Four of Clubs

21

The five of us decided to meet after school on Thursday to discuss a plan for the next day's challenge. It was too complicated to talk about over the phone, and talking at lunch wasn't an option thanks to another group. They somehow managed to sneak into the school at night and glue all the tables and chairs to the floor-- and even the walls. I had to admit it was cool, apart from the fact that it forced everyone to eat lunch in their fourth-period classrooms.

I chose for us to meet at the same coffeehouse as the first challenge-- somewhere not too busy that we couldn't hear our own thoughts, but busy enough that we wouldn't have to worry about being overheard.  The only thing I didn't plan for was the seating arrangement. I slid in the booth next to Daniel, and Ian slid in next to me, putting me right in-between the two guys I'd been trying to avoid.

I hadn't been able to get my mind back on track since the janitor's closet. Between Ian's confession and the fact that I liked his confession, no matter how much I tried to deny it, I was at a loss for what to do. I'd spent the past week feeling like the worst person in the world-- I had a boyfriend. And yet, while I sat between the two guys, I knew it wasn't him that was causing my breathing to speed up and my face to flush. 

Jade and Roy shimmied into the booth across from us as I placed my journal on the table, flipping to a blank page. It was time to focus on the challenge, not on my soap-opera-esque feelings.

"I guess it's obvious why we had to wait so long for a new challenge," Ian began, pausing to take a sip from the cup of hot tea nestled between his hands. "They want us to embarrass ourselves in front of as many people as possible."

"It doesn't have to be too embarrassing," I started to reason. 

"Hell yeah, Mads," Roy interrupted me before I could explain further. He sounded impressed, nodding his head in approval. "Y'know, I've heard this sort of thing can be really liberating."

"I meant whoever does it can wear a mask."

"Oh. Well-- yeah. That works too."

Jade hid a laugh, looking down at her drink, but her smile faded as she raised her head to speak. "Do you guys really think we should do this? The streaker will probably get caught before they even make it halfway down the field-- either by security, Coach Hanks, or a member of the football team."

"And I doubt the punishment will be light," Daniel added. "Administration's gonna want to send a message to the rest of the student body to stop them from competing."

"Well there's only one person streaking, so the rest of us can work to make sure they don't get caught," Ian suggested. "If we prepare well enough, and come up with a plan-"

"Yeah, like how our plan worked so well last time, when Maddie nearly got caught," Daniel countered, turning to Ian. I was stuck right in the middle of their argument, trying to shrink back into the seat as they glared at each other from either side of me. "It's gonna be a lot harder to hide on a lit-up football field, with a bunch of spectators and-"