Goals

"Just like you wanted me to be."

The atmosphere around Kelly and I was absolutely electric. The school's marching band was parading across the football feild in vibrant black and blue uniforms as an upbeat tune flowed from all of their instruments. A squad of cheerleaders stood on the small stretch of track seperating the stands from the grass, doing flips that looked ready to result in disaster. The crowd sitting in the stands around us was chanting as they stomped their feet so hard that the metal beneath us shook. I could hear the announcers voice drowning in all of the noise, barely audible as he tried to gain everybody's attention.

People loved watching the girl's soccer team, they really did, but it was clear that the football team was being funded way more than we were. They never hired a commentator for any of our games, and the marching band had only been asked to attend one during CIF playoffs last year. They politely declined, while the cheerleaders didn't even bother to respond to our inquiry. The team stopped asking for stuff after that, as it had finally become clear to us that we would only be disappointed.

"Hey, I'm going to grab something from the snack bar. Do you want anything?"

Kelly nods eagerly and pulls a ten out of her pocket. "Grab me two slices of pizza. And a water."

"Got it."

The line for the snack bar is as long as I expected it to be. Luckily for me, I end up right behind somebody I know. Julie is decked out in a baggy football jersey and face paint, the black and blue colors jumping off of her pale cheeks. She's holding a large poster with the words Go Ertz!!! written on it in marker.

"Hey, Lex. I didn't know that you liked to watch football."

I actually laugh. "I decided to give it a try. Are you here to see Zach play?"

She nods. "He's been excited about tonight's game all week. The coach is finally giving him a starting spot."

"Its about time. He's more built than half of the guys out there."

She grins. "It was adorable how happy he was about it. When he first told me that Serv was going to be benched for the first half, and that he would be filling in for him-"

"Wait, wait," I interject, my voice prickling with curiousity. "Serv is going to be benched for the first half of the game?"

"Oh, yeah." She shoots a glance towards the feild. "Zach said he told the coach something stupid. I didn't ask what, but it must've been pretty bad to cause him to lose some playing time."

I shake my head. "It's not that surprising. The guy's an ass."

Julie rolls her eyes. "God, I know."

I think she wants to say more, but we've already made our way to the front of the line by this point. She says goodbye to me after ordering a can of Sprite, and I enthusiasticly call out that I'll see her tomorrow as she walks back to the bleachers. I had a special place in my heart for Julie Johnston, one that was reserved purely for cinnamon rolls. She had always been nice to me, and I had yet to hear anybody so much as whisper anything negative about her. There was very few people in this world who you could say that about.

The lady within the snack bar informs me that the pizza and the pretzel that I ordered for myself will take five minutes to prepare, and that I need to step aside to allow more attendees to be serviced. As I wait, I think about how Julie was telling me that Servando was going to be riding bench for fifty percent of the night. The punishment probably really pissed him off considering he was so eager to show the school's female population how exceptional of an athlete he was. The thought gives me some satisfaction, but I'm left grimacing as I remember why I'm here.