The Cheerleader // Rob Gronkowski

t w e n t y - s i x

"Yeah!" I screamed as we hit our final pose, and with that, my first Super Bowl pre-game performance was over.  I was still in awe that I was actually standing on this field, the most watched game of the entire year.  Tiffany grabbed my hand and squeezed it as we ran off the field, and I squeezed back.  We had dreamed of this since we were on our high school dance team, and now, it was actually happening.

"Hey Hanna!" a voice called from the Patriots bench.  A few players had remained on the field after warmups to work with Stephen, our kicker.  I looked over to see Shawn, the young rookie I had met earlier in the season.

I smiled and jogged over to him, "Hey Shawn!  How's it going?"

He gestured to the stadium around us, "Doing pretty great, actually."

"Me too," I laughed, "This is so surreal."

Shawn sighed happily, "Tell me about it.  My entire family is here, even after I told them I wouldn't be playing."

"Is your little sister here too?" I asked, remembering that he had told me she was a fan of me, "Actually that was a stupid question.  You said your whole family was here, so that would make sense and please say something so I stop babbling."

He laughed, not seeming bothered by my inability to speak like a normal person, "Yeah, she's here."

"I'd love to talk to her, if she's nearby," I told him.  Shawn pointed to a beautiful little girl with pastel purple hair that contrasted perfectly with her dark brown skin.  She looked to be about 13 years old, and was sitting about 3 rows from the field.  "Awesome seats."  

"Jenna!" he called, leading the way over to where his family was sitting, "I've got someone who wants to meet you."

She looked over to her brother, and her eyes grew wider than I ever thought possible as she saw me right behind him.  I smiled and waved a pom.  "You're...you're Hanna Rose!" she exclaimed.

I shrugged my shoulders playfully, "Guilty as charged.  It's so nice to meet you Jenna!  I love your hair."

Her smile grew even bigger at this compliment, "Th....thank you!  I wanna be just like you when I grow up!"

"You're a cheerleader too?" I said with surprise.  Of course, Shawn had already told me this, but it was always nice to hear it straight from the source.

"Yeah!  I'm on competition team.  We're going to our fir-" Jenna began to discuss her local cheer gym, but was interrupted by the announcer, who gave the 5-minute warning to the live broadcast.

I called up to Jenna one last time, "Jenna, it was so nice to meet you!  I'm so happy you love to cheer, because I do too.  Don't ever give up on that, no matter what.  And you know where to find me if you come to another one of your brother's games."

As we said our goodbyes, I pressed a NEPC bow into Shawn's hand, "For Jenna, later on."  With that, we both headed off to begin the game, him to the Patriots tunnel and me to the sideline.

The announcer's voice boomed over the stadium again, "Broadcast will officially begin in 3...2..."