"Hey Temperance!" quipped Angela as she took her seat in Biology.
"Hello Angela." she replied.
"So how's things? You look a bit tired, sweetie."
"That's likely because I didn't get to sleep much last night, because of Seeley."
The pen Angela had been twirling clattered to the floor.
"Um, wh- what? What?"
"Yes, we spent the night together at a park."
"Oh…wow. I gotta be honest, I didn't have you pegged as that type of girl. As a matter of fact, I didn't have him pegged as that type of guy."
"What type of girl is that?" Temperance's face was thoroughly confused.
"Its just, and I'm totally not one to judge, but I mean, you just met him yesterday. Even by my standards, that's fast. And in a park? A public place? Wasn't it like…dirty and cold?"
"No, it was actually quite clean, and the physical exertion kept us warm."
Even Zach's head snapped up, eyes wide, in response to her casual comment. Seeley, naturally, chose this moment to arrive at lab station four. Angela fixated on him with an indescribable mix of shock and anger. Zach was blushing.
"Whoa, Ange, what did I miss?"
"Physical exertion? In a park?" she gasped at him.
"Yes, from the swings, Angela" Temperance said, turning to Seeley. "I was just explaining to Angela that the reason I might appear sleep deprived is because we were out late swinging in the park."
Angela suddenly, finally, understood her and quickly tried to backtrack on the R- rated scenarios playing out in her mind.
"Wait- what? Oh…gotcha." She tossed out a smile. "Well your story just went from barf-making, hormone-driven insanity to absolutely adorable. I love swings."
"I believe I've been telling the same story."
"Okay…I'm lost."
"As am I," added Zach.
"Oh, calm down, station four. Just a little misunderstanding. Lets move on. Who's going to the game tonight?"
"Well…" began Seeley, drawing out the word, "I'm gonna try my best to make it, but, you know, its not exactly a priority." Angela slapped him playfully on the arm.
"Shut up, Seeley. I know you're gonna be there. What about you, Temperance? Want to come out and watch Seel totally dominate the basketball court?"
"Actually," she began. Seeley begged internally for her next words to be a yes. "I think that will be fun."
"Awesome! Okay, so here's the deal. I always paint everyone's faces with the school colors before the games, so come early and meet me outside the gym, k?"
"Oh. Okay."
"You too, Zach-o."
Silence.
"Jared. I need you to get gone."
"What? No, man, its frikin cold outside. Im not walkin home in this."
Seeley rolled his eyes. "Look, cant you get a ride home with Cam? I see her, she's right there." He gestured out the window, presumably in Cam's direction. "Go!"
Jared narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why? You gonna take this girl on the back roads or somethin?" His eyes lit up as they always did when teasing his older brother. Seeley shoved his arm.
"Please, man. Look, Cams got on that low shirt you like. Go!"
"Okay, now that's persuasive." He jumped out of the truck, yelling after Cam to wait up.
A few minutes later, Temperance was in the passenger seat and Seeley was en route to her beautiful home. He noticed immediately that there was something written in her face he didn't like.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She sighed softly and stared out the windshield. "Why are you nice to me?" she blurted.
Seeley let out a bark of laughter, taken aback at the absurdity of the question.
"Well, why wouldn't I be nice to you?"
"Nobody else is. I just...want you to know I appreciate it. The rides to and from school, I mean. Thank you." She sounded slightly flustered.
"Don't mention it," he said, brown eyes twinkling as her met her gaze for a moment at a red light. "And anyone who isn't nice to you is probably just intimidated by you. I mean, you're scary intelligent, a quality most teenagers don't have much of."
"That is true. But I don't like being intimidating. I don't want to be scary. Do you think…you could help me?"
"Help you with what?"
"Ive observed that you are very successful, socially. You clearly know something I don't. You could teach me." Seeley chuckled and rested his hand on her forearm as he pulled up next to her house.
"Tell you what. If you stick around for a while, you'll pick up on whatever you want to know. I think you're observant enough for that, don't you?"
"I do have very strong observational skills."
"Okay, then. Don't listen to anyone who isn't nice to you, Tempe. They're not even worth your attention. Now, I have something to ask of you." He paused to reach into the backseat and retrieve his silveraway-game jersey. "If you go to the game tonight, would you want to wear this and cheer me on?"
Confusion crossed her face as she reached out to trace his blue name.
"But its yours."
"Right, but it'd sure make me feel good to see you wearing it in the stands. Its kind of something the team does. We give our away-game jersey to the person whose support is most important to us. So what do you say?"
"My support matters to you?"
"Of course."
"I met you yesterday."
"Well, yeah." He felt an unexpected surge of self-consciousness. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. Just a thought." He began to replace the jersey in the back seat, but she snatched it back with such fervor he had to laugh.
"No! Of course Ill wear it. Thank you, Seeley." She folded it up and carefully placed it in her bag.
"Thank you"
"Good bye," she said as she pushed open the truck door and hopped out into the cold air. "Ill see you at your game."
"Bye Temperance" he replied with a somewhat awestruck smile. "Cant wait"
She waved and turned away, not looking back.
"Wait!" exclaimed Temperance. Angela paused her loaded paint brush an inch from her new friend's pale skin. "This comes off, right?"
"Of course. Its on my face too, remember? Don't worry." She continued and painted a perfect silver thunderbolt across Temperance's cheek, then added some silver and blue glitter.
"Perfect!" she said, proud of her work. She handed Temperance a hand mirror so she could admire it as well.
"The edges are so straight, Angela. It is perfect. Thank you."
"You are so very welcome."
"Can I ask your opinion on something?"
"Trust me, I have an opinion for everything. Shoot."
"Seeley gave me this earlier," she reached in he back and carefully pulled out the silver jersey, "and asked me to wear it. He said its because my support is important to him, but the more I think about it, the more I feel as if I'm being marked by an alpha male." Angela's face broke into a smile whose brightness could rival the sun.
"Aw, sweetie, wear it! Please. It's a nice thing to do to show your personal support. And Ill tell you what else, every other girl in that gym is going to wish they were you."
"What? Why?"
"Because he picked you to give it to. Now, go change and I'll meet you inside."
Temperance studied herself in the bathroom mirror. Her face was painted with thunder and she was wearing the jersey of the star basketball player. A large, blue eight stared back at her from her belly and she reached behind her shoulder to trace the blue "H" of "Booth" stretched across her back. She had often observed other girls partaking in the experience of being a sport supporter, but she had never experienced it herself. She'd never even been to a basketball game. Of course, she had read up on the rules of the game before arriving so she wouldn't be caught off guard. She took in her appearance and deemed it satisfactory. Inside the gym, the noise was overwhelming and she saw silver and blue everywhere she looked. It took her quite a few minutes to find Angela, but eventually they were seated about four rows above the center of the court.
Angela had been correct- Temperance noticed many girls sneaking envious glares at Seeley's jersey. She found herself instantly caught up in the excitement. Seeley was incredibly focused and he was fascinating to watch, weaving in and out of the other players. Once, he met her eyes and winked at her before shooting a successful three pointer, and she and Angela erupted into triumphant cheers along with the rest of the fans. The cheers became remarkably louder when the final buzzer rang out a split second after Seeley made another three pointer to win the game. Temperance found herself caught up in the excitement and the crowd as everyone rushed forward onto the court, swamping the players with praise. She instantly ran to Seeley and he scooped her up in his strong, sweaty arms and spun her around in triumph, both of them laughing without restraint. When he set her down and dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, she knew that this was the happiest she had been in years.