I send a message to Tessa, asking where she is and where we'll meet up. Ever since she met Trey over the Thanksgiving holiday, they hadn't come unstuck. My cheerful, talkative, always-smiling friend made a nice contrast with the scowling captain of the Royals. They were the true case of opposites attracting, and it also amused me to see them side by side, sinceTessa Hoshino was four-foot-eleven and Maddox stood at nearly six-foot-seven.
I joked that they dated long-distance.
We ended up meeting right in the box, where the people invited directly by the players sat. I'd frequented this area when I dated Johnny, but only back in Lexington, and on very few occasions. He'd never invited me to go with him to away games, and, honestly, I never had any interest either.
For Ethan and Logan, though, I was making that effort.
"Charlie! Hi!" Tess exclaims, seeing me first. I hug the little thing affectionately and we start shooting the breeze.
As the stadium and the box fill up, I recognize several faces, but my friend seems to know and be friends with absolutely everyone. Before I know it, I'm more entertained and having more fun than I expected.
A loud horn sounds from the other side of the field and the cheerleaders of the Syracuse Orange, our rival today, come out to do their routines. Almost the whole stand roars and starts waving its flags in a strong orange color. Being a team with more time in the ACC, Ethan had explained to me earlier, the Orange had a bigger crowd that followed them to games.
"It's kind of... oppressive being the rookie team, huh?" I remark to the redhead beside me, and Tess laughs. "If we celebrate a point for the Royals, I keep thinking they're going to want to swallow us whole," I add, looking kind of fascinated at the opposing crowd screaming and jumping.
"It really is bad. At home the energy is way better. But when we beat these little orange guys today, you'll see how the taste of victory feels doubled!" Tessa states, and I believe her.
There are routines from the Royals cheerleaders too, plus a marching band, and only then does the game begin. For what must be the first time in my life, I catch myself getting goosebumps at the sight of the teams coming out, especially the ones wearing the same blue uniform as me.
The privileged position of the box lets us see them up close, and I wave like crazy when my favorite players pass by. They seem focused, but Ethan takes a second to give a little salute in my direction, and Logan blows me a kiss.
I smile like an idiot and shout even louder for them.
The players line up and meanwhile my heart beats in the same rhythm as the crowd's drumbeat. The December cold cuts through the air, but my hands are sweaty with nerves.
By the jersey numbers gleaming against the floodlights, I know Logan is on the sideline and Ethan farther ahead, crouched in a running stance. The two of them look at each other and move their heads up and down once, like they're saying without words: "It's now!"
As if timed by the universe, the moment their eyes fix back on the Orange's defensive line, the quarterback shouts the snap.
The ball is launched and everything becomes an explosion of movement.
Logan takes off like lightning. It's like watching him in slow motion and at the same time not being able to keep up. He cuts to the right, dodges two defenders, and my chest tightens. Dennis, the quarterback, sees him and makes the throw. The ball flies in a perfect arc against the dark sky.
I grip the railing and don't even breathe as I follow the path.
Logan jumps. With his hands stretched out and his fingers firm, he does exactly what he was trained and perfected every day to do: he takes the impact and holds on to the ball.
Touchdown.
"Fuck! Yes!" I scream, exploding along with the stands. For most people, unfortunately, it's a cry of frustration over the points scored against their team, but for me it's pure joy. I catch myself screaming, jumping, and almost crying along with Tessa and thousands of other people who'd come to root for Lexington.
The Royals on the field are going wild too. Ethan is carrying Logan in his arms while they jump and receive dozens of congratulatory pats from their teammates. Something inside me would even want to run over to them to hug them, kiss them, and celebrate together.
Wow. A touchdown with only a few seconds into the game. Could it have been the best start of a game in history?
It doesn't matter if it actually wasn't, but that's how I'd file it away mentally and also how I'd celebrate it with them later: like they'd broken a damn record.
I turn into a real crazy fan as the plays unfold before my eyes. I curse each of the players who hit the Royals, with triple the force when it happens to Logan or Ethan, and I bounce when they score any point or simply manage to gain good yards down the field.
I even celebrate a play by Jonathan when he comes in during the second half, which was a clear sign of growth on my part.
The final score is a real blowout: 40 to 52 for the Royals. Complete with three other touchdowns caught by Logan, to the crowd's madness, especially when he managed to catch the ball after running sixty-two yards, and two rushing touchdowns from Ethan. Could you believe the guy had run 143 yards? Tess and I are hugging and crying when the match ends.
My friend was also bursting with pride for her boyfriend. Trey had been a monster on defense and intercepted the rival quarterback twice, with one of those plays even becoming a pick six.
And wow. Was this me even knowing the names of the plays? What on earth had happened to me?
"They're Bowl champions, wow!" Tessa exclaims, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me as if to force the information into my brain. I crack up and copy her, because it was all too contagious.
