Chapter Five: The Friday Game
1086 Words
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The buzz in the air was impossible to ignore. Friday at Crestmont High meant one thing—football. Not that Mia was particularly interested in the sport, but there was something about the energy of the school on game day that even she couldn’t help but feel.
“I still don’t get why the whole school acts like it’s a national holiday,” she muttered as she and Chloe walked to their lockers.
Chloe was already wearing the school’s blue and gold hoodie, her face bright with excitement. “Because it’s fun! And tonight’s game is against Ridgeview. It’s a rivalry. People are going to be crazy loud.”
Mia rolled her eyes but smiled. “So basically, chaos.”
“Exactly the kind we love.”
Mia closed her locker and adjusted the strap of her backpack. She had planned to spend her Friday evening catching up on assignments, but Chloe had other plans. “You're still coming tonight, right?”
Mia hesitated. “Do I have to?”
Chloe gasped dramatically. “It’s tradition! You, me, a hot dog we don’t finish, and screaming at the ref even though we don’t understand the rules. Come on.”
Before Mia could respond, Jake strolled up to them, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a simple black tee and jeans, but somehow he always looked like he belonged on the cover of a sports magazine.
“Hey,” he said, his voice casual, his smile easy.
“Hey,” Mia replied, glancing at him, still unsure how to act around him after the whole press room incident.
“You guys going to the game?” he asked, his gaze flicking between them.
“Of course,” Chloe said, beaming. “You playing?”
Jake laughed. “Nah. Not yet. Coach wants me to get more practice in first. Maybe next game.”
“Still new?” Mia asked before she could stop herself.
Jake nodded. “Something like that. But I’ll be on the bench, soaking up the Crestmont pride.”
Mia gave a small smile, and Chloe, always the social butterfly, jumped in. “You should sit with us after halftime. That is, unless you get mobbed by the cheerleaders.”
Jake smirked. “I’ll risk it.”
As he walked off, Mia caught herself watching him again. Not in the way Chloe did—with open admiration—but more out of curiosity. There was something about him that still didn’t quite add up. He was new, yes. But he was also too composed, too observant. Like he’d lived a few lives already and was just passing through this one.
That evening, the bleachers were packed. The smell of popcorn and warm pretzels filled the air, and the roar of the crowd echoed under the glowing stadium lights. Mia sat next to Chloe, bundled in her jacket, trying to focus on the game. But her mind kept drifting.
“So… Jake,” Chloe said suddenly, nudging her.
Mia groaned. “Please don’t start.”
“What? I’m just saying, he seems cool. And nice. And kind of into you.”
“He’s not.”
“You don’t know that.”
“We’re friends. That’s it.”
“Friends who flirt.”
“We don’t flirt.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “You call the press room moment not flirting?”
Mia flushed, thankful the lights weren’t bright enough to show it. “He didn’t even know the mic was on.”
“Exactly. That’s what makes it so juicy.”
Mia shook her head, pretending to be more interested in the quarterback making a run down the field. Still, she couldn’t deny the way her heart sped up when she saw Jake across the track, standing near the rest of the bench players. He was laughing with someone, his smile easy, his body language relaxed. And then, for just a second, his eyes scanned the bleachers and landed right on her.
He gave a small nod, subtle but unmistakable.
Mia’s breath hitched, but she forced herself to nod back casually, as if it was no big deal.
At halftime, Chloe dragged her toward the concession stand. “Come on. I need a hot dog.”
“You never finish it.”
“It’s tradition,” Chloe said, grinning.
As they waited in line, Jake approached from the sidelines, wiping his hands with a towel. “Thought I’d find you two here.”
“Concession stand royalty,” Chloe said, with a mock curtsy.
Jake laughed and looked at Mia. “Enjoying the game?”
“I don’t understand a single play,” Mia replied honestly.
Jake leaned against the rail. “I’ll teach you sometime.”
Mia blinked. “You offering tutoring in football now?”
“Only to my favorite classmate.”
Chloe grinned behind her soda. Mia just shook her head, her lips twitching into a reluctant smile. It was too easy to talk to him, too easy to forget that they barely knew each other. And that’s what worried her.
Back in the bleachers, the game resumed, but Mia barely paid attention. Jake stayed near them until the final quarter, cracking jokes, explaining a few plays, and somehow making her forget that she didn’t even want to come tonight.
When the final whistle blew and Crestmont won by a narrow touchdown, the crowd erupted. Chloe screamed beside her, throwing her arms up. Mia clapped politely, already thinking about heading home.
But Jake turned to her, his voice low in the chaos. “Hey. There’s a thing. Some people go to the diner after games. You wanna come?”
Mia hesitated. She hadn’t expected that. “Uh, I don’t know. I’ve got—”
“Homework,” Jake finished for her, smiling. “Right.”
She shrugged, playing it cool. “I’m just not really the hangout-after-school type.”
Jake nodded. “Fair enough. Maybe next time.”
Chloe leaned in as Jake walked off. “You have to come.”
“I don’t even like crowds.”
“It’s not a crowd. It’s a booth and milkshakes and Jake.”
Mia didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure what this was turning into, and a part of her was afraid to find out. Things were easier when she could define them. Friends. Classmates. Study partners.
But Jake Hawthorne didn’t fit neatly into any box.
And for the first time in a while, that both scared and excited her.
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- Writer
