Daya

29|The Big Game

Vince is stressed about his game Saturday and working out even though it's thanksgiving morning, and the rest of us are sitting on the couch watching the parade. I gave up on excessively worrying about him and decide if he does have a migraine he will be responsible and tell my dad. Or he'll at least stop lifting so much weight, but as the game gets closer his reps get longer and his desire to have an undefeated senior season grows.

"He's too focused on these damn games, tell him to chill," my mom says to my dad when the parade stops and the commercials come on. At least their arguments are starting during the overwhelming amount of commercials and not during the celebrities performing on the big floats.

"I did he won't listen," dad says. Dad did tell Vince to chill, but it was with a smile and sense of satisfaction as he watched Vince bench press.

"I Wonder where he gets that from," my mom snaps back. One would think that because Kayla is with her family this Thanksgiving this year would be less awkward and tense between my parents, but the stress of Vince's senior year is almost making it worse. To make the thanksgiving worse on both sides of my family we don't have an overwhelming amount of relatives to distract us with their problems. All of our crazy cousins are back in the Bronx where my dad grew up and the last time we visited they looked at us like strangers.

"Aww, look at that bulldog," I announce and point to the tv. My parents may be a tad stubborn, but they're some suckers for dogs and immediately aww at the dog on the screen.

Vince doesn't put aside the game until thanksgiving dinner when my aunt and uncle also known as my only relatives in California comes and we enjoy our small but fulfilling dinner. I had so much turkey at about 8 I fall asleep shortly after texting Ziyah goodnight. I keep on learning new things about him like he's been to London and took art lessons when he was a kid.

Blessing my household Black Friday comes and goes and game day approaches. We're more of a Cyber Monday family anyway so it's not that big a deal. With all of the anticipation its as if It's Marina high school's last game, but if they lose, they will be able to qualify for championships which they have one every year.

We get to the football field and bleachers and are able to sit in the middle front and center. The bleachers are crowded and the cheerleaders are jumping on the track as the first play starts. Unlike other games the other team's bleachers are also packed.

"Daya!" A familiar voice screams over the loud noise. I turn to my side and at the top of the bleachers is Vicki and basically everyone from her party.

"Come over here girl," Jada adds. I give a look to my parents and Dani, but they're too focused on the game so I sneak away to where Vicki is. She's playing her part of being the quarterback's girlfriend perfectly with Vince's number on her cheek in blue paint that will probably give her a rash.

"Her girl," she says. I do a little wave and their attention that I don't think was ever on the game shifts over to me. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Girl you know it's been just a week Daya
Ain't  worried about you, plus you really mean it's been forever since you got that D," Jada jumps in.

"Speaking of D how's your dreadhead doing?" Vicki asks and nudges my shoulder. That had to be the worst Segway ever. Deadhead that's a step up from pothead.

"Fine," I smile.

They read my nervous expression over the loud sounds of the crowd. "Do you guys think it's important for me to know if Ziyah has any exes," I blurt out not too loud. Of course they hear my words because I decided to speak the second the cheerleaders started cheering. This is a question that has recently come into mind along with a bunch of girls who Ziyah could've kissed before me. He's adorable it wouldn't be practical that I'm the only girl who noticed.

"Yes. but don't worry about it, until it becomes a problem?" Vicki gives me a reassuring glance, and I'm about to tell her thanks, but the crowd's roaring gets louder and we all look at the field.

"That's my baby," Laia screams from the bleacher below us as Chase darts across the field and scores a touchdown. The score is now 13 to 2 in our favor and the cheerleaders on the track throw their poms poms in the air even though it's just the second quarter.

For such a stressful and intense game it breezes by with us ahead by a little bit. The other team's players seem a bit bigger, but ours are quicker, but I someone who's more focused on having a staring contest with someone on the other bleachers am not a reliable source. When the person who I can't clearly make out clearly blinks I take a picture if the field and send it to Harper, whos in San Francisco for the week. Over our whole break she's been sending pictures of houses from Full House and the new things she's discovered about her big hotel room. She replies with a thanks and a picture of the golden state bridge in the center of a pink sunset.

I don't take my eyes off the screen until Vicki aggressively pats my shoulder. "Look, look, Daya it's happening again," she says and points to the field.

I look back at the field and out of the many players moving around the first one I see is Vince sort of just standing there. Then it happens just like at Vicki's party, but because Vince isn't really involved in the play Vicki and I are probably the only ones who see the pain coming over him.

"Vince come on get your head in the game!" One of the benched players yells. I'm thinking the exact same thing, but obviously for completely different reasons.

My dad gets up from his seat on the bleachers and my mom follows and ends up blocking some middle schoolers behind them. Before the kids can tell them to sit down Vince's face gets more scrunched up and he puts his hand on his forehead. He's right on the football field so he can't take any pills with apple juice or take a nap. Coach finally calls a timeout, but the pain in Vince's face goes away and his whole body flops on to the terf. If that isn't bad enough his body begins to uncontrollably jerk which makes my heart sink to my stomach.

Following my dad, my mom, Vicki, and Dani I rush to the field where his teammates begin to surround him. When we get to the field and coach has put him on his side and he's stopped jerking which I don't know is a good or bad thing.  It all happens so quick, Vince just lays there and doesn't hear the commotion, then the ambulance screams and soon enough the game is over and my brother is carried out on a stretcher. So many noises, faces creased with worry, people in a frenzy, and I just stand on the field without the ability to move a limb.

"It's all my fault," I whisper as my mom or Vicki I can't tell grabs my hand and pulls me along.