Not My Type

Chapter 7: Friday Night Lights

There's something about high school football games.

They're just so utterly American. Something my parents never had growing up.

Football can bring a school together. Even if the team sucks, you'll still find a majority of the students at a game supporting them, at least if the school has an inkling of school spirit.

You don't even have to like football, or understand it. I sure as hell don't.

There's just something about the stadium, sitting in the crisp, fresh autumn air as the sun slowly sets, and when nighttime falls, the lights shine brighter than ever. Everyone's there. No matter what group you belong to at school, you're in the same place with them--whether you're an AP kid, a jock, a druggie. You're all there for the same cause, and I guess that's what I like about football games. The unity.

Thankfully, Roosevelt High's football team was good, so games were even more enjoyable. I went to a game that Friday night and met up with Tom, Meghna, Ashley, and some of our other friends.

We were crushing our opponents 49 to 16. Jason had already made two touchdowns. Each time he scored, he would throw the ball down on the ground, turn his back to the audience, bend over, and shake his butt around while his teammates dog-piled on him. The most ridiculous victory dance ever, but I have to admit, it was pretty hilarious.

During halftime, Ashley and I went down to the snack bar to get drinks. As I struggled to navigate the crowded wooden bleachers, trying to avoid stepping on people's feet and knocking over strollers filled with small children, I accidentally kneed a girl in her arm.

"Oh, my gosh!" I said. "I'm so sorry!"

The girl turned around. She was pretty--dirty blonde hair, green eyes, kind of a cake-face, but not really. She looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't really put a finger on it at the time. She gave me a look that sort of combined watch-where-you're-going and at-least-you-apologized, then turned around again.

"Way to go, Anj," Ashley snickered when we finally reached ground level.

"What was with that look she gave me?" I said, puzzled.

"I guess she was surprised someone was actually being polite for once," Ashley teased as we approached the line. "Your manners scare people."

"Ha," I said flatly. "So now it's a crime to be civil?"

"Only when it's you." Ashley shivered and pulled up the zipper on her jacket. "How did it get to be sixty-five degrees when it was, like, ninety three days ago?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad." I was no fan of the cold either, but it was getting to be too hot to function. "I was running out of decent clothes to wear in hot weather."

We ended up winning the game with a score of 64 to 14. The crowd went wild and our team walked nonchalantly off the field as they high-fived some of the players on the opposing team.

It was almost ten o'clock, and I had to get home before curfew. Curse our town for placing it. If you're below eighteen, you literally have to be home by ten fifty-nine or you'll get ticketed. I guess that's what happens when you live in a small town.

After I said goodbye to my friends by the gate to the parking lot, I turned and suddenly bumped into something large, flat and rather hard. I looked up to see Jason's blue eyes staring back at me, the moonlight giving his face a radiant glow.

"Oops!" He laughed. "Sorry, Angie."

I rolled my eyes but this time I couldn't fight the smile. "Shut the hell up, Jason."

I realized that he was holding someone's hand. It was the girl I had bumped into earlier.

So that's why she was so familiar! I thought. Jason's girlfriend.

I had seen his Facebook pictures with her, but she looked different in person. A lot prettier, I guess. Now, she was watching me warily, placing her other hand on his shoulder.

I quickly left without saying a word. Clearly, she didn't like me. But it wasn't like I was saying anything to Jason! I had just bumped into him on accident. I definitely was not a threat to anyone's relationship. I mean, honestly, look at me.

But I suppose when your boyfriend is Jason Roberts, the star quarterback who has girls all over him, and you go to a different school, you can't help but suspect that every teenage girl who talks to him has an ulterior motive.

But I didn't. Jason and I were just...unlikey acquaintances brought together by very unusual circumstances. Right?