It was my dad who’d brought Cody to my attention that first time all those years ago. He’d come to one of the games and mentioned the kid who’d beaten the odds as he put it and was going places. Dad was impressed not only with Cody’s playing but his academic acumen as well. Dad is one of those you’d call a man’s man, the type who tends to see the trajectory path in others who are on the rise, and he was sure that Cody was going places because of his attitude and his work ethic.
It hadn’t taken me long to fall for the tall blonde with good looks that most, if not all, the freshman females had eyes for, and some of the older ones as well. He’d been very standoffish at first, and I chalked it up to him wanting to be serious about his studies like he’d said, but the more he rejected me, the more my interest grew until it had taken over every aspect of my life.
He was the first guy dad had ever shown such an interest in, and I knew that if I had him in my corner, dad would look at me differently. In short, Cody was the son dad had always wanted. It became an obsession with me then, and funnily enough, as time went on, I wanted Cody for myself, and not just because of what it would mean to my relationship with dad.
But the boy who I’d thought would be easy pickings had proved to be anything but. Nothing I did or said seemed to sway him, and even my best efforts had been thwarted. Spiking his drink had been a last resort, the last in a long line of attempts to get him in my bed, and I’d failed there as well because of his busybody friends. No wonder I’ve never found a liking for the brutes who seem to be only good at one thing, and that was running up and down a field chasing pigskin like the barbarians they are.
I’d even tried to get on their good side, but I guess word had gotten back to them about how I really felt about them, and they’d made a conscious effort to keep me out. I have no doubt it was partly their fault that Cody and I had not got together. No doubt they’d filled his head with lies to make him hate me as much as he seems to.
And now everyone on campus was talking about his new relationship, and some of my enemies had gone as far as saying how great it was that he’d found ‘the one’ after years of being single. I could’ve fooled myself in the past that he was waiting for me, that his resistance was only due to his wanting to put all his energy into the game that was his way out of poverty.
That I could understand to a point, I saw it as part of the work ethic dad had mentioned time and again. It’s the excuse I’d given myself each time he looked right through me or walked around me as if I weren’t there. I was the best catch on campus, after all, the one who could open doors for him in the future. Not that there weren’t others from families like mine, but in my mind, no one else was better suited for him than I. We’re a perfect match in every way, and besides, dad really likes him.
He’d been back on campus to watch the game a time or two since that first time, and each time he sang Cody’s praise as if subtly hinting that he’d like him for a son-in-law. He never came right out and said it and had never brought him up to me again, but I knew he was still keeping track of Cody’s progress from time to time. Dad tends to be one of those bleeding-heart types that champion the underdog in any given circumstance.
I’d spoken to mom about the situation with Cody, and it was she who’d encouraged me to go for it, if it’s what I really wanted, if he is what I really want, so I’ve been putting in every effort to get him to notice me, with no luck. Three years have gone by, and I’m still no closer to winning Cody than I was back then. Now I’m supposed to contend with some little nobody horning her way in.
I’ll be sure to use this opportunity at the social this weekend to show Cody and everyone that she’s not worthy. I hadn’t made it to president, but at least as vice president of standards, I have a say in who gets in and who doesn’t. I know that the roommate Lisa was very interested in joining my sorority ‘as if’ and was planning to use that to put the little bitch in her place.