School Spirit

1| Not My Boyfriend

"Woo hoo! C'mon! Go Riverdale Ravens!" I cheered as loud as I could from the top of the bleachers, earning a few weird glares from people. What could I say, cheering was infused into my blood.

6-18

The Ravens were two touchdowns behind our biggest rival yet, Bayview High's Knights.

I had a pure and strong hatred for that team. Only because it used to be me who proudly wore that honey gold yellow and black cheer uniform. I would always see familiar faces on the cheer squad, especially on the football team. People from the past who should not be in my present or future. All they contributed were unwanted memories and terrible feelings.

I'm glad I transferred to Riverdale High; it's much more welcoming and it has a sense of unity and family. Especially when it came to sports, football to be exact. Every time the football game was at home, practically all the students would show up to cheer on the Ravens. Like me. But not today since I tried doing one too many backflips and injured my ankle. I couldn't believe I couldn't cheer on the most important day, the official day when football season starts.

It was dreadful watching our first game of the season on the stands. I'm captain and I want to support our team and the school. Unlike other high schools, our school is very supportive, aggressive and competitive when it comes to football. We live and breath for football. I won't be surprised if our principal changed our school motto to that.

"Stop straining your ankle and sit down." My friend Owen came up behind me holding a bag of popcorn in his hands. The light emitted from the stands made him look like a god, his tan skin with those brown eyes and chiseled chin was just the perfect combination.

Owen De Luca, my best friend since grade 2. We met during play time when these two girls started picking on me on how I looked like a homeless person with badly cut hair. Owen stepped in and asked them what was wrong with looking like a homeless person with badly cut hair. That shut them up and it started our friendship. We were inseparable. He stood up for me and I stood up for him, calling us two peas in a pod would be an understatement.

We did, and we still do everything together. I'd watch his boring action movies and he would watch my romantic films with me. If he went to go watch a hockey game, I would be next to him cheering on his favourite team. If I was going shopping for hours on end, he would be there holding the bags for me.

It got to the point where people thought we were dating. That's one of the problems of being friends with the opposite sex. People automatically think that when you hang out with the other gender it's because you like them. I can never see Owen in that way.

I usually don't mind the teasing and questions because he made the biggest unexpected sacrifice for me. His dad and brother wanted him to play on the school's soccer team at Bayview because it was the best in the city.

He was on the team, in fact he was the captain. But when I found out Riverdale was offering a better Arts program, I decided to move. And so did he. His dad was disappointed and furious.

"C'mon Owen, when I asked you to accompany me I never knew I was dragging along my ever so protective mother." I ruffled his already messed up black hair. He gave me his winning smile that usually attracted all the girls' eyes.

"I am your mom. Come here and give your mom a kiss," he joked. I obliged, pecking him on the cheek. One thing I'm also glad for, it wasn't awkward. We kissed each other's cheeks as jokes all the time, but we both knew there wasn't anything between us.

"Mom, I think you need to shave." I said, laughing. He somehow got me to sit down.

One deal my mom made when I asked to go to the football game was that I had to ask Owen to go with me. Surely, he said yes, when he came to pick me up, my mom started barking out orders about how to keep my ankle safe.