Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or it's characters.
It was a crisp, beautiful morning as Kendra sat on a bench adjacent to Nadia in front of the Degrassi gym entrance. Kendra didn't really seem like her usual self and Nadia knew it had to do with her recent break-up with Toby Isaacs. Even if Nadia didn't know this, she could probably guess it had to do with Toby by the way Kendra kept looking at him as he walked by in the distance.
"So, are you gonna just stare at him or what?" Nadia questioned Kendra.
"What do you mean?" Kendra replied.
"What I mean is that you haven't taken your eyes off of him since he walked by." Nadia pointed out.
"No I didn't."
"Well, why don't you go talk to him?" Nadia suggested.
"There's nothing left to say." Kendra concluded, "Can we talk about something else?"
"Well let's talk about the dance next week. Who are you going to go as?" Nadia asked.
"I'm going as an '80's singer named Joan Jett." Kendra revealed.
"That's a pretty good choice."
"So how is everything else coming along with the dance?' Kendra questioned.
"Allie showed me some of the top songs from the online voting. It's weird some of the groups our parents use to listen to back then." Nadia wondered.
"Plus the fashion too. Its fun to dress up in '80's clothes for one night but I couldn't see myself going around every day looking like that." Kendra said.
Nadia and Kendra continued their conversation until the team buses arrived. Once they pulled up to the school, the grade seven and eight girls' soccer team began to file out of the girls' change room. Brandy, the team captain, came out with a large bag containing her equipment. They also spotted Allie walking towards them who was, along with Nadia, a part of the junior spirit squad. Since the spirit squad had been revived by Paige Michalchuk, Hazel Aden, and Manny Santos a couple of years ago, enough girls had signed up to allow the school to have a varsity and a junior varsity spirit squad. The junior squad normally handled cheerleading responsibilities at the girls' games while the varsity squad went to most of the boys' events.
Nadia watched as the buses were being loaded up. She wished that she could help the girls, but she knew they understood her limitations. Besides, since the buses they used for away games hadn't been modified for total wheelchair access, Nadia couldn't take her motorized wheelchair. So she was forced to use her manual wheelchair, which meant she needed help in rolling up inclined surfaces. She also had to be helped onto the bus, along with her wheelchair and uniform bag. But being part of the group was worth the occasional embarrassment she sometimes felt from needing so much special attention.
The long bus ride flew by as the girls gossiped and sang the latest songs that they had heard. Soon they had arrived at the school where the tournament was being held. The buses unloaded and the girls moved all of their things into that school's gymnasium. The gym had been converted into a sort of welcoming area for all the schools that would be participating today. Allie, and some of the other girls on the spirit squad, helped Nadia off of the bus and into her wheelchair. Allie helped wheel her to the entrance of the stadium where the games would be played. Since Degrassi's first game wasn't for another hour, the coach and chaperones allowed all of the girls some free time to socialize with students and players from the other schools. Allie left Nadia at the entrance, she was going to put both of their belongings in the gymnasium and then come back so they could find a seat inside together. Nadia sat by the entrance, watching students from other schools pass by. She was thinking about the final touches necessary for the dance. Suddenly she was snapped out of her daydream by a tall figure in front of her. He had deep penetrating eyes, rugged good looks and a smile that could melt ice.
"Would you like some help inside?" the handsome young man asked her.
"Actually I'm waiting for a friend, we're going to go inside together." Nadia replied.
Just then Nadia could see Allie coming towards them in the distance.
"Here comes my friend now." Nadia pointed.
"Hi friend." the young man said as he extended his hand to greet Allie.
"Hi." Allie responded, while twirling the ends of her long red hair around her finger.
"Well, we should go inside." he said as he wheeled Nadia up the wheelchair ramp.
Allie and the hunky guy couldn't stop staring at each other, and Nadia thought that it was so romantic. He was like a knight in shining armor.
"So," Allie started, "what are you doing at the girls soccer tournament anyway?"
"It was either this or go to my regular classes." He replied, "Our new principal is trying to build up support for girls sports. Besides I get to meet wonderful young ladies like yourself."
Nadia could see Allie start to blush as he complimented her. Allie and her new acquaintance would spend most of the next hour talking to each other, not noticing anything else going on around them. As they talked Nadia went back to her thoughts and remembered what might be her most difficult task before next week. "How am I going to convince Marco Del Rossi to help me? When I ask him what I want him to do, he'll probably just laugh in my face."
"Girls, its time to start getting ready." The junior squad captain called out.
Nadia looked over at Allie, who was still engrossed in her conversation. Nadia had to remind her that they were there to support the soccer team.
"Well, I better get up and get ready. Are you going to stay and watch the game?" Allie asked.
"Sure, I'll be here when you get back." He replied.
The spirit squad cheered as the junior girls' team won a hard fought victory. Kendra played her best game of the season, scoring three goals. After the game Kendra and Brandy, along with the rest of the team, decided to watch the next match to see whom they might face in the next round. The girls sat with some of the cheerleaders, including Nadia. Missing was Allie, who was with her new friend in another part of the stadium.
"So what's the story with lover boy over there?" Kendra asked Nadia.
"He was coming into the stadium at the same time as Allie and me. He seems really nice and funny." Nadia replied.
"Maybe, but he does seem a little too old for Allie." Brandy stated.
"Yeah, she wants an 'old guy', like Jamal, so she can compete with you." Kendra said jokingly.
"My boyfriend is only one year older than me." Brandy replied, "Besides you're one to talk about dating older guys."
"Not anymore." Kendra answered.
"Plus that guy must be in at least grade ten or eleven." Brandy observed, "He just seems sort of creepy."
"Age has nothing to do with true love?" Nadia pointed out.
"I'm sure the police would disagree." Kendra responded, "Besides I think Brandy may have a point. I hadn't noticed it before but that guy does seem kind of familiar, I just don't know from where?"
The girls continued to argue their various viewpoints on the subject instead of watching their competition like they had planned. The Degrassi athletic director had arranged for all of the girls to have lunch at a nearby restaurant. Soon the girls were all filing out of the stadium going back to the buses. Kendra was helping to wheel her friend down the access ramp when Nadia realized that Allie wasn't with them.
"Hey Allie!" Nadia called out, "Everybody's heading back to the buses."
"Okay." Allie replied, "So are you going to stick around for the afternoon games?"
"I don't think so, I have some things I have to take care of after school." He replied. "Here's my number Red, maybe we could go out sometime?"
"Sure, that would be..…fine." Allie said with a huge smile as she wrote down her number for him.
"Be seein' you soon." He said as he started to walk away.
"Hey!" Allie called out, "We talked all of this time and we don't even know each other's names."
"I heard your friend call you Allie just now, but I prefer Red a lot better." He replied.
"I like Red too." Allie agreed.
"Well Red, you can call me Dean."
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