The Mistake

The Football Game

The sun drummed against my eyelids as I shifted my weight to my forearms, leaning back against a row of bleachers. I didn't want to move an inch for fear of getting burned by the hot metal that hadn't been cooled down by my shadow.

It was twelve thirty on a Friday, which meant P.E. I'd already started brainstorming excuses to get out of this particular class since I knew our gym teacher would probably make us start running laps again. Yeah, it seemed ironic, but I only enjoyed running when I could be alone and on a chilly morning; not surrounded by girls gossiping and the sun beating down on my head with Ms. Grant breathing down my neck to go faster.

I was about to start faking cramps when she said P.E. was canceled, and I sighed in relief along with a bunch of other girls. We didn't really have anywhere else to be, so we all just kind of hung around by the bleachers.

"So, have you thought about it?" Bri's voice piped up beside me, and I opened my eyes, the lollipop she'd been sucking on for the past ten minutes still in her mouth.

"Thought about what?" I dabbed at a trickle of sweat going down my forehead.

"The beach trip. Are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, it'll be amazing. The whole class is going, and we could room together. You, me and Sophie." Breanna said. From what I'd pieced together, the whole grade was organizing a beach trip to Santa Cruz for a long weekend and apparently, it was a long standing tradition. A bunch of other schools all headed down there for the weekend, too. I admitted, the idea of a weekend of relaxing at the beach with my friends was tempting, but I knew the parties got a little crazy.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll think about it." I said, just to keep her from insisting.

Bri must've taken that as a yes; she gasped and put her perfectly manicured hands around me in a hug, the smell of strawberry and honey enveloping me. I wasn't sure if it was from her perfume or from the lollipop. Maybe a mix of both.

"Oh my God, I'm so excited." She pulled back with wide eyes. "I have to start packing."

"Bri, it's not for like, another two weeks."

"Exactly. I have to start planning my outfits." I laughed as she shrugged coyly.

The sound of a whistle cut through the gossip and talking of the girls on the bleachers. I turned to the field, the boys' football game was about to start. The guys walked onto the field, all in their gym clothes. My eyes roamed the field, catching a glimpse of Jacob passing the ball around with one of his friends as the coach started dividing them into teams.

Once the teams were made, I made out Alex and Nick on one team. I cocked my head at the sight. What was Nick doing here? He usually skipped this period, probably to go surf with Ben.

Alex said something that made Nick laugh and shake his head, his wavy hair bouncing. I suppressed a smile. It seemed like the world had been set right now that the brothers were seemingly on good terms again.

Jacob ended up being on the other team, and soon enough, the game started. A few of the girls' chatters had died down as they focused on the boys playing. I heard some of them giggling as they pointed out boys they thought were cute. I heard Nick's name mentioned more than a few times. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Bri stuck a finger into her mouth in mock disgust. I muffled my chuckle.

I turned my attention back to the field as the second play started. I wasn't sure exactly how football worked, but someone said "Hut!" and passed the ball between his legs to Nick. The guys on defense on the other team ran, some tackling and blocking a few other guys sprinting down the line, others gunning for Nick. Before they could get him, he faked a sprint and after a swift turn, threw his arm back and launched the ball almost all the way across the field. "Damn." Bri whispered next to me, her expression probably mimicking mine. Of course he just had to be good at football, too. I thought his sport was just boxing.