After Everything

Chapter Fourteen: West Coral's Kicker

It was the second football game of the season for West Coral. They were playing against their rival school, Margaret Heights, which made the crowd even more amped up for the game. The student section was clothed in turquoise and white, cheering and jumping as the football players came pouring out of the locker room.

The cheerleaders were shaking their pompoms in the air as the band played their famous and catchy song.

Juliana stood beside Alivia in the student section, taking in the moment. Everyone was sharing the same energy and had so much to be excited for. It made her never want to miss a football game again. She lived for nights like these.

She kept her eyes on player number thirty-four, who was looking into the student section. When his eyes landed on her, he waved excitedly. She was quick to wave back with a wide smile on her face.

"Oh, thank god Juliana's here," Jordan said to Cassie as they stood on the sidelines. He was watching as Jake beamed at his girlfriend in the student section. "Last game he was so upset."

Cassie laughed, tying her hair into a low bun, which was different from her usual high ponytail that she rocked when playing soccer. "Yeah, I know," she agreed as she perfected the bun. "I feel bad. Juliana's been upset about the new girl and Jake."

"It seems like things are good between them now," he pointed out, recalling the lack of text messages he had received from Jake within the last week about his relationship with Juliana.

"Yeah, for now," Cassie said as she bent over to fix her shoelaces. "Even though I'm not involved in the Lola drama, I still think she's not done causing issues between them."

Jordan was silent, not answering her as quickly as he usually did. She looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, her fingers still wrapped around the laces of her cleats. "I knew your ass would look good in those pants," he said before playfully slapping her derrière.

Before Cassie had the chance to react, her father cleared his throat beside them. "Don't make me regret this decision, Jordan," he said, avoiding eye contact with his daughter and her boyfriend as he continued to study a play on his clipboard.

Jordan's complexion turned white, not expecting his coach would overhear him say that. He felt as if he could die from embarrassment, whereas on the contrary, Cassie was dying of laughter. She grabbed Jordan's arm, trying to keep her balance straight as her legs were weakening from laughing so hard. Her laughter was starting to make him feel better about the situation as he joined in.

When she was able to pull herself together, she spoke. "Well, at least you think I look good in this hideous uniform," she said before jokingly striking a pose. The padding, large turquoise football jersey, and tight white pants were not doing her small figure any favors. "I think I look like an eighth grade boy who hasn't gone through puberty yet."

Her boyfriend chuckled at her analogy. "People are definitely going to think that when you go out there."

Trevor, who passed by to tell Jake something, chimed in. "They're gonna think you're a little troll."

Cassie glared at her brother. After sixteen years of insults from her older siblings and getting pushed around because she was the youngest, and the smallest, no rude comment from her siblings could faze her anymore.

She forcefully hit her brother in the arm as he jumped away in a fit of screams. Their father tried his hardest to ignore the commotion happening beside him as continued to write something on the paper in his hand.

It wasn't long after when the first horn blew, signifying the start of the game.

Cassie stood bored on the sidelines, watching another slow game happen before her eyes. Margaret Heights had been at the same skill level as West Coral for years now. There was never much action on the field when playing each other, and the scores were always incredibly close.