It's Complicated: A Zombie Romance Novel

The Test Part 1

I took Michael's warning to heart and avoided all contact with Gideon. He hadn't even moved from his perch at the bottom of the bleachers. Not that he needed to. All the blondes you could ever hope to date stood inches from him.

If this contest was based on beauty I was already doomed to fail. A sea of sorority-type Barbie dolls were all crowding in. The one thing that was definitely lacking was men. All the people I could see were female; well female-ish. There was one pretty nice looking girl in heels that was sporting an Adam's apple.

I wasn't expecting this many students to be interested in playing a game. There were close to thirty.

"So, what's the draw?" said a random girl from the crowd. Was she reading my mind?

"The prize is like, a million dollars," said Barbie Number Two. I was trying to single out each of the girls talking, but it was hard. All their voices and looks blended into one big pile of blonde.

"Well I heard no one's ever won," said a Barbie wannabe with died black hair. Maybe she was going through a Goth phase, because clearly her roots were blond. "That's why they set up these tryouts. The sponsors this week want someone who can make it past level three or something."

"They flyer also specified that we wear white tee-shirts and shorts," Barbie One said, turning her gaze to me. I must have missed that part of Michael's instructions. I had on jeans and a black printed tee Lee Ann had picked out for me this morning.

"Did he pick the fact that we're all girls?" asked Barbie Number Four. "Well, at least most of us." This comment was directed at Adam's Apple. She just stood there unfazed. At least it took the heat off of me and my black shirt.

"I could so make it past level three." Barbie Two boasted. "What is a level, anyway?"

All the other girls around her rolled their eyes.

"Each level you pass saves your overall score. That's what this guy in trig told me," said a brunette. Boy were these girls playing to their stereotypes.

"So?" Barbie Two replied. She was on the defensive with everyone around her looking at her like she was dumb. Except me, of course. I was just trying to not be noticed.

"So," Brownie, because she was being such a girl scout, continued, "it ups your value for those that catch you. Plus, you get to keep the money of passed levels. And to answer the other question,"she gave Barbie Two a dirty, "it's the girls' turn. The last one was guys. Who ever came up with this thing has the sexes switch off. That way we don't have to compete with boys." That was definitely a sting at Adam's Apple. I felt bad for her, but I wasn't about to stand up in this crowd. I was already on the short list.

"Duh," chimed in Barbie One. Barbie Two looked deflated.

"So what's all this for?" Barbie One waved a hand at the field. There seemed to be two setups. On this end we were all standing around bleachers. Past us was an open field marked with football lines. Typical practice field stuff. I couldn't tell what they were talking about. All the Barbies shook their heads. Neither apparently could they.

"The test?" Barbie Wannabe chimed in.

"Not sure," said Brownie.

"All I know is only freshmen are allowed," Barbie one piped up. "Hot freshmen," she finished. They all turned to stare in my direction. I couldn't decide if it was my lack of hotness or them finding out I wasn't really a freshman. I was going to go with the former. How could they tell I was lying about attending here? I'd be a college freshman somewhere in the fall. The where was on a need-to-know basis.