Free The New Kid by Temple Mathews

of them in the gym. But who was it? He kept looking at the eyes, always the eyes.
    “Stand up, it’s time to shout, come on fans, yell it out! Say it proud, Go Mustangs, Go Mustangs, Go Mustangs!”
    Sharon and her cohorts were in fine form, working the crowd up, getting everyone into the spirit, though truth be told, most of the boys in the stands were not thinking about the upcoming football season but praying for some miracle wardrobe malfunction. Natalie’s eyes ping-ponged back and forth between Sharon and Will, noticing how Sharon was openly locked in on Will as she bounced and shook her green and gold pom-poms in a syncopated rhythm. Then Sharon leapt forward and as she shook her hips she did a solo yell.

    “Salt makes you thirsty, pepper makes you sneeze, but when it comes to football we make you buckle at the knees! Go Mustangs!”
    She high-kicked her way closer to Will and then tossed off her pom-poms, backed up, and with a running start executed a magnificent handspring front flip, landing breathless and flushed right in front of Will. The spectacular gymnastics move brought the most ardent fans in the “Pony Power section” to their feet, screeching. But Duncan wasn’t cheering. His eyes were dark and he stared at Will and Sharon as though they were terrorists. If looks could kill.
    Moments later in the hallway Will walked along with Rudy.
    “I hear Coach Kellog’s looking for a new running back. What about you? Can you run?” asked Rudy as he joked around and handed off an apple into Will’s stomach like a football. Will just kept walking.
    “Well then, maybe you can throw. Hit me, I’m going long!”
    Will smiled and waited a few beats, took a bite of the apple, then tossed it down the hall.
    Rudy made a juggling, overly dramatic catch. “He scores!”
    “Trust me, the jerk’s not going to score.”
    Will heard the familiar voice and turned around to see Duncan right in his face. His breath smelled acrid and his eyes were bloodshot.
    “Keep your creepy eyes off my girlfriend,” he snarled.
    Will didn’t want to deal with this right now, but he was also sick of guys like Duncan. Every school had way too many of them and they needed to be put in their place. He knew he should keep his mouth shut but somehow he just couldn’t. He figured Duncan couldn’t be one of them because that would just be too easy. Still, He often went for the cruelest alpha males, luring them with power and glory, so anything was possible.
    Will baited Duncan even before he knew he was doing it. “Your girlfriend was in the gym? Gee, somebody must have left the barn door open.”

    Rudy howled like that was the funniest thing said in the history of mankind and even Duncan’s acolytes couldn’t help but burp out some muffled chuckles.
    “I’m talking about Sharon Mitchell, the head cheerleader. The most beautiful and bootylicious girl in the whole school, dipwad. I saw you gawking at her. Knock it off, she’s mine.”
    “Funny, I didn’t see your name tag on her,” said Will.
    Duncan’s fuse had been lit a long time ago—probably at birth, thought Will—and this set him off. He grabbed Will by the collar and slammed him into a locker, hard. Will closed his eyes and breathed, thinking of the surface of a pond, the skin of the water so calm it was like glass. The trick worked and he remained relaxed and unfazed. Duncan’s nostrils flared like a stallion and he yelled in Will’s face.
    “She’s wearing my pin! We’re going steady!”
    “Not anymore.”
    Sharon’s voice rang out soft and sweet. Rudy thought it sounded like liquid candy and he let out a low whistle as Sharon removed Duncan’s two-year football pin and handed it to him. Farther down the hallway Natalie was watching Sharon put on her little show for Will’s benefit. Natalie told herself she didn’t care and stalked off, but only got ten feet before turning back around and taking it all in. The truth was she did care, and she watched in