Newbie

35: I'm used to it

Skylar's POV

"And that concludes the first half."

I sighed, along with all of Mountain Brook's fans, at our team's performance. We were tied. I knew being tied wasn't a bad thing; the score was ultimately zero to zero, but it was so frustrating. If it wasn't for our stupid defense, we would have a 14-point lead. Instead, it was 21-21. I knew if I was feeling this level of frustration, Luca had to be experiencing it ten times worse.

As the players ran off the field, I glanced at Cleo and Marlee, trying to gauge their reactions. I shouldn't have been surprised at what I saw: Cleo was more interested in her pretzel, and Marlee was chewing her fingernails. She knew better than anyone how important this game was to her brother. She, like Luca, grew up going to MBPA homecoming and took great pride in seeing her school win. She also knew that two college scouts were sitting a couple of rows behind us, no doubt here scouting Luca.

From what I knew, Luca didn't realize the scouts were present. A couple of weeks ago, when they were here, Coach made the mistake of letting him know, which psyched Luca out. He played phenomenally, but everyone knew Luca was stressed that week. I was sure Luca wouldn't have been as cheerful and calm during our game of Twister if he had known who would be sitting in the bleachers.

The halftime show began, but it barely registered.

"He's got this," I said, more to reassure myself than her, which was beyond selfish.

I knew what people were saying about me when I walked up to our seats before the game. I was still wearing Luca's jersey, although I had changed into jeans and comfortable shoes. I was also well aware that no girl besides Marlee had ever worn his jersey, which was a fact I was trying to ignore. I heard whispers as I walked, some were mild like the ones referring to me as the "scholarship kid," but others were unnecessarily harsh. When we walked by an older man, he turned to his wife, but his voice was loud enough for most to hear, saying, "That charity case is the biggest distraction that has ever faced MBPA. If we lose, we'll know why."Thankfully, Cleo grabbed my arm and told me to ignore "those bastards" and that I looked "hot as hell."

Marlee leaned over, grasping my hand.

"I know," she replied, though her voice wavered slightly. "But it doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking."

"You two need to chill out," Cleo said, although it was muffled because her cheeks were stuffed like a chimp muck.

We both turned to her, curious at what her advice could be.

"Your boy is playing okay." that was the biggest compliment I had heard from Cleo regarding Luca "Although he could probably move faster if he wasn't wearing leggings"

There she is.

"It's part of the uniform. He can't help it. " Marlee said sternly, but it was clear that she found the conversation humorous "Besides, most girls like the look of them. Right Sky?" She grinned, nudging me with her hip.

I rolled my eyes at her antics but that couldn't stop a blush from creeping up my cheeks. I would be a liar if I said Luca wasn't nice to look at in his uniform. However, he was always nice to look at.

"Anywayssss" Cleo groaned, clearly uncomfortable with the mild innuendos about Luca, " those scouts know it is our defense that makes our team shitty. Reid is going to be just fine"

Cleo's words did little to reassure me, but they at least seemed to comfort Marlee. Marlee and Cleo continued to talk, my body was pumping with adrenaline and nervousness I couldn't focus on their conversation. I don't know why I was so worried. I have always been competitive but a football game has never made me nauseous.