Drink, Slay, Love

Chapter Fourteen

After school, Pearl poked her head into the gym. She saw a collection of girls stretching on the floor. A couple of them she recognized from classes or the cafeteria (like the thin girl with pink-lemonade-coloured hair), but most she didn't, which was perfect—she needed a fresh batch of humans. Maybe now she'd have better luck with securing the king's dinner.

Everyone recognized her instantly, of course. As soon as they noticed that she wore gym clothes (with sneakers, this time), the whispers started. She ignored them and walked across the gym to the coach.

Coach Enlow smiled like a shark. "Pearl! Delighted you could join us. This"—she waved her hands at the girls—"is my varsity track team. Everyone, this is Pearl. She'll be trying out for us today."

The whispers intensified.

The coach clapped her hands. "Okay, we're going to start with an easy run around the field. Everyone, out the door! Pearl, show me what you've got, but don't tap yourself out. I already know you can sprint. We'll be heading off-road shortly to see how you do on long distance."

Pearl joined the pack. She stuck to the middle at first. Around her, the girls chattered about their day: quizzes, boys, and the upcoming prom. One of them had picked out her dress already, and the others demanded details, which led to a discussion of how many sequins were too many and a consensus that no girl should risk being mistaken for a disco ball.

Listening, Pearl studied the hierarchy of the girls around her. There was the opinionated one (at the center of the pack) and the quieter ones (on the edges). The witty ones flanked the centre girl, while the focused runners took the lead. Their physical positions mirrored the conversation dynamics. Pearl debated which kind of girl would be the best prey.

"All right, ladies," the coach shouted. "Let's take it off campus!" Jogging, she led the way through a break in the fence (rather than over it, as Pearl had done the day before). They crossed the parking lot in a pack. "Three miles today, ladies! Stay together, and don't let the cars smash you."

They jogged across a crosswalk that someone had overenthusiastically marked with yellow X's bright enough to be seen from an airplane, and then they spread out over an uneven sidewalk. Their run involved multiple streets in the wooded section of Greenbridge, aka the dull half of town.

On the second mile Pearl spotted the unicorn.

He was a white shadow that flitted between the pine trees. At first the flashes of white were so fast that she thought she was seeing reflections from the cars that zoomed past them. But then she saw the horn, sparkling in the sun.

A second later it was gone.

Searching for another glimpse of the unicorn, she didn't realize she was pulling into the lead. She'd meant to stay in the middle of the main pack, perhaps start up a conversation and become one of the girls.

"Nice stride," the girl in the front said.

Pearl kept her eyes on the woods, watching for more flashes of silvery white. "Thanks."

"You holding back?" the girl asked.

She heard the challenge in the girl's voice, and she looked away from the woods to fix her eyes on the girl. She was taller than Pearl, mostly legs, and she ran like a loping gazelle. Her coffee-colored skin had a sheen of sweat on it, but she talked as evenly as if they'd been walking. "Clearly," Pearl said. "You?"

"Obviously," the girl said.

Side by side, they reached the stop sign at the end of the street. Over her shoulder, the girl called, "Coach? Can me and the Goth chick stretch our legs?"