“No!” I try to yank my arm away, but Mackenzie plays volleyball for our college and is surprisingly strong. She has an unbreakable grip on my wrist as she starts pulling me to the stage. Addison grabs my other arm and Willow and Leah begin pushing me from behind. There’s nothing I can do. No matter how much I struggle, I keep moving toward the stage, and the crowd keeps cheering me on.
“We have one more!” the MC shouts as the girls force me up the stairs.
“Stop!” I beg them. “I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this!”
“Lighten up!” Mackenzie hisses back into my ear. “Stop being such a prude.”
They push me onto the stage and then block the stairs going down, crossing their arms over their chests as they glare at me like evil bouncers. It’s too high to jump off and that’s the only exit. I try to get past them, but they push me back.
“If you want to sleep in our room,” Mackenzie says with a sneer. “You’ll do this. Otherwise, you’ll be sleeping on the street.”
“But you can’t—” I say with my stomach dropping. “I paid just like you guys did!”
“You’re doing it,” Addison says firmly.
“Are we coming?” the MC asks in the mic.
God, my heart is going crazy. My mind is racing for a solution, but the terror I’m feeling is making my head all screwy. So many people are watching me right now. This is my worst nightmare come to life.
“Fine!” I say. “I’ll just book another hotel room. Let me pass.”
“We’ll take your wallet and break your credit cards,” Addison says with a grin. “It’s this or sleeping on the street.”
“Why are you doing this?”
She just smiles. “Because it’s fun.”
The girls who are already on stage in white t-shirts come and grab me. “No!” They giggle as they grab my arms and pull me onto the middle of the stage.
I look out at the packed crowd for the first time and I feel like I might die. There are so many eyes on me. All watching and waiting to get a glimpse of my chest.
The girls beside me are shamelessly dancing and grinding on the stage. I’m standing here awkwardly in my Harry Potter t-shirt wishing I was literally anywhere else on the planet.
The MC throws me a tiny white t-shirt and then lowers the mic. “Go put that on behind the screen.”
I gulp as I look at the screen. Maybe there’s an exit behind there. Or at least, I can hide from all of these preying eyes.
While clutching the white shirt, I run behind the screen to see if there’s an emergency exit or anywhere I can get away. There’s nothing.
“You’re doing this,” Mackenzie says as her and Addison come behind the screen. “You’re not escaping.”
They’re suddenly all over me, yanking off my shirt and pulling my bikini top off. When I feel my breasts fall free, I quickly put the white t-shirt on. There’s no other choice. Addison is holding my clothes out of reach.
Mackenzie is so strong as she pushes me back onto the middle of the stage. “Do it,” she warns. “Or, I just might have to bring my nasty side out.”
If this is her nice side, I’m afraid to see her nasty side. She’s a sociopath. They all are.
I’m shivering in fear as I stand beside the other girls, looking wildly out of place. This shirt is so small and my chest has always been way too big for my liking. It’s always gotten me more attention than I wanted and never more than right now.
I try to pull the shirt down, but it springs back up, high over my belly button. My oversized Ravenclaw shirt stopped at my knees, but now I’m totally exposed with only my bikini bottoms on.
The DJ plays some music and the girls start dancing and grinding as the MC brings out several pitchers of water. The crowd cheers.
I feel every eye on me and I hate it. I want to go home. I want to curl up in a ball and disappear into myself.
I turn back to the only exit and see Mackenzie’s psychotic face glaring at me. What the hell is her problem? Why is she torturing me?
“What’s your name and where are you from?” the MC asks the first girl.
My mouth drops as she starts grinding on him like he’s a stripper pole. “I’m Eleisa, but you can call me Easy. And I’m from Chicago.”
“Easy Eleisa from Chicago,” the MC hollers into the mic and the crowd roars.
He goes down the line of six girls and then gets to me.
I wonder how sexy everyone will think it is if I throw up all over his flip-flops.
“Name and where are you from?”
I gulp as I look out at the crowd. They’re all staring at me. Time slows. My brain barely works.