Excitement rang high through the halls of Oakland High. The football team was playing later tonight, and everyone knew we were going to annihilate our opponents. We'd yet to lose a match this season, much thanks to the captain of the team, Elias. Speaking of, I hadn't seen him all day.
Malcolm, Chelsea and I were currently sitting in the cafeteria and eating food. Andre hadn't been to school all week, apparently out with a coldâjust his luck, as I wasn't able to confront him about lying to me. Strangely enough, Elias was nowhere to be seen either. I briefly wondered where he was.
As if on cue, Coach Martins approached the three of us in the cafeteria, a clipboard in his hands and a stern look on his face.
"Afternoon, ladies," he gruffly greeted us, coming to a halt next to our table.
Malcolm looked indignant. "What about me?"
Coach gave him a blank look. "Are you not a girl?"
"No!" Malcolm huffed.
Stifling a giggle, I glanced up at Coach in curiosity. "Did you need something, sir?"
"Yes, actually. I just wanna know if everything's alright with Elias. I figured if anyone would know it'd be you lot, considering you're the only people at this school he seems to actually tolerate. Have any of you seen him today?"
"No, we haven't," I slowly replied.
"Well, would you tell him I'm looking for him? He hasn't shown up to practice in two weeks."
I was stunned by this, and evidently, Malcolm and Chelsea were as well. After all, Elias was the star quarterback and the captain of the team. Was he even allowed to miss practice?
"Mhm, we'll letch yhu nor f we shee im," Malcolm shamelessly addressed Coach through a mouthful of pasta, causing us all to grimace.
Nonetheless, Coach seemed to accept that as a good enough answer, as he nodded and turned away.
"That's weird... I'm a bit curious to know myself, where is Elias?" I offhandedly asked Malcolm and Chelsea, while picking at my nails.
Rather than answering the question, Malcolm and Chelsea exchanged looks.
"What?" I asked.
"Huh?" Chelsea asked.
"You guys looked at each other," I pointed out in suspicion.
"No, we didn't," Malcolm innocently said.
"Yes, you did."
The two of them exchanged looks again. Finally, Chelsea blurted, "what's going on between you and Elias?"
I froze. Of all things, I hadn't expected, well, that. "What do you mean?"
"Let's not beat around the bush," Malcolm bluntly intervened. "Something obviously happened between the two of you."
"What makes you say that?"
"You suck at hiding it, no offence."
"Gee, thanks," I sarcastically murmured, before hesitantly coming clean. "Fine, you guys are right... something did happen. The truth is, Elias and I kissed. Twice."
"What?" they bellowed in sync.
"Shh!" I hushed them, but it was to no avail. The cafeteria went silent as every head turned in our direction. I sunk in my seat, suddenly wishing I could crawl into a hole.
"Nothing to see here," Malcolm shamelessly addressed the mass. Thankfully, everyone in the cafeteria gradually looked away and resumed talking once more. With that, Malcolm faced me with an exasperated look on his face. "Fucking finally! It only took you idiots ten years."
I wasn't sure if I was more surprised by Malcolm's use of a cuss word, or by the fact that he wasn't upset.
"So, you're not mad I kept this a secret?"
"Mad? Daisy, I'm delighted! Satisfied! Pleased! Joyful! Ecstaticâ"
"We get it, you just learned what synonyms are," Chelsea cut him off. "Oh, Daisy, I'm so happy for you! I knew it was only a matter of time before the two of you realized your souls are tied together and gave into the burning attraction you feel for each other," she dreamily trailed off.
Malcolm and I gave her weird looks.
"Hmm, maybe I read too many romance novels," she shrugged, before facing Malcolm expectantly and stretching out her palm.
"Damn it, I was hoping you'd forget!" he huffed, before reaching into his pocket and slapping some cash into Chelsea's hand.
"Whaâyou guys bet on this?" I asked in alarm.
"Yup," Chelsea cheerfully answered, "I knew you and Elias would kiss by the end of April. It's when the stars align."
"Whatever," Malcolm sulked before giving me a dirty look. "Thanks a lot, Daisy, you just cost me twenty bucks. Why couldn't you have waited one more week?"
I rolled my eyes. Just then, Heather and a few other cheerleaders walked by our table.
"Bitch," she coughed at me as she passed.
The three of us looked up. With a smug grin on her face, she cast us an insincere wave as she strutted by.
"I see Heather's still pleasant as ever," Chelsea muttered.
"The duck does she still have against you?" Malcolm asked incredulously.
