Jennifer walked away from her exchange with Dawn badly shaken. She knew Dawn wasn’t alone in her sentiments; the glares both she and Suki had received
earlier were proof enough of that. If anything, she had become more detested than Suki – while the Japanese girl couldn’t help being “little slant-eyed Sucky”,
Jennifer had voluntarily taken her side; or so it seemed.
Walking back from practice, Jennifer brooded on her options. She knew the ‘dare’ part of the curse was real, which meant the ‘transform’ part had to be as well.
She had to help Suki join the squad, and apparently couldn’t stop herself even now… resolve flared in her mind. As the victim of the curse, she could now use it
herself.
“Dawn.” She muttered under her breath. How would she like having to humiliate herself in public, or being turned into a slimy lizard? That would more than get
even for her backstabbing… somehow, it escaped Jennifer that she’d have acted the same way if their positions were reversed. But even getting rid of Dawn left
others who’d take her place. No, it had to be Suki. Jennifer smiled. As a new girl in town, she wouldn’t even know about the curse…
As if on cue, she spotted Suki waiting outside school. She waved a greeting, and walked over.
“I wanted to say thank you, Jennifer. I am so grateful you have given me this chance.”
Jennifer wanted to lash out, but found herself stumbling over the words again. After taking a second to form her thoughts, she managed a response.
”It won’t be easy, Suki. The girls are going to take a while getting used to you. You’re… new.”
“I know, but I will not let you down. But anyway, I wanted to ask if there is anything I can to to thank you?”
Inwardly, Jennifer wanted to scream, to tell this interloper that she’d never be good enough for their team, that she should just go away if she wanted to help. Well,
there was nothing else for it.
“Suki… there is one thing. We have this game we play around here, just to find out what people really want. It’s called ‘transform or dare’…”