The Worst of Us

Just squeezing past

I knew long before the tryouts started that Spencer had signed up.

It wasn't an official tryout either (those had came and went), but I somehow had a way of being around people who gossiped a lot at the right moments. Of course, this had nothing to do with me purposely sitting behind Jasmine in class, who couldn't keep her mouth shut and whispered about 'that new football player Jem wants on his team' with Claire. 

What surprised me was that Spencer didn't seem to have mentioned anything to Bailey. If he had, I definitely would've heard about it during the lunch break. She would've mentioned it, between longing glances at Spencer and bites of food.

Spencer was making his own guy friends, exactly as I'd expected. He sat with Ben from Calculus and a couple of other guys and I was happy for him. Of course, he'd still chatted with Bailey at the lunch line before moving to his newfound bro-club. He was still interested in her as far as I could tell, which was exactly why it surprised me he didn't tell her. Maybe he was scared of failing in front of the girl he liked.

Regardless of Spencer's reasons to keep quiet, I decided to follow his example. I kept my mouth shut to Farah and especially Bailey, but immediately headed to the football fields after school. Usually, the team trainings were open to visit by students and the impromptu tryouts apparently didn't make for an exception. 

The training would start in a few minutes and Spencer was already there on the grass along with most other guys from the team. 

I smiled and waved at Spencer. He returned my smile and then came jogging over. 

"I see you decided to go for it," I told him. "Good for you!" 

Spencer shrugged and but kept his shoulders raised in an uncomfortable gesture for a moment longer. "Yep. I thought about what you said and you're right. I should try."

"They may give you some crap from being from another school, honestly," I admitted. "But ultimately they want to win. They'll see you're a good player and I think that'll weigh heavier in the end."

"Yeah..." Spencer breathed out through his mouth. "That's what Jem said, too.  I just wished I was better at... people, you know."

"You'll do great. You kicked this team's ass before, remember?" 

"Yeah..." 

Spencer hardly seemed convinced of his own abilities, but Jem certainly was. He grinned like he'd managed to get a superstar on the school fields as he waved Spencer over.

"Yo, Spencer! Training's starting!"

Spencer sighed deeply. "Coming!" 

While Spencer was jogging back to the football team, Jem looked at me. He gave me a quick wink before the coach demanded all his attention. Despite the stands being freezing cold when I took a seat, I felt warm. Even more so when I spotted movement from the corner of my eye and I realised I wasn't the only spectator today. 

Donned in a moss green 'winter ' coat that looked more fashionable than warm, Jasmine took a seat on the same bench as me, but all the way at the other side. Next to her, Autumn was huddled up in her equally unpractical for the cold weather but very pretty, fake-furred, black coat. Neither of them acknowledged my presence, so I did my best to turn my attention to the training, too. 

Despite my very limited knowledge of American Football, I could tell Spencer was good. He was surprisingly agile and fast for his height and build, and I ended up timing his running speed and comparing it with the others. Using the all-knowing internet on my phone, I also learned what a turnover was and Spencer honestly didn't allow for even one - he never lost the ball. 

According to the statistical football models I found (albeit with very limited one-training input), Spencer was a superstar.

When the training ended, I was pretty damn sure Spencer got in. I was entirely sure when the coach, Jem, and some of the other guys patted Spencer's back with wide smiles. 

I smiled too when Spencer turned to the stands, looking for me. Since the training was over, I walked towards Spencer and we met each other half-way on the field. Behind me, Autumn and Jasmine followed and in front of me, Jem did. 

And suddenly we were standing there on the field, the five of us. Three extremely popular kids, one guy who was probably going to get real popular real soon, and me.

Standing next to Jasmine and Autumn really wasn't good for my self-esteem. They looked seemingly effortlessly pretty. Their eyeliner was so smooth I could only dream of ever having such a steady hand. And aside from that, I just wasn't perfectly proportioned like them. I wasn't ugly, just average. I didn't have the large boobs but small waist Jasmine did, and I definitely didn't have Autumns long, thin legs. No, I referred to my legs as carrot shaped. Huge thundering thighs, no calves and tiny feet. 

"Hey, Celia," Spencer said. When I turned to him, he smiled. "Thanks for the little push. I made the team." 

"Yeah, thanks! The team actually has a shot now." 

I literally nearly jumped when Jem swung a friendly arm around me. His sparkling blue eyes were suddenly so close to my face I had to look away. Jem removed his arm way too fast for my liking, but it was better that he did because my face was burning and Autumn was watching me intently now. I really didn't know where to look anymore. 

Luckily, Jem seemed clueless as to what was going on. His gaze darted from me to Jasmine and then Autumn. "So what did you girls think of the tryout? Spencer's good, huh?"

I kept my mouth shut, deciding to let someone else reply. If there was one thing I'd learned in school, it was that nobody, especially not boys, cared that I was working on some statistics in the stands because math, ew. The only one I'd enthuse about it was my math teacher, Mrs. Fell. 

"It was fine," Autumn said. "But not very exciting. Spencer was carrying the entire game." 

"Oh, what do they know." A friend of Jem's named Chase rolled his eyes as he passed by. "They weren't even looking -- probably talking about makeup and clothes and that kinda superficial shit."

Jem laughed and made a snoring sound. "Fine by me. Do it during practice so I don't have to listen to Autumn about it later." 

"I'm about as interested in hearing you boys talk about cars and football hours on end," Autumn replied lightly, tilting her chin up. "Such deep subjects compared to clothes and make-up."

"Hey, I like cars and football, too! I think they're interesting," Jasmine piped up. 

The conversation fizzled out for a second after Jasmine's remark. I definitely wasn't going to break the silence, but Jem had no such problems. 

"Anyway, we all agree we like a good party and alcohol right," he changed the subject, surprisingly glancing at Spencer and then at me. "First match of the year's this weekend and we can take those guys even without Spencer. My parents are away so I'm throwing a party. You two game?"  

"Yeah, sure," Spencer agreed, though I had expected him to say no because those kind of wild house parties weren't really his thing. I didn't know for sure, but Spencer didn't seem the type. 

As for me? I couldn't even tell if it was my thing because I'd never been invited to a wild house party. I'd only heard the stories about Jem's house and what transpired there in the school hallways. And damn, was I curious to be in the inner circle of Demont. I'd be there, even if only to see if all the stories were true.

"Yeah, definitely. Sounds like fun," I replied.