AN: I deleted the other version of this story due to creative differences. A lot of things have changed. Names for one. If you read this before Abbie Reynolds is now Mollie Reynolds. There are a few things about Mollie/Abbie that have changed as well. She is no longer mute but she still signs. The reason will be explained later in this chapter. Derrick Lang is now Casper Lang. The setting of the story has also changed from Virginia to the picturesque landscape of Wyoming. The name of the town is now Hidden Rocks, Wyoming. As other important elements change in each chapter I will alert you to them in notes at the beginning.
Chapter Four: Three Days Later
"Why on earth do you keep insisting on bringing up Nellie McMurray, Emma?" Maddie argued. "What happened with her has absolutely nothing to do with anything else that has been going on in the last five or so years."
"It has everything to do with this Maddie!" Emma shouted back. "You are like the three year old kid who has a new to but doesn't want to play with it until someone else does. You didn't like that Nellie met me first and was my friend. So you did everything in your power at ten, eleven years old to make all our lives miserable."
"And what if I did? You could have stopped me at any time but you didn't. So in reality you have no one to blame but yourself."
"This has got to be an improvement from three days ago," Matt whispered to Casper. "Three days ago these two would have sat in silence. Or at least been plotting how to smother the other in her sleep."
"I heard that Montgomery," Emma snapped. "You're right but I heard that. The same simile goes for your sabotage of Halle and Casper's relationship. Casper asked you out how many times? And every time he would ask, you would say no. Then he moved on. And that pissed you off. Because now someone else had your toy and you wanted it back, even though you didn't want it to begin with. That's when you chose to destroy both their lives at Winter Formal."
"I keep hearing about this Winter Formal affair. It seems to have affected a good number of people on this particular team. Anyone care to own up to their side of the story?"
No one dared to look Katie in the eye in fear that she may pick one of them to unleash the nightmare that was Winter Formal. A nightmare for some, a dream come true for others. It was in that night that all the fears about Maddie's true nature were revealed.
"I will," Emma spoke up.
"Why am I not surprised?" Maddie muttered. "You always have something to say."
"The whole thing was planned months in advance. Halle and Casper started dating in late October. Their first date was the football play-off game. After that, they were closer than paint on canvas. They were stuck in this lovey-dovey can't-get-enough-of-each-other phase, like most normal teenagers. Just after Thanksgiving, when the Valmont's left to go back to England, things started to get weird between Casper and Halle."
"He was distant and quit talking to me," Halle said. "He had reverted to 'Monosyllabic Man' barely acknowledging that I was still his girlfriend."
"Can you blame me Halle? It was one thing to be ignored but to be replaced completely by Greg Luzon."
"I didn't replace you Casper! You were the one who started shagging Maddie behind my back! At least Greg would talk to me!"
"You have no idea what it's like to be replaced! I had to watch as Greg put his arms around you, whispered in your ear, make you laugh. I wanted to kill him. I still can't believe that you would cheat with Greg Luzon."
"Dash it all, Casper! I was not cheating on you with Greg! How many times must I tell you that before you'll believe it?"
"I don't think I will ever believe that you didn't."
"Then you don't deserve Mollie."
"Well if someone in this room would give me a goddamn straight answer maybe I would think differently. Don't you agree Maddie?"
There were only two stunts that Maddie had ever pulled that she owned up to completely. One being the attack on Mollie just days before and another in the sixth grade when she had cut off a girl's hair because she was jealous. But this stunt, the weeks of intrigue and conspiracy, the planning and preparation that could only be topped by an assassination plot of a queen or president, this was a stunt she would never admit to planning and executing.
With nothing holding Emma back, she began to weave a tale that would change the lives of everyone in that room.
The Winter Formal was to be Halle's pride and joy. She had worked with the Dance Committee for weeks planning every inch of the dance. They had the best and most reasonably priced DJ. Dinner was a choice between a fresh sushi bar or for the meat eaters a prime rib made to order, baked potato and a veggie. For days Halle had argued with caterers, flower guys, even the local baker had gotten calls from Halle Valmont. Her mother was the events manager at the Lang Lodge. That alone helped Halle secure the lodge's ballroom for the dance.
