Mid-stretch, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and she flipped around to see her best friend.

  “What’s going on?” Alicia said.

  “With what?”

  “You’ve been ignoring my texts about Duck Face.”

  That word again. The dead horse of insults for someone she’s trying to become friends with. “Been busy.”

  Alicia laughed. “Uh-huh. Is everything fine?”

  Her best friend did care about her. Just not so much about those lower on the totem pole. “Yeah.”

  The cheer coach came in and had the students begin their stretches. Afterward, they left their designated practice and locker room and lined up alongside the football players in the entryway. The feet and cheers of the audience above them vibrated down through the concrete and up into their feet. The players bounced lightly, warming up their legs and hyping themselves up. A hush went through the corridor, then a loud bang, the football players, mascot, band, flag bearers, and cheerleaders rushed out onto the field under fireworks. And always to a packed stadium of screaming fans under the lights.

  Today was particularly loud, as they were playing their rivals, Avondale, the town about 6 miles away, with a safety buffer of ranches.

  She loved cheerleading and the school spirit showcased during the football game. Always at the top of the pyramid, few experiences gave the rush of being in front of so many fans cheering, more like roaring, in front of her.

  Between sets, she kept looking back at the stands. One hand was on her hip, the other high in the air, cheering on the boys and Liam on the field, and she kept an angled head towards the stands. It’d be hard to find him in the overcrowded student section. She wasn’t sure if Timothy knew where the student section was or if he’d be late because he had to ride a bike.

  Touchdown. She led a cheer to celebrate under a cacophony of fireworks. One of many, she has to choose to match the beat of the music the band decides to play. Avondale got sacked. Another time to cheer, Avondale lost 10 yards. Fumble. Another time to cheer while the offense and defense swapped places to play. Sarah took the time to look around. Near the end of the second quarter, she found him sitting near the end by the far entrance, huddled and alone in a hoodie.

  She removed a pom and waved at him with a bare hand, not stretched like a cheer. Instead, she tucked in with her hand by her face, and her fingers did the waving. He waved back at her. She smiled and hopped back in line.

  After a successful pass from Liam, another cheer began. She glanced over, hoping Timothy was watching her. She took pride in her cheering. But instead of Timothy rallying along with the crowd, she spotted another student she recognized all too well harassing him. Alex. Her ex-boyfriend of one month when Liam and she broke up for a hot minute. Alex was probably jealous of Timothy getting attention from her. Alex, like Liam, is much larger than Timothy. She began to storm over—

  Bang. Gasp. The 7,000-strong crowd went silent. Many spectators covered their mouths or clasped their hands on their heads in shock. She turned to see an opponent on the field get up off Liam. He wasn’t moving. Players, the coach, and ref sprinted out to him in a heartbeat. And so did Sarah. She pushed her way through and knelt to Liam, whose eyes had rolled over. Envy washed over some of the men in the stands as they watched the head cheerleader talking to Liam next to the school nurse. After a moment, Liam leaned up, followed by cheers from the crowd, and Sarah walked with him off the field with her arm around his waist.

  “That one hurt,” Liam said.

  She patted him on the shoulder padding and squeezed him tight. Gently, she placed him down on the bench and stayed next to him like white on rice as the nurse kept checking for signs of a concussion. As she rubbed the back of his head to keep him from wavering, they watched plays by the backup quarterback.

  The coach came over. “Walked it off?”

  The helmet was back on, and Liam ran out on the field, ready to throw passes.

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  She felt relief seeing him back to normal. It was a nasty hit. But with him back in the game, the crowd cheered, and she led the rallying cry.

  A shotgun play formed, and with a short knee-jerk from Liam, the center snapped the ball toward him. Grunts and collisions took an audible hold of the audience. Liam turned right and readied a pass but brought his arm back in and fleet-footed again to rotate left and look for another open player. The defense kept closing in, the offensive line warping around their valued quarterback, doing everything they could to protect him. A glance to his right, he saw no open players. The grunts and the helmets crashing into each other grew closer. Liam ran. He spun around a right guard blocking someone. The entire field of players changed course. Defenders pushing in one direction went in another to run for Liam, and the offensive line and receivers changed tactics.

