Page 45 of When It Burns

My day has been a whirlwind of excitement, game day prep, and exhaustion. I didn’t sleep much after my text to Theo went unanswered. I worried I had made him uncomfortable when he didn’t respond right away, and that anxiety had grown all night. He texted me this morning apologizing and asking me to spend some time with him after the game tonight so I’m hoping everything was good, but I’m still anxious to see him later.

I work to refocus my brain on the field where the team just finished the spirit line. My girls make their way to the sidelines preparing to build up for kickoff while the boys and coaches huddle discussing last minute strategy.

Hannah knocks her leg against mine saying, “God, I love football season,” before taking a big bite of a sausage dog she grabbed from the concession stand on the way into the stadium.

“Me too,” I reply back, watching as the girls set for their extensions and load in.

The crowd stands to their feet as my squad leads us in a chant of “Goooooooooo Saints, Hey!” for kickoff. We are starting on defense, and the band starts playing “Swag Surfin” as one of the Springside players kicks the ball to our twenty-yard line. I smile as the cheerleaders dance in perfect unison in front of us.

As they are finishing their routine, Margaret walks up and sits in the seat next to me that we had saved for her. “Hey girlies!” she says as she reaches down and grabs a blue and white shaker out of her bag. “I couldn’t find anything to wear! I need some gameday outfits for real. I haven’t been to a high school game in almost ten years,” she says with a laugh.

“I got you covered! Here,” Hannah says, throwing her an extra Springside Varsity Cheer shirt. “I have a few more for you in my car, but Caroline and I thought we would help you out. If you want to throw that one on in the bathroom, I will throw your shirt in my bag.”

Margaret looks ready to cry but she just hugs us and says, “Y’all are the best. I really never thought I would find friends like y’all. I will be right back.”

Hannah and I hug her back and turn our attention back to the game. I try to keep my attention on my girls and the action on the field, but I can’t help from sneaking glances at Theo too. He is wearing a powder blue polo with a cartoon Saint logo and khaki shorts. He seems completely absorbed in the game but during one of the timeouts I look down to feel his eyes on me as he listens to whatever Will is telling the boys.

The boys manage to keep the Saddle Ridge Wildcats from advancing past the fifty-yard line on the first drive, and the stadium is insane. Everyone is standing, cheering, and yelling as our team gets ready to receive the punt. Wesley Matthews catches it on our thirty-yard line, and takes off. He runs and twists out of the hold of several Wildcat players before sprinting towards the end zone. By the time he hits the Saddle Ridge twenty-yard line, the crowd is already celebrating our touchdown. There’s no one to stop him as he sprints.

“Oh my God, look!” Hannah says, pointing to the sideline where Theo is sprinting alongside Wesley. The biggest smile I’ve ever seen crosses his face when Wesley finally scores and runs straight at him, jumping on him in celebration. I smile because as unwilling as Theo might have been to help with the team, it’s clear he’s damn good at this coaching thing.

The cheerleaders get set for the band to play “When The Saints Go Marching In” in celebration for the touchdown while Maggie grabs the large flag and runs it up and down the sidelines. The crowd smiles as the girls go through the tradition of dancing and kicking to the beat, and they yell along at the end with “Let’s Go Saints!”

Hannah leans over and gushes, “I know I’m biased but the squad is looking so good tonight. I’m proud of you, Caroline. You have poured so much time and love into these girls, it really shows.”

I smile as the girls build up into straight up libs and hold signs that say “Make Some Noise”. The crowd engages with them as they call cheer after cheer and I know Hannah is right. “Couldn’t do it without you, Han!” I say in response.

The game continues on, and it becomes clear the two teams seem to be pretty evenly matched. Both teams are expected to make it into the playoffs and I worry that this might not be the only time we find ourselves playing our rivals this season. Each time my eyes find Theo, he’s completely focused on the game, and when he talks to his players it’s clear they are hanging on every word he says.

Before we know it, it's halftime. Hannah and I leave our things with Margaret and walk onto the field. We sit with our cheerleaders as both bands perform before we take our place in front of the fifty-yard line as the squad runs out. They get set, while Hannah and I hold hands and sit in silence as we wait on the pressbox to press play on our music.

The opening lines of the “High Hopes” mix blast through the speakers and I squeeze her hand so hard I am worried I will hurt her. The triple toes are perfectly in sync, and the crowd that used to completely ignore this part of the game experience are already focusing on us. The girls dance and I let out a little cheer when they all nail the complicated ripple series we’d worked on for weeks this summer. They land their tumbling passes, and I squeeze Hannah even harder as the girls move to their stunts. This feeling never gets old, I think to myself as I pray the girls will keep all of the stunts in the air.

They nail the rippled heel stretches, the crowd cheers, and when they move to the pyramid formation, it feels as though every eye in the stadium is on my squad. The boys have even returned from the locker room, and Will has them stopped on the sideline to watch before the game resumes.

I refuse to breathe as the girls load Maggie into her stunt before they launch her into the air. One of the side groups braces her flip, and I hear the crowd suck in a collective breath as she flies around and shoots back up to her lib. The girls finish with a loud “Go Saints!” as everyone in the stadium cheers as if we just scored the winning touchdown. Hannah and I jump up and down screaming as the girls run to the sideline and all but tackle us.

“Great job ladies!” I say as we move out of the way of the players. I catch Theo’s eye and he smirks at me before turning back to his players.

As far as I am concerned, this game can’t end soon enough.

* * *

Both teams fight hard,and with less than thirty seconds on the clock, we are tied. It is our ball, and it’s third and nine on the Saddle Ridge fourth-yard line. If we don’t get the first down, we will either lose or be forced into overtime. The entire home section is on their feet chanting “Let’s Go Springside” as the center snaps the ball to Blake. The quarterback starts to run, but sees that his options are limited.

Blake rears his arm back and throws the ball. At first, I think he must have decided to get rid of the ball instead of losing yards, but I am shocked when I see Wesley stretch out and catch the ball. He sprints towards the end zone as Hannah, Margaret, and I jump up and down and scream for him to run faster.

“Hell yes!” Hannah says as he crosses into the end zone.

We join in the chant of spelling out “Saints!” before screaming the last part of the cheer, “Black, Blue, White! Fight, Springside, Fight!”

I can’t help the smile that breaks across my face as I see that Theo once again ran alongside Wesley and the two are celebrating on the sidelines while the kicker runs out for the extra point.

After he makes the kick, the girls and the band go straight back into “When The Saints Go Marching In.”

After they finish, Saddle Ridge snaps the ball once, but they aren’t able to complete the pass as the buzzer rings signaling the end of the game.

As the players and cheerleaders walk out to shake hands with the Saddle Ridge team, Hannah and I start our duties of cleaning up. After the handshake is finished, the team and squad come back and link arms facing the stands for the fight song. Once everyone is ready, the band plays, and we all sing along.

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