Sidekicks by Linda Palmer Page A

to wake them when I get there."
    "Okay."
    We kissed again and then got off the bed. I walked him downstairs, where he said his goodbyes, and then stepped out the door.
    He turned to face me. "Are you coming to my game tomorrow night?"
    "Um...I guess I could."
    Cooper chuckled. "Just testing your devotion. It's out of town and it's supposed to rain, so don't bother. I'll tell you all about it on when you come into Chick-fil-A on Saturday."
    "Great." I hoped he didn't pick up on my lack of enthusiasm for a sport he loved. "I'm going to be at Chick-fil-A on Saturday?"
    "If you want to see me, you are. I'm working from three until eleven, so we sure won't be able to do anything after I get off."
    Since I hadn't really thought about the difficulties of dating a guy who played football on Friday nights and worked on Saturday nights, I was pretty bummed.
    "Of course, there's always Sunday if you want to hang with me," he added.
    "Do you want to hang with me ?"
    He grinned. "Baby, you have no idea."
    * * * *
    We had a pep rally at school on Friday just before lunch, something we only did for away games that some students couldn't get to. And though I'd reluctantly attended every one held so far, this one was different because I actually had a player to root for. Since Brynn did, too, we both cheered our hearts out, something new. Oddly enough, I almost felt as if I belonged with the other kids crowded around us.
    Tyler, a fan of most other sports, seemed a little bored with everything, as usual. We secretly decided he needed a girlfriend to liven things up and promised each other we'd be on the lookout for a female senior who liked six-foot-plus guys with a wicked sense of humor, a lot of loyalty, and no sense of romance.
    Once that was over, we all filed into the caf at once, causing a huge traffic jam of human bodies at every entrance. Focused on feeding my growling tummy, I didn't see three girls approaching me until they stood barely a foot away. I'm sure my eyes flew open wide when they blocked my path.
    Though Martinsburg had its share of Goth chicks, I'd never been approached by one, much less three of them. Startled, I backed up a little, which put me in contact with Cooper, rock solid and standing right behind me.
    "Can I do something for you?" I asked when I found my voice.
    The girls, all with ebony hair and too much eyeliner, wore clothes only a double-double-toil-and-trouble sort of gal could love. They smirked at me as the center one spoke. "We don't think you're the real thing."
    And they were? I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing. "Sounds like a personal problem."
    "We hate fakes," said the girl on the left.
    I noticed she had black lipstick on her tooth, which sort of spoiled the look she was going for, but I didn't enlighten her. Any chick who thought lips were naturally that color had to have serious mental problems. "And you're telling me this because...?"
    "You should watch your back," said the girl on the right.
    That did it. I laughed out loud. Cooper, however, went ballistic. "Just in case you weirdoes don't know--" He got right in middle wannabe-witch's face "--this school doesn't tolerate bullying. But that wasn't really bullying, was it? That was a freakin' threat."
    I'd never seen his cheeks so red. Concerned that he might just lose it and start yelling or something, I shot a glance at the teachers watching us and touched his arm. "Cooper, no. They're not wor--"
    "Cooper? Would that be Cooper Marsh ?" The girl on the left glared at us. "Just because your dad is the principal doesn't mean you have the right to harass us."
    Huh? I immediately wedged myself between my guy and the idiots confronting us. "Marsh isn't his dad, and I believe you three started this."
    "Cooper!" Patrick Marsh's cry from our left instantly defused the situation. The cowardly witches scattered, leaving just we two to face our principal's wrath. And was he ever pissed. "My office. Now."
    Meekly, we trailed him all the way