23. penalty shot

"That fucking guy did some seriously shady shit!" Josie said sitting on Kitt's bed.

"Right?! How the fuck did he get away with it for so long? How did no one notice?" Kitt paced back and forth between her bed and desk.

"Because no one cares." Josie sneered.

"Well I care! And guess what chauvinistic dictator Thomas, I won't rest until EVERYONE knows what you have done!" Kitt growled.

Kitt had been sitting in on the meetings of the Athletics Department all week and had learned a lot. She learned about the university policies and how they were worded in such a way that much of what director Thomas had done was immoral, but not technically against these policies.

Some of his actions did, however, go against different clauses in his employment contract. The problem now was determining the specifics. Kitt would be instrumental in bringing them the personal experiences of the students, which demonstrated the breach of his contract.

The lawyers invited Kitt and Coach Ten to challenge the university to update its policies to reflect their efforts in achieving equality. Which was, apparently, a different and completely separate issue.

Kitt was left to collect the names and stories of the female athletes. She would gather them and put them together in a presentation for the group later that week.

"I had to just sit there! They talked about that man and his 'contributions' to the Athletics Department, but really, what did he do? He took this school back to the stoneage! And seriously, why was there never a policy in place that the director had to treat the students equally and fairly?" Kitt stormed around the room.

"Sit and eat, your food is getting cold." Josie said, popping another French fry in her mouth.

Kitt perched on the edge of her desk chair and looked at her food. Josie had gone off campus to get them burgers and poutine from a local restaurant. Normally, Kitt would have devoured it, but today, she was too full of energy. The rage seething in her chest made sitting still, and eating feel oppressive.

"I need to gather, like eighty billion stories in four minutes! How can I do that? Like I can tell the experience of the hockey team, and Willow can talk about the swim team. But like, what about the other 'zillion and a half women playing different sports?" Kitt asked, picking up her burger and taking a big bite.

"Why don't you make an online form and then let people know they can fill it in. Then you don't have to chase anyone ." Josie asked, checking her phone for the tenth time.

"How is Liam?" Kitt grinned.

"He's good." Josie blushed and turned her phone over on the bed.

"I don't know how to do that, though. I can make a form easy enough, but how do I get it out there?" Kitt realized how hungry she was and took another huge bite of her burger.

"Start with your CFAA members. You have all their e-mails, then post it on your socials. You have 80 hundred million followers now, so that should be a good start. And then people can share it with whoever they want from there." Josie said, making it seem so simple.

"Ok, so what should we say?" Kitt opened her laptop and found an online form generator.

"Do you want it to remain anonymous?" Josie asked, flopping onto her stomach.

"So, as much as I would say yes, how do we determine if the response is genuine, if just anyone can fill it out, how do we sort them out into real experience versus fakes?" Kitt asked.

"Good point. Maybe put a clause that says you are collecting names for validation purposes only? And that they won't be shared?" Josie suggested.

"Ok, so." Kitt started to fill in the boxes to create the form. She wrote out a quick introduction before focusing on her questions. It had to be simple, easy, and straightforward.

Name:

Sport/team at XOU:

Do you feel there is gender equality in the Athletics Department at XOU? Why or why not?

Do you feel that there is gender equality in your sport? Why or why not?

What changes could XOU make to ensure gender equality in:

Athletics Department:

Your sport:

What specific/personal examples do you have of inequalities you experienced?

Is there anything you would like to add?

"What do you think?" Kitt showed her screen to Josie.

"I think it is great." Josie nodded.

"Hopefully, we get a few responses." Kitt finished the form.

"I think you will." Josie said, tossing her garbage into the bin beside Kitt's desk.

"Is it weird that just thinking about Director Thomas makes my stomach upset? His disregard for ALL of the female athletes, like every single one, just makes me want to scream!" Kitt tossed her trash away and resumed pacing.

Josie sat at the desk and took on the task of sending the form out via email to the members of the CFAA and then posting the link to Kitt's socials. She added a message calling all the women in the athletic department to action.

"Can we go out somewhere?" Kitt said, slipping her feet into a pair of flip flops.

"Like where?" Josie popped up following Kitt out the door.

"Anywhere! I can't be in my room anymore." Kitt marched down the hall. Josie had to scramble to catch up.

"Watch it!" Kitt bumped into someone as she rounded the corner.

"Sorry!" Kitt said to her floor, mate. Josie nearly crashed into them from behind since she had been running to keep up with her friend.

"Oh, it's you." The girl said with a sneer.

"Yeah, it is." Kitt said, looking at the girl questioning her reaction.

"Off to ruin lives?" The girl asked with a fake smile.

"Sorry, what now?" Josie asked suddenly defensive of her friend.

"You heard me!" The girl stepped back when Josie appeared, but her attitude stayed strong.

"Yeah, we did, but you aren't making any sense." Kitt furrowed her brows.

"Bullshit! You are off trying to take away scholarships from guys just because you weren't good enough to actually earn one." The girl said, looking like she might cry.

"Who's scholarships am I taking?" Kitt asked, looking at Josie. Josie shrugged, shaking her head.

"Stop lying! Dylan told me all about it! You are going after all the men's sports because they get more attention." She snipped.

