Red Herring ✔️

16. Slutty Blood Suckers

16 Days to Halloween

*unedited*

As much as Mazie craved to dress up in her best Halloween vampire costume, duty called. For the football game, the yearbook instructor assigned Mazie to snap some specific shots of the varsity cheerleading squad.

Unlike every other normal high school student, Mazie bundled up in a cozy knit cream sweater, black leggings, brown boots, and a wool socks. She topped it off with a slim black puffer jacket, a long tan scarf with tassels, and a warm hat with a pom-pom on top. She didn't so much as sport a single school color or a hint of Eagles paraphernalia. But she was here to do a job and that's it.

You going to the game? - came a text from Amelia.

Mazie sent Amelia a picture of the fancy yearbook camera that hung around her neck.

A - ugh, who am I supposed to sit with?

M - Serena? Blake and Noah? Ellie?

A - It was a rhetorical question

M - That wasn't super obvious

A - Ok, dimwit

Whether or not the conversation was over, Mazie tucked her phone back in her pocket and then rubbed her hands together to stimulate warmth by friction. Despite the dropping temperature as the the sun went down, she couldn't wear gloves because they inhibited her ability to properly operate the camera.

With her school yearbook pass, security permitted Mazie into the game and she showed herself to the field sidelines. The cheerleaders warmed up and jogged in place to stay warm and keep their blood pumping. Mazie lifted the camera and snapped a few shots to check the settings and the lighting.

"Hey, Mazie, you on the cheerleaders tonight?" Another yearbook student, Rachelle, asked, approaching her from the other side of the field.

Mazie lowered the camera. "Yeah, you?"

"Band tonight. Forgot my earplugs." If there was anyone more cynical than Mazie, it was Rachelle who never wore an ounce of makeup but didn't need it; and who perpetually always had her heartbroken by a string of guys.

"Shame. You gonna make it?" Mazie joke, fiddling with the settings on the camera.

Rachelle shrugged. "Probably not." She watched the cheerleaders practicing a simple routine to the beat of the drums in the marching band. "Surprised you aren't all dressed up."

A little piece of her heart was sad too that she wasn't traipsing around here in all black garb, fangs, and a cliche cape. Maybe then her fingers wouldn't feel like they were about to freeze and fall off inside long silk costume gloves. "The camera wouldn't match my outfit."

Rachelle snickered and arched her back to stretch. "You're tellin' me. Careful with your shots...wouldn't wanna catch Miss Sunshine on the sidelines, riding the bench. Awkward." Shaking her head in dismay, Rachelle unwrapped a peppermint which she withdrew from her jacket pocket and plopped it on her tongue. Rachelle retreated to her proper zone before the game commenced.

Mazie's gaze drifted from Rachelle to the newcomer in her cheerleading jump suit which all of the cheerleaders wore in the colder months. She sat on the bench, hidden by the stands, beside the head coach and assistant coach where all of the girls stashed their small duffle bags and school water bottles. In her lap, a pair of sparkling pom-poms rested in her open palms, seemingly unaffected by the brisk cold that seemed to worm its way inside no matter how many layers she wore.

The person that Rachelle referred to was Demi. Mazie overheard that the squad threatened her with probation if she didn't pull it together. They must have finally followed through.