:~: CHAPTER ONE :~:
Silver, white and blue cheer leading top. Blue and white cheer leading shorts. Silver socks, blue and silver sneakers. Brushed teeth, foundation, eye shadow. Mascara, eyeliner, blush. One touch of lipstick. White ponytail holder. Blond hair into a bun. Contacts in; go over the routine one more time. Check, check, check and check. Doorbell rings, stomp downstairs, check your face in the mirror one more time, best smile on, open the door.
“Jamie!” I kissed him on the cheek.
He brought me into a tight hug and tousled my neatly done hair. I made a pouted face and he raised his eyebrows.
“I just did my hair.” I told him.
“Sorry sweetie.” He kissed me sweetly on my forehead.
I took a deep breath in, took Jamie’s hand into my own and walked towards the parked car in my driveway. I opened the door to the black Hummer, which was Jamie’s prized possession (other than me!), and climbed in the passenger seat. I brought down the mirror on the ceiling and double-checked my hair, placing loose strands into my bun. I kissed the air and closed the mirror, leaning back in the leather seat. Jamie started the car and turned on the radio to Gives You Hell by The All-American Rejects. I hummed along to it as we drove to Potomac Hills High.
As we pulled up to the school, I took another deep breath in and out and looked around for my group of friends. We parked and Jamie came around to my side of the car and opened the door for me. I shivered automatically when the cold air hit my face and Jamie looked down at me with a concerned expression. I shook my head, knowing he was going to offer me his jacket but I had to perform in a few minutes. I couldn’t perform in his jacket. I spotted my best friend, Lacey, and kissed Jamie goodbye, wishing him super good luck on the game.
Lacey came to me before I went to her and I noticed her blue nail polish. I sucked in a breath and placed a hand to my chest. She looked at me with her brown eyes and she whispered, “What Echo?”
“I forgot my nail polish!” It might not seem like a big deal, but having the Captain of the cheer leading squad without nail polish was a major no-no.
Kayla, my other friend on the squad, reached into her Coach purse and pulled out a blue nail polish. I smiled at Kayla, noting that her Coach purse was at least two years out of fashion, and took the polish, quickly doing my nails before handing it back to her. I blew off my nails and waved to my squad to follow me into the school to practice out cheer one more time.
Left arm raised, right arm raised, cross them over your chest. Spread your arms outward and bring them both to your left, kicking up your left leg. Half spread out to a half circle, the other half forms a line. One girl does a tuck on the half circle part of the squad and one girl in the line does a round off. Continue pattern until all girls have gone, getting into the original line again to one more time repeat the arms up and leg kick. At the end, the girls spread into a circle with me in the middle and I do a cartwheel into a flip. All of us yell, “Go Potomac Hills Polar Bears!” and cartwheel off the field.
I blew the whistle that was around my neck and I smiled at all the girls on the team, and we all headed to the field. It was halfway into the first quarter of the game when we went out to the football field. The squad and I sat down on the bottom row of the bleachers, preparing mentally for half time. I watched Jamie, number eight, throw the ball to Mason Boll, number sixteen. I smiled, looking at the blue eight on Jamie’s back. He had chosen to be number eight because it was my birthday number. December 8th.
Lacey clutched my arm, “Look! Mason scored!”
The stands erupted in cheers and applause. The score was seven to zero. Becky, on my other side heaved a sigh, “You’re so lucky to be dating Jamie, the quarter back.” She put an emphasis on ‘quarter back’. I just flashed her my million-dollar smile and turned back to the game.
Another half-hour passed and the referee blew the whistle for half time. I nodded to my squad and said, “Let’s do this,” under my breath.
Our cheer went, of course, flawlessly. We ran cheering off the field, twirling around and screaming out, “Go Potomac Hills Polar Bears!”
We flopped back onto the stand we were sitting on before and I leaned back. Greg Perkins, who had a HUGE crush on me, tapped me on my left shoulder. I turned around to see the red and pimpled face of Greg. Glasses hid his eyes and he was a super skinny nerd. He breathed in and when he breathed out, he erupted into a fit of hacking coughs. I cringed back slightly, as so not to get hit by his spit.
“Hi Echo.” He snorted.
“Hello Greg,” I smiled anyway.
“I think you were…” he paused to cough eleven times, “absolutely fantastical.”
This was also the problem with Greg. As smart as he was, he was always trying to fit in with the popular crowd (even though NOBODY said the words “Absolutely fantastical”). I just nodded at him, said thanks and turned back to the game in time to see Jamie throw a pass to one of the linebackers, Hunter Blow. I sighed as I watched Jamie run across the field, his arms pumping and him breathing hard. Then I was tapped again.
