A/N: It has been quite a while since the previous update... while it is partly due to life getting in my way as of late, it's also because we've had a sudden new development in the story. You may recall a scene from the previous chapter in which Ruby had a brief encounter with Lori, of which Spencer quickly interrupted - this was mainly meant to establish a shift in their relationship with Spencer setting up unnecessary boundaries of who Ruby can speak to and about what, and it really was going to go no further than that. During our previous consultation, the scene had inspired Albertson to brainstorm an idea of getting Lori involved in the affair as something of an informer passing along inside information regarding Ruby and Spencer to Luan (since Ruby mentioned knowing her), who, in turn, shares such information with her fellow thespians (including Shannon, especially). So, as you will see, this is a new element that is going to be worked into the story as we press forward... in fact, the closing of our previous chapter, and the beginning of this chapter, were sort of last-minute additions prior to publication.

Okay, enough about that. Let the game begin!

The next day after school, the theater club had gathered for another attempted rehearsal of Romeo & Juliet, and since their flamboyant drama teacher had yet to officially get said rehearsal underway, the various thespians decided to kill some time however they saw fit. For the time being, Lyberti was still coaching Shannon in trying to improve her singing voice, as she treated the bespectacled African-American girl to a selection from another one of her favorite cinematic classics, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory…

Come with me
and you'll be
in a world of pure imagination

Take a look
and you'll see
into your imagination

If you want to view paradise
simply look around and view it
anything you want to, do it
want to change the world?
There's nothing to it

Lyberti flashed Shannon a big, gap-toothed grin as she complimented her on her latest attempt: "You sound great! You've really improved!"

Shannon mustered up a small smile of pride on her freckled face; even she had to agree in that she felt as though that whatever kind of a singing voice she possessed had experienced some improvement, thanks to Lyberti coaching her these past several weeks… however, there was still one little hurdle that she felt still gave her a little trouble…

"If only I could hit those high notes, though…"

It was true; her voice still broke and cracked a little whenever she tried to reach certain octaves, as the song she had just sang was an example of.

"Maybe you should try soothing your throat a little before you try singing higher notes," suggested Lyberti. "A lot of singers use a mix of warm water and honey; I'm sure you've seen some spray it into their mouths before they sing."

"Oh, yeah…" said Shannon as she thought of that very mental image.

Just then, a certain ponytailed and brace-faced girl joined the two with some information to pass along to them.

"Hey, guys," greeted Luan. "I don't know if you're interested, but I think I've got some inside information on what Ruby and Spencer are up to now that they quit theater…"

Lyberti did look just a tad disinterested – she may have regarded Ruby as a friend, but one she had not grown that close to… at least, not to the extent of Shannon, who very much still regarded Ruby as her best friend, even in spite of her less than meaningful goodbye the other day.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Shannon asked in desperation for some details.

"Lori told me they're in the sports club now," explained Luan.

Shannon and Lyberti exchanged a look with each other as they considered this new information that had been passed along to them courtesy of Luan's oldest sister.

"Well, it's kinda not surprising with Spencer," said Lyberti. "I mean, he was pretty much a star athlete in middle school…"

"Yeah," nodded Shannon in a knowing manner. "But, Ruby?"

"She's probably gonna be Spencer's personal cheerleader, what do you bet?" Lyberti asked.

"I don't know," said Luan. "Lori seems a little suspicious about their relationship… what do you guys think?"

Lyberti merely shrugged; like most everybody else in the club, she was aware of the romance between Ruby and Spencer, but like Luan, it was not something that she really gave much thought about, let alone paid attention to. Unlike Shannon, who was very much invested in Ruby's life in many different aspects.

"I mean, I've never noticed any problems between either of them," said Shannon. "But, if I'm being honest, I did think they kind of rushed into things when they got together…"

The three of them did begin to consider the matter: it really did not seem surprising in the least that Spencer was in sports club, but they also could not help but wonder if Ruby joined the club for no other reason than just to follow him since she was his girlfriend. The time they spent considering the matter turned out to be short-lived as Mrs. Bernardo suddenly made another entrance onto the stage, this time as she rolled herself out atop a dolly while she also clung to a vine-covered trellis.

"Once more into the breach, dear thespians!" She began before she hopped off the trellis to approach Benny, who already stood in his proper position. "Which is theater talk for, 'Let's try that kissing scene again!'"

While she and Benny eagerly smiled and awaited Luan to join them out on stage, Luan, once again, began to panic; she still could not muster up enough courage to go through with actually kissing Benny, even in spite of her massive crush on him… she had to find a way to get out of this again… and, she did. While nobody paid much attention, she discretely pulled a banana peel from her skirt pocket and planted it onto the stage floor so that she would step on it, slip, and take a big tumble – much to the shock of her scene partner and their drama teacher.