"With her, it's always something new," I sighed. "I tried lecturing her and the other cheerleaders, but sadly, it looks like they didn't listen."
Malcolm thoughtfully hummed before suggesting, "let's jump her."
"Malcolm," I gave him a stern look, "violence is never the answer."
"As your big brother, you should take it from me," Malcolm confidently began, and I prepared myself to listen to a stream of nonsense. "This isn't kindergarten, Daisy. Sure, ideally you'd wanna solve a problem by talking it out, but there are certain people who don't listen to words. Personally, I think Heather would benefit from a good pounding."
"Jesus Christ," I massaged my head. "We are not jumping anyone."
"You're no fun," he sulked.
"Who are we not jumping?"
We all flinched at the voice of Elias, who had seemingly appeared out of thin air and had now taken a seat next to me at the table.
"Heather," Malcolm casually answered.
"Ah," Elias nodded in realization.
He placed his hands on the table. I did a double take, for his knuckles were bloodied and bruised. Once he noticed that I was staring, Elias quickly moved his hands and put them on his lap. Nonetheless, I'd already seen it.
"What happened to your hands?" I interrogated, eyes wide in worry.
He appeared to freeze at the question, before clearing his throat. "It's nothing, I just got carried away with the punching bag at the gym."
He appeared to be telling the truth, although I felt my concern grow. Was that where he'd been this morning? Skipping class to spend hours pummeling into a punching bag?
Malcolm shot Elias a look of knowingness. Elias shot him a look back, as if to say, drop it. I couldn't help but feel as though I was missing something, although before I could overthink things, Elias swiftly changed the topic.
"You ready for the game tonight?" he asked me.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I quirked a brow. "Coach came to ask us what's going on with you."
Elias looked irritated. "Why couldn't he just ask me himself?"
"Well, he said you've been skipping practice for the last two weeks," I pointed out, causing him to look a bit sheepish. "Are you okay?"
"Of course, don't worry about me, D," Elias smirked. "Trust me."
For once, I didn't quite feel reassured by his words.
*****
"Let's go Tigers, let's go!" I chanted alongside the other cheerleaders, while completing a seamless front tuck.
The crowd roared as the whistle blew, signaling halftime was over. After completing our routine, the other cheerleaders and I resumed our positions on the sidelines as the football players ran onto the field.
"And we're back folks! The halftime show may be over, but the real show is about to begin. Our captain seems to be having a bit of a rough game, but I have a feeling he's about to turn things around and lead our team to victory. Let's get this second half started!" the commentator spoke through the microphone.
Despite the commentator's words of encouragement, everyone in the bleachers was on edge. I too had a nervous pit in my stomach. Elias wasn't playing to his usual standard of perfection, and everyone could see it. I mean, his throws were sloppy, his catches were being interceptedâit almost felt like something was distracting him.
The teams lined up on opposite sides of the field as they prepared to resume the game. The ref blew the whistle, and the ball was swiftly tossed to Elias. To my surprise, he fumbled and missed the catch. The ball flew out of his hands and bounced off the ground. The crowd groaned in disappointment as the ball rolled out of bounds.
"I can't watch this," a distant groan caused me to turn around.
"Malcolm?" I skeptically questioned, sneaking away from the other cheerleaders to approach him. He was standing at the side of the bleachers, clad in a massive black hoodie and sunglasses. "Why are you dressed like an undercover spy?"
"Shh! I can't have anyone recognize me," he whispered. "Everyone knows I'm friends with Elias, but I can't exactly be associated with him right now."
"Why not?"
"Look at how shit he's playing!" Malcolm dramatically flailed his arms. "Jeez, I'm embarrassed and it's not even me."
I smacked his arm. "Don't be rude."
"Ouch," he yelped, rubbing his arm. "Jeez, I forgot how protective you guys are for each other."
I rolled my eyes. "Do you think something's wrong with Elias? Maybe that explains why he's not playing as good as usual. Now that I think about it, he has been acting pretty strange lately. I mean, skipping football practice, ditching school without telling anyone..."
Malcolm looked away.
"You know something," I realized with a gasp.
Malcolm squeaked. "No, I don't."
"Malcolm," I warned.
"Fine, I do," he admitted, "and I really wish I could tell you what it isâI mean, you know I would if I could, but Elias would kill me if I told you that his fatherâ"
"Aha! So it's about his father," I pinpointed.
"Oh God, I've said too much. You know nothing!" Malcolm nervously yelped before running away.
