Being The New Girl

22: Mon Chérie

"Next up is a fun one. Everyone knows how the game red light, green light works, correct? Well, now there's a twist. Your team will stand in a line, side by side, and your goal will be to pass the bucket from person to person while abiding by the general rules of the game. The only rule is this: you cannot use your hands. The bucket falls, it goes back to the beginning of the line.

"That's it. It's simple," Mrs. Reyes concludes. "Teams, please collect your buckets and get in your lines and we'll begin."

I end up between Luke and Gabe towards the end of the line, with Leo being the final team member on the other side of Luke. After a moment of hesitation, I tap Leo's shoulder.

"What?"

"I was just thinking you should start off the line."

His brows furrow. "Me? Why?"

"I believe in you. Plus, do you really trust Sara to be the first in line?" I add in the part about Sara, knowing it will convince him if nothing else will.

It works; his expression hardens. "You're right. I don't." And with that, he's gone.

Luke laughs from behind me. "Don't trust Sara? It's more like we don't trust the the bucket to make its way down the line only for him to drop it."

I smile up at him cheekily. "Exactly."

"Alright, everyone, watch the scoreboard." Up on the scoreboard where it usually shows up close and personal shots of the football games is a digital stoplight, currently flashing red. "Get in your ready positions. Ready, set, go."

The light flashes green, and the chaos begins in every line but ours. Leo panics and goes for the pink bucket with his hands, causing Mrs. Reyes to blow a whistle and call him out. Everyone shouts different things at him but my voice rises above them all.

"Use your elbows!"

He complies, slamming them both around the bucket and lifting it from the chair before passing it quickly to an impatient Sara. She also takes it with her elbows and is in the process of passing it to the guy next to her when I notice the light flash red.

"Red light!" I shout, and she freezes. The guy in Team Purple isn't so lucky and drops it to the ground after trying to balance it on his knee, causing everyone in his line to groan as it is passed back to the beginning. A few seconds later and the light turns to green.

The bucket continues through our line with little trouble despite two more red lights before it reaches Gabe. So far, everyone has been using their elbows—hey, I'm not complaining, it works—but Gabe being Gabe has to duck down and stick his head up in there.
He angles the bucket in my general direction, probably assuming I'm going to take it with my elbows like everyone else. But no. Of course not. Since I'm still barefoot, I push my foot up in there and wiggle my toes in his face. He shouts out in protest, jerking his head back and taking the bucket and me with it.

I lose my balance, but just before I hit the ground, two arms grab me from behind. I smile my thanks up at Luke, but before I can right myself, the light flashes red.

"Don't move," I hiss at Gabe, my eyes following the teacher watching our line with narrowed eyes as he stills.

This light seems to last longer than the rest, what with one foot barely being supported on either side by the bucket and Gabe's face and with the only thing keeping the rest of me from hitting the ground being Luke. His fingers tighten on my arms the longer the light stays red, and I try to lean my weight on his leg under my back, where I'm most likely to keep from falling.

Finally, the screen flashes green. "You're free, Gabe," I say, and that's all it takes before he's out of the bucket faster than I can blink. Luke pushes me back to standing and I hop, turning my leg to face him with each pivot. He takes the safe route and uses his elbows, taking the bucket and placing it down on the chair. He hits the bell next to it to signal that we're done.