My Volatile Stepbrother

The First Game

Chetum pulled onto a main road and hammered down on the accelerator. Cassie watched the speedometer as it rose from seventy, to seventy-five, then eighty-five. Cassie couldn't believe Brad wasn't saying anything. When it hit ninety, she covered her eyes.

All at once, she heard him slam on the brakes. Cassie lurched forward again but this time the seatbelt did its job and hitched, keeping her stable. She opened her eyes to see what had happened.

In front of them was a ball, a dog, and a child chasing them. Everyone was somber as they imagined what could have happened. Again, Cassie was astonished that neither parental figure had anything to say to him.

It was hard for her to judge how Chetum felt, but Cassie thought she saw regret on his face. He drove responsibly for the rest of the way to Dale U. Hopefully, the ride back will be more tempered.

***

Once parked, Chetum raced inside, presumably to meet with his team. Brad eagerly followed. Maybe he was one of those parents who marched on the sidelines like they were a coach. Cassie glanced at her mom.

"I have no idea where to go or if we need to pay," Cassie confessed.

"Oh, don't be silly. Just show them your student ID. I'll pay if I have to."

Cassie nodded but realized she didn't have the lanyard that she kept her cards in.

"I didn't bring it. I didn't think to."

"Well, I'll pay for you too."

Cassie wanted to thank her mother for the act of kindness, but she suspected her words of gratitude would fall flat. After all, they were at a football game, which was the last place Cassie wanted to be.

When they arrived at the entrance, Cassie's mom retrieved a couple of twenties out of her purse. The person taking the money was a student herself, though Cassie didn't remember her name.

"Here's the money for two tickets," Audrey said.

"Oh, I know Cassie. And you're her mom, judging by the striking resemblance," she said. "You don't need to pay."

Cassie glanced at the young woman, still unsure of where they'd met.

"We were in Bio club together last year," she elaborated.

"Oh, now I remember! Shayna, right?"

"That's right!" Shayna said, with a gleeful grin. "I used to be Shane."

"I remember that from our first year," Cassie said with a smile. "So, how come you're not in it this year?" Cassie asked. When Shayna's face was blank, she added, "Bio club, I mean."

"Oh! I've got too many responsibilities with my job and classes."

"Yeah, that's rough," Cassie said. Perhaps the only reason Cassie felt okay about using the inheritance her father left behind was to pay for school so she didn't have to work.

"Well, enjoy your time here ... Go Wildcats!" Shayna made a silly awkward fist raise. Cassie couldn't tell if that was actual school spirit or if Shayna was making fun of it.

Cassie just smiled and nodded, as she and her mom walked into the stadium.

It was hard to believe this was only a Division II team. The stands were packed full and many of the fans had their faces painted red and black. The cheerleaders were doing their job to pep up the crowd, which only got louder once the microphone queued with a thump.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we have a match between the University of Sarasota Bulldogs—" the opposite stands lit up with excitement and whistling, "and the DU Wildcats!"

The crowd erupted. Cassie and her mom decided they'd better make their way up the bleachers. Audrey led as they climbed one flight up, then two, and three. By the time they found seats, it was the fifth floor section and the farthest away from the field.

They squeezed their way into the middle of the bunch where the only two free seats were. Everyone was standing and cheering, blocking the view. The place smelled of popcorn, hotdogs, beer, and sweat. It was a unique combination, certainly.

"And here we have the University of Sarasota Bulldogs on the field!"

The opposite stands were roaring with a sea of purple, yellow, and white. The DU fans near Cassie and Audrey were booing. As Cassie glanced around at the audience, to her surprise she recognized a couple of fellow students from her Chemistry club and they were already extremely drunk.

"And now," the announcer paused to allow the band's percussion section to speed up. "We have your Dale University Wildcats!"

Everyone around them bellowed, screamed, and whistled. A few students holding solo cups of beer spilled some on Cassie's sweater. She glared at them as they cluelessly continued cheering.

The football players came out on the field one by one, running through the tunnel of cheerleaders. Cassie sat down and didn't bother trying to see Chetum or anyone else for that matter. Why hadn't she thought of bringing her phone to get some homework done?

The players must have all been on the field because it wasn't long after that when the whistles blew, and an air horn sounded. Audrey stood up to watch. She beckoned to Cassie, but Cassie refused to rise.

Audrey was eagerly cheering for DU. As the game progressed, after each play, Cassie realized that her mom knew about football. She was sputtering about a call not being a "down" and how that shouldn’t have gotten “a flag.” They hadn't ever watched the sport together before. Maybe Audrey picked it up from when she was a student at Dale U.

Cassie held her face in her hand, feeling angry about having to be there. Audrey clapped zealously, her fake pink nails rapidly clicking off one another. Cassie tugged on her mom's arm.

Audrey leaned her head toward Cassie but wasn't fully facing her.

"How long is this?"

"What?"

"How long is this game?" Cassie shouted.

"A few hours."

"What?!" Cassie exclaimed in frustration.

Suddenly, the spectators became more animated, and people were hooting.

"Oh, look! There's Chetum. He's about to score!"

Cassie remained seated. Why would she care about that?

She glanced around at the Chemistry club boys, Michael and Joey. They were swaying and their cheers were garbled. Cassie worried they wouldn't make it much longer without falling flat on their faces.

Cassie had been drunk a few times in high school, but it didn't exactly mesh well with getting good grades, so she stopped. Chetum was the one who was into drinking and plenty of other substances she heard.

She watched as Joey suddenly ran to the trash can. She didn't need to see to know what was happening. He was always kind and helped her when she'd had trouble understanding the organic side of chemistry. She wanted to return the favor.

It would be hard to get through these rabid fans to help him. Still, she was going to try.