SSC 2021: The Disguise, Conclusion

[*Lady Lucia*]

Prompt 3: “Too Old to Still . . .”

Yep, gonna shamelessly enter my own contest this year! Since the prompts aren’t mine, it’ll be a fun challenge to come up with a summer story I wouldn’t normally think to write.

Tiny disclaimer -- the ages in this story float around 12-15, as that seems to make the most realistic sense to me for a story like this. Because of that, nothing sexual or too inappropriate will be happening (spoilers, right?), but there may be small moments like girls in that age group changing together. You've been warned. Generally, I stick with 15+ for ENF things, as my other stories have probably made evident.

PROLOGUE

Growing up, Avery Hastings had always loved games.

Capture the Flag and Dodgeball at school, Freeze Tag and Manhunt around the neighborhood, Sharks and Minnows at the pool, and everything in between.

Her small size and speed allowed her to hide well, to dart from place to place, and to easily weave and dodge to avoid being tagged or hit by a ball. Not that she was untouchable, of course, but it certainly gave her a nice advantage more often than not. Avery wasn’t a tomboy by any means, but she was definitely one of the few girls in her neighborhood that didn’t mind getting dirty. While other young girls she knew would enjoy tea parties and art projects, she and one or two other girls would elect to play with all the neighborhood boys instead.

To Avery, being outside was more fun. Playing games was more fun.

Then, everything changed.

Avery didn’t quite know when, but it was somewhere around mid-late middle school. Little by little, interest in the games she had played her whole life faded.

The boys started to binge-play more mature video games; sometimes solo, sometimes co-op. She didn’t mind hanging out with the neighborhood boys while they played, and she even tried her hand at a few, but using a controller always felt awkward and ended up with her dying and them laughing. Not malicious laughter, of course. Avery definitely took her incompetence in stride, and she was always able to laugh at herself along with them. However, it didn’t change the fact that video games never really grew on her, and she quickly became more of an observer than a participant.

The girls she was closest with got more into hanging out at the mall, tanning and gossiping by the pool, and having sleepovers that honestly paled in comparison to the co-ed sleepovers they all used to have. No outdoor games, no mountain of snacks, and rarely any boys. To Avery, the single gender dynamic was a lot less fun. Frankly, watching the boys play video games was preferable to some of the girl talk, but she’d never openly admit that to anyone.

And then, of course, the one co-ed game people DID want to play: Truth or Dare.

Ugh.

It was just the worst. How could anyone think such a game was fun? Since they had all known each other their whole lives, the Truths were hardly worth asking. And the Dares were either silly with some playful embarrassment, or extreme enough that most people would just take a forfeit instead. Rarely a middle ground. Fourteen--fifteen was too young of an age for the more ‘adult’ dares that would no doubt come in the following years.

Avery would force a smile and act like she was having fun until the game was over, but it honestly just felt ‘meh’ to her the entire time. Maybe Truth or Dare would be fun with a group of people that had all just met, like at camp or something, but it just felt pointless with the neighborhood crowd. And yet, somehow, everyone else always wanted to play time and time again.

Which brings us to the summer between Avery’s freshman and sophomore year of high school.

On one not so special day, Avery was taking a nice long walk through the nature lands adjacent to the neighborhood. A handful of her friends were out of town, and the others were all doing their own thing. Rather than stay cooped up inside, she decided to get some much needed fresh air.

Avery hadn’t grown too much since middle school, and her nimble size made her perfect to top pyramids as a JV cheerleader. She would have preferred soccer or softball for the sake of competition, but her closest friends had wanted to be on the cheer squad. Flips and tricks were fun and all, but summer meant a much needed break from school and cheerleading. The perfect time to fall back on her old favorites — exploring nature, climbing trees, and enjoying the warm sun.

And then, on her way home, she saw it. A large group of neighborhood kids playing Manhunt.

