Unfortunately, she was also half my size, with bony
shoulders and a flat chest. I, on the other hand, had inherited
my curves from my Italian father, rather than my Chinese
and Irish mother, and there was no way I was going to fit into
anything Alice gave me to wear.
“It's stretch fabric,” Alice said in an attempt at
helpfulness as I wiggled my ample Italian inches into the
unforgiving Polyester. I blushed as I caught sight of myself
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KAILIN GOW
in the mirror. The clothes weren't unflattering, thank
goodness, but if anything I had the opposite problem.
They were tight. Very, very tight.
I cursed my choice to wear a black bra that morning.
“I feel like I'm wearing a bikini,” I muttered to Alice
as I reluctantly allowed her to lead me back to the gym.
Raised by my mother to be a sensible girl and to use my
brains rather than my looks, I never dressed to make it a focal
point. As soon as I walked into the room, all eyes were upon
me, and I could hear some of the boys snicker to their friends
as they ogled every curve on my frame.
“Wow,” someone said in the back.
“So hot,” another male voice said.
“Prettiest girl on Aeros,” another said.
“What a goddess,” another said.
From the back of the room, someone said, “Damn,
she should be in that swimsuit magazine, Sports
something…”
At least you're getting positive attention, I thought,
looking intently down at the ground to avoid the stares.
Fresh meat, indeed.
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
“Okay, Alice,” said Coach Matthews, pointing to the
mat, where an enormous boy with sideburns was sitting
cross-legged, waiting for the match to begin. “You're next.”
I gaped with surprise. Tiny, rabbit-like Alice
certainly was no match for this boy – ten of her wouldn't be
enough to so much as knock him over.
“But we have an odd number now,” said Alice.
“Tim's already gone once.”
“Right, then,” said Coach Matthews. “Mac, you go!”
“Me? No! I don't know how to...” I faltered. Alice
seemed so gentle, so nice. The last thing I wanted to do was
hurt this fragile, sweet girl.
“Just give it a grapple,” said Coach Matthews.
“Sweet!” One of the boys cried. “We get to see the
chicks fight!”
“Yeah!” his friend chimed in. “Shame we haven't got
any mud.”
“Pigs!” The harsh, clear voice of the blue-haired girl
rang through the gym. “How about you two get all hot and
sweaty together, and then I can pour a vat of dirt on you. Fun,
huh?”
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KAILIN GOW
Embarrassed, the two boys fell silent, and the blue-
haired girl scowled as she hugged her knees to her chest.
Alice stared me down, her wide hazel eyes looking
ever more like a rabbit's.
“Okay, girls,” Coach Matthews evidently was
choosing to ignore the interrupted. “Time to square away.
One, two...”
Before he could say three, Alice had sprung upon me,
knocking me flat on my back.
“What the...” I sat up, seeing stars. Alice had seemed
to come out of nowhere.
“Don't be too eager, Alice!” Coach Matthews chided
her. “Wait till I say three – how many times have I told you
that?”
“Sorry,” said Alice sheepishly. “I didn't mean to –
sorry, Mackenzy.”
“Another go,” insisted Coach Matthews. “One, two,
three!”
This time Alice waited for the “three,” but it didn't do
me much good. While I was able to grapple with Alice for
all of five seconds, she expertly managed to flip me over and
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
pin me on the ground, her spindly arms evidently far more
muscular than she looked. I gasped. Alice wasn't only strong
for her size – she was super-strong, keeping me pinned to the
mat so heavily that I couldn't even squirm from her grasp. I
felt that Tim, for all his seeming strength, had probably been
relieved to cede his beating to me.
“We have a winner,” declared Coach Matthews, and
Alice sprang to her feet, letting me up. I clambered to my
feet, my muscles aching.
But Alice was evidently unaware of her strength. She
stuck out a friendly hand for me to shake. “That was really
good for a first try,” she said. “Especially if you've never
wrestled before.”
“Thanks for humoring me,” I gave her a smile. “But
you beat me fair and square.”
“You're new,” Alice said brightly. “You'll beat me
next time, once you learn some more technique.”
But as Alice darted off to speak to Coach Matthews,
who was beckoning her aside, I got the distinct impression
that I wouldn't be pinning Alice to the mat anytime soon.
Well, that was at least one potential friend, I thought,
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feeling vaguely better. But what about the blue-haired girl?
I felt some measure of gratitude for her for sticking up for
me against the boys, and wanted – if not to thank her – then
at least to meet her properly. But as I looked around the gym,
I found that she and her electric-blue tresses were nowhere
to be seen.
“Looking for Misty?” I whirled around to find
Chance standing before me. There was something in the soft,
proprietorial way he said the name that made me jealous, in
spite of myself. If I wasn't good enough for Chance to be
friends with, I felt reflexively, it wasn't fair that any girl
should be.
“What, did your father force you to dance with her,
too?” I
