The day continued on pretty uneventfully. I found myself overwhelmed with all the work I had to catch up on already. Then there was the friend issue. If I could play soccer, I'd immediately make friends. I tried to forget about my let down of the day and went to my locker to grab my things before football practice. I was hoping Finn would walk me out to the field, since I wasn't exactly sure of where I was going. I collected my things and shut my locker to find someone standing next to me already.
"Hey. You're new here. Kate right?" I looked up to see a guy sporting a mohawk and a football jersey. He was casually leaning against the lockers, smirking and giving me the flirty eyes.
"Yeah, Kate. And you are..?"
"I'm Noah, but I go by Puck. It's short for Puckerman."
"Oh cool."
"So, Finn tells me you're the new manager of the football team."
"That's correct. Although I'm not really sure what I signed up for."
"You get to sit around and watch us run plays and then you get to bring us water. And you probably have to keep score and write the roster. It's not a big deal. I promise."
"Sounds fun."
"Listen, since you're new here, I'm obligated to buy you dinner, since I'm on the football team and all. So, what do you say?"
"We'll see." I said walking away from him. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and watched me walk away.
"Hey Kate. How was your first day?" It was Quinn.
"Oh hey. Yeah it was alright. Still getting into the flow of things."
"Make any new friends?"
"I wouldn't say friends just yet but I've met some people. What do you know about that Puck guy?"
Quinn froze up, "Uhh…what do you want to know about him?"
"Well he just started talking to me and I think he asked me out." She stopped and grabbed my arm.
"Kate, I know that he's hot and charming but he's a total operator. He's made out with almost all the girls in school if not more. Just be careful around him."
"Oh." That was all I could say. Sure, Puck seemed like a flirt but he didn't seem like a player. It kind of brought down my mood a little bit.
"Come on, let's go. You have practice, don't you? I'm going to the football field too, so we can walk together."
We walked and she filled me in a little more about how things worked at the school. As soon as we got to the field she headed over to the 'Cheerios' and I headed toward the football team. The team was seated on the bench putting on their cleats. Finn looked up and noticed me. He waved and smiled as I approached the bench.
"Hi." I said to him.
"Hey Kate. Welcome to the football team."
"Thanks." I put my bag down near the bench and looked for Coach.
I felt an arm around my shoulder and I looked over to find that arm belonged to Puck.
"Team, listen up. This is Kate. She's the new team manager. She's cool so be nice to her."
"Yeah. What he said." For some reason, Puck's statement made me feel more confident. All the guys introduced themselves to me. I'd eventually remember all their names, but for now I only remembered a handful besides Finn and Puck. Coach came out and instructed them and me on what to do. They started with some drills and I sat and watched. I started on some of my homework while watching the guys work through some things. Quinn and Brittany came over and brought this brunette girl.
"Hey Quinn, Brittany, and…."
"Santana."
"Hi, I'm Kate."
"I know." Well….okay then.
"How's practice."
"It's torture. That's the price to pay for perfection though." Quinn said.
"Yeah, well being the football team manager seems to be easy enough."
"That's because our football team sucks." Santana said.
"Right."
"Okay well we better go before Coach Sue attacks us. See you tomorrow!" They all walked off. I really liked Quinn and I didn't mind Brittany but I had a weird feeling about Santana. I wasn't sure if she just didn't like me or if she was naturally unfriendly. I tried to forget about it when the whistle blew. The team huddled up and Finn signaled for me to join them. I closed my text book and jogged over to the middle of the huddle.
"Do you guys always smell this bad?" I asked jokingly. Some of the guys snickered while others got defensive. I just smiled at the fact that I was finally able to be myself around my new peers. Coach summed up practice and dismissed the team. I packed up my stuff and waited for the team to walk back into the school.
"Great job today." I said to Finn as we were walking back.
"Yeah, you too." He said.
I laughed, "I didn't even do anything."
"You sat through that awful practice didn't you."
"You might be right about that. See I don't get it. You guys have talent but you don't mesh together. You need some team bonding or something."
"That's a great idea. I'll remember that."
"Hey sweetie." Puck said. "So when are you free? Our dinner remember?"
"Oh right. See from what I hear you could get another date in 2 seconds."
"Well, while that might be true I don't want anyone else. I need someone new and different."
"You do realize that you aren't helping yourself right? I know your reputation and I'm not interested in being another accomplishment."
I really had a knack for leaving this guy speechless. I continued to the school and said goodbye to the team. I grabbed my keys and hopped inside my car to head home.