Scramble
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 1
“And then it just fell straight down on his head,” Eduardo said. “He got up, with it dripping down his face, and tried to act like nothing happened.”
Li and I were both cracking up.
I’d really missed my friends. It was so strange that the three of us didn’t know each other a year ago, or even six months ago. Of course, that was before I’d had the dream that had changed my life, giving me a glimpse into a nightmare of a future that I wanted to avoid.
I’d been an absolute shit in that life. If I’d stayed on that path, my best friend would still be Elijah and we’d be busy bullying other kids and making people’s lives miserable. Of course, in that future, as soon as my dad had died and I’d had to drop out of school, he had dropped me, showing just what kind of friend he was.
I was a completely different person now.
That was most evident from the two people I saw across from me. In the dream life, I’d bullied Li so hard she’d moved back to Houston, and Eduardo would be involved with his cousin Rafe on a path to killing my father in a gang initiation thing. Instead, here I was, having a great time, Dad’s fate from the dream life avoided, feeling much better about myself than I think I ever did living the life of a bully.
I was also glad Eduardo was back. Li and I had hung out twice the week before Christmas, but we hadn’t seen Eduardo since the day after his party.
His family came back from Midland long enough to pick him up before the whole group drove down into Mexico to spend Christmas with his mom’s parents, and only got back late the night before.
Which really only gave us a few days to hang out before we were back in school on Wednesday.
“That’s ridiculous,” Li said. “You sure you guys don’t want any?”
She held up this small round pastry thing her mom had set on the table when we’d gotten there. I’d been to Li’s house enough times to be a little wary. Not that it was bad, but some of their food had been pretty different from the kind of stuff I ate, and I wasn’t in the mood for something strange today.
“Come on, guys,” Li said, when Eduardo and I looked at each other. “They’re good.”
“I’m pretty sure that one moved,” Eduardo pointed at the plate, earning him a light punch on the arm from Li.
“You two are such babies,” she said, popping one into her mouth. “More for me.”
“So I’ve told you guys everything I’ve been doing; what did you guys do over break? Tell me everything.”
“I wish there was something to tell. I spent most of my time either helping my dad with some stuff around the house or training. Coach said if I’m moving to varsity next year, I’ve got to put on a lot of muscle, get stronger and faster, so I’ve been running and lifting.”
“Nothing exciting for me either. Mom had me working in the store practically every day before Christmas and then last week we were off to Oklahoma to go look at a bunch of new stuff my mom wants to bring into the store. We only just got back yesterday afternoon, right before you.”
“Still, you were both here for a week and got to do stuff. Other than Alex, I think the youngest person we saw was like eighty.”
“Your parents aren’t eighty,” Li pointed out.
“Okay, not eighty, but old. And my grandparents live in the middle of nowhere. It was boooorrrinnng. I’m happy to get things back to normal.”
“Speaking of getting back to normal,” I said. “Basketball starts up again next week. Are you ready?”
“Sure. I’m very excited for Coach Wyden to start yelling at me about all the stuff I’m doing wrong and then sit me for all but four minutes of a game.”
Li wasn’t wrong. I’d watched a few games, and honestly, I couldn’t figure out what their coach was thinking. Li would have a blowout few minutes while Taylor was struggling, and then she’d sit Li again and bring Taylor back in to go another one out of eight tries.
It was like she was trying to lose games.
I knew that Li hated to talk about it, though. She was very much against standing up to authority figures and always assumed that just because someone was older, they knew better.
Having met her mom, I could understand why, but still, it made her very passive in those kinds of situations.
“Did you guys hear about Melissa Jenkins?” Li asked, changing the subject.
“No?” I said questioningly, not sure what gossip Li could have had that I hadn’t heard yet.
Melissa was on the JV cheer squad with Sarah and Melanie, so both Eduardo and I knew her, although she didn’t sit with us at lunch. She was in cheer, but she wasn’t going for popularity, didn’t want to date a football player, and seemed annoyed by most of us. She sat with a bunch of preppy kids on the other side of the cafeteria.
As far as I knew, she and Li had never even spoken to each other.
“She’s moving to Seattle and will be gone, I think next week. Her dad got some big promotion or something.”
“Okay?” I said, again turning it into a question at the end.
“Don’t you know what this means?”
“That there’s a spot on JV cheer next year?” Eduardo offered.
“What ... no. It means they’re going to pick a new freshman representative for the student council.”
“Oh,” I said.
I honestly had no idea she was even on student council.
“And you want to go for it?” I said, realizing where Li was going.
“You said I needed to be in student government for a good scholarship, right?”
I mean, I had said that, but I hadn’t really thought it through past saying it. And, insofar as I had thought of it, I thought it would be something she’d do either junior or senior year.
