The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 309: Chapter 309 - Twenty Dollars

Roxie walked toward the girls by the drinking fountain before she could change her mind.

Their conversation died the second they saw her coming. One girl looked down at her phone while the other tightened her fingers around her water bottle, and both glanced at each other like they couldn’t quite believe the person they had probably been talking about was actually walking straight toward them.

The tightness in Roxie’s stomach returned.

Fine.

She smiled anyway.

”Hey, guys.”

Both girls looked up properly this time, still slightly startled.

Roxie lifted the tickets in her hand. ”You coming tomorrow?”

The girl holding the water bottle gave her an awkward smile. ”Maybe.”

”Maybe?” Roxie tilted her head and let her mouth pull down slightly. ”We won State and this is the support we get?”

The girl laughed despite herself.

Roxie stepped closer and held out a ticket. ”Come on. Twenty dollars. Help us get to Nationals.”

”I only have ten.”

”That’s fine.” Roxie pointed toward the payment code Angela was holding.

Angela immediately lifted it and winked at both girls. ”We came prepared.”

Roxie smiled wider. ”We made it really hard for you to escape.”

The girl laughed again and pulled out her phone.

”See?” Roxie said. ”I knew you were nice.”

Karen made a quiet sound behind her while Angela lowered her head, clearly trying to hide her smile.

The other girl looked at Roxie, already suspicious. ”I don’t have cash either.”

Roxie glanced meaningfully toward the phone in her hand.

The girl started laughing before Roxie even spoke. ”Seriously?”

”Please?”

”You’re evil.”

”I’m trying to get to Nationals.”

The girl sighed and opened the payment app.

Roxie smiled brightly. ”Thank you.”

Whatever Karen and Angela thought about her methods, two tickets were gone. Apparently, guilt worked.

Roxie thanked the girls again and walked away with Karen and Angela close behind.

Karen waited until they were several feet away before looking at her. ”You just smiled at them until they gave you forty dollars.”

”They wanted to help.”

”They wanted you to stop looking at them like they were personally disappointing you.”

Roxie frowned. ”I was being sweet.”

Karen laughed. ”That’s the scary part.”

Roxie looked down at the smaller ticket stack.

Her stomach still felt tight, but the first sale had gone better than she expected. Those girls had definitely been talking about her. Roxie knew it. They knew she knew it.

And nothing happened.

She sold them tickets and walked away.

She could handle that.

The next few sales came easier.

A football player complained that twenty dollars was too much until Roxie reminded him he had spent more than that at Burger Barn after practice two nights ago. He argued that food was different, so Roxie pressed a ticket lightly against his chest and told him Nationals mattered more than fries.

He bought one.

His friend laughed.

Roxie immediately turned toward him.

His smile disappeared. ”Please don’t. I’m saving for something.”

Roxie gave him her sweetest smile. ”You’re saving the cheer team. What’s twenty dollars to a man like you?”

He stared at her for a second before pulling out his wallet. ”Bet this is how you got Zac wrapped around your finger.”

Roxie grinned and winked. ”Wouldn’t you like to know? I’ll expect you tomorrow.”

She turned away before he could answer and found Karen and Angela staring at her.

Roxie’s smile disappeared. ”What?”

”That was a little flirty,” Angela said.

”I know,” Roxie whispered, glancing down at the tickets. ”But it worked.”

Karen looked amused. ”Pray Zac doesn’t see you.”

Roxie immediately felt a little guilty. ”Hey. It’s not like I’m trying to date these guys.”

Angela grinned. ”Fine. I’ll flirt too. If anybody gets mad, they’re dumb.”

”Can we stop saying flirt so loud?” Roxie hissed, looking around them.

Both girls laughed.

By the next hallway, something inside Roxie had started loosening. Karen and Angela were getting into it too, and Roxie had stopped studying every face for signs of gossip. She started recognizing people instead.

Karen nudged her suddenly. ”Look.”