For the students of Hidden Rocks High School, prom and Winter Formal were the two biggest social events of the year. Winter Formal was the one night right before Christmas break that everyone could hang out with their friends before leaving for the three-week break. As Social Chair and Junior Class President, Halle Valmont made it her life's mission that year to make Winter Formal the best it could possibly be.
Halle hoped that the dance would be a chance for her and Casper to get a chance to talk and work out the issues that had been plaguing them for a month. With her sisters' help, Halle transformed from her rock and roll image to a fashionable, elegant young lady ready to make her debut on the red carpet. She shone in an emerald green floor length gown with rhinestone accents making it glitter. She just hated that it was Greg who was getting to be with her when she looked like this and not Casper.
Just her luck Greg was on time. It was a long and quiet drive up the mountain to the Lang Lodge. Greg tried to get Halle to talk but she answered in his questions in short answers and stared out the window of his car. Greg parked his car and helped Halle out of the car. The entire teenage community of Hidden Rocks had made their way to the Lang Lodge for the Winter Formal. As part of the ticket price, the students had the option of staying at the lodge if they wished. Greg and Halle met up with Maddie, Odette, Jenna, Leah, and their dates inside.
The group found their table and sat down for a moment to gossip and mock others before partaking in the food. Halle looked around and caught a glimpse of Emma Ross' table. Emma was there with Halle's twin brother Jesse. The pair had been inseparable for the past two years. In the three years since the Valmont's had moved from Stratford, Halle had wondered what it would be like to be friends with Emma Ross and Mollie Reynolds. She had a few classes with all of Emma's friends and they all seemed to be very nice girls. Halle failed to see the issues that Odette and Maddie seemed to have with them.
Halle faked interest in the conversations going on around her. Her eyes kept glancing over at Emma's table. She had seen Casper arrive, alone. Maddie had seen it too. It was time to put her plan into action. She gave the secret code to Greg. Greg started getting more touchy-feely with Halle. He put his arm around Halle, brushing his fingers over her neck, getting her to relax and successfully ticking Casper off more and more. It was taking all the energy Casper Mitchell Lang had in his system to control his intense urge to cross the ballroom and kick the crap out of Greg Luzon.
Halle politely excused herself from the table. She wanted to mingle a little with the other students at the dance. She smiled and chatted with a few people before ducking into the ladies room. There have been several stories circulated about what transpired in the time that Halle was in the ladies room to the shouts and commotion that drew her out.
Some say that it was Casper who started it by confronting Greg. Other's claim that it was Maddie who started it. However, the one part of the story that remained the same was that Mollie was walking past Maddie with a glass of punch in her hand. Some say Maddie tripped her and others claim Mollie stepped on the hem of her dress, either way it happened Maddie ended up with punch all over her. It began a shoving match between the two girls. Several people tried to break in, which only caused more people to get involved in the food fight that was breaking out all over the ballroom. In the matter of five minutes, the Lang Lodge Grand Ballroom was destroyed.
The commotion in the room drew Halle out of the ladies room. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she surveyed the scene before her. The ballroom was destroyed. After this disaster, Halle knew her days as social chair were over and that the Lang's would never allow the high school to hold another event at the lodge ever again. Both Greg and Casper saw the stunned and shocked expression on Halle's face. They began to weave their way through the students, cuts of prime rib, and sushi to get to the girl they both cared about. Greg got to Halle first and was promptly shoved away by a jealous Casper.
"Get away from my girlfriend, Greg," Casper said in a low menacing voice.
"Halle is my date for the evening, Lang. So back off," Greg countered. "Come on Halle. Let's go get some air."
Not wanting to be the one left standing alone, Casper took a step in front of Greg, blocking his path. When and if Casper Lang chose to be, he can be rather intimidating. At seventeen, he stood six foot three and he was rather well built. His shaggy, jet-black hair hid his ice blue eyes that were glaring at Greg at the moment. There was no way Greg Luzon could ever take Casper if it came to a fight. Greg was Peter Parker, pre-spider bite. Casper was Wolverine minus the unbreakable steel claw things. Halle, not wanting to see either boy hurt, she took Greg by the arm and led him away. Halle wasn't betraying Casper nor was she defending Greg. She was saving Casper from suspension and Greg from a black eye or worse. What it looked like to everyone who was watching the scene play out was that Halle had chosen Greg over her boyfriend. Casper stood in the ballroom watching Halle and Greg leave. Maddie walked up to him, lightly placing her hands on his arm.
