I can tell you that I believe—that the human heart’s mysterious ability to love others is never wrong. Your heart will never ask your permission to love. It’s going to love whomever it was made to love, and the best thing you can do is follow it.” Lisa’s about to respond when a deafening buzzing sound swells outward into the gym. Students all around the bleachers jerk their hands up to their ears. Then there’s the distant sound of a microphone falling over, and Lisa, clutching her ears, sees Mr. Park, the half-blind old technical director, raising his palms in apology. Several feet away from him, Mrs Kwog, the principal, rolls her eyes up into her head. Chaeyoung laughs along with the rest of the gym. She runs a hand through her hair, her smile relaxed and unguarded like it is when she tells Lisa stories late at night. “Hi, y’all,” she says.

It’s like that’s all Baker needs before crashing her lips against hers. No kiss in her life has ever felt this good – like something is coursing through her veins. She’s not sure what it is, but it feels like a drug – and she never wants to stop. Language: English Words: 1,232 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 1 Kudos: 41 Bookmarks: 2 Hits: 893

Bout time!” one of the football players in the lower bleachers yells. From where Lisa stands, it sounds like Jungkook.

Doesn’t mean anything? Clay says, his expression incredulous. "Are you kidding? Dude, like Baker said, it’s a chance to show we’re the best. Fifty years of competition with Mount Sinai and we can finally prove we’re better. We’ll have bragging rights for the next 50 years! Besides, think about that prize money. If we could pour that into the football program—" And then we went over to Urban Outfitters and Felix and I got her that book about hamsters dressed as Renaissance painters?” Lisa says. Felix leans down close to Lisa, his eyes bright and his mouth open in a big smile. “Remember the first time Jungkook talked to us about football?” he says. Every time Lisa gets into her car, she sees Chaeyoung in the passenger seat next to her, wearing her sister’s faded old LSU baseball cap, laughing around the straw of her Sonic milkshake.Fine. Joanie bites a nacho in two and hands Hannah the smaller half. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

Jungkook stares at her like he doesn’t know whether he’s being made fun of or not, and finally Jungkook shakes his head and leaves them on the porch. Hannah wants to spend her senior year of high school going to football games and Mardi Gras parties with her tight-knit group of friends. Jisoo rolls her eyes. Jin takes her hand and says, “Aw, do you not know how to respond when we publicly shame you?” Can we talk about how the band played the same song like twelve times?” Jisoo says. “Do they not know anything else? I felt like I was riding in the car with Lisa, being forced to hear the same song on repeat for twenty minutes.” chapters 8-13 from Baker's POV. Language: English Words: 3,384 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 1 Kudos: 49 Bookmarks: 2 Hits: 972

Luke pulls up his t-shirt in a fit of mania so that the red Tiger Spirit! imprint catches around his armpits and his white undershirt is on full display to everyone across the gym. He makes to take the shirt all the way off, but Hannah elbows him and points down at Mr. Manceau, whose small, beady eyes are glaring daggers at Luke from beneath the basketball hoop. We thank you for our athletes, these young men who will represent our school tonight and who will seek to glorify You with their performance, Father Simon says. We know You have endowed them with a special gift— Lisa wrote me a list of dares for the assembly,” Chaeyoung says, unfolding the notepaper Lisa had slipped her that morning. “Look at this.”

Interrupt yourself halfway through, make your eyes go wide, and shout, “OH MY GOD! I JUST SAW JESUS UP THERE IN THE STANDS!” We have to take ownership for our words. Words are powerful. They can be devastating. If your words carry hate--if they shame others, if they make them doubt that they are loved--Hannah, you don't want to own words like that.” Before we start,” Chaeyoung says, and at her words, the gym falls quiet again. “Father Cho is going to lead us in prayer.”Yeah,” Jin says, sweeping crumbs into his hands, “everyone’s going to think I’ve been taking a huge shit or something.” Interrupt yourself halfway through, make your eyes go wide, and shout, OH MY GOD! I JUST SAW JESUS UP THERE IN THE STANDS! Before we start, Baker says, and at her words, the gym falls quiet again, Father Simon is going to lead us in prayer. Wally leans down close to Hannah, his eyes bright and his mouth open in a big smile. Remember the first time Clay talked to us about football? he says.