“It’s going.” She takes a bite of her pizza and groans. I won’t push her for details if she isn’t comfortable giving them. I get it. “I also heard that you have a date after the game tonight.”
“I totally would’ve said something, but well…”
She interrupts me by putting up her hand and shaking her head. “You’ve had shit going on, and I’m not worked up about it. I was a little shocked since he doesn’t seem like your type.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “I have a type?”
She shrugs as the bell rings again, letting us know the pep rally is about to begin. I grab my pizza and chips, ditching my tray. There’s no way I’m leaving my food behind. Indi follows suit and we start heading to the gym. “I mean, I’ve never seen you date anyone, but a typical high maintenance, golden boy quarterback doesn’t really seem to screamOctavia Royal’s type.But I mean, what do I know?”
“I’ve never dated a sports type, but Raleigh’s nice. Plus, it’s only one date, even if I’m not all that confident about it. Who knows what will happen? I have bigger worries before my date tonight,” I quip and she looks at me, eyebrows raised in question. “What the fuck happens at a pep rally? It can’t be like what I’ve seen on TV, right?”
She bursts out laughing at me, her shoulders fully shaking, and she pauses walking as she pulls herself together. “Oh man, I’m not even going to explain. This is too good.”
I mean that doesn’t exactly fill me with joy, but I follow the swarm of people to the gym with her. We take a seat toward the back of the bleachers, and I already know that I’m going to hate whatever this is. The hype in the room is enough to choke a girl, and while I might like that sort of thing, this is totally not the place for it.
The principal walks up to the podium in front of the bleachers and lifts his arms. A roar of shouts and applause echoes around the room as the entire fucking school loses their shit.
This is fucking insane.
He lowers his arms, and the room goes quiet. “Are we ready for tonight, Raiders?”
The response is almost fucking deafening as people stomp their feet and shout. Indi leans over, grinning at the look of horror on my face. “Oh girl, this is only the beginning. Just wait for the dancing, the glitter, and the streamer rockets.”
My eyes widen at the very thought of it. I barely have time to question it as the dance team struts onto the hardwood floor in shiny shorts and bandeaus made of sequins. Fucking sequins.
Music blares through the PA, and everyone goes crazy again. I glance around and even the three boys who have made my life hell seem to be enjoying themselves. I think I’m more shocked to see them actually smiling. I hate that despite everything else that’s happened, I still seek them out in a crowd. Not that they’re hard to miss. There's a ring of empty seats around them, as if everyone else is afraid to get too close. The girls who would usually, are all on the dance or cheer teams who are going crazy on the floor below us.
This level of hype should be reserved for concerts, not high school football games.
“Do you think anyone would notice if I escaped to the Music rooms?” I ask Indi, having to lean into her to be heard over the chaos. I have to give props to the dance team because they’re fucking slaying their routine to AWOLNATION’s “Sail”, but still… This amount of pep is kind of gross.
Indi points as the football team breaks through a banner and runs into the room, joining the dance team as the crowd screams and cheers. “Pretty sure your boy would notice.”
Fuck my life.
Someone please fucking save me.
* * *
Tonight’s game has been bad.
I don’t know much about football, but the triple threat of players from the Allstars—according to Indi—is fucking lethal. I literally only know the names Xavier, Hunter, and Tobias because she’s cussed them out so hard all night. I’m assuming they’re the other team since I don’t recognize the names, but who knows at this point?
All of the student body’s pep and cheer from earlier in the day is officially dead. The score is 35-14 to the Allstars, and apparently there’s no coming back from that with the amount of time left on the clock. I have zero idea what’s happening on the field, except for the fact that these guys spend more time taking breaks than they do running plays.
The mood’s grim as the game ends, which doesn’t exactly leave me hopeful for tonight. I accepted the date without really thinking it through, and I’ve regretted it ever since. Indi was right, I’m not the one to date a sports type… I’m also not looking to date. Having Raleigh as a friend is one thing, but anything else… I’m just hesitant. Dating was not on my radar this year, and I don’t want the tentative friendship we’ve built to be ruined by him thinking this could be more.
Blair and her bitch squad look so salty about the loss that I almost want to throw them a bottle of tequila.
Almost.
The team heads for the fieldhouse after the clock runs out, and the stands start to empty. Indi drops into her seat and folds her arms across her chest, looking equally as pissed off as the cheer team. “Well, that was a fucking shit show. I know the Allstars are good, but fucking hell. Our defense was fucking useless tonight.” I sit down beside her, feeling bad for her and our friends, but I don’t really get the whole ‘football is a religion’ thing. “Those Allstars fucking annihilated us.”
“I’m sorry?” I say, unsure if there’s anything else Icansay.
She shakes her head, shrugging. “It’s just a bad start to the season. If we have too many losses, the chances of a championship slip away.”
“Dude, you’re totally a football nerd, aren’t you?” I tease her, and she blushes a little. I never would have pegged her for a secret football lover but here we are.