  A leap over another player, Liam booked it, getting closer to the out-of-bounds. With a stiff arm, a defender got pushed aside, and he made it beyond the line of scrimmage. The crowd cheered as he continued to run. The star Bobcat didn’t just have an immaculate throwing arm, but he was fast. Very fast. But the defenders that guarded his receivers ran at him, and one dove for his legs. He leaped, but his foot clipped the defender's padding, his head went forward and down, his feet went back and up, and he was going to fall. Then he let his right arm out, his hand sticking to the ground, flipped over, and landed on his feet. The crowd cheered as they witnessed an incredible one-handed somersault and cheered more as he ran for a touchdown.

  Liam strutted as the rest of his team surrounded him, slapping his helmet with praise.

  Sarah, stunned that her boyfriend seemed beyond superhuman, led another cheer. Like a waiter serving the world’s finest food, she cheered for the most outstanding player who made a play that might make headlines, or the videos taken from the stands could go viral. The lineup for the kickoff took a little longer, and the euphoric dopamine Liam gave everyone slowed down the play of the game. However, they lined up for a kickoff once things settled back to normal.

  Her smile was wide, and she was proud as she was the one with him. Together with a football God. Now, what was she doing earlier? Oh, right, Timothy- The crowd cheered again. The away team fumbled the ball after catching the kickoff. Rory dove headfirst, and his helmet knocked the ball right out of the player’s hands, and he quickly recovered.

  The cheers continued.

  The game ended with a win, and afterward, she drove Alicia and two other cheerleaders to her place to party. Her parents didn’t mind as long as no one drove home drunk and didn’t upset the neighbors.

  “Liam should get checked for a concussion,” Alicia said.

  “He won’t.”

  “He probably thinks it was worth it, beating Avondale. Those cunts.” Alicia rolled down the window. “We should graffiti their school like they did ours last year.”

  Sarah remembered what they spray-painted all over the outside of the school. Get fucked, Clearspring bitches. Someone left printouts of Sarah in AI…

  Alicia spoke and broke her upsetting memory. ”I’m surprised you ran out into the field when he got knocked out.”

  “What?”

  “Heard you were a bitch to Mrs. Whitman today. I thought there was another breakup or a fight.”

  “No, she was the—” She stopped herself as that was her boyfriend's mom. “She was being difficult to my friend. And that’s between her and me. It doesn’t mean I love Liam any less.”

  Alicia twitched when she said love. She leaned out the car window, it was easy with her height, and her long brown hair rode the wind. “Pissing off a boy’s mom, that's never a good idea.”

  “She can handle it.”

  They pulled up, and some of her peers were already there. She hoped to see a bike there, but it was just cars that parents bought for their kids. She texted Timothy, asking him to come. No response. At least, not within the split-second response time a boy always accomplishes.

  The keg came out, and cheap beer flowed as she leaned into Liam, rubbing her fingers through his thick brown hair.

  “You ok?”

  “Hell yeah,” Liam said. “Those plays I made were awesome. The entire game is one highlight reel for me. We gotta celebrate.”

  She read between the lines. “Can’t tonight. That time.”

  “Oh. All good.” Liam got up and joined the others playing beer pong.

  Her phone vibrated. Can’t, it read. She responded by asking Timothy if she could pick him up on Monday. Sure.

  She watched one of the football players, Rory, the large linebacker, unleash a fart to match his size that she's sure startled her neighbors. The boys laughed their asses off while the girls got grossed out by the ensuing destructive odor. She’s kinda glad Timothy couldn’t make it. She wasn’t sure what kind of crowd he’d like to be a part of, but this might not be it.

  She gossiped with Alicia and the rest of her friends and drank late into the night. Liam sprawled on the floor, and Alicia leaned against Rory on the couch with her eyes closed, her long legs over his thighs that his shorts could barely contain. As the rest of her friends passed out or slowed down, she went to her room to sleep. She lay down on her stomach and imagined a man. Not a physical-looking man, but one who acted and spoke as such claimed her thoughts, one she wouldn’t lie to.