Spiral by Jacqueline Levine

on the inside. I won’t let on to it, but I like that she’d give this kind of attention to my little sister. Maybe Cherie’s not such a spoiled brat.
    “Okay, I’ll be right back,” she says over her shoulder. I follow her out of the room like a shadow. She slows until we are in step, side by side with each other.
    “Sorry that I was in your room,” she says, looking up at me. “I hope it’s okay.”
    I shake my head. “It’s fine.” I don’t know why, but I didn’t care at all. I realize now that I should have; Cherie Belle was in my room. On my bed. Just hanging out. It seemed harmless enough, but what if she wasn’t playing with Britney the whole time? What if she looked through my things? What if she went in my nightstand? My cheeks still haven’t stopped burning, and now they’re getting hotter.
    “I saw all of your football trophies,” she adds with a small, teasing smile. “What position do you play? Quarterback? Kicker?”
    I look over at her in disbelief. “You know football?”
    She bites her lower lip and glances down in shame. “No, I don’t; just those words. And touchdown.”
    It’s my turn to laugh at her. “Oh. Well, I play tight end, which is an offensive position.” She scrunches her nose. “Uh – I come out when we are on offense. That means my team has the ball. I can catch and run with the ball, or I can block people during the play.”
    “Oh. Well, you must be very good. You have a lot of trophies,” she remarks as we descend the stairs.
    I hope she isn’t looking at me as I shrug again and say, “Nah, they give those out to everybody every year. It’s just like good sportsmanship and stuff.”
    She is looking up at me. “I saw one that said captain on it.”
    My jaw clenches. “JV. Just for a month or two. But I was on varsity this fall, so maybe I’ll be captain next year.”
    “Why just a month or two?” she asks. I don’t know why she’s so curious about this. I feel like I’m being interviewed, but I’m not sure for what.
    I’m slow to respond, especially as we enter the crowded living room together. But Cherie turns her eyes to me as if I’m the only person in the world and she’s totally invested in whatever I’m saying. It puts me under a sort of spell, and I feel obligated to answer.
    So I tell her the abridged version. “They made me captain of the JV team last year, mid-season. I didn’t start freshman year with all of the other guys, so the coach didn’t know what to expect from me.”
    “I guess he liked what he saw then.” I nod dumbly, my eyes transfixed on her pouting, shimmery lips. “Did you just start to play football last year?”
    What does any of this have to do with anything?
I think to myself. “No, I used to play a lot as a kid. I just wasn’t able to play for a little while, so I started late in high school.”
    Her head cocks to the side. “Why?”
    I shrug, and the response is automatic. “I couldn’t. I had to take care of Britney and Brenton.”
Aha
! As the words leave my tongue, I finally realize why she’s pressing me so much about my football history. Her conversation with Claudia comes burrowing through my thoughts and breaks me from the trance. As if I really could believe that this girl had any sincere interest in my football woes!
    I gesture to the rabbi, who is still chewing my mother’s ear off. “I think they need you now.”
    A hint of a smirk plays on her lips, as if she senses she has been caught red-handed but still feels victorious in her mission. She nods at me and floats over to my mother’s side. I turn and march back up the stairs to tell Britney she’s going to take this patty cake game down to the basement from now on.

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    DIRTERAZZI.COM
    AND CHERIE'S GUARDIANS ARE…
    James and Eva Goldman, you’ve just won an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood! You’re only obligation? Raise America’s sweetheart and keep her from spiraling out of control like every other child star who has faced