She would have recognized the game anywhere. The captured kids grouped in the base that took the form of a mailbox, a few kids guarding that base, and the rest of them out searching for the remaining ones that were still hiding and attempting to make it to the safe zone. It was a bit strange seeing the game happen in broad daylight, as Avery and her friends had always played Manhunt at night when the hunters had flashlights and the hunted could use the cover of night to move from place to place.

From what she could tell, the group was comprised of 12 and 13 year old neighbors. She recognized some as little brothers and sisters of friends, and the others were vaguely familiar simply from neighborhood events and days at the pool.

God, she wanted to join them SO badly. Manhunt was one of her favorite games growing up.

Unfortunately, Avery was in high school. No sane 15 year old would ask a group of middle schoolers to be part of their game. It would be all kinds of weird. Not only would she stick out like a sore thumb, but she’d be mortified if one of her friends stumbled upon the game.

As she gave the group a wide berth, lamenting her lost childhood, the imaginary lightbulb over Avery’s head appeared. It was absolutely crazy. Crazy and impulsive and absolutely absurd, but Avery suddenly found herself running back towards her house nonetheless. Maybe she could join them after all, if she still had the courage to follow it through by the time she made it back home.

It was a bold idea.

But if anyone could pull it off, Avery could.

[Executionus]

Great intro into the mind of the character! Her desperation for a return to purpose is quite clear.

Although I'm over here reading about "no sane 15-year-old" would play games with 12-year-olds and I'm just remembering that this sort of thing was most of my childhood. I always end up surrounding myself with people younger than I am, and I always did, going back to the single digit ages. I have literally one single friend remaining that's my age. Even modern me in my 30s has played tag with some random local neighborhood younger kids (and smoked their tiny-arm-having selves).

[SDS]

Oooh great start and I love that your using my idea.

Sounds like it's going to be a wonderful story! Exacly what I envisined when I wrote the prompt!

SDS xx

[*Lady Lucia*]

PART ONE

“Oh come on! Where is it??”

Avery found herself tearing through box after box in her parents’ storage room, searching for the needle in the haystack. Why couldn’t they just write full words?! It would be so much easier that way. Instead, each box was labeled with one or two capital letters, sometimes followed by a number. An organizational system of which Avery wasn’t privy to, leading her to blindly open one after another in attempt to find what she needed.

Finally!

Nearly twenty boxes in, she found the stash of old clothes. “Gotcha!” Avery smiled, pilfering through the cardboard box more thoroughly than she had done with the other ones. She needed to be quick. The group outside could move somewhere else for a different activity or dissipate at any moment, and then she would have gone through all this for nothing.

Grabbing a few possible options, Avery raced from the basement up to her bedroom. She’d deal with the mess of boxes later, before her parents got home. In a flash, her clothes were removed and thrown into a messy pile in the corner. But, just before donning the disguise of sorts, Avery caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror in just her undergarments.

Bra. Right.

At fifteen years old, Avery would have loved to have seen more than the barely existent curves she had developed. She was just shy of 5'1" and her hard bra cups honestly gave her more shape than the small A cups underneath. Sure, that’s about how big she was a year or two ago as well, but the point of dressing up was to look as different as possible.

Ever the impulsive girl, she unclasped her bra and tossed it aside as unceremoniously as the rest of her former outfit. In its place, she put on a sports bra that basically rendered her flat save for two little mounds. Avery wasn’t self conscious about them, as it was the kind of bra that she wore for cheerleading anyway. Still, the decision to intentionally hide her breasts in such a way made her blush a little bit, even in the privacy of her own room.

Next, the outfit. Faded jean shorts that were a little frayed at the ends, and a bubblegum pink shirt with a small butterfly printed in the middle of the chest. Clothes she hadn’t worn since she was twelve or so.

