School Spirit Part 1

Start from the beginning
                                    

"Is this really necessary?" I asked. The poms shook by my knees when I let my arms drop in annoyance.

Judy nodded. "All the cheerleaders have to wear their uniforms the day of a football game."

Tom came out of the bathroom wearing a dark blue jersey, completed with the protective equipment that rested on his shoulders.

"I look ridiculous," he stated.

"High schoolers now-a-days love school spirit," Judy said, giggling at us. "Oh, Hanson, I gave you the wrong thing. Wear this." She tossed him a varsity jacket with a blue torso and white leather sleeves.

"What about me?" I asked.

"You get... this," she tossed me a white sweater that had a megaphone embroidered on the front. I tossed my poms onto Tom's nearby desk in order to catch the sweater.

"Thanks," I said and pulled it over my head. "Got anything for my legs? I'm cold."

Judy shook her head.

I deadpanned, "I want to set myself on fire."

"Oh, you are so dramatic. You will be fine." Judy waved me off.

"Hey, Hanson," Doug said.

"Yes, dear." Tom looked over at him.

Doug cracked a smile before he asked, "why did the football coach go to the bank?"

"I don't know."

"To get his quarter back."

Tom just stared at Doug dryly, trying to comprehend his dumb joke. Doug rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'll think of a better one."

"Have things really changed this much since I was in high school?" Tom asked as he took off the jersey and the protective gear and was just in a white tank top before he put his shirt back on and the varsity jacket over it.

"Were you not paying attention in high school?" Doug asked, "the cheerleaders were the best part of the day."

"You guys went to the same high school, didn't you?" Judy asked, pointing her finger between me and Doug.

"Oh yeah, we did," I said.

"Class of '84 at Jefferson High," Doug said, "go Tigers."

"Class of '85," I said and we high-fived.

Tom asked, "hey, I thought you graduated in '86?"

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Tom asked, "hey, I thought you graduated in '86?"

"Nope, '85. I took classes in the summer. I graduated a year early."

"So that's how you managed to join the force when you were seventeen," Tom said in realization.

I nodded. "Yep. And having connections helped too. I took advantage of the nepotism."

21 Jump Street (Tom Hanson)Where stories live. Discover now