Diary of a High School Has Been (18+)

Entry 3: Stalking Preston

Last night was eventful.

I think I finally put myself on Preston's map. It's so crazy because the night started off as shitty as most of my days go.

Since it was Friday we had a home football game to cheer for. That meant being in the same 10 meter radius as Drake so you can probably guess, I was pretty sour about it.

When we stood in formation to welcome the football players onto the field, I was the closest to them in their huddle. Drake couldn't stop looking at me but not in a good way. He kept smirking and scoffing all snidely, trying to psych me out or something.

Moments like those make me want to quit cheerleading. It used to be fun having a boyfriend on the football team. Traveling together for away games, practicing at the same time, cheering for someone and not just the team as a collective.

Now he was just my daily tormentor.

It sucked.

When the players ran by, he actually knocked into me. He played it off like it was an accident but the girls knew it was on purpose. I fell over into a thick muddy spot getting clumps of wet dirt all over my hands and knees.

He is really such an asshole. I mean, who the hell knocks over a 5'1", 105 pound girl while in a full set of football pads?

An asshole, that's who!

After I went to the bathroom to wash myself off, I ran to the track as quickly as possible. I tried to sneak in respectfully at the end of the national anthem. I filled the gap in the formation where I normally stood and we began with our typical cheers. I scanned the crowd looking for any sign of my parents. As usual, they hadn't come. As much as I hoped they would, I knew they were still too embarrassed to show their faces at any of my school events. I brought it up to my mom one time begging her to come to my game but she said it was my own fault she can't come.
Talk about victim blaming.

As my eyes settled on a random spot in the crowd for our next cheer, I spotted him! It was Preston! Preston Dunn was at a football game!

You might not understand what a big deal this was but he NEVER goes to our games. He doesn't go to any school sanctioned events when I think about it. I've never seen him at a sports game, fundraiser, art show, science fair, or even a dance. But last night he was there! At the game!

He was sitting pretty close to us. With an older man that I assumed was his dad, he sat lower in the bleachers. He was barely off center from my line of vision. During our brief down time, I discreetly pointed him out to the girls. We squealed in excitement when Leah came up with a great idea.

"Let's see if we can get his attention with a basket toss!"

I smiled and agreed giddily.

"Nothing crazy though! If I mess up, I'll never live beyond the embarrassment."

Not that falling on my face in front of a crowd would be the most embarrassing thing I've ever done.

My stunt group agreed as we gathered on the track. The four of us did a small cheer ourselves as we came together for the stunt at the end. I stepped into the girls hands and placed my hands on their shoulders as they dipped me down. With a large spring back up, I took flight. I got so much height I was able to execute a hitch kick showing off my flexibility. I finished off with a twist on the way back down into their arms. As the girls cradled me successfully, the crowd cheered encouragingly.

Preston and his dad definitely noticed as his dad was clapping along with everyone else. Preston and I even made eye contact for a brief second. I could see the fascination in his face with his raised eyebrow but the look left as quickly as it came. I had definitely impressed him but it didn't feel like enough.