I cleared my throat. “Nigel, I’m going to need a minute.”
“Of course.” He stepped into the corner of the room and juststared at me.
“In private, Nigel.”
“Of course, Mr. Caldwell. I’ll be right outside the door whenyou need me. Don’t worry about calling for me. I’ll be back in exactly in oneminute.” He bowed and left me alone.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. Yes, my bed.I guess I lived with Tanner now. And Nigel. That was a lot to take in. And Ishould have been thinking about that and the secret mission tonight with thehitwoman. But for some reason my mind was fixated on Kennedy. And the way she’dsmiled when she chucked her slipper at my face. And the way she laughed. And theway she didn’t judge me when I cried.
I put my face in my hands. I shouldn’t have been thinkingabout her at all. So why couldn’t I get her out of my head?
I heard the door open and knew Nigel was staring at me. But Ididn’t even care. It was better than him staring at me while I was naked again.
Chapter 29
Wednesday
Jefferson fell over as he kicked the ball, somehow sendingthe ball behind him. He was closer to getting it through the other goal post thanhis own. How the hell was he getting worse? I’d tried everything. I’d studiedvideos and read tips and tried to figure out if it was some kind of mentalblock. But I was seriously out of ideas.
Jefferson was a terrible kicker.
I ran my hand down my face with a sigh. Jefferson might godown as the worst kicker in the history of Empire High. And no one wanted thattitle. But how could I fix it if nothing worked?
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. There was atext from Tanner: “Ready and in place.”
I texted him back. “Where are you exactly?”
“At 7 o’clock.”
I looked down at my watch and another text came through.
“Not the time. The direction. At 7 o’clock means behind you.”
I laughed and turned around but didn’t see him.
Another text: “Sorry, more like 4 o’clock.”
I turned my head but only saw a homeless man sitting on thebleachers. The homeless man proceeded to stand up and wave frantically at me.
I squinted at him. Yeah, the guy in the frumpy clothes wasTanner alright. With a big fake mustache. I couldn’t help but laugh. Itreminded me of all the times Rob had tried to convince me that Tanner was greatat disguises. That he walked around the city in fancy suits and a man bun. IfTanner’s current ensemble and the fuzzy caterpillar sitting on his upper lipwas any indicator, he was freaking awful at disguises.
Tanner texted me again: “So we’re both set. Only one loosethread. Where is stupid Robert?”
Super clever burn. “I told him to be here a littlebefore practice ended. He’ll be here soon.”
“Practice ends in 20 min. Cutting it close if you ask me. He hasno respect for top secret missions.”
I shook my head and turned back to practice. Maybe Jeffersonwas still struggling because I couldn’t ever focus anymore. At the beginning ofthe season, I had been daydreaming about Penny all the time. Then I startedworrying about Poppy and Mr. Pruitt. And now I was thinking about Kennedy allday. Which made no sense, because I was probably 20 minutes away from beingkilled by a hitwoman. Kennedy should have been the last person on my mind. Sheshould have always been the last person on my mind in that way. Butseeing her again had been a breath of fresh air.
“Just kick the ball!” Smith yelled at Jefferson. “It’s notthat hard.” Smith grabbed the football off the ground, placed it in the dirt,and then proceeded to kick a perfect field goal.
Fuck. I blew my whistle. “Sprints. Now.”
Smith turned to me. “But Coach…”
I blew my whistle again. I didn’t want to hear what smartremark he had. The last thing Jefferson needed right now was to feel evenworse. Couldn’t Smith see that? “Everyone. Now.”
The whole team groaned. But they started to run back andforth on the field, because they knew if they didn’t, I’d just demand they dosomething even worse.
“What did the team do to deserve that?” Rob asked as he joinedme on the sidelines.
“Roughing the kicker.” More or less.
Rob laughed. “That scrawny little guy? What the heck is heeven doing on the team?”
I looked at Rob. Honestly, I had no idea what Jefferson wasdoing on the team. I had been trying to make his time at Empire High easier,but all I was doing was making it worse. All of that was suddenly in the backof my mind though because Rob was also dressed like a homeless guy.
“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked.
“A disguise.”
“I didn’t tell you to dress up.”
“Right. But it’s a top secret mission. Which always requiredisguises.” He scrutinized my sweatpants and Empire High t-shirt. “I guess wechose the same disguise.”
Why did everyone keep making fun of my coaching outfit? “I’mnot dressed like a homeless guy.”
“Whatever you say.” He patted my back. “So what’s the plan? Isthe hitwoman even here?”
“I haven’t seen her yet.”
“I guess I should go hide somewhere? Oh yeah, here’s thecamera.” He pulled the camera out of a small case in his pocket. “Don’t break it.”
“I won’t. But um…how does it work?”
Rob laughed and peeled it out of the case. Yes, peeled itout, like a sticker. It was clear and he stuck it next to the Eagle emblem onmy t-shirt. It was completely undetectable. I even knew where it was and I couldhardly see it.
“I need your phone,” he said.
I handed it to him.
He pressed a few buttons and then handed it to me. “It’s alllinked up now. The video feed is already rolling and it’s getting uploaded directlyto your phone.”
“That’s amazing.” I looked at my phone and could see what thecamera was recording.
“It is pretty crazy. So where should I hide? I was going tohide in the stands, but I don’t want to be next to that homeless guy.”
“That’s Tanner.”
Rob squinted.
