Chapter 6: Friday at Five

The student lounge at five o'clock on a Friday was the most crowded room on campus.

Everyone was waiting for the season opener, and everyone had a coffee.

Zara had taken the big leather couch by the window.

She had three friends with her, and a girl from the tech help desk who kept glancing at her phone like she wanted to leave.

When I walked in with Rhett's hand around mine, the whole couch turned.

"There she is," Zara said. "My favorite girlfriend."

"Stepsister," I said. "Your boyfriend's stepsister."

"Of course." She patted the cushion. "Sit. Let's talk about authors."

I didn't sit.

Rhett's thumb pressed once into the back of my hand, steady as a metronome.

"The site wouldn't give us an email," the help desk girl said quickly, not looking at me.

"Only a log. The account was made on the campus network last August, from Lantry Hall."

"That's my dorm," I said.

"That's a lot of people's dorm," Hallie said, appearing from nowhere with her camera strap swinging.

Zara smiled wider.

"Lantry Hall is a hundred and ten girls," she said. "I'm sure we'll narrow it down."

"Or you could ask."

"Ask what?"

"Me."

I set my laptop on the coffee table and opened it.

My heart was going so fast I thought the screen would shake.

On it was the new chapter, titled and ready, the cursor blinking in the corner of the page.

I had posted it at 4:55, and the read counter was already climbing.

"I'm PenaltyBoxPoet," I said.

The couch went silent.

A girl in the back said, "Oh my God," very softly.

"You," Zara said.

"Me. I've been writing it since last summer. It's about the team, because I sit on the bench for every game and I notice things."

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