What If... All the Rumors Were True (20 page)

NEW JERSEY WATER TORTURE

You can lead a frosh to water, and you can make her drink.

“H
ey, boys, what's on the agenda?” Haley asked as she and Sasha led the girls' varsity soccer team through the front door of Zach Woolsey's house for the first unofficial coed initiation. Zach was a senior on the boys' team, who lived in the Heights. He wasn't a captain on the boys team, but he'd offered to step in and host when Reese had predictably bailed on the whole hazing idea. It looked as though the boys had already gotten the party started. Their three freshmen were sitting at a table with six huge jugs of water in front of them.

“Gulp it down!” Zach said, forcefully. “We're making them drink at least a gallon of water each,” he explained to the girls. “These frosh are going to be up all night pissing their pants.”

“
That's
your initiation ritual?” Sasha said.

“It's better than watching them puke all night from drinking,” Zach replied. “Or making them eat brownies laced with laxatives. The idiot lacrosse players tried that last year. You would not believe the mess.”

“Well, what's good enough for the boys…,” Haley said, pulling up two chairs. “Leah and Marissa, looks like you've got some water to drink.”

Haley gave them each a jug. The rest of the team seemed to be waiting for her to tell them what to do. It felt cool being in charge, having the power to boss the girls around. It was a new sensation for Haley, and one she instantly liked.

Marissa and Leah, the two freshman players, tilted their heads back and drank the water. After a few minutes of gulping, Marissa wiped her mouth. “My stomach's full. I can't drink any more.”

Haley frowned. “Jen, check the jug to see how much she's had so far.” Jen was a senior—so even seniors were following Haley's orders. Which was kind of awesome.

“She's only finished about half,” Jen said.

“Keep going, Marissa,” Haley demanded.

“How are you doing, Leah?” Sasha asked, looking a tad concerned.

Leah gulped and took a breath. “Okay.”

“Come on, let's get some team spirit going!” Haley said. “Chug! Chug! Chug!”

The other girls followed along, chanting and cheering. “Chug! Chug! Chug!”

Marissa stopped and clutched her stomach. “Maybe we should let them take a break,” Sasha suggested.

“What do you think, team?” Haley asked. “The boys aren't getting any breaks.”

The other girls shouted, “Chug!”

By the end of the evening, Marissa and Leah had finished more than a gallon each. “Good job,” Haley said, putting her arms around the two freshmen. “You are now official Lady Hawks. Congratulations.”

“Ugh,” Marissa groaned.

“My stomach,” Leah said.

“My head,” Marissa said, rubbing her temples.

“Come on, you guys will be fine,” Haley said. “It's just water, right?”

The party broke up. Haley felt good as Sasha drove her home. “I think the girls had a good time, don't you?” she said.

“Yeah, except for Leah and Marissa.”

Just then, Haley's cell buzzed. She glanced at the screen. Leah's name came up.

“Leah, what's up?”

“This isn't Leah. This is her mother. Leah and Marissa are both in the emergency room. Leah tells me Marissa passed out cold in the car on the way home. Just what were you girls doing tonight?”

“What's wrong with Marissa?” Haley asked, fear creeping into her voice.

“We don't know yet,” Leah's mother said. “The doctors said something about water poisoning. But why would that be? You girls didn't have a game today.”

The next day at school, the news was out. Marissa had gone into shock. Her system had been so overloaded with water it upset the saline balance in her blood. “The doctor said it was life-threatening. She could have died,” Sasha told Haley after visiting the ER.

Haley's stomach hit the ground. This was bad. This was very bad. And it was about to get worse.

The word “life-threatening” sent the parents of Hillsdale into crisis mode, forcing the girls on the soccer team to confess what had happened. It wasn't long before Haley Miller was named as being the primary force behind the initiation stunt—it was her idea, the girls said. She made the freshmen drink.

That afternoon, Coach Tygert called Haley into his office. “I'm sorry to do this, Haley,” he said. “But I have no choice but to strip you of your title as captain and kick you off the team.”

“I thought it was safe,” Haley protested. “I never heard that drinking too much water could be bad for you.”

“You should never have forced your players to do something like this in the first place,” Coach Tygert said. “Your job is to lead them, to help them, not send them to the hospital.”