I blinked. That interaction had left me even more confused than I was before. Elias had been acting strange because of his father? How come? Perhaps the death anniversary was nearing? Sadness for Elias engulfed me, as I knew all too well what he was probably feeling right now. I made a mental note to hug him later.
Slowly treading back to the sidelines, I was alarmed when the final whistle blew and the opposing football team began to huddle in celebration. Meanwhile, the crowd of Oakland High students booed and emitted cries of disappointment.
"What happened?" I asked Ruby, who was closest to me.
"Game's over. We lost," she whispered in shock.
"Oh no," I winced, glancing up at the football team in pity. They were trudging off the field, slumped in defeat.
Elias had torn off his helmet and was already storming towards the changeroom. Just as I made a move to go after him, a shout caused me to freeze.
"It's all your fault we lost today," Heather cast me a snarl, storming towards me.
"Excuse me?" I backed away from her. I wasn't the only one confused by her accusation. The other cheerleaders snapped their heads towards us, appearing fairly surprised.
"You heard me," she yelled, so loud that other people in the crowd began to direct their attention towards us. "Your cheering was terrible! You're off the squad, effective immediately. We can't afford to have someone like you bringing us down."
"You don't get to decide that, Heather," Coach Sharma said, her voice raised. Nonetheless, Heather ignored her.
"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden, Crazy?" Heather sneered at me.
I balled my hands into fists. Don't react, Daisy. You're better than this.
"You're a lot less bold when you haven't got your little boy band following after you," she continued the verbal attack.
Clenching my jaw, I willed myself to turn around and walk away. However, Heather persisted, following after me closely. Her next words caused me to freeze.
"You know, it's too bad your father's not here to punish you for being such a bad girl," she mocked.
I was fuming. She'd completely crossed the line this time.
"I've tried using words with you, but clearly that's not working," I calmly spoke.
And then, without another word, I swung my fist and landed a solid punch directly onto Heather's face.
The crowd gasped. I widened my brown eyes and marveled at my hand, not only shocked by what I'd just done, but also shocked at how good it felt. Utterly stunned, Heather stumbled back as her hand flew to her nose. It only took a moment for her to recover, and when she did, her face was murderous.
"You're dead, bitch!" she spat.
With that, she immediately lunged at me, sending the both of us flying to the ground. We wrestled on the dirty field, hitting and scratching at each other. I could distinctly hear her screech as I accidentally pulled out her cheap, blonde extensions from her hair. My vision was darkened with rage, and although Heather had been the one to attack, the positions quickly changed as I got on top and relentlessly pounded at her.
"Drag her, Daisy!" I could distinctly hear Chelsea cheer from a short distance away.
"That's my little sis," Malcolm proudly wept, pulling out his phone to record.
"Ladies, please!" Coach Sharma frantically exclaimed at us, although I could hardly hear her over the shouts of excitement and shock from the crowd who had circulated to watch the fight.
"Stop this at once," Principal Weathers ordered, pushing through the sea of students.
However, I didn't actually stop. Not until a pair of strong arms effortlessly lifted me up and began to pull me away from the scene.
"Let go of me," I shouted, struggling against the person's hold.
"Calm down, D," his soothing, butter-like voice resonated, "it's just me."
I felt as my body immediately relaxed. Nonetheless, my heart was still racing in adrenaline. Glancing back at the field, I took in some fuzzy details. Heather screaming and wailing on the ground. A number of teachers rushing to her side to console her. A blonde extension messily discarded next to the scene.
"Get me out of here," I shakily begged.
If Elias was confused or surprised by the whole thing, he didn't let it show. Rather, he firmly nodded at my order, grabbed my hand, and guided me in the direction of the parking lot. We made it to his car. He opened the door for me and tenderly carried me into the passenger seat, before walking around, hopping into the driver's seat, and immediately speeding off.
I didn't know where we were going, nor did I care. All I knew was that I needed to get away from here. Taking a glance at my bloodied palms and dirtied cheer uniform, it took a moment to fully register what had just happened.
"Elias," I whispered in mortification, slowly turning to face him, "what have I done?"
*****
QOTD: have you ever been in a fist fight?
AOTD: no
What did you guys think about this chapter? What should you like to see happen next? Let me know!
Sorry for the late update. Unfortunately I don't have a good excuse, I've just been incredibly lazy. I need this school year to end ASAP because your girl is currently going through it!
Anyways, hope you guys have a good day! Love you all so so much! Don't forget to vote and comment.
Love, Emmanuela
05/01/2023