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“That’s fine,” I agree. “Oh, I asked about overheating in the costume, and they had an answer for that too. Internal fans.”
“Aren’t the mascots supposed to be anonymous?” Jared asks. “Ours always was.”
“They are,” Rachelle says.
“Apparently, no one but Alastair, Ciaran, and Draven will know who I am,” I explain. “They made sure I knew I was expected to be in close proximity to the team.”
“I really don’t like that,” Ignacio growls. “I want you to wear your knife at all times. I just realized I have no idea what the mascot uniform looks like.”
“Neither do I,” I snort.
“Let me find it,” Rachelle says, pulling out her phone. “The devil ‘head’ is the most prominent part of it. They’re going to need to order more costumes before you’ll have to attend any games.”
“At least there’s that,” I say, laying flat on the ground because my back hurts. I continue to play with the girls because my arms aren’t broken, just the rest of me is.
“Here’s a good photo,” Rachelle says, getting up and half crawling, knee walking over to me. “Do you want your pain medicine?”
“Mrgh,” I say, looking up at her. “I’ll fall asleep if I take it now. Maybe I can just take some acetaminophen as a bandaid to get me through.”
“When is homework due?” Rachelle asks shrewdly, still holding her phone.
“Monday, of course,” I say.
“You have time. We’re going with the pain meds,” she declares with a groan, handing me the phone while she gets up. “I’ll get it. You all can figure out the best way to hide sh…ah, stuff in your pants.”
Knowing she was about to curse, I make a vague sound I know means I’m in pain. Words get harder as I fight through it. The aftermath of getting beaten up is not at all glamorous.
Looking at the image on the phone, I can see the costume is made up of a blue devil head with white horns, a jersey with a long sleeved shirt underneath it, and tight black shorts over long blue socks.
“If I can find blue compression socks, that would be a big help for this outfit,” I say to myself.
“On it,” Elijah says. “I’ll buy a few pairs.”
Blinking, it takes me a second to realize that he’s replying to me. Fuck, I’m really out of it. Maybe a nap wouldn’t be a bad idea. Rachelle let me know I’m all moved into a room on this floor so I can avoid stairs. It’s weird to be around so many people that care about your wellbeing.
They actually listen when you talk too.
Blinking away the moisture that’s accumulating in my eyes, I take a breath to steady myself. It’s going to be hard to get used to this.
“Thank you,” I say, gazing at the costume critically. “It’ll be pretty obvious a girl is in this outfit.”
“What if we pad it,” Ignacio suggests, coming to join me on the ground. “See, we can pad the knees and thighs here and here.”
He points in the areas he’s talking about and I nod.
“Then, you can wear your knife and also the taser. I’ll find a little pocket-like holster that’ll lay flat,” he adds. “Alastair didn’t have any lasting effects from having his nuts lit up?”
Glancing at the toddlers who are ignoring him, I shake my head.
“He looked like he was walking a bit stiff, but otherwise seemed way too smug,” I complain.
“I’m sure he shook it off fine. Since he plays hockey, he takes hits on the ice often enough that having his balls tased is a walk in the park,” Liliana says sarcastically.
Her words make me chuckle, and I groan as my body tells me it’s definitely time for a break.
“I might have to mess with the jersey to hide the fact I’m a girl, but a binder might work,” I mutter. “I just want to look androgynous.”
“Believe it or not, the current mascot is a short male,” Rachelle says, reappearing with a glass of water and pills in her hand.
