Geek to On Fleek

Chapter Three: The Game (And I Don't Mean Basketball)

Chapter Three: The Game (And I Don't Mean Basketball)

I couldn't decide what to wear to the stupid basketball game. Nothing seemed good enough, or it was too good, or it was too attention-seeking, or it didn't make me feel comfortable and so on. I guessed one advantage of living at home was that I still had access to my whole closet.

Yes, I have lived at home throughout college and so far, it hasn't been that bad.

I would have liked to live in the dorms, at least for a year, but the reality is that I don't have a couple grand on hand to just shell out for a shoebox. Besides, I have a car and my house is only thirty minutes from school. Being the social butterfly that I am, (she said sarcastically), I enjoyed coming home to my room and having some personal space.

I eventually settled on just some jeans and a light lavender long sleeve shirt. I pulled my light hair up in a ponytail though; I remember it was because I was afraid of looking like I tried too hard. Emily had made me self conscious about people "talking about me" and Jake Mueller asking about me and all that. I really didn't know why I was so interesting to them. Then again, why was Alex Flores so interesting to me? To everyone else? At least I wasn't blabbing about him to half the sophomore class.

I drove to the school and walked towards the gym. I think it was the first home game of the season, and even though I wasn't really close to the gym yet, I was already overwhelmed by all the school spirit. Posters, people sporting the dark purple color of our school, distant cheering...

The last time I'd been to a sporting event was my senior year Homecoming, and I tripped over the bleachers, creating a very loud THUD. It was embarrassing, especially because it was right as they were about to announce the Homecoming Queen. I wouldn't be caught dead near those damn bleachers after that. I took a deep breath and focused on the hope that I wouldn't make a fool of myself.

The gym was crowded, and I didn't know where to even begin looking for Emily or Mary. It was about five minutes before the game would officially start, and I panicked at the thought of having to find a seat after the game started. Luckily, Emily actually saw me and texted me where she was sitting. I hurried carefully over to where she, her twin brother, and Mary were sitting. I had met Connor a few times before. They actually used the fact that they were twins to distinguish themselves amongst all the applicants during college application time, and it worked (luckily for Emily, since she isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.)

"You made it, I was beginning to think you had chickened out." Emily chuckled, and I gave a subtle laugh. The truth was I almost did, or I thought about it at least.

I sat between Emily and Mary, with Connor sitting next to Emily. He didn't look up from his phone and he didn't seem his usually happy self. I frowned at Emily.

"Don't mind Connor, he's just upset because he hasn't found any cute guys to date," Emily remarked. I looked back at Connor, who gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I will be taking a break from dating for a while," he grumbled. I gave him a small smile.

"Not a bad idea," I add, trying to make him feel better. It had been a few years since he came out, and although he's comfortable with who he is, not many other gay guys around here are, with themselves.

"Easy for you to say, you've got a line of them wanting to just talk to you."

I sighed myself. I wished people would stop saying that, I didn't like the attention. It made me sound conceited, and his remark about the line of guys made me feel dirty.