Chapter 3

As we watch my dad steal a truck Angel tells me. "It's so not fair how Isabella hates you now. Now we know why Isabella told Samantha about her new cat and not you." I can tell he hates seeing me sad over my friend not liking me anymore.

I'm starting to feel hollowness spreading under my ribs. "I should have seen it coming. Remember when Isabella went to that party without me and she brought everyone muffins? Like she put that party all over Insta. Not that I needed to be at Samantha's stupid party anyway because me Shauna and Abby had the best sleepover ever at Shauna's."

I look at Isabella meanly. "And we learned so much about each other."

I whisper to Shauna, "Remember when Abby told us she almost followed her crush into the boy's locker room?"

She giddily whispers back. "That would have been an embarrassing no no."

We both look back at Isabella crossing her arms rolling her eyes. Being left out doesn't feel good now does it, Izzie?

Dad drives while the rest of us go in the back.

Isabella glares at me. What's her problem she's the one who threw out our years of friendship like trash.

Shauna asks. "She still hates you doesn't she?"

"Yeah. I think she feels bad for kicking one of her bases in the face and landing on hers going for a front handspring double full in front of Jordan."

Isabella's face turns red, then she glares at me, a face telling me to run.

"You're dead Ashley!"

I run away and Rein holds her as she reaches her arms out still trying to grab me. "Let me go! Ashley you promised not to tell anyone about that!"

"Oh please like you're any better? You were supposed to be my best friend! I had to hear from Chloe that you even like Jordan and what's with not inviting me to the party? And that was when we were still besties."

She rolls her eyes. "Because then everyone will be like oh hi captain and you'd be like aren't I so great? Remember when you pretended I didn't exist at Aliyah's birthday party?" She sounds calmer but I can still tell she's mad at me.

I then tell her. "Oh you mean how you were on your phone in a circle with your other friends leaving me out and not even telling me what you were all doing?"

She huffs, looks away and looks back at me. "Well everything's been all about Shauna with you now!"

"Hey leave her out of this! She was your friend too you know. And remember when you dropped your fries and I was the only person to ever help you when everyone else was laughing at you?"

Isabella is mad but Genji catches her and she waves her arms at me being held. "You don't know when to quit do you Ash! I'll get you do you hear me! And you just love being the big hero don't you? Always getting most of the credit for our squad winning. And how can I not drop all those fries after all that tumbling especially front handsprings. And conditioning drills."

I think it's time she hear how I really feel even if she should really know by now anyway. "Hey I know it's all of us! We practice and practice and then we all coordinate perfectly together! The tumblers always landing on their feet together, bases gripping our shoes in just the right way where we can feel tight and confident."

"Yeah you have a funny way of showing that when coach is like oh yes Ashley is so perfect and you just smirk and go well she's not lying."

Oh that's it. "Remember when Jonathan just walked up to me and told me flat out sorry I don't date elementary kids! You're the only person I ever told about him! You told him didn't you?"

Isabella looks at me. "I dunno, maybe." And walks away flipping her hair like she's too good for us.

Shauna's eyes widen in that I'm so surprised way. "Wait, you didn't tell me?"

My brother looks at me too. "Or me! I know him and he's seen you in the courtyard so he knows you aren't elementary. It hurts when you don't open up to us."

Isabella smirks. "On the other hand it hurts when she told me so ha ha!"

Rein says "We're slowing down. There's a window that looks out if you want to stand on my shoulders."

Rein picks me up and I look out the back of the truck's small window and through the other window. I wave hi to dad. Poor dad, he has to sit in that dirty front seat with all those empty soda cans and empty bags of fast food.

These bored looking guys wearing blue custodian uniforms wave a light thingy over our truck.

He says. "You're good to go."

Oh thank goodness!

Uh, oh…Looks like we're caught!

A guard smirks looking down at Angel, "How was the Zumiez sale kid?"

His cheeks puff and mouth scrunches.

Dad tells the guard. "You're one to talk, you have coffee stains all over your shirt."

"These just happen to be my work clothes okay! I don't go out of my way to look like a skater poser."

A diesel powered Bastion unit fires at us but my tonfa and Genji's knife reflect its bullets back destroying more security bots and him. Judith flies over a pretty big robot attaching a cord from them to her, and it's now like she's mind controlling it. She sends the message, "I just found out that the front guards were spies so we've taken care of them. Staff is here to upgrade the shield's unit."

Dad hi fives the security bot.

Angel asks Judith, "Aww can we keep it?"

She says. "Sorry, no."

The halls have a line of neon light running near the ceiling on the grayish blue walls.

Ugh, these guys again? They point at us yelling. "Intruders! Get them!"

Other guards say. "Do we look like fools to you? Just go, we know you're really spies!"

"Oh that's it! You haven't heard the last from Volskaya Industries!"

We spent literally half an hour getting that fake shield thing in.

We leave and random people say. "That power outage didn't last long usually they're much worse."

Just like home, random power outages. In some ways America really is like the rest of the world.