"I'm sorry Casper," she said. "For what it's worth, I told Halle she was crazy for choosing Greg over you. You deserve so much better than that."
Casper, his eyes never leaving the doorway of the ballroom in hopes that Halle would come back to him, nodded dumbly at what Maddie was telling him. He was in a state of total shock and bewilderment that nothing seemed to really matter. Maddie led him away from the door and over to her table. Odette and the other girls had cleared out and had started helping with the clean up process. Casper and Maddie began to talk, not about Greg and Halle but about everything else. It was in that moment when Casper started to see the side of Maddie he liked the most. This Maddie was a kind and caring Maddie. Casper still had a thing for Maddie despite being turned down by her at least seven times in the past.
"The girls and I got a room upstairs so we wouldn't have to try to drive down the mountain in the dark. Why don't we continue this conversation up there?" Maddie asked. "No pressure."
It took Casper all of five seconds to decide to go with Maddie. His friends were assisting in the cleaning process and wouldn't notice him gone for a long time. Having grown up in the lodge, he knew all the shortcuts to get from the Grand Ballroom to the upper levels without being seen. With luck and planning, he and Maddie could avoid running into Greg and Halle altogether.
Meanwhile Halle had gotten away from Greg and was hiding in one of the large chairs in the parlor. Greg entered, looking for her. He spotted the green of her dress. He knelt down beside her and tried his best to get her to come out.
"I'm sure Casper understood that you were just trying to keep him out of trouble," Greg said, his voice soft and understanding. "I would."
"That's just it Greg," Halle protested, turning in the chair to face him. "All he's going to see is that I chose to protect you over going with him. To Casper, loyalty is everything."
The word loyalty struck Greg hard. As much as he wanted to be with Halle, he was going about it all the wrong way. Halle had true, deep feelings for Casper. The kind of feelings that would take a lot more than just someone else to wash away completely. He knew what he had to do. He would deal with the consequences at a later date. All he wanted to do was set things right with Halle and Casper.
"Halle, I have to tell you something," Greg said, not fully trusting himself to tell her the truth. "It's about Maddie."
"What about Maddie?" Halle asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"She's trying to steal Casper from you," Greg said. "In fact she thinks she's already won."
"You're wrong!" Halle shouted. "Maddie is my best friend! She wouldn't do that to me! You're wrong!"
"Halle, I have done a lot of things I'm not proud of. One of them being everything I have done in these last few weeks. But you, you Halle Valmont, deserve to know the truth. Maddie paid me to get close to you in hopes of driving a wedge between you and Casper. I only went along with it because I liked you so much and wanted to spend time with you. I bet you anything that Maddie is with Casper right now, convincing him that he's better off without you. Don't let her win."
Halle jumped to her feet. "Maddie has been my friend since I moved here. She wouldn't do that. Maddie may be a lot of things but a back stabbing; heartless bitch is not one of them."
She stormed away from Greg and went to the elevator. She, Odette and Maddie had gotten a room on the third floor together. At this moment in time all Halle wanted was to be alone. This night had turned into the biggest disaster in her entire life. She couldn't understand why Greg would lie to her like that. Maddie was her best friend. Best friends didn't do things like that to each other. She fumbled with her keycard, getting it out of her purse and into the slot. She wanted to get into the tub and soak away her sorrow.
The room was dark when she entered. She heard rustling in the room and assumed that Odette and Zach had come up. She was about to leave when she heard Casper's voice say Maddie's name. Halle's hand went to the lamp by the door and flicked the light on. The sight before her was enough to want to cry. Tears blinded her eyes as she turned to run from the room. She heard Casper behind her, calling her name. In her blind haze, Halle found the elevator and slammed her thumb on the down button. She needed her brother or someone that wasn't her cheating boyfriend or former best friend.
"How could you sleep with Maddie when we hadn't even broken up?" Halle accused Casper.