Roxie followed her gaze and immediately saw the bag hanging from a girl’s arm.

Her eyebrows shot up.

”Is that from the new Hermès collection?”

Karen nodded toward the group. ”Go.”

There were several girls together, all carrying bags that probably cost more than Roxie made in months. Roxie looked at Angela and Karen with a slowly growing smile.

Angela saw it. ”Oh, no.”

Roxie walked over.

”Oh my God, wait.”

The girl with the Hermès bag stopped. ”Yes?”

”Your bag.” Roxie stepped closer, eyes dropping toward the gold hardware. ”Where did you get that?”

The girl’s face brightened immediately. ”My mom got it for me in New York.”

”I knew it.” Roxie laughed softly. ”I really wanted that one. And girl, it looks so good with your outfit.”

The other girls smiled too, and Roxie finally looked at all of them properly.

”Actually, all of you look fucking good. Why does everybody have amazing bags today?”

One girl lifted hers slightly. ”Mine’s from Paris.”

Roxie stared. ”Okay, now you’re just hurting me.”

They laughed.

Another girl asked, ”You collect too?”

”I wish. I can’t even get on half the waiting lists.”

The first girl looked surprised. ”I can probably get you on one if you want.”

Roxie actually gasped.

That part had nothing to do with selling.

”Seriously?”

”Yeah.”

”I’d love that.”

Roxie absolutely could not afford to spend most of her monthly money on one bag, but getting on the list still sounded exciting enough.

The girl finally looked toward Roxie’s hand. ”What are those?”

Roxie glanced down at the tickets as if she had genuinely forgotten them.

”Oh. Right.” She laughed. ”I got distracted by all of you. We’re selling Sweetheart tickets for Nationals. Twenty dollars.”

The girls looked at each other.

”Give us ten.”

Roxie blinked.

Angela recovered much faster and immediately started counting tickets while Karen opened the payment sheet.

Ten.

Two hundred dollars like it was nothing.

Roxie almost asked if they actually had ten people coming, but the girls were already passing the tickets between them and talking about friends they could bring.

That made her smile for a completely different reason.

”I’m holding all of you to this tomorrow.”

”We’ll be there.”

”Good.”

Roxie thanked them, then walked away with Karen and Angela.

Angela looked down at the envelope. ”That was two hundred dollars.”

”I know.”

Karen stared at Roxie. ”You started that conversation because you liked her bag.”

”I did like her bag.”

”And somehow walked away with ten sales.”

Roxie smiled. ”Maybe I should sell cars.”

A few minutes later, she spotted Cassie near the lockers and remembered the presentation she had been freaking out about earlier in the week.

”How’d you do?”

Cassie blinked. ”On what?”

”Your history presentation.”

Her face immediately brightened. ”You remembered?”

”You almost had a breakdown over it.”

”Ninety-four.”

Roxie grabbed her arm. ”Bitch! See? You were freaking out for nothing.”

Cassie laughed, and by the time Roxie finally remembered the tickets in her hand, Cassie was already reaching for her wallet.

Karen watched her leave before looking at Roxie. ”Bitch, you’ve got a future in sales.”

Angela grinned. ”You know everything about everybody.”

Roxie laughed. ”Ava helps. She yaps at the table all day. Eventually you know everybody’s business whether you want to or not.”

But it wasn’t only Ava.

As the morning went on, Roxie realized she had spent years collecting tiny pieces of people without thinking about it. She knew who had made varsity, who had changed their hair, who had been nervous about a test and whose sister was applying to college. Sometimes she stopped somebody because she genuinely liked their nails or wanted to know where they bought something, then forgot about the tickets until Karen quietly reminded her.

People smiled when Roxie called them by name. Girls stopped to show her things after she complimented them. Guys complained about twenty dollars while already reaching for their wallets. Even students Roxie barely spoke to seemed pleased when she remembered something about them.

