Better off Friends

It was an incomplete pass. The team quickly scrambled near the forty-yard line. There were less than twenty seconds on the clock. The ball snapped. Jacob kept shuffling back, looking for an opening. We were at fifteen seconds. The crowd was on its feet. The ball sailed through the air. It was headed straight to Levi, who was running fast toward the end zone.

I swear time stood still for those few seconds. The entire place was silent. Everybody’s eyes were following the ball’s trajectory.

Levi held his arms out, his focus clear.

He jumped up slightly and caught the ball. He hesitated for a second, probably shocked that the ball was safe in his arms. He turned around and sprinted to the end zone.

The stands erupted in applause while the remaining players arrived in the end zone to celebrate their victory.

Adam and I hugged each other. We hugged the people next to us. I made my way over to Levi’s mom and dad.

“That was amazing!” I said as Dr. Rodgers picked me up.

Celebrating with Levi’s parents felt right. They were like my family — that hadn’t changed. I knew we’d get back to the place we once were. You don’t just toss family aside.

I glanced down at the field. Stacey ran over with the other cheerleaders and joined in the commotion. He quickly kissed her before the team hoisted him up.

Levi was beaming. This was all he ever wanted: to be part of a team. One of the guys.

The elation I felt quickly evaporated. While I knew I should be happy for him, I had to face the truth.

I knew right then that I had lost him for good.

It’s truly amazing what winning a game can do for someone’s confidence. Or ego.

I texted Levi after the game on Friday to congratulate him and never heard back. I saw him in the parking lot at school that Monday morning and gave him a wave, but he was too busy being the athletic stud he’d always dreamed of to notice me.

The entire school kept talking about it as if we’d never won a football game before. Nobody seemed to remember that it had been an extremely boring game for the first three quarters. Apparently, the last twenty seconds were the only thing that mattered. Had that play happened with two minutes left, we would’ve already moved on to something else.

And yes, I was being a horrible friend for not being more excited for Levi, but were we even friends anymore? We hadn’t talked in weeks. He had bigger (in no way better) people to spend his time with.

My annoyance was at an all-time high when I turned the corner on my way from English to see Levi walking with Tim and Keith. They had on their letter jackets and walked down the hallways with that athletic air of superiority that I never quite understood. So you can throw a ball or hit a ball or do something with a ball rather well — that entitles you to some kind of hero worship? The band kids with their musical talents didn’t walk around like we should all feel lucky to be graced with their presence.

I reminded myself that only a small percentage of their team would end up playing sports in college, and an even smaller percentage would go on to become professional athletic egomaniacs, if any at all. So at most, Keith would sit around twenty years from now, fat and balding, recounting the glory days of his high school athletic career.

I wanted to believe, at least hope, that my best years were ahead of me. It would be too depressing to fathom if high school was as good as it got.

“Hey, Macallan,” Keith sang out to me.

I grimaced as I passed by.

“Oh, it must be someone’s time of the month.” Keith snickered. “You’ve got to have that marked on your calendar, right, California? Can’t imagine you want to be near her when that hits.”

First, ew. Second, was that the best Keith could come up with for a reason to not be pleased as punch to talk to him? It couldn’t be that he was a complete tool, so it must be a womanly function.

I stopped in the hallway. I should’ve ignored him and kept going, but I wasn’t in the mood for his crap today.

“Is that the best you got?” I spat out.

The three of them stopped, and all of them turned around except Levi. Who muttered something about ignoring me.

Keith smirked at me. “Oh, I’ve got much more, but I don’t think you could handle it.”

Keith was used to getting what he wanted. And in that moment, I wanted to get under his skin. To have someone else feel dejected for a change.

“Believe me, Keith, I’m sure I can handle it just fine, since you apparently only know about women from what you find out in health class. So try me.”

Tim did that “oh” thing guys do when they try to one up each other. “She did not just say that.” He was laughing. Levi remained motionless.

Keith was not as amused. “Honestly, Macallan, I’ve so got you outnumbered in terms of intelligence.”

That was laughable.

Seeing his smug face infuriated me so much. He’d taken Levi away from me, and I wasn’t going to be so easy on him this time.

I leaned in toward him. “You do know that a D on a paper is not for dope job, yo, right?”

Keith sized me up, and then a smile slowly spread across his face, like he knew he’d gotten me. But there was no way Keith was going to get me. As a date, in an argument, ever.

“Well, yeah.” Then he slurred his voice. “I’m not part retard.”

I was stunned for a second.

I walked a few steps closer. Levi took a few steps back. “Excuse me — would you care to repeat that?” I was convinced that even Keith wouldn’t stoop so low.