Elite Rebels

GAME

♛

People. Lots and lots of people. They were everywhere.

The indoor stadium was enormous, or maybe it just appeared so since I was pretty much a loner sitting amongst the other students who were chatting away animatedly to their group of friends.

I felt entirely out of place.

Nothing new there but it reminded me precisely why I never made an appearance for any school events.

Before the match started, cheerleaders from both schools came running out chanting a cheer, hands carrying colourful pompoms. They did amazing backflips, air tosses and a bunch of other stunts that had me gripping on tightly to the edge of my seat.

When the football team from our school finally came out and they introduced the players, everybody stood up and clapped as each of them shook hands with the opponents.

After a bunch of pre-match shenanigans, it was time for the game to begin.

This would be the part where I said for most of the duration, I mainly zoned out after failing to follow what was going on for the first 15 minutes.

What I could say with absolute certainty was that every time our team scored, the whole audience would jump up from their seats and scream like someone was getting murdered.

I did, however, tried my best to keep an eye out for Tyler and Dustin. Which was a pretty much futile effort, because you practically couldn't tell them apart with their full football gear on.

Predictably, our school won and of course, the crowd went nuts. I thought of going down personally to congratulate them on their win but knew better when I saw a growing bunch of people barricading the field.

I decided to just wait until they have finished showering and went to look for a spot to sit.

Passing a hotdog stand, I couldn't resist the temptation of getting one. Mother often deemed 'low quality' food like these unhealthy and of no nutritional value, therefore I rarely had the chance, if any, at trying them.

"A hot dog bun please."

"Any sauce?"

"Ketchup and mustard?..." According to TV commercials, those were the sauces usually seen on the buns.

"Any drinks to go with it?"

"Maybe a coke?..." I said unsurely. It was the beverage most commonly ordered at a game, I think.

When my orders were ready, I brought them with me to a bench outside the changing rooms.

Biting into the food, I was pleasantly surprised with the explosion of flavours. The sweet and tangy sauces blended well with the chewy meat and the soft bun.

Washing it all down with a fizzy carbonated drink felt like an absolute perfect match.

Slurrrrrrp

I need to do this more frequently.

By the time I had demolished my meal, only 15 minutes have passed. I could still hear water running from the shower cubicles and pondered over how long it took a guy to bath.

Not wanting the time to be wasted staring off into space, I opened up a book to read.

A short while after I had immersed myself into the fictional land, heavy footsteps could be heard coming out from the changing rooms.

"Pesto! You came!" Tyler shrieked in a dramatic voice, like he wasn't quite believing what he saw.

"I said I would. Congratulations on the win, you guys did well." I snapped my book shut and stood up, returning his smile.