"If I remember correctly Halle, we had been done for a long time before that night. You were the one who went to the dance with Greg and not me. You were the one who chose Greg over me. You can blame all of this on Maddie all you want but you were the one who cheated!"
"Do you hear yourself Casper?" Emma asked. "Did you listen to anyone after everything went down?"
"What does it even matter anymore?" Casper questioned, looking at everyone in the room. "Clearly not everyone in this room has moved on with their lives."
"Clearly you haven't been listening to a damn word anybody has been saying," Emma argued. "Casper you wanted to know the truth and now that it's out there you don't want to hear it. You've got it in your head that Maddie was innocent in all this and we're all against her. When in actuality it's the other way around. Halle did nothing wrong and you know it."
"I think now would be a good time to take a break. Remember we have capture the flag tonight," Katie said.
Emma left the group and went in search of Jesse. She needed to vent to someone who would actually listen to and agree with her. What was driving her craziest was how blind Casper was acting. Honestly, it didn't take much too really annoy Emma Ross but acting dumb when you're really not dumb is a sure way to get Emma hot. She walked up behind Jesse putting her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
"Emma? Is everything all right?" Jesse asked, disentangling himself from Emma's grasp.
"You'll still love me even if I smother both Casper and Maddie in their sleep?" Emma teased.
"What have they done now?" Jesse sighed.
"Maddie didn't exactly confess to what happened at Winter Formal. I did it for her. And Casper still believes that she is completely innocent."
"Emma, I thought we talked about this. Casper is never going to fully see any wrong with Maddie. She had the wool over his eyes rather tight. I would be more shocked if he agreed with you on this point. Just let it go. Our team however is going to kick your butt at Capture the Flag tonight."
"Have you ever even played Capture the Flag?" Emma teased.
"We do play other games in England besides Cricket, Emma."
Casper wandered past everyone looking for Mollie. He hadn't seen her since they broke into their own teams earlier that morning. He knew that she was annoyed to be at camp and not teaching Sunday school like she normally did on Sundays. He looked on the deck of the main building and saw her staring out at the water. Her head was bowed and he paused for a moment to let her have her space.
"Hey Mollie," he called softly, when he hoped the slider door. He stepped out onto the deck, walking up behind her.
Mollie smiled brightly when he came out. She turned around waving him closer. He pulled her into his arms and just held her close to him. Mollie did things to him that none of his ex-girlfriends had done to him. Mollie made him want to be different. He really wanted him and Mollie to be the next Jesse and Emma.
"How was your group session?" Mollie asked.
"Not bad. Turns out it wasn't Halle who was cheating but me," Casper said, admitting his fault. "I assumed that she was moving on that I let Maddie talk her way into my life."
"Didn't you say that if you discovered that it wasn't Halle's fault about what went down that you would take her back, if she asked you to?"
Casper could see the concern and fear in Mollie's eyes after she had said that. Never in his life did Casper ever want to see that fear in Mollie's eyes ever again. She looked back out at the mountain lake
"Mollie, look at me," Casper said softly. Mollie looked up at Casper, looking into his deep blue eyes. "I am with you. I want to be with you. Halle and I will always care about each other but she will never be you. In all this crazy, insanity that has happened this past year I think it was all so I could meet and fall for you."
"Someone has been watching too many soaps with their sister," Mollie teased. "But it is nice, wonderful to hear. Because I feel the same way."
"That's good to know," Casper said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. The pair then turned back to stare out at the lake.
Halle was walking past the deck just in time to see Casper place the kiss on Abbie's forehead. In some ways, she was slightly jealous and in others, she was very happy for her friend. Halle knew that her knight in shining armor was around she just had to keep looking.
Maddie had found her friends and had begun planning an attack on Emma. Maddie was peeved that Emma had ousted her plot to take down Halle and now Maddie needed to channel her anger and betrayal out on someone. This time instead of focusing on Mollie as her primary target, she chose a much bigger fish. She needed to find something to take Emma down a few more pegs.
In the ten years since her mother's death Emma had let her hair get to an astonishing length. Mollie liked to call it her "Amish" hair. If Emma let all her hair down it would reach almost to the backs of her knees. Emma rarely used any major products or anything on her hair. Most of the time Emma had it up in a ponytail or her grandmother would French braid it for her. For camp Emma and her grandmother had spent four hours braiding her hair. Maddie decided that the best way to get Emma to break down would be to take away her hair.