For once, Avery was grateful her parents kept so much random stuff. They weren’t hoarders, but the storage room in the basement always made Avery roll her eyes. Keeping old clothes rather than donating them, in case some visiting cousin needed them or something. Keeping old costume pieces, because ‘you never know.’ The boxes dedicated to each holiday at least made sense, as they got annual use, but the rest of the old toys, trinkets, and wardrobe pieces felt like a waste of space. Well, Avery saw things from her parents’ perspective now, though the ‘just in case’ reason was a little outside a pragmatic use for her old clothes.

She did a quick once-over in the mirror, frowning a bit at her own reflection. ‘Not good enough,’ Avery thought to herself. She still looked too much like herself, even in old, immature clothes.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed some hair ties and hastily braided her hair into pigtails. Then, just for good measure, removed her contacts and put on glasses in their place. Avery hated glasses. Not because of the aesthetic, but because keeping them in place while being active was practically impossible. Still, the girl that looked back at her was a lot more convincing than before. Short, flat, and styled just like a cliché tween girl.

To anyone else, such a transformation might be a little embarrassing. But, despite being an up and coming cheerleader, Avery didn’t fit the stereotype of being shallow or vain. To her, this was actually kind of cool. She looked so different with braids and glasses, and maybe, just maybe, they’d buy it.

Just to really sell it, Avery grabbed an old pair of white and pink sneakers from the back of her closet. And, not wasting another second, she ran back outside and towards the game.

They were still there!

As Avery approached, she realized that coming from the direction of her own house might be too much of a giveaway. Instead, she made that same wide arc as she did on the way home, deciding to ‘accidentally’ stumble upon the game from the other side of the neighborhood. Knowing how to stay undetected, even when wearing pink, Avery appeared in the street a few minutes later and began casually walking towards the group.

‘Oh my God, what am I doing?!’ Avery’s pulse increased a little bit with every step, and her inner voice was screaming at herself to turn around and abandon this crazy idea. But her feet wouldn’t listen. This was her favorite game! So what if it was with a group of kids she didn’t know? Manhunt was still Manhunt, even if it wasn’t with her usual group that had aged out of it.

And then she was past the point of no return.

A blonde girl began running towards her, until one of the guys by the mailbox called after her. “Em, wait! She’s not playing. Keep guarding the base!”

Obviously. No one would casually walk up to the base in Manhunt, as the game was all about sneaking and staying hidden before either running after being found or purposely making a break for it at the last possible second. It’s why Avery approached how she did, to not confuse anyone. She was just a girl passing by, and then coming to check things out.

“Actually . . .” Avery said. She went so far as to make her voice a little lighter than usual, meeting the girl’s eyes. Something told her she’d have better luck with a fellow girl than with a boy. “. . . do you have room for one more?”

[*Lady Lucia*]

PART TWO

Please buy it. Please buy it.

Avery internally crossed her fingers. Part of her prayers were simply due to her desire to play the long abandoned game, but there was also the fact that half the tweens involved were younger siblings of some of her own friends. In her haste, Avery hadn’t thought about the inherent risk involved. How being recognized would potentially mean her high school friends hearing about this.

“Yes! Oh my God, yes,” the blonde girl smiled. She was an inch taller than Avery, which was definitely a bonus at the moment, “Save me from all these boys.” With no hesitation at all, she grabbed Avery’s hand and marched her over to the mailbox. “Mark, she’s on our team.”

It worked. Holy shit, it worked!

Or did it? The girl (Em?) only met Avery’s question with enthusiasm, so she could have just been excited for any girl to be joining. Maybe an older girl wanting to join spurred such enthusiasm. Maybe Em recognized her? Maybe this was a terrible idea. The thoughts raced through Avery’s head as she was led over by her hand, a bit of friendly contact that most people her age wouldn’t so boldly do with a stranger.

“Do you know how to play?” Mark asked. He looked a little annoyed, which in turn made Avery annoyed. Typical boys.

She scoffed. “Manhunt? Of course I do.”

“Whatever. Guard the base with Emily,” he said. So far, it looked like no one had made it safely back. And how could they, with the sun shining down on the surrounding area? But it wasn’t Avery’s place to judge the daytime choice. She was happy just to play.

