Zoey 101: All Or Nothing ☑

Chapter 24

Zoey POV

It was an incomplete pass. The team quickly scrambled near the forty-yard line. There were less than twenty seconds on the clock. The ball snapped. Michael kept shuffling back, looking for an opening. We were at fifteen seconds. The crowd was on its feet. The ball sailed through the air. It was headed straight to Chase, who was running fast toward the end zone.

I swear time stood still for those few seconds. The entire place was silent. Everybody’s eyes were following the ball’s trajectory.

Chase held his arms out, his focus clear.

He jumped up slightly and caught the ball. He hesitated for a second, probably shocked that the ball was safe in his arms. He turned around and sprinted to the end zone.

The stands erupted in applause while the remaining players arrived in the end zone to celebrate their victory.

Darryl and I hugged each other. We hugged the people next to us. I made my way over to Chase’s mom and dad.

“That was amazing!” I said as Dr. Matthews picked me up.

Celebrating with Chase’s parents felt right. They were like my family — that hadn’t changed. I knew we’d get back to the place we once were. You don’t just toss family aside.

I glanced down at the field. Alexa ran over with the other cheerleaders and joined in the commotion. He quickly kissed her before the team hoisted him up.

Chasw was beaming. This was all he ever wanted: to be part of a team. One of the guys.

The elation I felt quickly evaporated. While I knew I should be happy for him, I had to face the truth.

I knew right then that I had lost him for good.

It’s truly amazing what winning a game can do for someone’s confidence. Or ego.

I texted Chase after the game on Friday to congratulate him and never heard back. I saw him in the parking lot at school that Monday morning and gave him a wave, but he was too busy being the athletic stud he’d always dreamed of to notice me.

The entire school kept talking about it as if we’d never won a football game before. Nobody seemed to remember that it had been an extremely boring game for the first three quarters. Apparently, the last twenty seconds were the only thing that mattered. Had that play happened with two minutes left, we would’ve already moved on to something else.

And yes, I was being a horrible friend for not being more excited for Chase, but were we even friends anymore? We hadn’t talked in weeks. He had bigger (in no way better) people to spend his time with.

My annoyance was at an all-time high when I turned the corner on my way from English to see Chase walking with Michael and Logan. They had on their letter jackets and walked down the hallways with that athletic air of superiority that I never quite understood. So you can throw a ball or hit a ball or do something with a ball rather well — that entitles you to some kind of hero worship? The band kids with their musical talents didn’t walk around like we should all feel lucky to be graced with their presence.

I reminded myself that only a small percentage of their team would end up playing sports in college, and an even smaller percentage would go on to become professional athletic egomaniacs, if any at all. So at most, Logan would sit around twenty years from now, fat and balding, recounting the glory days of his high school athletic career.

I wanted to believe, at least hope, that my best years were ahead of me. It would be too depressing to fathom if high school was as good as it got.