Maddie figured the best way to that would be to cut it off while Emma was asleep. Maddie had no care for the trouble she could and would get into. She just wanted Emma to feel something besides righteous indignation. It would be a rather difficult plan to execute because Jenna, Odette and Leah were still unsure if they really wanted to be a part of it.
"Maddie, just leave her alone," Jenna said. "Is hurting Emma really for the best?"
"Emma's going down and if you three won't help me then I'll do it myself," Maddie hissed. "I have had enough of Emily Blythe running her mouth."
"But Maddie, you did set Halle and Casper up. You did that and it backfired," Odette said. "Emma finally called you on it fully."
"Whose side are you on Odette?" Maddie snapped.
"I'm not going to be a part of this," Jenna said. "Mollie and I talked during group and what we did to her before we got here was just, not cool."
"Are you forgetting that she stole Casper from me? Or that she has no business being a cheerleader? Mollie Reynolds is just a redheaded harlot who hasn't learned her place."
Casper and Mollie had come back inside just in time to hear that last bit of Maddie's rant. Casper's eyes glowed with a deep rage. There were very few things that he would tolerate and Maddie trashing Mollie again was not one of them.
"You got something to say about my girlfriend Maddie?" Casper asked, his voice low and menacing. "Cause it sounded like you did."
"I just find it astounding how quickly your loyalties change Casper," Maddie said, sweetly. "I mean just last week you would have been defending me. Before it was Halle. I'm just wondering how long this will last."
"How long I intend for my relationship with Mollie to last is between her and I. I would appreciate it greatly if you would shut your trap and leave my girlfriend alone."
"Maddie I am reminded of something a wise little rabbit once said, 'If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all,'" Jenna said, finally taking a stand against Maddie. "I think now would be a good time for you to follow it."
"Why Miss Jenna it seems that you have grown a backbone," Maddie snapped. "Picked the wrong day to use it though."
"I don't think so Maddie," Jenna replied. "You don't control me anymore."
Jenna turned on her heel and walked away from the friends she used to have. Today Jenna Malone was becoming her own person. Today she was choosing for herself what to think, who to like or dislike, and if she wanted to, she could dye her hair the crazy purple she wanted and not even flinch. Without another word, Jenna strode away and Mollie was right on heels. The pair were accountability partners and this was a huge step that Mollie had been encouraging Jenna to take for three days now.
"Jenna!" Mollie called to her. Jenna turned around and smiled at Mollie
"Thank you Mollie," Jenna said.
Mollie looked at her new friend and smiled. "I didn't do anything," Mollie said. "You stood up to Maddie all on your own."
"Must you be so humble all the time?" Jenna teased. "Mollie you do more for everyone than you know. I don't know what I would do without you around."
"I think you'd be just fine. Come on let's go get some dinner!" Mollie said, taking Jenna's hand and pulling her back to the kitchen. "We'll need what energy we can get to kick Emma and Maddie's butt at Capture the Flag tonight."
"Mollie wait. I have to tell you something. It's about Maddie and Emma. Maddie's planning something."
"What is she going to do, Jenna?" Mollie's eyes filled with worry and fear for her best friend. "Jenna you have to tell me."
"She's going to cut off Emma's hair. I don't know when or where but she's going to try."
"I have to warn Emma," Mollie said. "Was that what they were talking about when Casper and I came inside?"
"Yeah. Mollie, I don't know what to do here. Do I tell Emma and face being called a liar or turn my back and let God decide what happens?"
"I will tell Emma. She'll be more likely to believe me than you. No offense, Jenna."
"None taken. I want you to know that I've always liked you and Emma. I think what Maddie has done is just plain mean and uncool. When this camp is over, I will have nothing to do with Maddie ever again."
"Good for you Jenna," Mollie said.
The two girls went back into the kitchen and sat down to eat. Jenna could feel the beady eyes of her former friends boring into her back. She didn't care and continued to talk with Becca and Mollie. It felt good for Jenna to have girls to talk to that wouldn't tell her one thing and go and do the complete opposite later on. Jenna occasionally looked over her shoulder to catch the full effect of Maddie's stares.