Just like that, Mark was gone. And Avery was in.

“I’m Emily,” the girl said. She offered her hand with a smile, confirming once and for all that she didn’t know the disguised high school girl standing before her.

“A-” Avery got one syllable in before realizing the problem. That would be a dead giveaway!
By some miracle, she managed to catch herself. “-va. Ava Lorde,” she said, ‘borrowing’ the last name of a girl she knew from church.

“Nice to meet you, Ava Lorde! Are you new?”

“Just moved here last week,” Avery lied. This wasn’t part of the plan, but piling on lies seemed like the best option in the moment. “And just Ava is fine,” she added, recognizing Emily’s teasing echo of the full name.

“Ava, then. Middle school?”

“Just finished 6th grade.”

“Me too! Going to be at West Middle with us?”

“I think so?”

It was a miracle Avery didn’t blush when claiming to be a rising 7th grader. The disguise was one thing, but actually saying it out loud and seeing Emily believe it without question was a tiny bit embarrassing. Still, she managed to keep the voice and the lies up, going so far as to sounding a bit uncertain as to the middle school’s name. If she just moved here, she wouldn’t know everything, and school wouldn’t be the biggest priority at the beginning of summer anyway.

And her lies worked. Emily jumped right into a long-winded explanation about the school. How the schedule worked, some of the best areas, cafeteria foods to avoid. And, although Avery new every detail about West Middle from having just ‘graduated’ from there a year ago, she listened with as much false curiosity and interest as she could muster.

A girl two to three years her junior, taking on a guiding role. It’s not exactly what Avery signed up for, but the high of getting away with her disguise offset the weirdness a little bit. Thankfully, the wave of information didn’t last forever. Right as Emily launched into details about the neighborhood, someone yelling down the road cut her off.

“Emily! Runner!”

Sure enough, a boy burst out from the nearby woods a second later, with another boy in hot pursuit. It wasn’t Mark chasing, but it was obviously someone else on the hunting team. That’s right. Manhunt! Avery’s new blonde ‘friend’ had distracted her from the whole point of doing all this, but the boy sprinting towards their base snapped her back to reality. ‘Oh, I’ve got this,’ Avery thought to herself. Easy target.

She tapped Emily’s shoulder with quick muttered instructions. Seconds later, they were putting the plan into action. Avery could make a pretty solid guess as to what the sprinting boy would do. He was making a beeline for the base, but he would either try to sidestep a tagging attempt or maybe try to slide to avoid their hands. Probably the former.

Trusting Avery’s idea, Emily lunged forward to tag him. The boy pivoted to the left, narrowly avoiding her hand, and fell right into Avery’s trap. Before he could fully catch his balance from the turn, she raced forward to tag him. Without any momentum, he couldn’t pivot again or find a burst of speed to escape, and she successfully tagged him for the capture.

Knowing how boys could be, she even kept her hand on his upper arm for a few seconds. It was all too easy for boys to say “No, you just got my shirt!” or some other bogus excuse, so Avery had learned long ago to ‘secure’ a tag to the point that they couldn’t talk their way out of it.

“Yes, Ava!!” Emily squealed. She met the disguised high schooler with a double-handed high five, giving a friendly clasp for a second in victory and solidarity. “And you,” she pointed to the tagged boy, “Jail. Go.” It was playfully harsh in tone, and Avery appreciated the girl taking charge before their teammate could. Because girls can do anything boys can.

Unlike games like Capture the Flag, there was no escaping from Jail in Manhunt. The only way to win was to get the majority of your team on base. Once you were out, you were out. The captured boy went to sit on the porch of the same property used for the mailbox base, and their dark haired teammate gave a nod of approval. “Ava, huh? I’m Will.” Unlike Emily’s polite offer for a handshake earlier, he just offered his fist for a bump.