“It would be cool to have someone on the inside,” Eduardo said. “You know, someone who could get us out of trouble or find the answers to tests for us or whatever.”
“That’s not how student council works. So, what do you think, should I take it?”
“Of course you’re going to take it,” her mom said, bursting in through the door to the stairs.
I swear that woman moved like a cat. All of the three of us sounded like elephants stomping around, but Li’s mom was a freaking ninja. You’d turn around and boom, she’d just be there.
She was carrying a stack of small cardboard boxes, which she set down with a thud against the wall.
“This is part of plan we all agreed to when I allowed basketball,” she continued as she stood back up straight.
“Was it?” I said, the words coming out of my mouth before I could stop them.
I’d made a lot of different pitches to get Li’s mom to agree to Li playing basketball. The look she shot me when I said that, though, froze me on the spot.
For being all of five-two, the woman was scary as hell.
“It was. You said Li will be valedictorian and student body president by senior year. I believe you said playing basketball would help her get on student body, because it was about popularity and not skill.”
That did sound like something I’d say.
“It was a very good idea. Li joins freshman year, moves up each year, becomes senior class president. Very direct path. I am impressed you knew that there would be an opening.”
The irony. I knew a lot of things about the future from my dream, but I hadn’t used any of that when talking to Li’s mom about this. I didn’t remember anything about the freshman losing their student council rep.
Although, to be fair, dream me had been even less involved in school stuff than current me, and wasn’t paying attention to this kind of thing. The school could have replaced their entire student government and I wouldn’t have known it.
“Yeah, well ... I’d hoped. But, uhh, just to make it clear, I can’t actually guarantee anything. I mean, I’ll definitely help and vote for her, but...”
“Of course you can guarantee. You are a popular athlete, yes? I hear you will lead football team next year.”
“Nothing’s guaranteed yet,” I said, not sure how she had so much information on everyone.
Where the hell was she getting all this?
She waved my objection away and said, “This gives you leverage with the other children, which you will use for Li’s advantage. Li convinces basketball friends to vote. You convince football friends to vote. Together, that should be enough to get rest of the children.”
I didn’t love that she kept calling us children.
“She ... actually has a point,” Eduardo said, not at all helpfully.
I glanced over at Li. Under her embarrassment over her mother’s direct nature, there was something else. Maybe hope this would work? She looked up at me, I guess feeling I was staring at her, and gave me a little nod. So it wasn’t just her mom, and she was where her mom was getting this information from.
I smelled a setup. Still, she was my friend, so what could I do?
“Who am I to keep Li from greatness? I’ll start talking to people.”
Her mom gave a satisfied nod, as if she’d never doubted the outcome, and said, “Good. Very good.”
If she was going to say something else, it was interrupted when the bell over the shop door downstairs dinged. “Customer. You three work on details. I will approve when I return.”
With that, she disappeared down the stairs.
“Welcome! Special sale today! Everything heavy is five percent off,” she said as she got to the bottom of the stairs, loud enough for us and the customer to hear.
“I am so sorry about her,” Li groaned.
“Don’t be. I know what your mom is like.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t have to map out my entire life,” she said and then paused, I guess building up the courage for what came next. “I actually really do want to try this student council thing. Not because of her master plan, but ... I don’t know. Because.”
“I already agreed. Eduardo will help too,” I said, reaching over and giving his arm a squeeze as if to say, ‘Thanks for having my back, buddy.’
“Ahh ... uhh, yeah. Right. We could make posters and stuff. Put them up around school.”
I pulled the fourth empty chair closer and propped my feet up on it.
“We’re going to have to talk to someone about how this works. I’ve actually never tried to do anything with student government. I’ll call Melanie when I get home, but we’ll probably have to talk to some people when we’re back in school. I think Emily knows the current president or whatever. She’ll be able to find out for us.”
“Ohh, yeah. Good thinking. Man, I’m kind of nervous.”
“You’ll be great,” I assured her. “You’re smart, you’ve got good ideas, and you give a crap. That makes you better than most of the people in Washington. It’ll be fun to try something new.”
“Speaking of getting involved in new things,” Eduardo said, when the conversation kind of petered out. “Sarah told me I should join more activities to have more to show on my college applications.”
“Man, you two just started dating and she’s already cracking the whip,” I said, laughing. “You’re not even official yet.”
“Leave him alone,” Li said, smacking me in the arm. “I think he should do more stuff. Who was it who told me you can’t get into a good school on good grades alone?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said.
“Ignore him. What are you thinking of joining?” Li asked.
“That’s what I need help with. I have no idea. Although, if it could be something to get me out of PE, that would be good.”
“What’s wrong with PE?” I asked.
I hadn’t actually taken a PE class since sixth grade. It was one of the benefits of playing sports.