I turned around to Greg, “Yes?”
“Do-do you want to, um, go to an after party with me?” Greg asked me, his voice going up an octave from nervousness.
I had to give him points, as weird as he was he was trying, “Oh, sorry Greg. I’m going with Jamie.” And I turned back around to the game.
Tap.
“But, are you SURE you don’t want to go with me? I mean, I know I may not be the most fun looking guy but I CAN have fun.”
Next to me, Lacey noticed this awkward conversation and turned to Greg. I knew what she was going to say before it left her mouth.
“By ‘fun’ do you mean taking her to your house where your mom and nerd friends will play checkers until eight thirty, your bedtime?” She asked him.
Greg looked shocked at Lacey’s words. He started to stutter and I stopped him by holding up a finger.
“Greg, I know you really like me. And I appreciate how you’re really nice to me, but I have a boyfriend right now.” I said sweetly to him.
He looked sad, but at least not shocked. He nodded glumly and walked heavily back up to his seat.
I looked sideways at Lacey, “You could have been nicer. It’s kinda cute how he’s always trying to get me to go out with him.”
“So why don’t you?” I knew this question was rhetorical.
I just shook my head and turned to the game. Soon enough, in the next twenty minutes I was running forward to Jamie in the middle of the field. Cheers echoing through the night sky from Potomac Hills’ side of the stadium. I ran into Jamie’s arms and gave him a kiss. Half the football crowd made “Ooooooooo”ing sounds as Jamie picked me up into his arms and carried me like that all the way off the field. I threw my head back and laughed, staring up at the night sky, where stars winked at me.
I waited outside the guy’s locker room with my squad while the football team changed out of their football gear. When they exited I unintentionally shivered, my knees locking together. Jamie saw me and shrugged out of his jacket and held it out to me. I took it happily and put the over sized jacket around my shoulders, slipping my arms through the armholes. Nothing could have made me happier right then.
We all gathered inside two cars, Jamie and Mason’s. Lacey gave me a hug before going to Mason’s car, “See you there.” She told me and left to give Mason a hug. I went to the back seat of Jamie’s hummer. Football players were on both sides of me, poking me and laughing. We all talked about the game and I felt happy to be popular.
“You were so hot on the field Echo,” Jack Ilia sighed as he gazed at me.
“Hey, no hitting on my girlfriend,” Jamie scolded from the front seat.
I giggled in the back seat and leaned my head on the back of the seat, closing my eyes slightly. Colors swirled around in my head and soon enough someone was tapping me on the shoulder, their breath hot in my ear, “We’re here.” I opened my eyes and found myself gazing into Jamie’s eyes, “You fell asleep in the back of the car sweetie.” He kissed my forehead and unbuckled my seat belt for me. I looked around the car; the others were heading up the driveway to the front door of the mansion we were parked outside of. I wrapped my arms around Jamie’s neck and he lifted me out of the car, carrying me in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his torso; my arms still around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder. He carried me to the front of the house and one of the other football players opened the door for him. I closed my eyes again and my breathing slowed. Something cushioned was underneath me in what seemed like a matter of seconds. I awoke again to see Jamie’s face inches from mine.
He leaned down and kissed me sweetly on my lips. The sounds of people walking around, music and chatter came to my ears and I pushed Jamie a little bit away to sit up. I was on a couch and my friends were around a table in the living room in front of me. Lacey turned her head and smiled at me and patted the area on the floor next to her. I sat down next to her on the floor and Jamie joined my other side, wrapping his arm around my waist and let me lean into the crook of his shoulder.
“What are you all playing?” I asked and yawned.
“Just a stupid game. We’re doing a superstitious game where you say something like, ‘if a fly buzzes by me in the next two days, I’m going to win the lottery’. Want to try?” Lacey cocked her head to the side at me.
“Me first.” Mason interjected. He looked put his phone on the table and said, “If my phone rings in the next five seconds, I will break my leg tomorrow.” We all waited five seconds and his phone didn’t ring. He rolled his eyes and then looked at me over Lacey’s shoulder, “Your turn Echo.”
I laughed, the game sounded stupid but I nodded and shrugged anyway. I looked around the window that led onto the deck and said, “If a red bird flies by in the next ten seconds, my entire life will go downward.”
We waited eight seconds before shrugging and turning back to the game. My brain barely registered the cardinal that flew by in those last two seconds.
