Elena asked.

Daniella's letter in the corner of my eye laughed. I ignored it and smiled like a perfectly sane human. "Yeah, I'm glad we had this figured this date out before this dumb bet with Daniella started. Oh, my god—" I sat up, scootching closer to the camera and using my pair of scissors as inflection "—so like this morning—it was so ridiculous, Daniella bet she could finish her half of the 'Acts of Service' challenge before the first bell."

"Why didn't we reschedule that, by the way?" Skipper asked, forgoing her valentine making duties. "I wanted to watch that."

"Oh, uh, she said I could have the win."

"Anyway," I started back up, feeling out of breath for some reason. "I thought she was nuts, but like I always think, she's crazy."

"Why did she let you win?" Elena chimed in this time. "That doesn't sound like Daniella."

"Um..." I sat up a little, sitting the scissor aside and feeling the heat emanating from Daniella's letter. "Remember when we went for pizza, and I left? I said I was going to the school, but I didn't."