The Freshman Crush [[On Hold]]

Chapter 8

    The clear blue sky faded into a pink and yellow sunset as evening fell upon that Thursday. I rode in the passenger seat of my mother’s Ford SUV. The radio blared loudly as the wind hit my face through the open window. What remained of the fired sun stung my eyes as we drove into the direction of the sun. The air had cooled off since this afternoon.

    My mother, a stocky woman with shadowy black hair, reached out and turned down the radio. It meant she wanted my attention. “You know the rules. No drinking, no drugs, no too close encounters with girls and if you end up in handcuffs with the police, you aren’t my child.”

    It were as though she were dropping me off at a party at some friend’s house with no adults as appose to where she was really taking me, a high school football game with hundreds of people everywhere. I rolled my eyes at her. Too often was she laying down rules that had already been laid down and much too impossible to break.

    “Fine, you don’t want to hear these instructions, you can sit with me the whole game.” My mother bellowed.

    “I’m sorry. I just don’t see how I could possibly get drinks, drugs, and girls when there are so many people around.” I mouthed.

    “Oh it has happened, quite too many times too. You’ll see just how bad it can get sometime.” My mother calmed her voice to speak seriously.

    I had nothing to say.

    My mom stopped in the middle of the street to let me out while she went to find a parking spot. I jumped down from the seat after opening the door. I looked back at my mom as I closed the door again.

    “Meet me back out here after the game if I don’t see you.” My mother said.

    I nodded my head and went on.

    The football field was down the hill that was surrounded by a fence. The field was built perfectly upon the sunken ground that steeped down several feet from the road. People crowded the ramp down to the bleachers. The field was cleared. White lines and numbers were printed in the grass with white paint. Huge lights set up all around the area turned on even though they were not yet needed. I went through the open gates of the fence to enter inside. I wandered around aimlessly for somebody I knew. I knew Ben and Miles weren’t coming and with that I would have to look for other people to hang out with.

    A crowd of students gathered on one section of the bleachers, occupying at least ten rows. They got close together and formed one huge body. I gradually made my way down the concrete steps. I scanned the crowd to find familiar faces. I found one.

    She wasn’t so much in the crowd as she was in front of the crowd. Her hair was pulled into a neat ponytail and a blue ribbon was wrapped around it and tied in a perfect bow. The uniform came over her shoulders and then crossed across her upper chest, it was decorated in blues and silvers. The skirt matched the top so that it almost appeared to be one piece of clothing, but it wasn’t. At least fifteen other girls were dressed up in the same way with their clothes and hair. It was just that one particular girl that I noticed, which was Maci.

    Without seeing anyone else that I was familiar enough with, I stood in a particular section that seems to be the section where most of the freshmen were banished to. I mingled in with the crowd even though I felt greatly by myself. I found most of my attention being pulled in towards my phone as I began a pointless text conversation with Ben.

    The game started after the Star Spangle Banner. I slipped my phone into my pocket. The cheerleaders aligned in three lines facing out towards the field. As the people were asked to rise, the girls positioned themselves with one hand behind their backs and the other over their chest. Silence fell over the filled bleachers as a woman sang with a pitchy voice. At the end people clapped and noise stirred up again. I returned to my phone conversation, having little interest in the game before anyone scored.