A New Beginning

The Game

"Hey Shania!" Abigail extended a cheerful greeting to Shania as Shania sat down at the girls' usual spot in the cafeteria for lunch. Savanna, Onya, and Amy were also present, busily eating their food and chatting amongst each other.

"Hey, everyone!" Shania replied, joining her friends at the table as she set her tray of food down in front of her. "Is anyone going to the football game tonight?"

Savanna gave her a funny look. "Since when were you interested in football, Shania?" she asked.

Shania smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Ever since I figured out that Shane played," she replied knowingly, blushing.

"Oh my gosh! You have a crush on him?" Savanna exclaimed excitedly as she threw her fork down on the table.

Shania nodded, her green eyes shining.

"Oh, you wouldn't if you knew what he is really like," Abigail joked, taking a bite of her salad.

"Cousin rivalry?" Onya asked, stirring her soup around with her spoon.

"Oh yeah!" Abigail replied. "All the time. You should see our family get-togethers." She turned to Shania and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!"

Shania only giggled in response, her cheeks still rosy red.

"Does he know you like him?" Amy inquired.

"I don't think so," Shania told her. "I don't even know if he likes me back, or if he's just being friendly." She thought of the conversation she and Shane had yesterday before lunch, and how happy it made her feel just to talk to him.

Abigail looked thoughtful for a moment. "Didn't you tell me the other day that Trip Turner had a crush on you?"

"Yeah," Savanna agreed with Abigail. "What happened to you and Trip?"

"Actually," Shania explained, "I never did like him. I mean, he's good-looking and everything, but he's just not my type." She sighed as she thought of her date with Trip last night and how tense she felt the entire time.

"I get what you're saying," Amy said. "He likes you, but you don't like him back. That could pose a problem." The five girls sat in silence for a moment.

"I don't know if you guys know this, but Trip and I went out for ice cream at Cassidy's last night," Shania confessed.

"You did?" Abigail questioned, surprised.

"Yes," Shania told her. "You see, he just wouldn't leave me alone. Every day, for the last two weeks, he's been begging me to go out with him. And finally, I just ran out of excuses."

"Why don't you just tell him you're not interested?" Savanna asked, crumbling up a couple saltines in her soup.

Shania sighed as she stirred her salad around with her fork. "I don't know if I can, after hiding it for so long," she said. "He's gonna be furious if I tell him."

"Well, eventually he's gonna find out," Amy remarked.

"I know," Shania sighed. "I just gotta figure out when the right time is to do so."

Later that day, Shania, Abigail, Onya, Amy, and Savanna met at the school's football field for the game. As they filed in the bleachers, Shania felt the excitement throughout her entire body. She was looking forward to seeing Shane play, and hoped that their school would win the game.

"I sure hope we win!" Onya cheered. Band music started playing, signaling that the game was about to start.

Shania eagerly watched for Shane as the football players ran out on the field. She soon found out that he was the runningback number 26. Throughout the entire game, she watched him closely. Several times during the game, a player from the other team tackled Shane hard while he was running with the ball, and each time, Shania flinched.

"What is the matter with you?" Abigail asked, observing Shania's reactions. "You're so softhearted, you can't even make it through a football game!"

"I just don't like to see Shane get hurt," Shania replied. "It looks like he's been tackled the most out of anyone."

"Oh, knock it off," Abigail scoffed. "If he didn't want to get himself hurt, he wouldn't be in football."

"Yeah, but still," Shania replied. "Just the other day, he and Trip got into a fight after school."

"Ah, that doesn't surprise me," Abigail remarked. "That kid is always getting into fights. He has a hard time controlling his temper."

"Well, it was for a good reason," Shania explained. "Trip was bothering me again, and Shane stepped in and told him to leave me alone. And that's when the fight started."

"I see," Abigail said. "So it's not over some stupid thing then. They're both hot-tempered. I have a feeling they will get into more fights in the future."

Shania shuddered. "I hope not," she replied. She and Abigail continued to watch the rest of the game.

It was getting dark out when the game was finally over. Shania and her friends walked out into the parking lot together. However, they were interrupted by Trip, who rudely stepped in front of them. He looked a lot bigger and much fiercer with his football uniform on.

"Hey, Reynolds," he greeted Shania. "Thanks for coming to the football game to watch me. I can see you're actually trying now."

Shania's face turned red. She had no intention of supporting Trip at the game; she had come solely to watch Shane. "Um, okay," she replied awkwardly. "I'm glad I was able to help out."

"Actually, Trip," Savanna butted in. "She didn't come to watch you."

"What?!" Trip exclaimed angrily. "Don't tell me you came to watch that asshole Peterson instead!"

"Yes, she did." Savanna said confidently. "I'm not afraid to say it. She's not interested in you, and yes, she came to watch Shane."

For a second, Trip was speechless. Nobody except Shane had stood up to him like this before. "I can't believe you would choose that piece of shit over me!" he yelled, his face red from anger. "Both of you will pay for this! Just wait and see!"

The girls watched as Trip stormed off. "There," Savanna stated. "I just solved your problem for you, Shania."

"Thanks," Shania said gratefully. She breathed a sigh of relief; she finally felt free. However, she was worried about Shane. What would Trip do to him? There was no doubt in her mind that he would beat Shane up again. As the other girls got into their cars to drive home, Shania said a quick prayer to keep Shane safe. Then, she got into her own car, started the engine, and drove home, back to her farm.