Avery accepted the gesture with a confident smile. She was fooling Danielle’s younger brother. The siblings had strikingly similar dark hair, and Avery had been to Danielle’s house countless times. While Will didn’t hang out with the high school girls, he had definitely seen Avery in passing. Yet there was no flicker of recognition. “Do we really need two guarding the base?” Avery asked. “It’s a little cheap, isn’t it?”

“You want to hunt?” he asked. It was difficult to tell whether the skeptical tone was due to her being a girl, or due to her asking to swap roles in the middle of the game.

Either way, she couldn’t help herself. It was too fun to mess with boys.

“Emily and I want to hunt,” Avery said, “Why don’t you take a turn on base for a bit, Will?”

If she had just enjoyed the game without stirring things up, she would have been fine. In her haste to show Will that girls were just as competent as boys, Avery failed to think about the fact that he was Danielle’s little brother. And what kinds of similarities they might have.

Avery didn’t know it yet, but she really should have just kept her mouth shut.

[Raven]

I’m gonna be honest, normally I hate stories with long buildups, but I’m hooked on this one! I can’t wait to read the rest! I’m invested now lol. I also love concept! As a young girl, I too wanted to cling to my childhood so I love Avery’s character because I can relate! Glad I didn’t end up in whatever situation she’s gonna be in tho lol

[SDS]

Lovely set up! can't wait for the payoff now!

[*Lady Lucia*]

PART THREE

It took a little bit of back and forth, but Avery managed to convince Will.

It helped that she was a high school girl masquerading as a tween. Some of his little arguments may have flummoxed Emily if Emily had made such a bold suggestion, but Avery knew how to handle the not so subtly rude boy who thought that girls were only good for guarding the base. All it took was a wager — if she and Emily didn’t catch anyone, they’d accept base duty for the rest of the summer. But if they crushed it, as she suspected they would, he and the other boys had to give them fair hunting turns moving forward instead.

In typical boy fashion, he agreed.

Because, as Avery knew from years and years of experience from being around neighborhood boys growing up, it wasn’t in the average boy’s nature to back down from a direct challenge.

Emily looked a little nervous as she and Avery left Will by the mailbox. If Avery had to guess, it was less about being afraid of losing the bet, and more about rocking the boat. In Emily’s defense, Avery realized that she did kind of sweep in and shake things up pretty quickly, but it was just in her competitive nature to do so. And she would never apologize for standing up for another girl.

Thankfully, her new blonde friend was the perfect partner in crime. As they searched, Avery shared Manhunt strategies from her ‘old neighborhood,’ deciding that the best way to lie was to just tell most of the truth with a few subtle changes. She saw a bit of her younger self in Emily, which made Avery all the more interested in giving her an edge.

And, sure enough, they caught nearly half the other team thanks to her experience. Avery knew some of the best spots to hide on the block, and some of the not so great spots as well. Selfishly, she kept quiet about her mental process, not even wanting Emily to know her favorites. Avery had earned that knowledge, and wouldn’t so easily hand it out. Instead, she just searched with her eagle eye and in depth knowledge of the neighborhood and taught Emily some chasing tactics along the way. If you had two people working in sync, it was a lot easier to cut someone off and catch them.

Emily was a quick learner, and always ecstatic when she or Avery tagged someone. Their other team members did their fair share as well, of course. Avery was a little bitter that one boy slipped through her and Emily’s grasp and ended up being tagged by Will instead, but they were still successful enough by the end that the sexist boy wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

Only one person on the other team had made it back to the base, meaning the hunters definitely won. Emily took the initiative to introduce “Ava” to everyone, but no one lingered on it for too long. They were all too interested in swapping roles and starting a new round.

Surprisingly, Will seemed to be in better spirits by the time they were all splitting off again. He praised her for all the captures, and even offered for her to join him and another boy, Colin, in one of their favorite hiding spots. She wasn’t too keen on splitting up with Emily, but her new blonde friend was quick to say “It’s fine, I’ll head this way with Josh!”

Less boat rocking, naturally.