The students had a fifteen-minute break after dinner to get changed for Capture the Flag. Jesse and Emma used that time to sneak away to be alone. Emma wanted to tell Jesse about what had happened during team discussion.
"Now that Casper knows the truth, he still can't seem to believe it," Emma said. "It's like he enjoys defending Maddie. Even after all she has done, he still can't seem to find fault with her."
"That's just Casper," Jesse said. "He still feels the same way about Halle. It will take him awhile but he'll get used to idea that Maddie isn't the perfect person he thinks she is. I will say I haven't seen him happier in a long time. I think Mollie and he are going to be a great match."
"I'm still not sold on them together," Emma sighed. "He so easily believed the worst in Halle. I'm just scared she's going to get her heart broken."
"What are you really afraid of Em?" Jesse questioned.
"I'm not afraid of anything."
"Are you a bad liar," Jesse teased. "Face it Em, you're afraid that if Casper and Mollie get close you're going to lose your best friend. Remember how Mollie felt when we first started dating? Think about that."
"He's not good enough for her," Emma argued.
"Then who is?" Jesse countered.
"Peter Pevensie," Emma said, quickly.
"Someone real, Emma. A character in a book doesn't count."
"Michael Hanford," Emma said after a moment.
"And who is this Michael Hanford?"
"Michael is in Mollie's Bible study group. He is a strong Christian man. He gets Mollie."
"What makes you think that Casper doesn't? From what I've seen, Casper is bringing out a side in Mollie that I really like. She's more open."
"You realize they have only officially been together almost a week. That's after sneaking around for a few weeks."
"I know you're not going to listen to me anyway, but I am going to say this. Mollie's happy. Happier than I've seen her in weeks. Until he does something to warrant this kind of stress you're putting on yourself, just leave them alone."
"I just can't shake what he said to me the day we all ended up in Mrs. Roberts' office."
"What is that he said?"
"He said that Mollie needs me to be okay with her and Casper being together. He said that she needs me more than ever. What could he have possibly meant?"
"Did you ask Mollie if anything is going on that would lead you to suspect anything strange going on?"
"Everything has been great as far as I can tell," Emma said. "I had every intention of talking to Mollie about it and then all this happened. I just don't know what to think anymore."
"I think that you and Mollie need to have a heart to heart as soon as all this is over. There's got to be something going on that she's not telling you about. Or it could just be nothing and you're worrying yourself for nothing."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you're far too sensitive and insightful for a guy?" Emma teased.
"I do have seven sisters. Something had to have worn off."
"I guess so. Well I should head in to get changed. See you out there. We're going to beat the pants off of you!"
"We'll just have to see about that!"
The pair shared a quick kiss before parting. Emma slipped into the cabin and into her and Maddie's room. She knew it would be a pain but she had inkling to take her hair down and pull it up into a normal long ponytail. She listened to find out if anyone else was in the cabin. It would take at least herself and one other person to help her with dismantling her hair. Before camp started Emma and Nanna had tightly French braided her hair almost like Princess Leia's in the Empire Strikes Back. It took a long time to get it that way and Emma really didn't have the heart to take it down but she needed to wash it and take out the twigs and leaves that had been accumulating there.
Heaving a large sigh Emma felt around for the various hairpins that were holding up her hair. She decided that she would take t down tonight and then wash it in the morning. Until then she would braid it into one long fat braid. She threw on a hooded sweatshirt that she had stolen from Hunter, Abbie's older brother and ran out of the cabin to meet with the rest of her team.
The boys had developed a plan of how each of their teams could possibly win. Marc and Sebastian had the advantage of being in football. They also had the disadvantage of being on separate teams. Each knew how the other would think and had a chance to outsmart the other.
Matt, Bastian, and Derrick gathered the girls in a huddle. "Now we know that Marc and Jesse are going to be the first wave. Our best bet to counteract them would be to send Halle, Jo and Emma out first and have us boys take the second attack."
"What about me?" Maddie whined. "This is supposed to be a team event."
"Sadly she has a point," Emma consented. "All right Maddie. What's your brilliant plan to beat Jesse and Marc at Capture the Flag?"
