"Discipline," Conner said.
"Exactly. Discipline and confidence. Plus, I've been working on my technique. So, I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Miguel rubbed the back of Levi's neck. "You'll do great."
"Pissed me off," Adam said. "Overrated? Me? I trained my butt off to be the player that I am."
Trevor sighed heavily with the shake of his head. "Bro, you said you weren't going to let it get to you."
"Yeah. No. I mean, I'm trying not to, but it's annoying, man."
"Newman Hornets won," Nate said, "and Curtis couldn't handle the sting. So he had to be a dick to make himself feel better."
Trevor emitted a booming, "Yep, yep."
The school's star quarterback, Zach Willis, appeared and slipped off his letterman's jacket. He sat, forcing Adam and everyone else to shift over on the booth. "What's up, bitches?"
Jasmine eyed Zach with a slightly amused expression. "You're the bitch, you bitch."
Once the laughter subsided, Zach said, "My grandparents know the priest who performed the exorcism on Jared."
Conner whipped his head to the side. "Shut the hell up, Zach!"
"I'm being serious," Zach replied in a tone that contradicted his usual happy-go-lucky personality. "I heard you go off on Eric Hughes at school. I thought you'd wanna know the truth."
"But you don't know the truth."
"My grandparents wouldn't lie. Seriously? About an exorcism on Jared?"
"Why would they even tell you that story?"
"Yeah," Trevor chimed in. "Let's talk about the devil, Zach." Then he laughed.
"Look," Zach said, "I'm telling you because people are talking and eventually everyone's gonna know the story. Don't you wanna know what really happened to him?"
Trevor sighed. "Practically everyone's talking about it anyway. It doesn't mean it's true."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't mean that it's not."
Adam groaned. "This is ridiculous. How long are we gonna have to listen to this crap?"
"We have to ask his parents," Conner said.
"Then what?" Trevor asked. "If they don't talk, then we're stuck with a bunch of rumors until something more interesting comes along to gossip about."
"Let's just ask," Adam said. "His parents. The priest. Whatever. Not much else we can do."
"I seriously doubt his parents or the priest will tell us anything. But maybe we . . ." Trevor paused and bit his lip. "Never mind."
"What?" Conner asked.
"We could check out the house."
Jasmine flinched.
Hailey's eyes widened.
"Seriously?" Miguel asked.
Shocked by Trevor's suggestion, Conner rounded the booth and sat next to Adam, who looked just as surprised. "Wait. Are you being serious?"
Trevor shrugged. "Maybe we should."
"Curiosity killed the cat," Nate muttered.
"No one invited you," Trevor responded. "It's up to me, Adam, and Conner. But if anyone wants to go, then say so."
"You are serious," Conner said.
Zach jumped to his feet. "Holy shit!"
"Keep your damn mouth shut," Trevor warned. "Sit down."
Seated again, Zach scanned each face. "You're really going?"
Elbows on the table, Conner cradled his head. "If we go, what do you think we'll find at the house?"
"I don't know," Trevor replied. "But maybe it'll be enough for people to stop spreading rumors."
"We could just say we went," Adam said.
Trevor gestured to Zach. "Not with this ass sitting here. If we don't really go, he'll tell everyone that we lied."
"I will not!" Zach shouted.
"We should make him go too," Adam said.
"Hell no," Zach replied. "I don't wanna go. It's your idea."
"You scared?" Trevor asked.
"No."
"You can back up our story."
"What about Nate and Miguel?" Zach asked. "And everyone else sitting here. They can back you up without me."
As everyone debated and argued in hushed tones, Conner replayed the creepy scenes that Trevor and Adam had shared with him. Then he thought of Jared in the boys' restroom at school. He cringed at the echo of Jared's anguished voice. Why are you doing this to me?
Then he said, "Fine. Let's just do it and get it over with."
Hailey gripped his shoulder. "Conner. Really?"
"Yeah." He asked Adam and Trevor, "So, are we really going to do this or not?"
For a drawn-out moment, no one spoke, then Trevor said, "Yeah. It's just a house. And we probably won't find anything interesting. Then everyone can shut up about Jared."
Conner draped his arm around Adam's neck and leaned back. "All right. Let's go check out the house."
FIVE
Outside the Smiths' house, the atmosphere inside the car was gloomy. Trevor, Adam, and Hailey sat silently, staring at the house in trepidation as though they expected a monster to come barreling out the front door. Trevor hadn't even turned off the engine yet.
A streetlight cast the house in a bluish-silvery hue. The orb's light reflected in each window like the cloudy pupil of an eye seemingly watching their every move.
Conner glanced out the back window at Miguel's black BMW as it parked. He turned toward the front seat, brushing Hailey's arm because she was practically nestled against him. As she placed her hand on his, he asked, "Now what?"
Trevor cut the engine and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to text Miguel. I want to make sure they're still game."
"What's in the house that's going to tell us Jared was possessed by a demon?"
"I don't know," Trevor replied with a shrug. "We're pretty sure they moved. Kayla said they did. So, I think if they hightailed it outta there, then they probably just left all their furniture and stuff. I mean, that would be a sign, right?"
Conner had a difficult time believing an unoccupied house might provide insight into an alleged demonic possession. "No clue."
"What are we going to do?" Hailey asked. "Look in the windows? It looks like the curtains are still up."
"Jared's key," Adam said. "The one he hid in the backyard."
"Wouldn't his parents have taken it?" she asked.
"No," Conner replied. "He hid his own extra one out there."
"If we're going inside, we should pray first."
Trevor's phone chimed a notification. "All right. I guess everyone's still on board." He chuckled. "Miguel said Zach's freaked out."
Hailey slipped her phone from her purse. "Me too. A little. And that's why I think we should pray. Just in