Avery followed the two boys through the trees to a less urban area just off the cul-de-sac that she was well acquainted with. She decided to let the boys take charge. These boys certainly hadn't earned her tricks and spots, so she would follow their lead for now. If it was a horrible plan, she could always strike off on her own.

Will led her to the nearby creek, stopping near the edge and glancing back to make sure no one on the other team was cheating by following them. Then he turned to her and crossed his arms.

“Hey, Ava?” Will asked. “You any good at climbing?”

Please. It's exactly what she was doing earlier that day, and taller trees at that. And for years and years prior. “Probably better than you,” Avery rolled her eyes. Her high school self wouldn’t be so cocky about such things, but she had settled into her younger role a bit.

To his credit, Will didn’t make any snide response to her bragging. Instead, he just pointed out one or two potential spots within view. If all three of them were within sight of each other, it would be easier to make a unified charge towards the base once no one was searching where they were. For once, Avery actually agreed with the boy. She was about to designate the tree that looked better for both climbing and hiding. But she never got the chance.

All of a sudden, Will roughly shoved her by the shoulders.

Little did she know, Colin had stealthily crouched down behind her while she had been distracted by Will pointing out potential hiding spots. In the classic ‘tabletop’ pose on his hands and knees, Colin was the perfect obstacle to make it impossible for her to find her balance.

Avery tumbled backwards over the crouching boy and, in the least graceful way possible, fell right into the creek.

[SDS]

Oh LL you little tease! The suspense is killing me!

Great build up! She wasn't expecting the boys to knock her down a peg!

[*Lady Lucia*]

Author's Note:
I accidentally wrote most of this section in 1st person. Upon attempting to edit, I figured out that I actually liked it a little more this way. I'll try to get back and edit the previous parts to match, but right now I'm going to work on continuing for the sake of getting more posted!

PART FOUR

I fell backwards with wide eyes, but there was no cliché girly scream piercing the woods. Will’s shove was surprising, sure, but it was the sudden lack of balance and backwards toppling that confused and shocked me enough to render me speechless. Until I landed in the water.

My tailbone hit the shallow creek bottom and I sharply gasped at the jolt of pain, and then the other sensations followed. Cold water soaked through my jean shorts and underwear alike, and I felt it creeping up the hem of my old pink shirt as well.

Will was the first to laugh, as he was the one who got the full show. Surprised expression, arms flailing a bit, and then a satisfying *splash* as I hit the water. Colin was quick to hop up and join in the revelry, both boys high five-ing at a tabletop that was way more mean than the normal version just designed to knock someone over as a joke. “You looked a little hot,” Will finally said, smirking down at me, “Feel better now?”

I scrambled to get out of the water, scowling in annoyance, but the expression didn’t last. Seconds after I got to my feet, my underwear, shorts, and the base of my pink shirt clinging to my skin, the water found a new target. I felt my socks and shoes alike being flooded with water as I hastily stood up without thinking where I was putting my feet in the process.

Lightly grimacing at the additional annoyance of wet clothes, I willed my scowl back into place. Of course, the glasses and pigtails undermined the intended intensity, but I had forgotten about all of that in the heat of the moment. To Colin and Will, I just looked like an agitated tween.

“Most boys ask a girl out when they think she’s hot,” I retorted. Thankfully, I still had the advantage of age, which gave me an edge when it came to wit. Granted, this wasn’t my best, but I had to say something. “Except for those who flirt like kindergarteners.”

“You’re not my type, Glasses. Trust me,” Will chuckled, “But if you ask him really nicely, Colin might give you a kiss.”

“Hey!” Colin exclaimed. He was still laughing along with Will, but a light shade of pink adorned his face when he was roped into things. Unlike Will, Colin didn’t have an older sister who numbed him to little jabs like that and accidentally ‘trained’ him for quick back and forth interactions over the years. “No, thanks,” he said, unable to come up with anything more clever.

