For the Love of Justice

Chapter Twenty Five | But You're Not Okay

Two weeks after the night at the carnival, I was walking through the hallways of school with Aria and Cori talking animatedly beside me, taking in the posters and excited chatter of the rest of the student body. The first football match was being held this afternoon, and all of friday morning had been filled with a buzz of anticipation. 

It was a home game, which made it more exciting, and against old rivals, Archer's old school. 

"It's amazing to think everyone gets so worked up over sport sometimes." Cori said as we reached our lockers, putting our books away for lunch. "If you think about it, all they do is throw a ball back and forth and tackle each other into the ground. It's really not that exciting." 

Aria elbowed her in the ribs playfully. "Lighten up, you know game day is always a good day." 

"Is school always this...invested?" I asked slowly, Cori and Aria nodding in unison. 

"You just wait until you see the pep rallies they run. Captain always stands up on stage and waves, gets the crowds all excited. Cheerleaders prance around, whatever." Cori said, waving her hand in a 'who cares' gesture. "Kind of old school American High corny, but if it's tradition." She shrugged. 

"Who do you thinks holding the party?" Aria asked quietly, her little brow etched into a frown. "They always go nuts. Remember the first one we tried to get into, Cori? It was like a zoo, except all of the animals were on drugs." 

"It was awesome." Cori grinned, her eyes looking wistful, like she was reminiscing on a fond memory. "I threw up all through your sisters car when she came to pick us up." 

Aria laughed. "She made Bobby clean it up in the morning." Aria's face flashed with sadness, and I remembered the brief story she told me about Bobby. The love of her sisters life, the father of her nephew, killed tragically. I suppose the grief of something like that would never go away. 

"Hey, guys!" Rose's voice filled my ears, and I turned to see her jogging towards us, the floral of her skirt catching the wind, swirling around her thighs. "There you are. The pep rallies going to start soon, we should go early and get a good view." 

"Early?" Cori moaned. "Why don't we try for fashionably late?" 

"Because you're normally late, not fashionable." Rose quipped, earning a glare from Cori. "Come on, it'll get us in good spirits for the home game. I know you want to see Archer standing up there on that stage." 

Cori's glare got worse. "Why do you all keep reminding me of that guy? What is he, a god?" 

"Pretty much." Aria muttered in my ear, making me snicker. 

"Cut it, all of you. Let's go to this stupid thing." Cori grumbled, her shoulders slouched as we made our way outside. The pep rally's stage was set up in the large outdoor courtyard, near the football fields. There was students milling around already, some changed into the schools blue and gold colours even though the game didn't start for another four hours. A band of cheerleaders were standing in a cluster, and I could see Cori's twin sister between them all, showing off her uniform with pride. 

Cori's eyes must have followed mine, because I could almost feel her scowl etched into her face as I turned to look at her. 

"You okay?" I asked quietly, and Cori nodded, sending me a brief smile. 

"Yeah, just the usual sister issues." She shrugged, turning away from the bunch of cheerleaders. Soon, the area was filling up with students, and music began playing through the loudspeakers. The air was full of anticipation, excitement. 

It wasn't long until the crowded area was busy with excited classmates, waiting for the football game to start. The cheerleaders had made their way onto the stage, and the schools principal had just stepped up towards the mic, signalling the crowd to quieten. I stood close to Aria, intrigued at the amount of people willing to show their support all for a football game.