Playing it Straight

Chapter 8

The beginning of October brought beautiful fall leaves and homecoming weekend. Lily knew things would be stressful with such a big event. She felt like she was never able to just relax and enjoy homecoming like everyone else. Alumni were coming, and the cheerleaders would honor past football players along with trying to coordinate cheers and routines that incorporated the previous cheerleaders in attendance. Nora usually handled the coordination of everything, but this year, Nora had the lead role in the fall show, so she didn't have time to do it all with her rehearsal schedule. As a dance major, a lot of people disregarded her saying cheerleading wasn't dancing. Theater was another way she could show her skills and actually be taken seriously. Nora could sing, dance, act, perform. She was literally the whole package.

Nora asked Lily if she could step in with the homecoming duties, and she was never good at saying no. Lily always told herself she was too much of a follower. Tell her to be somewhere at 6 in the morning, and she will be there at 5:45 with coffee. But ask her to plan something, and it makes her anxiety spike., but she will do it with a smile on her face. The only thing worse than being in charge, though, was disappointing someone. Because there was so much to do, Lily locked herself away in order to plan. She had her pens out and was color coding the schedule when Ryder texted.

Ryder: "What are you up to? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

To be fair, he was kind of right. It was Thursday, and she hadn't seen him since lunch on Monday. With the exception of hanging out with Charlie Tuesday, which was really school related, she hadn't seen any of her friends. She texted back right away. Lily: "I know babe. I'm sorry I have been skipping out on lunch. There is just so much to do. I need to make sure everything is set for this weekend."

Ryder: "But I miss you. Come hang out. Can't you take a little break?"

Without thinking, Lily automatically typed those words back. "I miss you too," with a kissing face emoji. Lily wasn't so sure she meant that though. It was nice having some space and being able to do what she wanted. Lily: "I really can't. There is so much to do, and I want everything to be perfect."

Ryder: "Ugh, fine. I better at least get to see you this weekend."

Lily thought for a minute. It was tradition for all the alumni to hang out with the current students after the homecoming game. She opened her messaging app and texted Charlie. "Are you working this weekend?"

The reply came almost immediately. "You know it. My manager assumes the place will be packed, so he wants everyone to be there. Why? Will I be seeing you?"

Lily: "Of course," she texted with a winky face that made her blush.

She switched back to her thread with Ryder: "I think we should go to Study Tables. I think the alums will want something a little nicer than a house party but will enjoy going back to their college days."

Ryder: "Great plan, babe. I will let everyone know." 

She sent back a thumbs up emoji when he texted again. Ryder: "And I better get some alone time with you. My bed has been calling your name."

She didn't know what to say, so she just ignored the message. She felt a little guilty. She wasn't quite sure why, but for some reason, she felt like she was lying to Ryder. Well, not exactly lying per say; she just didn't tell him she also had an ulterior motive for suggesting the bar, and she really didn't want to think about spending the night with him. The reality was, she couldn't get Charlie off her mind. Nothing was new there. She made sure to get to class early each day just to talk to her, and she had been texting asking for help with Spanish almost every night. She didn't need help, but it gave her an excuse to text. Sometimes she did feel guilty that she would pick texting Charlie over texting her boyfriend, but she tried not to read too much into that. It was nice having people outside her regular circle to talk to, and she was just trying to meet new friends.