Before I could really give the boys a piece of my mind, a new voice cut through the awkward pause after Colin’s reply. “Hey! What’s going on here?!”

It was Danielle!!

I was already a little flushed from being shoved into the creek and subsequently soaked from the stomach down, but I could actually feel the heat rapidly rising to my face as one of my cheerleading friends approached us. ‘Oh my God, no!’ I thought to herself. Shit. I was SO busted! How was I going to explain this?!

Danielle wasn’t alone, either. Her boyfriend was hanging back, no doubt leaving his girlfriend to deal with the scene by the creek.

Oh. That’s why they were out here. Danielle wasn’t normally the type to take walks in the woods, but she was definitely the type to do other risky things out in the middle of nature.

“What the fuck, Will?” Danielle began. Clearly she had no qualms swearing in front of her middle school brother. She pointed directly at me. “Did you push her into the water?”

“Dani, we’re in the middle of a game!”

“Did. You. Push. Her?”

“No. She fell.” Will lied.

For the first time since she arrived, Danielle actually looked at me. Before, she seemed more focused on the wet clothes and her smirking brother. After clearly not believing Will’s lie, Danielle gave me a once over from my wet shoes all the way up to my face. It was easy to notice the puzzled look on her face when she met my eyes, but I was holding onto the hope that my disguise would hold up. Pigtails. Glasses. No make-up, though I barely wore any make-up most days anyway.

Maybe I would look familiar, but she wouldn’t be able to place it? That was the prayer.

“Did he push you?” Danielle asked, point blank. Her curious expression faded and took on the more no-nonsense form I was used to seeing when she was dealing with bitchy girls at school, and apparently obnoxious little brothers as well.

I hesitated.

What should I say? I mean, Will deserved to be chewed out for what he did to me, but I was about to do that myself. Getting Danielle to do it for me was, honestly, a little lame. Plus snitches get stitches. While I wasn’t planning on being a permanent peer to Will and Emily and the others, I also wasn’t the type of girl to tattle, then or now. I could fight my own battles.

“No,” I lied as well, in that false light voice, “I tripped.”

Will managed to keep it cool, but I could see the surprise on Colin’s face at my response.

“Hmm,” Danielle huffed a little at my response. It clearly wasn’t the answer she expected, and I couldn’t tell whether or not she believed my version of what happened. Either way, I wasn’t prepared for what she said next. “Well, either way, you can’t be running around in wet clothes. Come with me, blondie, and I’ll find you a change of clothes at my place.”

My heart skipped a beat at the suggestion. That was a terrible idea. Every second spent near Danielle was another second she might recognize me. If she hadn’t recognized me already. I still couldn't tell. Was this her attempt to save me from this situation? Or did my exterior appearance actually fool her? I searched her face for a flicker of emotion that would give away whether or not she was just trying to help out a tween girl vs. her squad mate.

Nothing. I couldn’t tell a damn thing.

“Umm, no, it’s fine,” I replied. I fiddled with one of the pigtails as I glanced up at her. Danielle only had an inch or two on me, but it felt like a lot more in the moment, even if she wasn’t being particularly demanding. “Like Will said, we’re in the middle of a game.”

“Nonsense. My house is super close, and those kinds of shorts will totally make you chafe if you wear them too long like that. Will, just have everyone come over after the game if we're not back by then.”

Now that it seemed like Will had avoided getting in trouble, he had that some look of annoyance as when I suggested we swap Manhunt roles. “We were going to go to Mark’s place-”

“I don’t care. Invite everyone to our place. I’ll even pay for pizza for all of you. Fair?”

“Fine,” he said. While he tried to play it cool, it was obvious that the offer was what did it. Free pizza would be enough to convince everyone without any trouble.

As usual, Danielle knew all the right buttons to push. She and I weren’t super close any more, but I’ve known her my entire life. As a kid, she had a few simple tricks. As a teenager, she had honed and mastered those tricks. It’s a bit hard to explain. It’s not that Danielle is manipulative. It’s more that she’s very tit for tat. When she wanted something, she could always find the perfect exchange for it, and it took her less time to come up with those trade ideas than it would take someone to snap their fingers.

