The Middle

II

Football games will never be the same. I was young with a best friend, who I swore would be there for life (Flash forward: I guess she hates my guts now-more on that later, she loved the whole idea of the "high school experience" and who was I to doubt that everything she thought would happen wouldn't? I went right along with it, because I wanted that fantasy to be true just as much as she did. 

Those shorts, the ones that the freshmen wear way to long because they dont know anybetter, were riding so far up me, I swear I was making all the camels in the world jealous. I was nervous, I had only been to the campus a few hundred times (my brother went to the school before me). Walking to each of my classes that day, I tried to sit in the same seat each time. The furtherst in the back, and the furthest from the door. I wanted the masses to be convinvced of my coolness and aloofness. 

Lunch was easy, friends were easy too. I already had them, I didn't have to make new ones. My friends made new friends who became my friends. But, I never made any. My best friend was convinced that our now ex-best friend (way to ditch us at orientation, Jenny!) would simply die over the fact of us having boyfriends. Crystal, a gorgeous, skinny, blonde, outgoing girl never had to worry about the boys. Me? Oh, Lord I was lucky if they thought I wasn't one of them. My hair, ugly. My make-up, horrible. My boobs, what boobs? But, worst of all my teeth, those teeth were something from a horror film. 

I was in ever sense of the word, the typical, shy, ugly, but friends with pretty girls, girl. They have a name for it now, DUFF (Desinated ugly fat friend). Convinced we needed boyfriends, none the less, Crystal would flirt her way up and down the school hall ways. Needing no help or advice on how to do so, escpially from me. I wasn't a master but, I sure pretended like I was. 

Football games were our holy grail. The freshmen did not actually go to the stands and watch. Instead, they would sit on the edge and mingle among one another by the snack bar. Our football games were always located at the local community college as our school did not have enough space for the real field. Every game, we would gear up for the boys and the chance to meet a future boyfriend not for the game. 

It was one of the nights, the Friday nights of them all, that we met them. They were in a group of boys and girls. Crystal marched right up and started talking to them all, sparing none of them any of her charm. The coversation wasn't a good one or even a real one at all. It was merely children trying to talk over one another on a subject they truly did not understand. Each trying to show off and make themselves more likeable to the opposite sex. It wasn't appealing to anyone but stupid young children who were impressed by things they beleived to be cool. 

But there across the group, I saw him. He looked so much older than the rest of them. So mature, he was a football player too. It was rumored that he would be playing varsity next year (as a sophomore!). He was Ben. He was so very cool, at least in my eyes. And the eyes of every other girl, including Crystal. I tried my flirting, a new tactic I was using. Trying to stand out of the crowd, I used "I'm cool just like you, but cooler and don't really care about you, but like me" flirt style (I would find too late, that I should never use that). 

Sadly, fate had other plans for me other than the guy that was so much cooler than me and would even eventually go on to date Jenny (I had him first!...kinda). 

Across the group, there was another one. He saw me, and played his flirting card just right. It was enough for a attention sick, stupid freshmen to believe. His name was Drake. He was young, he looked so very young, not cute (but boy did I tell everyone he was anyways) and he liked me. That was good enough for me. Numbers were exhchanged, don't ask me how I don't know. The now familar fear of everyone getting Crystal's number but not mine set in. Drake made sure to get my number and text me right away. I recieved the other ones too, but somehow Drake's seemed more important. 

In all of the chaos of the showing off and showing up, Crystal managed to get a few words to me. Her eyes sparkled, she must have gotten high off of the interaction with other people.

"I think Ben is cute. What do you think?" She asked me, her blue eyes staring down at me hoping for the right answer. 

"Yeah, Ben's definately cute." I told her, partically because it was true and partically because I wanted her to be happy. 

"I think he's into me too. You saw that he was flirting with me right?" She told me back, casually looking in his direction. He was looking away, talking to another person. He paid her no mind, but that never stuck in her brain. 

I looked her over, she was gorgous. Just being next to her, hurt my self esteem.  She was everything I would never be, starting from the top. 

"Of course, he was. He's looking at you right now." We both turned at the same moment and there his eyes were locked on her. She smiled and made her way back to the yelling of the small group of people. These people would never speak again until junior year when everyone started to know everyone. 

The boys took their rightful places next to us in the group.

The magic of the night, had to come to end. Like all great football based high school romances, the game ended. We might have won or lost, the freshmen certainly weren't paying attention. 

The rest of the night and upcoming weeks, my phone was buzzing with text messages from the one and only Drake.  He was  sleezy, and if I had more sense I would have run far away from him and those text messages. But, I didn't. Not in those days at least. 

My face would light up as every other minute, a buzz would sound. It was Crystal would told me that we needed to see them again. She made the plans. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

unedited