"If we know that Marc and Jesse will come out first don't you think they will anticipate that we will think that and send Abbie, Becca and possibly Traitor out first."
"Why do you do that Maddie?" Halle asked. "Just because someone stands up to you doesn't automatically make them a traitor."
"I don't have to explain myself to you Halle," Maddie snapped. "What I choose to call someone is my own choice and there is nothing you or anyone else can say about it."
"Will you two can it so the rest of us can play?" Matt asked. "Someone record this because for once Maddie is right. Marc and Jesse probably think that we think that they will be the first to attack so it would make sense that they would send the girls first."
"So what's your master plan then Maddie?" Casper asked.
"Send Halle, Emma and Jo out first."
"Isn't that what we had just talked about?" Matt argued. "Marc and Jesse aren't as dumb as we'd like them to be. One way or another they are going to outsmart and outplay us."
"Way to pep us up, Matt," Emma argued. "Why don't we just play balls out and screw trying to outsmart, outlast and outplay anyone."
"Anyone tell you that you watch way too much prime time TV?" Sebastian teased.
"Bite me," Emma snapped back.
"I'm not Edward."
The team then did a quick cheer for themselves and then went out to the woods behind the main house. No one noticed that Maddie had slipped off on her own. She had made arrangements with Odette and Leah to hand off a pair of scissors. Emma was never going to see it coming. The plan was to corner her in the woods Leah and Odette would hold her while Maddie cut off her hair.
The game started off as normally as it could. Casper, Matt and Sebastian went balls out and ended up getting captured by the prepared and ready Mollie, Becca and Jenna. Mollie and Becca were more than happy to walk their respective boyfriends back to the jail. Jenna held watch while Odette and Leah made their way across the line with Marc and Jesse. Along the way, they passed Maddie and the three girls shared a wink. The stage was almost set. Another fifty feet or so they could slip away and hide out until Emma passed.
Marc and Jesse slipped onto the other side and proceeded to find Unity's hidden flag. It didn't take them long to reach the other side. Well they would have made it had Emma not come up behind them and tap them on the shoulder.
"Damn it Emma!" Marc whined. "How did you sneak up on us?"
"Please the two of walk so loudly that I'm shocked Maddie didn't catch you sooner. Where is she anyway?"
"We haven't seen her in awhile," Marc answered. "She may have gotten to the other side."
"You guys get your butts to the jail and stay there for five minutes. I'm going to hide the flag. Again," Emma said.
Emma wandered to the wooded area and hid the flag amongst an old stump and some ferns. Hopefully, she hid it well enough for it to go unnoticed by anyone else. Unlucky for her she was in just the right spot for Maddie's well-planned attack. Emma felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and something cool and metallic touch the back of her neck. Another set of hands gathered her hair in their hands.
Emma fought the hands holding onto her but it did no use. Slowly her head felt lighter as each strand of her long hair was cut away. Tears blinded her as Maddie, Leah and Odette took turns chopping off Emma's hair in varying lengths. Once they were finished, Maddie leaned down to whisper in Emma's ear. "Game. Set. Match. I win, bitch."
Emma wasn't going down without a fight. She fought to get out of Odette's grasp, scratching both Leah and Maddie's faces. Lying at her feet was her brown hair.
"You heartless bitches! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Emma flew at Maddie tackling her to the ground. Fists, dirt and fallen hair flew around them. Odette and Leah got out of the way as Emma and Maddie rolled toward the lighted field. The first to notice them was Marc and Jesse. The two boys sprinted for the girls hoping to pull them apart.
Once in the light the boys were in the light they could see just what Maddie had done to Emma. Jesse managed to pull Emma away from Maddie, who now had a bloody nose to add to the scratches and other injuries to her face and hands. Emma was still screaming profoundly at Maddie.
"This is by far the meanest, nastiest thing you have ever done Maddison! I don't care how long it takes I will get you for this! Do you have any idea what you have done!?"
"Baby calm down. It's just hair. It'll grow back," Jesse said, trying to soothe Emma, to no avail.
"I have not cut my hair once since my mother died ten years ago! She has ruined the only thing I had of my mother left! Maddie can burn in hell for all I care."