Unforgettable

Prologue

"And touchdown! And the crowd goes wild!" Everyone can hear the robotic voice scream through the microphone. "Number 11! Our hero!"

It is incredible! Everybody stands up. They cheer, they jump, they hug, Wildcat red and black is everywhere to be seen and the confetti just bursts out of everywhere. We just won the game! Well actually he did. Through all the noise and motion I look to the end-zone to find Ian being celebrated. He is being picked up by his teammates and coaches. But that doesn't seem to stop him from searching the bleachers. He didn't have to look for long. I smile at him and wave. I catch a glimpse of a smile knowing he has seen me, and he waves back. He did it again. He took another win home for the team. Yesterday, dad told me that today's game was an important one for Ian. Dad thinks he could have a future in football. To be honest I do not know much about the sport, this is only the second game I have ever seen, but I am starting to learn, and it is definitely a fun one to watch.

"He's cute, huh?" Someone asks behind me.

"Violet!" I scream out. "Hi!" I give her a hug. She has been a really good friend to me since I arrived here a month ago. Not everyone has been so nice to the new foreign girl, but she has taken me under her wing and taught me what I know about football.

"He's cute, huh?" She says again.

I look back at the field, by now the team is doing their victory lap, which means throwing dirty ice water over the coaches' head. That one tradition I do not get quite yet. I know for sure it is not dad's favorite part about winning. Or mom's for that matter... She will be thrilled when dad gets home soaked. He is a great coach, if not the best, but he hasn't been home much since he started coaching. Then again, mom is a great wildcats fan and she loves it when they win. I feel a nudge in my back.

"I cannot deny that." I say carefully but with a sigh.

She hugs me from behind and almost chokes me when she wraps her arms around my throat. "Oh, Bailey, you two would make such an adorable couple. You would be total couple goals! The cute book nerd with the handsome quarterback." She squeezes my cheeks to a smile, although I did not really need the help, and waves at Ian as well. Now he's having a full laugh attack and waves back with one simple wave, almost as if he salutes her. "Oh my lord! That was so meant for you!" She swoons.

"Vi! Stop it!" I say while I try to find my way out of her bearhug. "We are just friends. I barely know the guy."

She looks at me and sighs. "You stop it! You really think a guy would search the bleachers for someone who is 'just' a friend to him?"

"You've seen that too?" I ask and I just know that I am blushing.

"Of course, I did." She points towards something on the field. "And we were not the only ones." And then she sort of giggles. But it doesn't sound like the nice kind.

Which makes me already guess what is happening down there. From this distance she looks kind of funny, so little. Kayla is standing there with her pompoms resting on her hips in a red and black cheerleading uniform. And even from this distance I can tell she is furious. She looks from me to Ian and back to me. She is so tiny, but she scares the hell out of me.

When I arrived four months ago, mom and dad took me around town to introduce me to anyone they have ever known. When I decided to go on a high school exchange year the organization had told me to not expect too much from a host family from the beginning, it might be awkward or not what I had imagined. But from the minute they picked me up at the airport I was their daughter and there was this immediate connection, I instantly called them mom and dad, because they really feel like my American mom and dad. And they were so proud to have a grown daughter who was going to "rock it" in high school. When we got to Ian's house he wasn't even there. But his parents were so welcoming, much like the rest of the town actually. When we got back home after a long day of polite introductions and strangers hugging me as if they had known me all my life, a truck drove by our house while I was in the car trying to get Body out of his car seat. I heard a window roll down and from the window echoed, "Mr. Higgins, are you coaching this year?"