The Penalty Box Read Free Page B

all were, gabbing away about their lives, asking about hers and seeming genuinely interested in what she had to say. Maybe the past was just where it belonged: in the past.
    Then Liz Flaherty showed up.
    Of all the rich, perfectly dressed rah-rah girls who’d given Katie a hard time in high school, Liz topped the list. Once, over a long period of weeks, she pretended to be Katie’s friend, eventually inviting her to a party at the house of Jesse Steadwell, one of the most popular guys in school. Katie was so excited she could barely contain herself. Invited to a party! Finally! But when she rang the Steadwells’ doorbell, no one was home. It was only when she was walking back down the driveway that Liz and her friends popped out of the bushes, laughing at her and calling her a loser. By the time Katie arrived at school the following Monday, the story had made the rounds. Complete strangers were coming up to her jeering, “How was Jesse’s party?”
    â€œHi, everyone!” Liz squealed. She looked almost the same as she had in high school: thin, tan, with long, caramel colored hair and big green eyes. Her makeup was impeccable. She wore a killer red sheath dress. She continued her girlish squealing as she hugged each woman in turn. But when she came to Katie, she froze.
    â€œIt can’t be.” Her face contorted in disbelief.
    Katie made herself smile warmly. “How have you been, Liz?”
    â€œFine.” Her laugh was mirthless. “Well, I guess miracles really can happen.”
    â€œNo miracle,” said Katie. “Just years of hard work.”
    The atmosphere, so congenial mere seconds before, began crackling with tension. Liz looked Katie up and down with a coolly appraising eye.
    â€œI’m surprised to see you here, Katie.”
    â€œWhy’s that?”
    â€œWell”—Liz glanced at the other women for confirmation—“because you were such a fat loser in high school.”
    The other women glanced away.
    Katie met the challenge head-on. “People change. Or, at least, some people do.”
    â€œMeaning?”
    â€œYou’re exactly the same as you were in high school.”
    Liz smiled as she sipped daintily from her champagne flute. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    â€œKatie was telling us about the book she’s writing,” Hannah Beck said tentatively.
    Liz sucked in her cheeks, bored. “That’s nice. Katie, remember that time Paul van Dorn pasted a sign on your back that said ‘Built like a mac truck’?” She laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
    Katie said nothing. Paul van Dorn . . . there was a name she hadn’t heard in a while. Paul had been the boy every girl in school had a crush on, Katie included. He’d been Liz’s boyfriend, of course. They were the golden couple: captain of the hockey team and head cheerleader. When he was apart from his friends and Liz, Paul had always been nice to Katie. But the minute he hooked up with his crew, he teased her mercilessly like everyone else.
    To Katie’s chagrin, Liz Flaherty continued goose stepping down memory lane. “Remember in gym class, when Mr. Nelson made us do the five hundred yard dash, and Katie collapsed because she was so fat and out of shape?” No one answered as all eyes dropped to the ground. “Oh, come on, I know you guys remember!”
    â€œCan it, Liz,” Alexis said under her breath.
    â€œWhat?” Liz batted her eyes. “All I’m doing is reminiscing! That’s why we’re all here, right? To remember?” Another sip of champagne slid down her throat. “I was thinking about the prom on the way over here. I went with Paul.” Her gaze glittered with malice. “But I can’t seem to recall who you went with, Katie.”
    Katie smiled brightly. “Actually, I had two dates to the prom: Ben and Jerry. Can you excuse me a moment?”
    She said