Cleats and Tiaras

Chapter 1 Part 1

PRESENT DAY

Charlie took a deep breath. This was it. The game rested solely on her petite shoulders. The score stood at 21 to 20 with 30 seconds left on the clock. She looked over to the bench where Joey sat with the defensive line. He gave her a smile and a big thumbs up. Charlie was a damned good kicker, but she had never attempted a field goal from this distance. 47 yards of air space stood between the ball that she would kick and the area between the posts. Charlie heard the crowd cheering for her and her team. She knew that this was the most important game of the year for most of the school, homecoming. Another deep breath, in and out, focus. You can do this, Charlie.

She thought to herself. Mom, Dad, if you are watching right now, help me make this field goal. Help me prove that I am capable of doing anything. She silently prayed. She heard the snap of the ball and watched as the holder caught it. Charlie began to run towards the ball, towards the fate of the game. It felt as if an eternity had passed in the seconds leading up to the kick. She put everything that she had into the kick, willing it to fly true. Suddenly, Charlie was hit from the side, hard. She went down under the weight of an opposing team member. She heard the whistle as the ref threw a flag. Charlie struggled to catch her breath. This wasn’t something that she was used to. She was a kicker. Players hardly ever made contact with her, and those that did were usually trying to stop their forward momentum to avoid a penalty. This player, however, had hit her deliberately.

“That’s what little bitches get when they think they can be one of the guys. You stupid dikes need to learn your place.” He spat out angrily.

Charlie wanted to defend herself and the l***q+ community, but she was still struggling to breathe. She wasn’t part of the community, but she hated derogatory terms and bigoted hatred. No one could control who they loved or who they were at their core. Charlie had been to protests and rallies in the neighboring city with her friends Riley, Xander, Erik, and Joanna. Erik had been born Erika and Joanna was a very proud lesbian. Riley considered herself pansexual, although most people called her bisexual. Xander, poor sweet Xander, was Charlie’s friend from the team who had a very large crush on Riley. None of her friends received a warm welcome in their small town. That was why Charlie had befriended them and supported them in the beginning. Now they were the closest people in her life, following her grandfather and Joey. It seemed as if simply thinking his name had summoned him from thin air, because Joey appeared and promptly punched the narrow-minded boy. The two boys began to fight in earnest before other players broke the two apart. A hand reached down to offer Charlie assistance, and she gladly accepted. She looked up to find that it was James, their tight end and Joey’s best guy friend. James hauled her to her feet and steadied her.

“You alright Char? He got you pretty good.” Charlie had finally caught her breath and replied.

“Yeah, he just knocked the wind out of me. He apparently has issues with girls being on the football field. He said, and I quote ‘That’s what little bitches get when they think they can be one of the guys. You stupid dikes need to learn your place.’ I guess he is just emasculated by my talent.” She said with a smirk.

“Char, you know that you can’t use those big words when you talk to me. I swear you’re going to cause me to carry a damned dictionary in my back pocket. Joey isn’t around to explain what you’re saying all the time.” James half joked with her. She knew that he wouldn't carry a dictionary, but she also knew that he had to have Joey translate things into dude language a lot. Suddenly there were hands on her thighs and she was being lifted into the air. Charlie squealed in a very girly fashion as she looked down to see who was attacking her. Joey smiled up at her as he yelled.

“You did it Char! We won!”

Charlie looked at the scoreboard in disbelief. Sure enough, the score was 21-23. She had successfully completed a 47-yard field goal. Joey put her back on her own two feet and gave her a hug.

“Damn Char you set a new school record!” he praised. Charlie blushed. She had developed feelings for Joey years ago when they were in junior high. Unfortunately, she knew that Joey saw her as one of the guys, so she had never told him how she felt.

“Holy crap!” She screamed as she hugged him again.

“Good job Charlie. You are definitely the best of the guys.” The snide, high-pitched voice of Savannah Yost sounded from behind her. Savannah had started dating Joey about a month ago, and she has hated Charlie from day one.

“She is awesome! Seriously the best kicker the school has ever had.” Joey said in response, oblivious to Savannah's not-so-veiled insult. That was how it always was when she spoke to Charlie. Always reminding Charlie that no one really viewed her as a girl. Admittedly, Charlie wasn’t one with a particularly feminine personality, but she was raised by her grandfather. Charlie preferred to be comfortable, not fashionable. She didn’t have the patience for make-up, nor anyone to teach her how to use the damned stuff. The most feminine things about her were her physical features, short stature, and her long dark blonde hair. One of the few memories that she could still recall was her mother brushing out her hair and telling her how beautiful it was when she was a kid. Charlie couldn’t bring herself to cut it short. It felt like she would be cutting out a piece of her mom if she did. With only having trims to keep her hair healthy over the years, her hair now fell just below her waist. Charlie never styled her hair because it was naturally straight. She didn’t need to put in effort to make it look nice. She wore her hair in a bun or ponytail nearly every day. Only on special occasions or days she didn’t feel like tying it up did she wear it down.

“You guys should head out to get ready for homecoming”, Charlie said. She knew that the two were going together, and, unlike the rest of the team that would be arriving in their sweaty, dirty jerseys, Savannah had demanded that Joey wear slacks, a long sleeve button down, and a red tie to match her dress. Joey visibly grimaced at the reminder that he had to fight with a tie. Savannah, being the prissy person that she was, had forbidden him from using a clip on.

“Charlie is right. You still need to get a shower and change. I don’t know how you guys all stand smelling like dirt and body odor after games.” Savannah said, throwing a dig at not only Charlie but the entire team. She smirked at Charlie before she stalked off to meet her friends to ready themselves. There was an hour and a half before the homecoming dance would begin.

“Come on Char, I’ll drop you off on the way. I’m sure you want a shower so you can put that gunk in your hair after wearing your helmet. Plus, I bet your grandpa is waiting to check you for broken ribs as soon as you walk in the door,” Joey half joked. They both knew that her grandfather had listened to the game on the radio. This was the first game that her grandfather had missed since she made the team freshman year. He had said that he had important errands that he couldn’t get out of. Charlie wished that he had been here though. He would have been cheering so loudly when she made that field goal. There wouldn’t have been a doubt that she had scored because she would have heard his voice from the stands. With the chaos of the fight after she was tackled, Charlie hadn’t realized that she had made the field goal until Joey had lifted her in the air.

“Yeah, thanks. And that ‘gunk’, as you call it, is what keeps my hair so soft and shiny.” She defended her one girly habit. In her mother’s memory, Charlie didn’t skimp on her hair care. She made sure that her hair was as healthy as it could be.

“No, you just like the smell.” Joey retorted.