Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be.- Jose Ortega y Gasset
CHAPTER #19
It was the night of Scott's first game with the Lawrence Hasting's football team. He was both excited and nervous. Shelby was waiting with him for Bob.
"You can do this Scott," She kissed him and then leaned her forehead on his. "Training like a mad man this whole week. You caught every ball that Mark threw you. Roger couldn't even take you down. I believe in you."
"Thanks Shelby. Cheer for me?" He asked.
"Duh," she grinned.
Auggie came up and said, "hey Meat, see you at your game."
Juliette was carrying a sign she made, it had too much sparkle on it. "Since I can't be a cheerleader, I made signs for everyone!"
"Twig, I'm not holding a sign like that. Give me a small flag with the team colours," Auggie said.
Chris grinned, "I'll hold that sign with you. Last football game I went to, they tossed me for mooning the other team."
Daisy rolled her eyes, "wow I'm not surprised. Good luck Scott."
Bob honked his horn, "let's go. The coach is waiting with your team."
"I love the sound of that; your team." Ezra commented.
Scott jogged off, after giving Shelby a hug and he got in the car. As they left, Peter pulled up in the school van. He got out and ticked off their names. The other people going with them, were the guys that helped Scott train, including Mark.
"Okay rules are: everyone stays together. No fighting or sexual contact with the other schools. No going off on your own. Either myself or Sophie is to accompany you. That's it, let's show Scott our support and have fun." Peter got in and they drove down the lane way.
"Is it weird that this feels so normal?" Shelby asked.
"Not weird at all. And you guys have earned this trip off campus," Sophie said.
When they arrived at Lawrence Hasting, they found a good spot on the bleachers to watch the game together. Scott was on the field doing stretches with his team. Their opponents jogged onto the field also and did the same. The cheer leaders for each side, worked through a couple of cheers.
Juliette sighed, "I miss doing that."
"Let me guess you were captain of the cheer squad?" Daisy asked.
"No, but I was part of the squad."
"Did you wear the same outfit Twig?" Auggie teased.
"Our colours were maroon and white," Juliette replied.
Auggie leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I would have loved seeing you cheer." He was pleased to see her blush. He'd been worried that seeing Scott in his football gear, would have made her fall for him again. Instead, she was still his girl.
The two teams went onto the field and the game began. The visiting team had the ball first and scored a touch down, but the field goal kick went wide. Then it was Lawrence Hasting's turn. Scott caught every ball thrown to him and the team was loving it. One of the other receivers took a big hit and fumbled the ball, but Scott managed to recover it, even though he was tackled. After the first quarter the two teams were tied. Everyone from Mount Horizon that was at the game, were cheering so loud, that they'd probably have no voices the next day. By the time it was half time, Lawrence Hasting was 4 points ahead on the score board.
Peter was proud of his kids, they were behaving and being so supportive of Scott and the football team. They chatted with people in the stands from Lawrence Hasting, but mostly kept to themselves. He guessed they were trying to show him that supporting Scott was more important than anything else and it was working.
Scott would be bruised the next day from the hits he took, but everyone on his team was glad to have him. The guy he had replaced was thrilled with his performance. The coach too was impressed. After half time, Scott showed how versatile he was, by tackling someone from the opposing team. In the end the other team won, but only by one point. For a first game with the team, no one had complaints and they were all sorry to see Scott have to go again.
The quarterback and captain of the team shook Scott's hand. "You played like a real pro out there. I'm just glad you're on our team. Next time we'll win."
"Thank's," Scott said before getting into the van.
On the drive back Peter added, "I'm please with how all of you handled yourselves tonight. So if everyone keeps up their grades, every home game that Scott has, you can all go."
The whole van erupted with cheers. Sophie and Peter smiled at each other. Tonight had been its own victory and not one that was won on the field.
