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Almost every student in the student section thrashed signs around in the air, and everyone was wearing their signature blue and gold Brentwood garb. The cheerleaders were nearly drowned out by the dull roar the section created, joining in on the chants.
“They’re insane,” I said bluntly, staring at the section in the corner of the bleacher. “They’ve snorted too much blue and gold glitter. Seriously.”
Jozie tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth, speaking around the kernels. “It’s the homecoming game. You expect anything different?”
I shouldn’t have. Thank god Jozie agreed to sit in a different area. Ava and Rachel were somewhere in the mass of insanity, and though they’d been a bit bummed I hadn’t sat with them, I was happy to be excluded from the mosh pit of school spirit.
“I don’t see Jade or Madison,” I said, craning my neck to spot the co-captains.
“Well, they were on homecoming court, right? They’re probably changing into their dresses for halftime.”
I rocked backward, but promptly straightened when the knees of the guy behind me dug into my spine. “Right, right.”
I watched Connor throughout the game, wincing as his shoulder pads would slam into the Jefferson players, who truly looked built like giants. Quickly, I learned that I hated when Landon passed Connor the ball, knowing that a tackle would inevitably follow unless he crossed the end zone. “Why do people like watching football?” I asked, knotting my hands in my lap. “It’s so violent.”
“It’s an American pastime.”
“That’s baseball.” I watched as the Brentwood Bobcats got into their little formation, the Jefferson bulldogs facing off. “A contactless sport. Nice and peaceful.”
Jozie reached over and patted her hand against my conjoined ones, keeping me from popping my knuckles. “Look at their butts. It’ll make you feel better.”
“I might’ve been able to if we hadn’t sat in the nosebleeds.”
Jozie went from patting my hand affectionately to giving my skin a sharp pinch.
All I had to focus on was either the field or the scoreboard, which counted down the minutes until halftime. I wondered why I hadn’t felt this at the game last week.
A Jefferson player slammed into Connor mercilessly, ramming him into the ground. Even from here, I could see his helmet ricochet off the grass. I sucked in a breath, though the sound was lost in the cheering of the crowd. “Why is our crowd cheering?”
“See how close he is to the end zone? They only need twenty yards.” Jozie peered at the scoreboard. “Two minutes left on the clock until halftime.”
Two minutes until the weight would lift from my chest. Except it came a whole lot sooner than expected, because before the next play began, a Bobcat hurried toward the lineup to replace number twenty-two. Connor jogged from the field, drawing his helmet off and shaking his head when he got to the sidelines. Like before, the little water boy came up to him with a bottle, gazing up at Connor all starry-eyed. Connor wasn’t focused on him, though. His gaze scanned the student section, pressing a hand against his side.
Jozie squeezed my hands once more before letting go. “You know, you could’ve stayed home. It’s not like you’re sitting with your friends.”
Connor walked over to a cheerleader, ducking his head to say something to her. Probably looking for his girlfriend.I shouldn’t care, I shouldn’t care.
“You shouldn’t stare,” Jozie went on, lowering her voice. “If you don’t want to get caught up in drama, that is.”
“Don’t poke fun at me,” I grumbled. “It’s not nice.”
Before she had a chance to respond, the crowd erupted in a scream, and everyone surrounding Jozie and me lunged to their feet. I flinched at the sharp noise, which was only followed by the obnoxious sound of the buzzer.
“And that’s halftime, folks,” the announcer called into the microphone, and the football players on both teams began to make their way off the field. The Bobcats retreated into most likely the field locker rooms while the Bulldogs went off to the far corner of the field, huddling away from the crowd. “Which means it’s time for the halftime show by our very own Brentwood High marching band and cheer squad! Let’s give them a hand!”
Jozie clapped good naturedly, even though her faced twisted. “Does the marching band still suck?”
“They sound good, but their choreography could be better,” I said, thinking of last week where the players stumbled into each other. “Alex was excited about the one tonight.”
“Alex,” she grumbled. “Your love life is sucking for you lately.”
Yeah. Tell me about it.
“Do you want to go get a hot chocolate or something, then? I can ask someone to make sure our seats don’t get stolen.”
I watched as the band filtered onto the field, wearing their decked-out uniforms. Alex was easy to spot with the tuba wound around his body. “I’m okay,” I said honestly. “I might as well watch.”
Most likely, this would be the last football game I ever attended. With their win record, the Bobcats were well on their way to the State Championships, but it wasn’t like there were many games of the normal season left anyway. Although, it did seem fitting that I was here for the last homecoming of my high school career. It was a weird realization.
