Everyone's Favorite Girl by Steph Sweeney Page A

off if he let go.
    I started to feel disgusting, self-conscious, nervous, and angry.  I had to remind myself the show wasn’t over.  Next came the drugging.  I could only pray Judy went through with using a placebo.  She might well chicken out, shoot me up with some Love Drug, and erase my memory once again, bringing me back to square one.
    But if she went through with the plan—if the needle went in and came out without me falling unconscious—I would have to make them believe in me wholeheartedly.
    On that front, I still had no idea what to do.
    I watched Sean get dressed, and the sight of him made me nauseous.
    When Mr. Shriver asked Judy if she was ready to proceed, I started to panic.  This wasn’t going to work.  I wasn’t an actor.  I had to signal to her somehow to just go ahead and drug me.
    No, that’s stupid.  Don’t be a pussy.
    Then suddenly Patton let out a loud, angry sigh and stood, throwing his arms out.  “I guess we’re abandoning common decency now, too.”
    He stormed up to the chair, stopped, gave me a look I can’t describe, and then carefully went about the task of putting my pajama pants on me.  It felt amazing to be dressed again, and something about the way Patton handled the task made me feel safe.  His hands lingered for the briefest of moments on my sides, but I regretted when he pulled them away.
    Before I could thank him, he was back across the room, sitting next to Kate, whose glare had only intensified.  All the boys were focused on me, and she just couldn’t stand it.  Strapped to a chair, fucked by a creepy bald serial killer, and moments from being subjected to torture, Kate was still jealous of me.  How absurd was that?
    I had one glorious moment when Kate put her hand on Patton’s leg and he picked it up, moved it to her side of the armrests, and dropped it, like someone plucking a crumb from his lap and flicking it away.
    Seated next to Kate, James hadn’t said a word.  He hadn’t looked at me either.  The only emotion I could detect from him was dissatisfaction at being in such proximity to Sean’s bobbing dick while Sean got dressed.
    Judy turned to face the room holding a syringe.
    “Proceed,” Mr. Shriver said just as Sean finally took a seat.
    “Well,” I said nervously as Judy approached, “guess I’ll see you guys next time.  Thanks for the romp, Sean.  And Patton…thank you…”
    “You’re welcome,” Patton said shakily.
    My eyes began to well up with tears.
    Judy stood over me now.
    As she leaned in, she whispered, “Hold still.”
    I felt the prick of the needle.
     
    ~ ~ ~ ~
     
    Five minutes.  The longest, most terrifying five minutes of my life.  I lay there, limp, twitchy, eyelids fluttering, mouth slightly agape, mimicking everything I could remember from the video, and everyone sat in silence, observing me.
    Not even Kate spoke.
    I knew it was at least five minutes because I distracted myself by counting the seconds.  When I lost count, I rounded back down to the nearest full minute and started over, so what I’m calling five minutes might really be seven or eight.
    Finally, like someone holding her breath or trying to withstand a tickle, I couldn’t take it anymore.  I opened my eyes and lifted my head, feigning alarm, but only until I made eye contact with Mr. Shriver.
    Then I smiled.
    “Hello,” I said.  Amiable confusion.
    “Hello,” Mr. Shriver said.  “How do you feel?”
    I wiggled in the chair, looked at my arms as though I were just discovering I couldn’t move.
    “Feeling a little tied down,” I said, generating a soft wave of chuckles.  I yawned.  Not intentionally.  It was coming on four in the morning.  I had to go with it.  “Are you going to drug me soon?  I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake.”
    “You remember?” Judy asked, grabbing her clipboard and scribbling something on it.
    “Remember what?”
    “Everything that just happened.”
    “Um…yeah.  Am I not supposed