"Well, DYLAN is liar! It's OK, it's not your fault he is an idiot." Josie said with mock concern.

"Sure, yeah, that makes total sense. I definitely have so much extra time that I just wanted something to fill it with." Kitt laughed.

"Right? Let's cause a total upheaval, I mean, I have a few hours free now that the season is over!" Josie laughed.

The girl's face was red, and she looked like she was going to cry and was embarrassed.

"Your boyfriend is just butt hurt because a light is being shined on the inequalities at the school, and he might lose some of his ill begotten privileges." Kitt challenged her.

"And why the fuck do you seem to think that Kitt owes you any kind of explanation?" Josie stood tall with her hands on her hips.

"Whatever." The girl said before dipping her head and rushing past them.

"It's hard to admit when you are wrong." Josie said loudly, watching the girl hurry to her room.

"What was that?" Kitt asked looking over her shoulder.

"She thought she was going to bully you, like you were going to back down because she was the big bad bitch." Josie laughed as they made their way to the stairs.

"I bet in her past life she was the queen bee, she probably walked around her hick town high school calling the shots. Too bad that doesn't translate to collage." Josie laughed.

***

Kitt heard a knock on her window. She knew right away it was Leo.

"How do you keep getting up here without a key?" She asked, opening the door for him.

"I have my ways." He grinned.

"I also have another door, one much easier to access." She said, moving out of the way to let him in.

"But way less fun! That door means I have to sign in, and I would have a curfew." He scooped her up in a big hug, kissing her.

"Ok, that part I get. But seriously, how do you keep getting up the back stairs?" She asked again.

"I promise to tell you one day, but for now, I think we keep the mystery alive." He grinned, putting her back on her feet.

"You know this is only charming because I like you. If I didn't, this would be Supremely creepy." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"All I hear is that you think I am charming." He grinned.

"So how are things in the land of delusion?" She asked. She crossed over to her wardrobe to grab a sweater.

"Delightful." He grinned. He flopped across her bed, but instead of joining him, she let herself out the patio door.

She wrapped her sweater around herself and stood at the railing. It was an unusually cool night for the spring. She looked out into the darkness of the evening. She liked this time of day, it was peaceful.

Leo joined her, hugging her from behind.

"You have a lot on your mind." He whispered in her ear. His breath on her skin made her shiver.

"Cold?" He asked, pulling her against his chest gently.

"A little, I guess." She said, closing her eyes and soaking in his warmth.

"How are all the meetings going?" He asked softly.

For some reason, she still couldn't seem to allow herself to talk about the fight against Director Thomas. Her brain always held the words back because they were related. Always worrying that he was using her for information, or that he would share their strategies. Something wouldn't let her fully trust him in that area of her life.

"Meh, it's a lot of stuff I don't understand." She said, hoping he would believe her dismissal was because she was dumb, not guarded.

"That doesn't sound like much fun." He said, resting his cheek on her head.

"I don't know that 'fun' was ever part of the deal. I still have school and home stuff and potential summer jobs to worry about. Fun was never part of the deal." She said, with a big sigh.

"Hopefully, there is SOME fun in your life." He whispered in her ear before kissing her neck, sending lightning through her body.

She reached around to run her fingers through his hair as he peppered kisses along her neck and shoulder.

"There are some bright points." She admitted.

She turned to meet his lips with hers.

"Glad to help." He smirked.

"You're doing God's work." She nodded, pulling his face back down to hers.

When they went back inside, Leo stripped off his shirt and jeans, leaving him in basketball shorts. He climbed into her bed and made himself comfortable.

"Can I help you?" Kitt laughed standing in the middle of the room looking from his face to the pile of his clothes he left on her chair.

"You sure can!" He said with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

"Really?" She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to hide her smile.

"Absolutely! Come here and I can show you." He said shifting over a little and patting the spot beside him.

"Show me what exactly?" She challenged.

"The many, many ways in which you can help me." He grinned.

"I have to pee. Why don't you pick us out a movie?" She laughed. She picked up her hygiene kit and grabbed a pair of pajamas.

"Don't take forever! I will get cold." He pouted.

"I will take as long as I need to!" She laughed.

Kitt made her way across the hall to the shared washroom. She was smiling to herself. Leo was different than anyone she had ever met. She couldn't imagine her high school boyfriend stripping down to his shorts and climbing into her bed. He was the type of guy who would blush when she wore a skirt. He was very sweet but not very bold.

Leo had an air about him. The confidence that he had seemed to take up space in the room. It made her feel intrigued and captivated. He was able to draw her attention just by existing near her.

"Seriously?" Kitt heard a voice behind her as she bent over to spit out her toothpaste.

"Oh! Hi! How are you doing?" Kitt greeted Dylan's girlfriend. She still didn't know the girls name, but she didn't really care to find our either.

"How is the witch hunt going?" She stepped forward as if to establish dominance.

"Excellent! Thanks for asking! You are too sweet." Kitt smiled brightly.

"Whatever." The girl said. She looked like she wanted to stomp her feet and jump up and down and scream. Kitt assumed that intimidation was her move, and since it wasn't working she didn't know what to do with herself.

The girl stomped away trying to slam the door open, but the soft open hinge made it impossible. Watching the girl implode with frustration made Kitt laugh out loud.