The Bright Side of Darkness

Thirty-Eight

When our halftime routine is over, cheerleaders crowd the girls' locker room. With the promise of a party no matter the results of the game, everyone is high with excitement.

Well, except for me. I couldn't care less about the party. Last time I went to one, it wasn't the most fun party I've been to. But Lottie and Delilah are going to this one and told me I have to, as well.

"It's gonna suck if the guys lose, but at least they'll be able to have fun at the party," Delilah says as she re-situates her high ponytail and sprays a cloud of hairspray around it. "Plys, for the first time in a while, Travis, Jackson, and Tay are all single."

I take Delilah's cue and adjust my hair and makeup. Mascara has smeared under my eyes from sweat, and I have to borrow a makeup wipe from Lottie to fix it.

"Tay won't be for long." Paisley Nelson, a tall, tan-skinned girl who moved here from Alabama, says. "At least, not if I have anything to do with it."

I freeze with my hand on my ponytail. That annoys me beyond what I thought could be possible. We broke up, like two weeks ago. She knows that. She was there for that. And part of me still feels that Tay is mine.

Mine.

It feels stupid, but the word startles me. I've never thought Tay belongs to me before. I was his, in theory, but he wasn't mine. He always belonged with someone else.

"I mean, his last girlfriend broke up with him. There's no chance of him going back to that one." Seriously? Does she not realize I'm right across the room from her? Or maybe she doesn't care. "I'm gonna grab him while I can. I have no doubt that I'm not the only girl trying to get his attention."

I open my mouth to confront Paisley, but Roxie looks up from the compact she's been using to fix her makeup to glare at Paisley. "Tay wouldn't look at you if you were standing butt-naked in his room."

Paisley's head snaps to the side, and she drops her jaw and stares at Roxie. "What did you just say?"

Roxie shrugs. "You heard me." She rolls her eyes. "I mean, I know you're not dumb. You're in advanced classes. But maybe you are, considering anyone who's been paying attention to Tay over the past few weeks would realize he ain't ready to move on." She looks at me. "If anything, he's trying to find a way back." She says the last part quietly.

Paisley follows Roxie's line of sight, and all the color drains from her face when she sees mine. She leaps up from her perch as if suddenly aware of where she is and who is in the locker room. "Oh, Emori... I didn't know you were there."

I tilt my chin up at her. "Obviously."

I can't stand to be in the locker room much longer, so I turn on my heel and exit with Lottie following close behind.

"Wow. I can't believe she did that." Lottie shakes her head as we follow the concrete path that leads to the concession stand.

"She didn't know I was in the room. It's okay." I keep my eyes trained forward. "Let's just get our food and head to the track, okay?"

Lottie frowns but doesn't say anything else.

"A water and a plain hot dog, please," I say when we reach the front of the line.

The concessions lady smiles at me and leaves to grab the contents of my order. When she comes back, she sets them on the counter. "Three-fifty, please."

I give her the money, and Lottie and I return to our spots on the track.

I take the hot dog out of the bun as I watch the play unfold in front of me. Tay serves as a decoy, faking the hand-off. He manages to get the attention of the defensive line as Jackson takes off toward the end zone.

For a second before Jackson took off, even I thought Tay had the ball, and I was paying close attention. As he gets tackled, Tay's head hits the ground and I flinch, thankful for the helmet.

I researched football before my first game, so I know that as the running back on the team, Tay will absorb a hit from a defender on just about every one of the plays he makes. Even if the play ends with him going out of bounds or scoring a touchdown, it's likely a defender will make contact with him. Which means that he will take a lot of hits.

"What's the likelihood of another trauma to the head causing Tay to go blind again?" I ask Lottie. I fight the urge to run to Tay's side and make sure he's okay.

"The doctor said not likely. He's already had the vitrectomy so he should be good." She chews on her bottom lip. "Still, though, he needs to be careful. Not just for his sake, but for mine and Ma's so we don't freak out every time he takes a hit. She was already hesitant enough to let him play again."

"Yeah," I mutter as I watch the next play. Our team is close to the end zone now. Just a little further and -

Jackson snaps the ball and looks for an opening to pass. Tay barrels through the defense and comes out on the other side, unguarded. The ball flies through the air and lands in his arms. When the ref's arms go up to signal a touchdown, the crowd roars. The band plays a shorter version of our fight song, and everyone waits in anticipation as our team goes for the two-point conversion.*

It fails, and the whole crowd groans.

Lottie shakes her head. "Damn. At least we got to close the gap a little."

By the look on Tay's face as he jogs to his next position, he wasn't happy with the failed play, either.

—

The third quarter ends with Dawson High up by only seven. A touchdown and a field goal. It will take more than that to beat them, though. But we're almost through the last quarter, and we have the ball, so maybe there is some hope.

After every cheer we perform, I continue to watch the game intensely with my elbows on my knees and my hands clasped together in front of my mouth as I sit.

I vault up from my spot and cheer as we make a touchdown. The field goal misses, but that's okay. We need two more points, not just the one.

"You're really into this game, huh?" Lottie remarks as she takes a drink of her water.

"Shh." I wave her off and watch the next play.

She chuckles and stands up to walk over to Delilah.

We need an interception. There are less than two minutes left. Something needs to happen, and soon.