By lunch, their stack had shrunk enough that Karen kept checking what was left.

Roxie was starting to enjoy herself.

The cafeteria should have been easier.

Almost everybody was already sitting in one place.

And the second Roxie walked in, she realized Kendall had reached the same conclusion.

She was already working one side of the cafeteria with Tori, ticket stack in one hand while she talked to a table full of basketball players.

Roxie’s eyes dropped toward her stack.

Kendall noticed.

Her eyes immediately dropped toward Roxie’s too.

Neither said anything.

Kendall only lifted one eyebrow.

Roxie narrowed her eyes.

Karen caught it. ”Please focus.”

”I am.”

”You’re competing with her again.”

”I was already competing with her.”

Angela lightly shoved Roxie toward the nearest tables. ”Then sell.”

Roxie laughed and moved.

Lunch was easier because she knew somebody at almost every other table. People called her over before she reached them, and the performances had finally become interesting enough that students were asking questions without Roxie having to start every conversation herself.

”Mason.”

Mason looked up from his lunch and immediately shook his head. ”No.”

Roxie walked toward the football table. ”Buy another one.”

”I already bought one.”

”Bring somebody.”

”I don’t have anybody.”

Kyle looked over. ”That is actually sad.”

Mason flipped him off.

Dylan was already pulling out his wallet.

Roxie smiled. ”See? Good person.”

”I’m buying one for my mom.”

”I like her more than Mason.”

Mason just rolled his eyes.

”Karen’s gonna appreciate if you do.”

Mason groaned but grinned at Karen who just rolled her eyes at him. ”Fine, anything for my goddess.”

Roxie handed him another ticket.

Kyle looked toward her. ”I’m performing. I’m not paying.”

”We’re all performing.” Mason groaned. ”Buy another.”

Kyle frowned while Karen started laughing, and Roxie moved away before he could argue.

The conversation around the football table pulled attention from nearby groups. Soon people were asking about tomorrow’s performances.

A girl waved Roxie closer. ”What are you doing?”

Roxie smiled. ”Come and find out.”

”Is it actually a dance?”

”Yeah.”

”What kind?”

Roxie thought about the fake chair routine she had invented purely to torment Zac.

Her mouth curved.

The girl noticed immediately. ”Oh my God. Is it sexy?”

Roxie’s eyes moved across the cafeteria before she could stop herself.

Zac was already looking at her.

Her smile widened.

”Maybe.”

The girls around the table reacted loudly enough that people nearby turned.

Karen stared at Roxie.

”What?”

”Nothing.”

”Marketing.”

Two girls immediately bought tickets.

Roxie handed one over and caught Zac still watching from across the cafeteria.

Mason said something beside him.

Zac’s eyes stayed on Roxie.

She couldn’t hear the conversation, but she knew that look.

Especially when a pretty girl stepped closer to buy and Roxie smiled warmly at her.

The girl smiled back.

Roxie glanced toward Zac.

His jaw shifted.

Oh.

That was cute.

Roxie looked back at the girl and smiled a little sweeter while handing over the ticket.

Zac leaned back in his chair and stared and Roxie almost laughed.

Mason followed the look between them and covered his mouth with one hand.

Zac shoved his shoulder.

Roxie looked away before anybody else noticed.

For the first time since the rumor started, being watched felt almost normal again.

This attention belonged to her.

People were curious because Roxie wanted them curious about tomorrow. She could tease them about the dance, smile at somebody, refuse to explain what she was performing and watch them buy a ticket because they wanted to know.

She controlled this version.

She liked that.

Maybe that was why she didn’t notice Bianca watching her at first.

Roxie was talking to another group when a familiar voice carried across the cafeteria.

”Twenty dollars?”

Roxie’s smile disappeared.

She turned.

Bianca sat several tables away with Lily and two other girls, one elbow resting lazily against the table while she looked at Roxie’s ticket stack.

”You should charge more.”

Nearby conversations started quieting.