Dissonance | ✓

05 | Barracuda!

     The last fortnight had been uniform: I continued getting comfortable on Ms. Jenkin's black list; my 'pretenders' crew let down some barriers so we became closer; I found the school's curriculum to be less challenging than anticipated. Everything had been going fairly well.

     It was the second Saturday evening I spent attending a Riverdale game. The first was similar to this one, and I still was expecting the date part to play out differently.

     I waited, along with a group of cheerleaders and rabid fans, at the main parking lot for a school bus to take us to Saint John's Day, where the Riverdale Barracudas had their basketball game. I promised Mason I would go again, and there I was regretting.

     Miranda refused to go (for whatever reason) and Carter apparently had better things to do. Considering I did not really have any other friends, I went alone.

     Although she was not going with me, Miranda helped me with what to wear. This is Riverdale and you have to show school spirit, especially if you're dating a player," she had told me. She put me in skinny jeans and her t-shirt that matched the maroon color of the school skirt. I ditched the jeans for a pair of shorts, my explanation being 'less is more', wiggled into a school sweatshirt and left.

     Less was undoubtedly not more on a fall night like that one, but I had to fight through it. It was barely a degree below fifty, so I should not have been complaining.

     The bus pulled up by the curb and everyone boarded. Being the last to get on, there was only one set of seats I could take, near the front. It was better than sitting next to an overzealous Riverdale fan. The bus began to drive out when a loud banging came from the side. We stopped and the doors opened, letting in a panting Josh. He scouted the bus quickly and eyed the only empty spot beside me.

     "You must've really wanted to see this game," I said.

     "See it?" He wiped off a few beads of sweat from his forehead. More like play in it. I'm on the team." He gestured to his basketball uniform. I thumped my forehead with a hand, not understanding how I missed that.

     He chuckled. "Why did you miss the team's bus?" I asked.

     Josh jeered, "Mr. Lake kept me in for a detention, stupid..." He trailed off into a series of incoherent swears. Mr. Lake was a pain; he took his sociology class way too seriously, and expected ever one of his students to do so. When his way-too-high expectations were not met, he dashed out detentions.

     "So I guess you came to watch Mason?" Josh said again.

    "How'd you know?" I was a little puzzles by his accuracy. "Most of these girls are, but he told the team about you."

     I could not help but blush. Guys never usually bragged about being with me. I was more of a toy to play around with a little, and be whispered about into a best friend's ear. That sort of change was refreshing.

∞

     The game at Saint John's played out how I expected it to; the players constantly sprinted up and down the court throughout the game, with one prominent guy from each team who took most of the shots. Riverdale's guy was Mason. I partook in classic crowd chants, cheers and Mexican waves. I did not, however, include myself in the frequent arguments between opposing fans. They were pointless and made hardly any sense to me, what with all the references to past seasons.

     After about an hour, the game ended with an eighty-one to sixty-four victory to us. The Barracuda fans wooed and clapped energetically and the mascot busted a few moves in the center of the court. It certainly was an experience for me, even though I promised myself not to waste a weekend night like that again.