Page 4 of The Handoff

Chapter 2

Lisa

Afterwespentall night practicing, we were finally happy with our routine, which was more than could be said about our roommates. They’d spent most of the night banging on the walls, telling us to keep the noise down. We would have if we weren’t so high on energy.

“I’m too tired to even try out now.” I sighed as I thought about the number of backflips I’d tried to do in the small space and struggled the last time. I nearly injured myself as I became so obsessed with it all. I wondered if I was doing it for myself or Dane. That was silly since I didn’t even know the guy. I needed to get on the team more than anything. Fiona’s reaction made me realize that not getting into the squad wasn’t an option.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

I smiled at Tanya. “Before Dad lost all his money, I’d been part of the cheerleader team.”

She walked up to me. “The purse is real, right?”

I nodded, knowing I had to tell her something, even if it was another lie.

She sighed. “I thought so. Why lie about it? Why try to tell the queen of fake that your purse is fake. I know a true fake.”

Her eyes lit up, as if my honesty had taken her aback. I was going to tell her another lie to cover up why I was lying.

“Because, I feel pathetic. One minute I’m this rich bitch and showing off—the same way Fiona did—and now, I’m the girl who has no money and wants to be nice because I have nothing.”

“I see.”

I shook my head as I exaggerated the lie. “I wasn’t nice. Not at all. I was rich and had every kid at my feet and every guy wanted to be with me. Then, when my dad invested all his money in a scam and lost it all, I felt humiliated. We were poor, the very thing I used to tease others about. I was such an idiot.”

I sighed, thinking about my life before, and seeing Fiona and the way she behaved brought it all home.

“The bank came to foreclose on the house. I knew they were coming, so you know what I did?” Trying to figure out what to say next, I turned my back to her, knowing that if I looked her in the face, I would stop lying and tell her the truth.

“I got to the house before the bank arrived and stuffed my purses in my rucksack, along with whatever else I could stuff in my bag. I knew I couldn’t take a suitcase; they would have confiscated that. I knew I couldn’t take my jewelry; they would have figured that out. But my backpack was my safe place.”

“How did you get the boxes out too?”

I giggled like a naughty schoolgirl as I remembered what I did, the only part of the story that wasn’t a lie.

“Those were at my nan’s house. I often had my purses delivered there because she was always home. I didn’t want them delivered home because I didn’t want my parents to know how much I spent on them. Sure, they got the credit card bill and knew I spent loads, but they never looked at the details. I knew if too many packages got delivered to the house, then they would pay attention. I was a rich, spoiled bitch back then; I was not a nice person.”

She turned me around and said, “No one’s perfect, everyone has a past. I hope the Flints did not scam your dad.”

“Who?” I said automatically, and I worried she could hear the fear in my voice. She was talking about Dad, and I had to pretend I didn’t know who he was.

She shook her head. “Oh yeah, couldn’t be. Your dad wasn’t a veteran, right?” She pointed, and I felt as if all the blood from my face drained out as I shook my head.

“Yeah, I don’t blame the wife… well, we don’t know. Mom says that she must have known what was going on. I mean, her husband had been scamming veterans for years. She must have known something was wrong… Here I am, talking about the past, but it still makes me mad. Remember, I told you that most of my family are veterans, and we all had to come together when this guy scammed our family, like a lot of veterans, out of their pension. They risked their lives for this country, and they know that if they suffer from PTSD or an injury, they’re not covered. He promised they would be covered for life, which is why so many fell for it. It was a con. Shit, sorry, Lisa. Look, let’s get out of here. We’re feeling emotional cause we’re both tired.”

I nodded, feeling stupid about what I’d said to Tanya earlier. My dad had taken their money, too. Her family’s money was probably used to pay for the purse. Shit!

If she ever found out, then not only would Fiona be after my guts, but Tanya would, too. And I wouldn’t blame her. I’d told her a lie, which would probably make her hate me even more. I had to fix this. Maybe one day I would confess. After tryouts, for sure.

“Let’s go to the store and get some Coke before tryouts. That way we’re alert and not half-dead and emotional like we are now.”

I nodded in agreement. Every time I tried to speak, it was as if a frog had jumped into my throat. The guilt of what my dad did and purchasing this purse, which could be Tanya’s family money, was making me feel guilty about talking about the past in the first place.

I dismissed the thought, thinking I couldn’t change what happened.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here. We’re both feeling sad at the moment, and we need a smile on our faces to make the team.”

“Oh yes, we do!” Tanya said as she shut the door behind us. I had to concentrate on getting on the team and having something else to do besides studying and work. I needed to feel like me again, and this was my ticket to that feeling. I had to stop being negative and think of UCLA as a fresh start.

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