Bee Williams was never late to school. Perfect attendance was as important to her as her grades, which were nothing short of perfect. If you asked anyone who was the most responsible student in the senior year class, they would undoubtedly tell you Oh, that would be Bee Williams, of course.

But, sometimes life throws curveballs at you, and sometimes your big fundraiser poster isn't dry enough to go on the school bus.

Bee stared at her poster, willing the glitter to dry. She thought about fanning it with something, but she was too afraid the glitter would scatter, creating an even bigger problem than the one currently presented to her. She checked her watch once, twice, three times, then scowled.

"Okay, how about this," her mother said, putting her hands on Bee's shoulders soothingly. "How about I bring it to school when it is dry? You don't need it until lunch, right?"

Her mother was right, but that made Bee anxious. She could feel her chest tightening with the loss of control, but she smoothed out her skirt and nodded. "Lunch is at 11:15, remember?"

Her mother pressed a kiss to Bee's temple. "I'll have it in the main office by 11, how does that sound."

It sounded great, except Bee liked to be in control, all the time, and this was a major loss of control. She breathed in for four counts then breathed out for six, remembering what her therapist told her.

"Don't forget, I have tryouts tonight too," she added, reaching for her baseball bag and slinging it over her shoulder. It jostled against her school backpack, feeling heavy and uncomfortable, but she was used to it by now.

"Yeah, and you'll kick butts as usual. I love you, and I'll see you tonight. Are you taking the late bus?"

Bee gave her mom a nod. "Yep. I should be done by then." She pressed a kiss into her mother's cheek then hurried for the bus, not wanting to miss it. She could have begged her mom to take her to school, but that would make her late. Besides, her mom had other things to worry about than carting her daughter around. It was Bee's own fault that her poster wasn't dry, not her mother's.

She didn't have to wait for the bus long, and it took some good maneuvering to get to a seat without hitting anyone in the head with the bats sticking out from her bag. It was the first day of tryouts, and it meant Bee would be lugging both bags around for the rest of the school year.

As she slid into a seat, a head popped up in the seat behind her. It was Larkin, another senior baseball player. His face was all grin. "You ready for today?"

She knew he wasn't referring to her fundraising during lunch for Interact Club. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Bee, lighten up. Those Park School boys have nothin' on us. I wouldn't be surprised if none of them made the team. And, you're a shoe-in for captain, so no way are you getting booted. If that's what you're worried about."

She shrugged, but Larkin had guessed it almost immediately: she was worried about no longer being in control. Her senior year on the team was supposed to be the easiest; she had been busting her butt now for years, just to secure a spot on varsity and become captain her senior year.

She pinched her lips in distaste. "I just hope those Park School boys know we ain't playin' around."

But, she knew exactly who would be a thorn in her side, and that was Oakland Stone, a new kid from the merger. He had made it obvious since day one that he hated her, and he thought her playing baseball was ridiculous. In fact, she knew he'd already gone and spoke to the principal about it, who had given him a roundabout answer about how Bee had always been on the team.

When that answer didn't suffice, Oakland had gone to the superintendent, who had given the very short response of "If the principal and the coach are okay with it, then so am I." Bee knew this because her coach leaked this to her, consoling her and telling her that her senior year would go exactly as planned.

So she was not so thrilled to be on the same team as Oakland Stone, who would most likely be drafted for varsity based on skill alone. She had played against Oakland for three previous seasons because he too had been good enough for varsity his freshman year, which was almost unheard of.

The worst part about Oakland wasn't his determination to hate her, but rather the fact that he too played the same exact position that she did on the field, and she knew he would try to steal it from her.

As the bus rolled into the school, Bee and Larkin grabbed their things and headed for the locker rooms first thing. Larkin gave her a mini salute as he opened the door to the boy's locker room, leaving Bee alone as she stepped into the girl's room, putting her bag in her locker.

When she exited the locker room, planning on heading right to the student council office to put in her bid for the most recent problem at hand - Prom theme - she ran headfirst into her worst nightmare.

To say Oakland was attractive wasn't enough. He was attractive and he knew it, making him cocky and confident and all things vomit-inducing, in Bee's book. She hated that he flaunted his looks like he knew that got him places, which it totally did. Despite being brand new, he was already more popular than most.

"Well well well, if it isn't little miss try-hard."

Bee stuck her nose up at that title, her face pinching into a scowl. "We'll see who is trying hard in the gym tonight, Stone. Don't think I don't know the games you've been playing with the principal and the superintendent. Does it hurt to know they like me better than you?"

Oakland pressed his hands against the wall on either side of her head, clearly trying to intimidate her. He leaned in close, his height making Bee have to tip her head back to look at him, and he grinned. "That's because they haven't seen me on the field yet."

She was seconds away from shoving him back when a burst of laughter came from beside them. "Damn Oak. You and Bee? Don't tell Greg!"

Bee pushed Oakland back seconds too late, her face red with embarrassment and anger. She shook her head, running her hands through her hair, trying to forget what just happened. What other people had just witnessed. "Stop fueling his ego. Nothing was happening." She scowled at Oakland then stomped past the other boys, heading to the council room with enough anger to make other steer clear of her in the hallways. There was one thing Bee wasn't going to eat, and it was her words. Tonight, she was going to show Oakland just how wrong he was about her, and she was going to enjoy every last bit of it.