Haley was devastated and more humiliated than she'd ever been in her life. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. Principal Crum expelled her. And then the local paper published an article about the cruel hazing incidents at Hillsdale High and named Haley Miller as one of the main perpetrators. Everyone shunned her. She became a pariah in town, friendless and alone.

How awful! Haley got carried away in her own initiation frenzy—with serious consequences. How could she treat her own teammates so cruelly? Even if she never thought too much water could be harmful, just causing them discomfort was bad enough. Is that any way for a captain to behave? Well, she's not the captain anymore, so that won't ever happen again. At least not on the girls' soccer team.

Hang your head and go back to Chapter 1.

SHOW SOME MERCY

Sometimes leadership means taking one for the team.

B
y the time Haley got to Zach Woolsey's house in the Heights, the “initiation” process was already underway. Zach, a senior on the boys' soccer team, had agreed to a coed hazing, as long as the girls didn't wimp out. He wasn't a captain but had offered to host after Reese Highland had canceled at the last minute. It was no surprise that the minute the word
hazing
began to circulate, Reese had backed out.

Haley found her two freshmen, Leah and Marissa, sitting with the three frosh boys at a kitchen table loaded with huge jugs of water. Their teammates, boys and girls, surrounded them, ready to cheer them on.

“Now,” Zach said. “I'm letting you frosh off easy. All you have to do is chug all the water on this table, and you're done. Initiated. Simple, right?”

“Not so fast,” Haley said. This looked innocent enough, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Nothing bad would happen to her players, not on her watch. She took her position as captain of the team very seriously.

“Sorry, Zach, but my girls have already been initiated,” she said, winking at Marissa and Leah. “They've been through the wringer, and I hate to make them suffer more. They don't deserve it. And actually, I think the rest of you freshman are going to end up on the team even if you don't drink the water. No one's going to fault you if you walk out right now.”

“Come on,” Zach said. “You promised you girls wouldn't wuss out.”

“I don't remember making any promise like that,” Haley said. “Come on, girls—time for pizza.” She led her teammates out of the house with Sasha and saw all the freshman boys following them out the door.

“Thanks, Haley,” Leah said once they arrived at Lisa's Pizza. “I really didn't want to drink all that water.”

“Hazing is ridiculous,” Haley declared. “Reese was right to have no part of that. Why would I want to abuse my own teammates? We've got a game in two days. It doesn't make sense.”

A few girls were whispering at the other end of the table. “Hey, guys, did you hear about Mia Delgado?” asked one, her jaw dropping.

“What—more rumors about Mia?” Haley said. The new girl certainly knew how to get herself talked about, that was for sure.

“This is a doozy,” Leah said. “I heard she went to that Casino Night fund-raiser at Spencer Eton's house—and was
flirting
with Whitney Klein's dad in front of everyone.”

“You're kidding!” Haley said. “Mia? Are you sure? What would she see in Jerry Klein?”

“That's what I'd like to know,” Sasha said. “That guy sure gets around.”

Just then Haley's phone buzzed. She checked the screen: it was a text from Alex Martin, the cute senior head of the debate team.

“Would it be all right if I called you sometime?—Alex.”

“What is it?” Sasha asked, looking at Haley's startled face.

“I think Alex Martin just asked me out.”

“Nice,” Sasha said, toasting Haley with her slice of pizza.

“Hey, do you want to go with me to pick up Johnny at Bubbies? I hate sitting there waiting alone. And we can discuss how you're going to handle the cute senior with a crush on you.”

What a busy night—in the best possible way. Haley kindly spared her frosh the ordeal of initiation. Who knows what could have happened? Protecting her teammates won her their undying loyalty and appreciation. For the rest of the season, they respected Haley's leadership more than ever.

But the decision making never ends. What's up with this rumor about Mia and Jerry Klein? Could it really be true? If you think Haley's curiosity about this mystery will not be slaked until she finds out the truth, send her to
"INVESTIGATE MIA"
.

And then there's Alex's offer. Should she take him up on it and go out with him? What about Reese? Or the cute photographer Devon McKnight? Or Sebastian Bodega, for that matter? If Mia's flirty with Mr. Klein, does that mean her “Sebbie” is finally free? If you think Haley should give Alex a shot, go to
"DATE WITH ALEX"
. If you think Haley should go to Bubbies with Sasha instead,
"INCURABLE FLIRT"
.

Haley's been on a roll lately, but should she keep rolling the dice?