Oh god. My eyes took in the other outfits, suddenly realizing the theme. There were wizard robes and scarves from all of the houses in Harry Potter. Some of the other stuff I didn't recognize, but I'm sure, like my spandex outfit, they all served some kind of purpose.

I was at once impressed with the idea and also dreading having to put that outfit 104/890

on. I didn't really have a choice, though. I didn't want to be the whiny rookie. I wanted to accept Tara's challenge and up the ante any way I could.

Tara threw the outfit toward me and I had to think fast to catch it.

"Pass out the rest of the outfits," Tara instructed, and her little minions quickly began following orders.

I thought mine would be the worst, but when they handed Becca her outfit, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You'll be a quaffle," Sofie explained as she handed Becca a ridiculous outfit made up of a brown tutu that spanned from her chest down to her hips. She'd look like a giant shower loofah.

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"What is a quaffle?" Becca challenged as she reluctantly took the outfit from Sofie.

"It's some sort of quidditch ball from Harry Potter. Who cares, just wear the dumb outfit." Sofie waved her hand and dismissed her.

"Go change and be back down here in five minutes," Tara yelled.

Emily, Becca, and I all ran up to my room so we could change and complain in silence.

"What the hell? Are they allowed to do this!?" Becca asked as she stood in front of my mirror, taking in her ridiculous getup. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to answer her.

"I'm sorry. You guys definitely got the worst outfits. It doesn't seem fair," Emily 106/890

answered as she finished putting on her fake glasses and wizard robe. The bitch got to be Harry Potter and she looked cute in her fake glasses.

"Emily, you suck," I joked, pulling the spandex leotard up over my sports bra. It was supposed to be my size, but the spandex was tight enough to make it hard to breathe.

"At least they gave you a tutu. You'd look ridiculous just wearing a leotard," Emily offered, trying to show me the bright side.

The bright side was that I wasn't dressed as a giant brown loofah.

"How about when we get back from practice, we burn our outfits and use the ashes to put a curse on Tara," Becca suggested as we put on our long soccer socks and running shoes.

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"Rookies, thirty seconds to be back down here!" Tara’s voice rang out.

The three of us rolled our eyes and hopped up, slinging our cleats over our shoulders. One glance in the mirror was too much. Puke yellow was not my color and the tutu made me look like a nine-year-old.

When we made it back downstairs, it was clear that Emily had been right. Everyone else was wizards. Well, most everyone.

One girl was dressed up as a broomstick. Or maybe just a stick. It was hard to tell.

A senior girl walked up to Emily when we were in line and drew a lightning bolt on her forehead with a fat Crayola marker. Then she moved on to me and Becca. She put a giant "S" on my chest and a giant "Q" on 108/890

Becca's chest. Seriously, were the costumes not enough at this point?

"We’ll give you breakfast when we get to the practice field, but only if you make it there. The upperclassmen will drive next to you guys while you run a designated route that ends at the fields. If you fall behind, the entire team has to run extra, so stay with the group."

I fought back a groan.

“Oh, and everyone will grab a broom on the way out,” Tara declared.

“For what?” one of the rookie girls asked.

Tara scoffed at her. “Because you’re dressed up as people from Harry Potter, dumbass.”

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So, yeah, the entire time we ran, we had to carry a broom between our legs. Have you ever had a splinter on your inner thigh?

Neither have I. Because that’s not where I got them. Think a little higher. It wasn’t pretty, people. When I got home, I was going to tear apart this itchy yellow material piece by piece.

"At least you both have boobs," Emily pointed out as she ran next to Becca and me.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked between breaths.

"Liam will definitely notice them in that leotard, believe me."

"Oh shit!" I'd completely forgotten that he would see us like this. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Tara had probably done it on purpose. I looked over to where she was driving the car 110/890

next to us. She was in a cute workout outfit and had even applied a light layer of makeup. That scheming whore.

If only we actually were in Harry Potter.

I’d totally Crucio her ass. Yeah, that’s right, I’d use one of the Unforgivable Curses. Come at me, Ministry of Magic.

Chapter Five

Five minutes before six o’clock, we finally made it to the practice fields. We all fought to catch our breaths while the upperclassmen parked their cars and hopped out looking like they’d just returned from a relaxing vacation.

"Here, Rookies, eat up," Tara said, tossing a box of granola bars onto the ground where we were resting.

"Why am I finding it hard to like her?"

Becca murmured. I nodded with narrowed eyes. I wondered how far she’d take the rookie initiation.

We all grabbed a granola bar and our water bottles and trekked into the field house for our morning meeting.

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"I'll meet you guys in there, I'm going to the bathroom," I nodded to Becca and Emily.

I splashed water on my face and redid my messy ponytail in the bathroom. There was really nothing I could do to fix my appearance at that point, which was quite a shame because when I pushed the bathroom door open, Liam was leaning down, getting a drink from the water fountain. The second he caught my yellow leotard out of the corner of his eye, he straightened up and took in the entire outfit.

He had on a dark grey shirt over black sweatpants and somehow he still looked like he was modeling in a GQ ad. I looked like a drugged out ballerina.

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"Wow. Is that what girls are wearing to practice these days?" he asked, rubbing a hand across his strong jaw.

I looked behind him to make sure we were alone in the hallway.

"It's part of rookie initiation," I answered. "I'm a snitch from Harry Potter."

His eyes glanced down to the "S" written across my chest, and Emily's earlier mention about my cleavage ran through my mind.

But when he glanced back up, I couldn't discern the emotion behind his eyes.

"I think I liked the birthday crown better," he smirked.

I mashed my lips together and nodded.

What was he thinking? Did he remember me flirting with him at the party? Or was he 114/890

flirted with so often that I was merely a blip on his radar?

"No kidding. I could use a day at the spa when I get out of this thing,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant while simultaneously seeing if my comment had any effect on him.

He arched his dark brow as his eyes scanned down my outfit once more. When he looked at me like that it felt very inappropriate. Maybe it was just the way my body reacted to him. Damnit, he was distracting me.

I was supposed to be Nancy Drew, and instead I was Nancy Draw-the-blinds-and-put-it-in-me. Wait, what?

“Girls are much more creative than guys when it comes to hazing. I think we just had to run a lot and prove we could drink a six pack without puking.”

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I laughed. “That doesn’t seem so bad. I can run for days.”

“Yeah, but you’re kind of a lightweight,” he said with a smile.