Back in grade school, Danielle really wanted a girl’s pretty pink pencil, and she decided to offer up her favorite eraser just to get the writing utensil she’d been coveting. Innocent and fair exchanges like that snowballed all the way a solid example from last summer.

When another girl had an eye on her current boyfriend, back before they were dating, Danielle offered to teach the girl all the necessary skills to be a cheerleader. Danielle got her boy, the girl got a spot on the team despite not starting in 8th grade like the rest of us did. Both girls were happy, thanks to Danielle’s quick thinking.

And, in this instance, she wanted Will to invite his friends over, and offered free pizza to secure his cooperation. No demanding, no threatening, no cliché older sister tactics to make Will listen to her. Just something he wanted, in exchange for something he would do in return. Fair. Totally fair. And SO quick, like always. I had forgotten how immediate her ideas were, and it was actually a little nostalgic seeing her in action after growing apart over the last year or two.

Danielle’s focus on her younger brother didn’t last long. Since he agreed, it was my turn to face her directness all over again.

“What’s your name, blondie?”

I didn’t want to. ‘Ava’ was SO close to ‘Avery,’ but it’s not like I could swap aliases now. Will and Colin already knew me by the fake one I had scrambled to come up with earlier. So I just prayed, and replied with “Ava.”

“Nice to meet you, Ava. I’m Danielle. This idiot’s older brother,” she said, nodding her head towards Will and ignoring his muttered expletive in response to her offhand insult, “Now then . . .”

Oh my God. Was she about to use her tricks on me? It’s not like she had never done so before, for little things, but it was going to be different if she thought I was someone else. Right?

“. . . I’m sorry you tripped, and that’s a really cute outfit,” she said, clearly building to something, “Tell you what. I have a bunch of old athletic gear at home from when I was younger. Like, really nice stuff. If you’ll let a fellow girl help you out, I’ll let you keep the new outfit. And take a bonus one of your choice!”

Yep. She could sway anyone.

Honestly, it was actually more effective on me than she realized. Her family was wealthy, more wealthy than my middle class household, and I had always been fond of her expensive wardrobe. Especially her athletic selections, considering how sporty I’ve always been. She might have grown a little taller and curvier since thirteen, but I was more or less the same size. Which meant those amazing colors and designs stuffed in the back of her closet or in a corner of her basement would still fit me perfectly.

She was also clearly pulling on her old knowledge of neighborhood games, as jean shorts weren’t the best choice anyway for Manhunt anyway, even when dry. I knew that, of course. Normally, I would have worn neutral colors to blend in with the environment, and something a little more comfortable for running in the heat. But my impulsive plan was focused on disguising myself, not finding an ideal outfit for the game. Danielle, however, took that element into account when making her offer.

“It’s fine, really,” I said. Trying to resist, but already feeling the oh so familiar tug of temptation. “I was probably going to head home in a game or two anyway.”

“Three outfits,” Danielle smiled, holding up three fingers, “Come on, Ava, it’ll be quick! Worst case, you go straight home with some nice new clothes, right?”

I couldn’t resist. All my teenage life, I had to deal with generic athletic clothes from department stores and thrift shops, depending on whether my parents were buying it or I was using my allowance. I barely saw Danielle outside of cheerleading any more anyway. Once I was Avery again, I could wear the new outfits without much risk. And, if asked, I could just say I found them at a brand name thrift store or something.

“Okay,” I nodded. Besides, she had a point. Running around in wet clothes wouldn’t be super comfortable. And, like she said, and like I secretly knew, her house was really close. It would only take a few minutes, and I’d be back to the game. Leaning into my false identity, I decided to play up my ignorance of the neighborhood layout. “Which way?”

Mistake. Huge mistake.

I just didn’t realize it yet.