Mistaken

Warnings (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5

Jason

The amazing smell of popcorn lingered in the air and made my mouth water. Everyone around me suddenly started shouting and applauding as another basket was made. Willy and I screamed and shouted along with them. Our screams could be heard over everyone else’s. We really got into our cheering. Our loud cheering and clapping got the attention of everyone, causing many eyes to drift our way. I ignored most of them, but Willy couldn’t resist sticking his tongue out at a couple of people. All I did was laugh at him.

I loved watching basketball games. I loved the smell of the popcorn. I loved the bustle, the cheering, and the excitement. It was just so familiar to me. Ever since I was little I attended all of my brother’s basketball, football, and baseball games, and they were warm memories from my childhood. For someone who didn’t play sports I really got into the sports. I had spent most of my life on the side-lines cheering and it was hard not to get attached to it. Other people would have gotten sick of it, but I couldn’t get enough of it. Willy’s favorite part was the cheerleaders, and it was one of the only reasons he went to the games with me.

I watched as Mason stole the ball and ran to the other side of the court, too fast for any opponent to catch up. I jumped up and cheered as he made a lay-up. Willy and everyone else joined in with my cheering. The lay-up pulled us ahead of the other team. The game was extremely close and everyone was on the edge of their seats.

The ball was stolen back and the game continued. The coaches yelled at their players and paced back and forth. The players huffed and puffed, worn out from giving it their all. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the court … except for Willy’s.

“We need some girlfriends.” He sighed, folding his arms and leaning back on the bleachers thoughtfully. I just rolled my eyes at him.

“Seriously, look at that group of girls over there.” he said.

I pried my eyes away from the game to see where he was pointing. The girls he was pointing at were on the other side of the gym, and they wore the colors of the opponent’s team. It was somewhat of a turn off for me, but definitely not as much as it would have been for Mason. I wouldn’t have minded having a girlfriend from another school. It mostly depended on what school it was, and that group of girls was from our rival school. I’m sure that if I dated a girl from our rival’s team we would get into an argument about it at one point or another. They cheered for the other team, but as I looked closer I noticed how good-looking they were. That was obviously what had caught Willy’s eyes. One of them especially stood out to me. She had black short hair, and she was the only one who wasn’t wearing their school colors. Instead she had a cute lacy shirt on with a pair of jeans and tennis shoes. She seemed like the cute shy type.

“They look like they could use some boyfriends.” Willy said, smoothing back his red hair.

“They look like they could use some of that Willy charm.” I said jokingly. He nodded his head vigorously in agreement.  He was always talking about charming the ladies.

Suddenly the buzzer rang, signaling halftime. I got up and stretched. I needed to move my stiff muscles, and I was parched.

“Why don’t I go get us some popcorn while you go try and charm the ladies.  Does Prince Charming want some water to quench his thirst?” I asked.

“Yeah, Yeah.” He said, already thinking of ways to flirt with the girls. I knew they were way out of his league, but why ruin his fun?

In the cafeteria I bought two waters and a bag of popcorn for me and Willy to share. I was always buying stuff like this for Willy. It was one of the advantages of coming from a rich family. I never made Willy pay me back, but that was mostly because I was a pushover. I didn’t mind.