Alexia sat awkwardly next to K.H in the stands, twiddling her thumbs as K.H joined in the rest of the crowds in singing and hurling insults back and forth between supporters. K.H had come decked out in full support of their school and with the sporty atmosphere all around, she was really in her element.
"Hey Chris!" someone hollered from across the stands. "Introduce me to your new girlfriend or should I just wave to every girl in here tonight?"
"At least he's got more girlfriends than you've got trophies!" K.H yelled back.
"How much are you guys gonna pay the ref tonight, eh? With your entire school fund?"
"No, just the money we won over you last year!" came the reply.
More insults and cheers rang in the air and Alexia craned her neck to view the pitch. She felt incredibly out of place here, it was as if the entire school had been saving up its energy for tonight, and for once, Alexia wasn't an expert in the field. "Are the teams out yet?" Alexia asked K.H, yelling over the crowds to be heard.
K.H scanned the field, where the two teams were marching out, the cheers growing louder. "They are now!" she replied.
Both teams made their grand entrances onto the field. The audience roared in excitement and some of them even stood up to take some photos. Leading them was of course, Chris and Caden. Chris winked at the crowd and waved, exuberating an aura of confidence and arrogance. Self-appreciation oozed from his very being. Caden stood by, like the underappreciated sidekick. Alexia noticed the dimples on his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes. Focus on the game, Alexia. Next, to her, K.H bounced on her seat. Caden had gotten them seats near the front row, so Alexia assumed she had to put on a show and act like she was interested in the game. Why am I even here? She wondered, then remembered Caden's new olive branch of friendship.
"Look over there," K.H pointed to where Natalie was sitting with some of her croonies. She was wearing a mini dress and too much makeup, a look that was attracting many stares of disdain and a few suggestive whistles from the testosterone filled boys. "Go Caden!" she heard Natalie shriek in that awful high-pitched voice of hers.
There was the blowing of a whistle and K.H's attention snapped back to the game. Alexia let her gaze linger on Natalie a while longer and realized the bunch of red roses lying next to her. I hope she steps on them, Alexia thought, then immediately erased that from her mind. How childish was she going to get? Getting jealous over Natalie and Caden?I'm not jealous, she insisted.
She turned her attention back to the pitch, where Caden was being chased by one of Northwest's defenders. She saw Chris run up next to him and shout something that probably went along the lines of "Pass to me". The ball rolled to Chris's feet and stayed there as if it were attached by some magnet. Chris ran the entire length of the field, breaking away from all the defenders with a swagger only Chris could possess. He lifted his right leg and Alexia could have sworn he paused a second just for the fun of it before kicking it towards the net. The entire crowd fell silent, their eyes trained on the ball as it soared toward the post like a bullet broken free. The ball curved and then, to everyone's surprise, hit the post. K.H, who was on the edge of her seat, immediately jumped up threw her hands in the air in frustration. "That was so close!" she yelled, and the other team cheered. "So close!"
Chris's face was contorted up in disgust and he slammed his foot down in frustration. The game went back into play and Caden gained possession of the ball. Once again, Chris ran up beside up and Caden passed. Chris, not a hair out of place, dribbled around the defenders, showing off his fancy footwork and step-overs and aimed for the net once more. Uncharacteristically, he missed again. Chris's hands flew to his head and he turned on Caden. "What's he saying?" Alexia asked K.H.
K.H squinted as she tried to make out the words Chris was saying by reading his lips. "I think he's yelling at Caden for a bad pass."
Alexia was incredulous. "You can do that?"
"If you're Chris, apparently it's everyone's fault but your own," K.H replied, shrugging.
They both turned back to the pitch, only to see Chris hogging the ball once again. Alexia almost felt sorry for Caden, having to live in Chris's shadow while the star messed up. "Pass it to Caden!" K.H yelled. "Pass it to Caden!"
Chris went for the goal again, and as if he were stuck in some limbo, missed. K.H smacked her head. "Honestly, I don't know why Caden doesn't get more acclaim. I honestly think he's better than Chris. Just that Chris has the whole package, and makes a great poster boy athlete," K.H said, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of which," she said, lowering her voice. "I think all the hair gel he used today just froze up his talent." Alexia laughed. K.H's head snapped back up. "Yes!" she shouted. "Pass it to Caden! Pass it to Caden!"
