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As play stopped, Kay’s eyes wandered around the student section and landed on a girl with bangs and a bright green school hoodie standing near the staircase, looking lost. She nudged Miles and pointed.
“You think she’s okay?”
“Hm?” Miles followed Kay’s gaze. “Oh. She does look a bit lost. Did you want to go and say hello?”
“Say hi to who?” Larry leaned over Miles’ shoulder from the row behind them.
Miles sighed. “The girl with the top knot over there. She looks—”
“Whoa! She’s hot!”
Phoenix rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Larry.”
“Oh, sorry, did Jay call dibs?”
Dibs? Was that a thing guys did? “Uh, I was just gonna see if she’s okay.”
“Okay, then.” Larry winked. “Good luck, man.”
“Thanks! Uh, bro!” Kay flashed him a grin and jumped out of her seat and past Miles and Phoenix’s legs. As she hopped down the aisle, the girl looked up at her.
“O—oh! Um…”
Kay waved. “Hi! Are you looking for something?”
“Well…a seat, maybe. I’ve never been to a game before, but…”
“Are you a student here?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course! I just…well, I don’t really know anything about football. But I wanna learn!”
Kay held out her hand. “Wanna come sit with me and the guys? Sigma Eta Upsilon.”
“Okay!” The girl shook Kay’s hand. “I’m Maya.”
“Jay Faraday.”
“Wow, that’s a cool name!”
Kay grinned, cheeks turning warm. “Thanks! Um, so is yours!”
Maya tilted her head. “How old are you?”
Oh no. Had she gotten so flustered she forgot to do the guy voice? “Uh…eighteen. I just—I kind of have a high voice. Sorry.”
“No, it’s cool! I just thought maybe you were some kinda child genius or something.”
Kay giggled. “No, I’m not a genius. Um, but my Big, Miles, sorta is. Wanna come meet him?”
“Oh, yeah, let’s go!”
Kay offered Maya her hand, then felt herself blush like crazy as soon as she took it. She shook herself out of it and led Maya up to their seats.
“Okay, so that’s Miles—”
“He doesn’t look very big,” Maya said.
“It means I’m responsible for looking out for Jay and making sure he’s doing well,” Miles explained, ignoring Kay’s laughter. “Like a big buddy. Miles Edgeworth, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Maya nodded. “Maya Fey!”
“Oh, are you Mia’s sister?” Phoenix asked.
“Uh, yeah! How do you know her?”
“I’m in her discussion section. Uh, and I’m Phoenix.”
Kay pointed at some of the guys. “And that’s Larry, and Dick, but you can call him Gummy, and Shi-Long, and…actually, you don’t need to know their names. Hey, Gummy, do you mind moving over?”
“Oh, no problem, pal! And, uh…” He looks at Maya. “It’s Dick.”
So they sat down, and Gummy helped Kay explain the rules of football. Maya picked it up surprisingly quickly, and they thoroughly enjoyed the first quarter. But when it started being obvious how badly Ivy U. was going to lose, Kay could practically see the light fading from her eyes. After the quarterback threw the second interception of the first half, she nudged Maya.
“Hey…you don’t have to stay if you’re not having fun,” she whispered.
Maya’s eyes went wide, and she stiffened. “But—but I was having fun talking to you!”
“Well…there’s a party at the house tonight. Why don’t you stop by then?”
Maya grinned. Then she got up and waved goodbye to everyone, and Kay watched her go with a wide smile of her own.
That night, Kay showed up to the party almost an hour early and took a seat on the front porch. Most people just passed right by her, sometimes with a nod in her general direction, but Phoenix stopped when she saw her.
“Jay? Did Miles kick you out for stealing his snacks again?”
Kay giggled. “No, it’s just nice out here.”
Phoenix’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’re waiting for that girl.”
“Wh—what? Of course I’m not—”
“Come inside. We’ll point her to you if we see her. And I won’t let Larry make any moves.”
So Kay went inside with Phoenix and said hi to Miles, then left before the two of them could start acting all mushy. Instead, she ran up to the study room and looked out the window overlooking the path, waiting for Maya there.
It felt like forever before she spotted that cute top knot, and she immediately ran down. But when she met Maya in the entryway, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Maya had changed out of her hoodie, and the light blue shirt she was wearing now matched beautifully with her silky black hair.
“Um…hey!” Maya said.
“Hi.”
“So…this is the house, huh?”
Kay glanced around. “Uh, yeah, it’s nice. Kinda gross, but nice.”
“Do you live here?”
“Not yet. I’m gonna move in next quarter.” The thought made Kay nervous, of course, but if she wanted to make any progress in learning the truth about her dad, it had to be done.
“Are you gonna have a roommate?”
Kay froze. She hadn’t thought about that. Miles had pulled her aside and promised her he’d do everything he could to ensure her safety and privacy, whatever that was supposed to mean, but she was still just a pledge. How did she know they wouldn’t stick her with some random guy?
“Jay?”
Kay blinked. Right. Maya. Party. “Uh…sorry.”
“Are you nervous about having a roommate?”
“Well…” How was she supposed to explain this? What guy would care?
Maya frowned. “Look, Jay, I’m gonna be honest. You’re cute, but…I feel like you’re hiding something. And I don’t wanna flirt with a guy who’s pretending to be someone he’s not.”
Kay looked around, then sighed. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“Ooh, a secret!” Maya leaned in. “Of course!”
Kay took a deep breath, then whispered, in the quietest voice she could manage, “I’m…not really a guy at all.”
Maya gasped. “You mean you’re…?”
Kay nodded. “Sorry if you thought I was cute, but…”
“No, that’s even cuter! Why—why are you doing it, though?”
Kay glanced around again, then held out her hand. “Let’s go outside, and I’ll tell you everything.”