The Unsolvable Equation

Chapter Ten

Alexia sat awkwardly next to K.H in the stands, twiddling her thumbs as K.H joined in the rest of the crowds in singing and hurling insults back and forth between supporters. K.H had come decked out in full support of their school and with the sporty atmosphere all around, she was really in her element.

"Hey Chris!" someone hollered from across the stands. "Introduce me to your new girlfriend or should I just wave to every girl in here tonight?"

"At least he's got more girlfriends than you've got trophies!" K.H yelled back.

"How much are you guys gonna pay the ref tonight, eh? With your entire school fund?"

"No, just the money we won over you last year!" came the reply.

More insults and cheers rang in the air and Alexia craned her neck to view the pitch. She felt incredibly out of place here, it was as if the entire school had been saving up its energy for tonight, and for once, Alexia wasn't an expert in the field. "Are the teams out yet?" Alexia asked K.H, yelling over the crowds to be heard.

K.H scanned the field, where the two teams were marching out, the cheers growing louder. "They are now!" she replied.

Both teams made their grand entrances onto the field. The audience roared in excitement and some of them even stood up to take some photos. Leading them was of course, Chris and Caden. Chris winked at the crowd and waved, exuberating an aura of confidence and arrogance. Self-appreciation oozed from his very being. Caden stood by, like the underappreciated sidekick. Alexia noticed the dimples on his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes. Focus on the game, Alexia. Next, to her, K.H bounced on her seat. Caden had gotten them seats near the front row, so Alexia assumed she had to put on a show and act like she was interested in the game. Why am I even here? She wondered, then remembered Caden's new olive branch of friendship.

"Look over there," K.H pointed to where Natalie was sitting with some of her croonies. She was wearing a mini dress and too much makeup, a look that was attracting many stares of disdain and a few suggestive whistles from the testosterone filled boys. "Go Caden!" she heard Natalie shriek in that awful high-pitched voice of hers.

There was the blowing of a whistle and K.H's attention snapped back to the game. Alexia let her gaze linger on Natalie a while longer and realized the bunch of red roses lying next to her. I hope she steps on them, Alexia thought, then immediately erased that from her mind. How childish was she going to get? Getting jealous over Natalie and Caden?I'm not jealous, she insisted.

She turned her attention back to the pitch, where Caden was being chased by one of Northwest's defenders. She saw Chris run up next to him and shout something that probably went along the lines of "Pass to me". The ball rolled to Chris's feet and stayed there as if it were attached by some magnet. Chris ran the entire length of the field, breaking away from all the defenders with a swagger only Chris could possess. He lifted his right leg and Alexia could have sworn he paused a second just for the fun of it before kicking it towards the net. The entire crowd fell silent, their eyes trained on the ball as it soared toward the post like a bullet broken free. The ball curved and then, to everyone's surprise, hit the post. K.H, who was on the edge of her seat, immediately jumped up threw her hands in the air in frustration. "That was so close!" she yelled, and the other team cheered. "So close!"

Chris's face was contorted up in disgust and he slammed his foot down in frustration. The game went back into play and Caden gained possession of the ball. Once again, Chris ran up beside up and Caden passed. Chris, not a hair out of place, dribbled around the defenders, showing off his fancy footwork and step-overs and aimed for the net once more. Uncharacteristically, he missed again. Chris's hands flew to his head and he turned on Caden. "What's he saying?" Alexia asked K.H.