Then, through some magical reassembly of the earth, the impossible happened and the ball voluntarily shifted from Chris's feet to Caden's. Caden put on a burst of speed that Alexia didn't know he possessed and went for the goal. A pack of defenders descended down on him but he somehow managed to wiggle and dribble his way past all of them. Without hesitation, Caden ran towards the hapless goalie and slotted the ball into the waiting. The entire crowd erupted with cheers and boos from the other side. K.H flew out of her seat and even Alexia found herself on her feet, cheering. Caden punched his fist in the air as he was engulfed by his teammates, except Chris, who hung back staring intently at the goal post. "Oh my," K.H exclaimed, fanning herself. "That was a beauty. That was magnificent, bravossimo, a work of art!"
Alexia felt pride well up inside her for Caden, but she quickly pushed it back down. What did she have to be proud about? It was his goal, not hers, so why should she feel proud for him? Good footballer or not, he's still a jerk, she thought. However, ten minutes later, she found that opinion changing. Caden hit goal after goal, and after each one he pointed to his teammates, as if to divert the credit to them. Each goal was also accompanied by K.H's passionate shrieking and commentary ("It's like a knife through butter!" was her description of number two and at number three she proclaimed, "I swear, for that dribble, they should rename all the constellations in the sky after him!") Towards the end of the game, Alexia watched with growing anticipation as Caden rushed towards the goal once more. Suddenly, he paused mid-run and deflected the ball to Chris. Chris, this time, surprised at this act of kindness, accepted it and headed towards the goal. A defender from the other team was hot on his heels and after chasing him down the length of the field, went in for the tackle. Chris, realizing the imminent danger, flicked the ball over to Caden. The goal was right open and right in front of Caden. The entire home crowd rose to its feet and cheered him on for his final goal of the night. However, Alexia watched in horror as Chris, the receiving end of a two footed tackle, flew up in the air, and landed in such an awkward position Alexia winced and turned away in horror. The entire place fell silent and Caden immediately abandoned the goal and his potential hero status and rushed to Chris's aid. Concern, genuine one, was etched on his face. Why is he so worried, especially after Chris was such a jerk to him? He should be glad that now he might get more playing time. Besides, she thought, as Caden helped Chris, wincing in pain, to his feet, It doesn't look so bad. However, she immediately retracted her thoughts, guilt flooding her, when she saw the look of distress on Caden's face. You know Alexia, Caden may be bad at certain things, but when it comes to being a good person, he's light-years ahead of you. She saw Caden help a limping Chris off the pitch and offered to stay by his side instead of carrying on with the game, until Chris pushed him back on, and she felt a huge sense of pride welling up again. Only this time, she didn't push the feeling away.
After the game, K.H and Alexia were leaving when they saw Caden, finally abandoned by his hordes of newly adoring fans, walking home alone. "Let's go over," K.H whispered to Alexia and tugged at her shirt, pulling Alexia along despite her resistance.
"Great game, Caden! You were amazing!" K.H shouted, with Alexia following behind. For the first time ever, Alexia felt inferior in the presence of someone. She brushed that feeling away and reminded herself that this was, after all, Caden. "Yeah, you were great!" she echoed.
His face lit up when he saw them. "Ya think?" Caden said, a tad bit, Alexia realized with slight shock, sheepishly. Is he blushing? Caden glanced down at the match ball in his hand. "Eh I was okay."
"Wow, when did you learn humility?" Alexia teased.
Caden smirked. "Who said anything about being humble? I'm going to party myself sick tonight!"
A sudden realization dawned on Alexia and suddenly she remembered: Her brother's 21st birthday, and she had not gotten him a gift.
"Shit," she muttered.
"Why, Alexia? You going to terry in my presence," Caden joked, pretending to flex a muscle.
"No, I just remembered that I forgot to get my brother a birthday present! What am I going to do? I am going to get slaughtered!" She cried.
Caden paused thoughtfully. "Is he a soccer fan?" he asked. "I could always fake an autograph."
"No, but he plays," Alexia replied, still stressing.
In a completely unpredictable show of kindness, Caden reached out his arms and offered her the match ball, a second olive branch for her. "Take it," he said.
"Caden...that's...that's really nice of you but, I can't it's your momento of your big night!" Alexia protested.
Caden shrugged. "I'll win more in the future," he said jokingly. "Take it."
"Well," K.H said, sensing her hesitation. "The king has spoken. Take it, it's practically brand new, anyway"
Alexia sheepishly reached out and accepted. "Thanks, Caden. I'll wash it and wrap it up. Thanks so much."
Caden smirked. "Never thought Alexia Lee would be thanking me. See you guys around!" he waved and turned around. Then, he walked off into the night, only the glow of the street lamps illuminating him like a retreating hero.