Eli & Juno

7- Tryouts

Noelle, Poe and school become my new reality. Poe, I quickly discover, is a poet. One day, when he isn't looking, Noelle sneaks a look at the inside of his notebook. I felt bad about looking, but his words caught my interest. He was writing about what I had said after the track meet. That they couldn't be nobodies if they had one another. He was pissed when he found us looking, and yelled something in Spanish.

Apparently, Noelle and Poe's fights don't last too long, because Noelle texts me during last period on Friday that we're going to sit in on football practice.

"It's fun to watch," Noelle says. "And I'll bring pretzels."

She keeps true to her word, and brings us both the normal and the large bread pretzels, both covered in an insane amount of salt.

"These are amazing," I say between mouthfuls. "Seriously, where did you get these?"

A huge smile splits Noelle's face. "I made them."

"You made them?"

She nods. "Of course. Can't get anything good in this town unless you make it yourself." She hands me another, and I accept it gratefully.

I turn back to the game. Even if I wanted to refuse Noelle's offer, I couldn't have. Though I'd gotten into the habit of driving home with Noelle, she was picking her uncle up from the airport afterwards, and after being turned away from track, Cassel was more determined than ever to get onto the football team.

Which means I'm stuck here, until he realizes he doesn't stand a chance. The people in the field are insane. Who knew there would be good football players in Alaska?

"Your brother down there, Eli?" Poe asks.

I sigh. "Yeah. Over there. Tall one in the red jacket?"

"Ah," Poe nods. He takes a large bite of his pretzel. "Is he horrible?"

"I- Er- "

"I'll take that as a yes then." Poe flips someone off as they motion for us to get off the field. "We're behind the lines!" He shouts. He motions to his wheelchair. "How do you even want me to get in the stands?" He turns to Noelle. "These people are ridiculous."

She snorts. "You're telling me. Did you know Sylvester didn't know the answer in Spanish class today, so he just walked up the board and drew a sombrero."

I stifle a laugh. "Seriously?"

Noelle nods. "Believe me, private school boy. We're a mess over here in American public schools."

"How do you know I went to private school?"

"Well you lived in London, right?"

"Point and case," Poe says, twirling his pen. "Look, there's August."

My head snaps up. I spot Juno jogging across the field in a bright blue jersey.

"I heard he was seen with April right after she almost killed you, Elle."

"Really?" I say. "Why?"

Poe shrugs. "Their friends. Or something. It's a whole scandal. Anyway, Eli, it doesn't matter who he is. You'll never talk to him anyway."

"He's in the penthouse," Noelle sings.

"The penthouse?"

The people on field all tal a knee around their coach. Juno stands up and begins outlining some drills. He has an oddly elegant look about him as he walks around the group, despite the white tights and the shoulder pads. I immediately feel embarrassed for noticing.