Stupid Games: A Brittani Menchin Justice Short Story

By Dayle A. Dermatis

Brittani Menchin, decidedly not popular high school student, stumbles across her former BFF, Charlotte, in the girls' bathroom.

 

Cutting herself.

 

Despite Brittani's pain over Char's defection, she can't not help someone in need.

 

It will take all her geeky knowledge and wit to sabotage the idiotic game Char's new popular friends have roped her into.

 

Fans of Veronica Mars will love this first story featuring justice-seeking Brittani Menchin, a not-quite-six-feet-tall math nerd and high school Fixer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soul's Road Press
• Release date: Nov 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393549758

Dayle A. Dermatis

Dayle A. Dermatis is the author or coauthor of many novels (including snarky urban fantasies Ghosted and the forthcoming Shaded and Spectered) and more than a hundred short stories in multiple genres, appearing in such venues as Fiction River, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and DAW Books.Called the mastermind behind the Uncollected Anthology project, she also guest edits anthologies for Fiction River, and her own short fiction has been lauded in many year's best anthologies in erotica, mystery, and horror.She lives in a book- and cat-filled historic English-style cottage in the wild greenscapes of the Pacific Northwest. In her spare time she follows Styx around the country and travels the world, which inspires her writing.To find out where she’s wandered off to (and to get free fiction!), check out DayleDermatis.com and sign up for her newsletter or support her on Patreon.* * *I value honest feedback, and would love to hear your opinion in a review, if you’re so inclined, on your favorite book retailer’s site.* * *For more information:www.dayledermatis.com

Book preview

Stupid Games

Stupid Games

A Britanni Menchin Justice Short Story

Dayle A. Dermatis

Soul’s Road Press

Contents

About This Book

Stupid Games

Ghosted

Chapter 1

About the Author

Also by Dayle A. Dermatis

Be the First to Know!

About This Book

Brittani Menchin, decidedly not popular high school student, stumbles across her former BFF, Charlotte, in the girls’ bathroom.

Cutting herself.

Despite Brittani’s pain over Char’s defection, she can’t not help someone in need.

It will take all her geeky knowledge and wit to sabotage the idiotic game Char’s new popular friends have roped her into.

Fans of Veronica Mars will love this first story featuring justice-seeking Brittani Menchin, a not-quite-six-feet-tall math nerd and high school Fixer.

Stupid Games

Brittani Menchin yanked open the door to the girls’ bathroom, but a few steps in, she froze. And not because of the faint pee smell that meant the space hadn’t been cleaned yet. The door easing shut behind her made a little whine, and the third sink on the end dripped like it always did, no matter how many times the janitor tried to fix it, but she’d heard another noise, too.

The bathroom should have been empty. School had been over for two hours, but she’d had an extra band practice—the concert was a week from Saturday—and then she’d stayed behind to help Mr. Wilke stack the chairs. Plus this bathroom was in the back of the school, where no one came unless they had a music class or were in the audiovisual club or some other nonpopular afterschool hobby.

Hello? she said. The hollow space made her voice sound strange, distant, as it bounced over the small tan tiles on the floor and the larger beige tiles that covered the bottom half of the walls. To her left were three white sinks, and beyond them, three stalls with metal walls and doors, a shade of pale brown that didn’t match the floor or wall tiles.

There was no response, but the lack of sound felt like someone was holding their breath, hoping she’d go away. Brittani clutched the strap of her backpack where it dug into her shoulder. She’d give the person one more chance before she bent down to look for feet.

Is anybody there? Are you okay?

For a moment, that silent not-a-silence continued, but then a small voice, tight with tears, said Britt, is that you?

It took her another moment to process the voice. Char?

Charlotte Dunn had been her best friend for as long as she could remember…until they hit high school. Before that, they’d been happily nerdy together, to the point that in fifth grade, they’d learned a simple substitution cipher and spent the year sending coded messages to each other.

Things had started to change in eighth grade. That was when Brittani’s