"HEAVENS, MY DEAR GIRL!" Mrs. Bernardo shrieked as she knelt beside her fallen thespian. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Trooper that she was (and for their benefit), Luan both played it off as though the fall she sustained was nothing, but played up the injury she faked: "Oh, it's nothing. Probably just a slipped disk, no pun intended. Ow-ow-ow!"

With that, Mrs. Bernardo did what she felt was the most sensible thing to do in the wake of her student's misfortune: "Rehearsal's cancelled for the day!"

As Luan breathed a sigh of relief, back stage, Shannon and Lyberti exchanged another perplexed glance with each other.

"I'm starting to get the feeling this club is cursed!" Lyberti exclaimed as she planted her fists onto her hips.

"Things have been getting rather meshuggeneh around here lately…" agreed Shannon.

Whether or not the theater club had been cursed could be debated, however, Shannon had grown a little suspicious over these unusual circumstances that had continually cancelled their rehearsals each day... and, in a curious coincidence, always right as Luan and Benny are about to practice their kissing scene. Truth be told, Shannon had noticed that Luan's overall behavior of late had seemed far more unusual, even for somebody as quirky and eccentric as she was... could she, somehow, bear some responsibility for this series of unfortunate events as of late? She could only wonder...

Such a brisk autumn evening made Ruby wish she had the foresight to bring a jacket of some kind as she sat out in the bleachers of the playing field of Royal Woods High – she had been accustomed to spending her Fridays indoors where access to climate control meant that the condition of the air temperature could be adjusted accordingly for those within the confines of whichever room she was in, whether it be her bedroom, or the auditorium. The bleachers filled up quickly, much to her amazement… there must have been more people in attendance at this game than there was at A Midsummer Night's Dream. Little did she know there were more in attendance than just parents, faculty, and other students; in addition to out-of-towners who were here in attendance to see the visiting team play, there were also many other people from the surrounding neighborhoods who had made a ritual out of attending high school football games on Friday nights, such as elderly sports fanatic, Bud Grouse, and one Phillip Phillipini – otherwise known as Flip, whose sole purpose for coming to these games was to sell concessions to attendees, such as Flippees, nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, and, for a limited time, cotton candy.

Although she had never attended a football game before, Ruby did feel that the excitement in the air was quite contagious, thanks in part to the pre-game warm-up courtesy of the school's cheering squad and marching band. She noted the likes of Brittany and Sophia amongst a number of other girls in purple-colored uniforms as they shook their pom-poms and moved their bodies to the music that was being provided by the marching band – she silently hoped that they were working up a good sweat, because otherwise, how could any of them not be freezing out there with no sleeves on their arms, and their ridiculously tiny short skirts? In addition to them, there were also a few male cheerleaders mixed into their squad, which she found most curious – she always thought of cheerleading as a girls-only sort of club, but, if that was what these guys were into, who was she to judge?

As the crowds in the stands were being pumped for the ensuing game, the home team was down in the locker room, where Coach Rubiner had been giving his players a little pep talk.

"You men ready to play?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," the players responded in unison, but when their coach tilted his head and brought his hand to his ear, they knew that meant he wanted them to respond louder and with more enthusiasm. "YES, SIR!"

As Coach Rubiner continued his speech, he wanted to take a brief moment to extend a welcome back to the player in the number seventy-seven jersey: "Spencer Banks… great having you back!"

Other players and teammates murmured in agreement at the sentiment; some who happened to be seated around him extended hearty back slaps and shoulder punches.

"Great to be back, coach," nodded Spencer in appreciation; he really was more than ready to get back into the game and eagerly anticipated it.

"You've shown a lot of promise this week," Coach Rubiner told him before he addressed the others in the room. "You all have. Makes me feel confident that we'll be able to take on Hazeltucky tonight…"

Hazeltucky was one of Royal Woods' toughest rivals – even when it came to local pee-wee leagues, of which Lynn Loud, Jr. played for the Royal Woods Roosters, the Hazeltucky Hockers always gave them a run for their money. Hazeltucky's high school team, the Hustlers, was just as tough and aggressive, and really lived up to their team name, which were well-known facts among Royal Woods' high school team, the Rocket Squirrels. Still, after overseeing his team's training during the previous week, Coach Rubiner felt certain that his young men would be able to hold their own against the opposition.

"Remember… we do things as a team, gentlemen," he continued. "You give your teammates all you've got and make the effort on every play, you can beat 'em and walk off that field tonight calling yourselves a football team."

The players nodded in agreement with their coach's speech. Rubiner was, for the most part, unlike some coaches, who were simply in it to win it – although, that was always an amazing little incentive. Instead, he felt far more strongly about helping his players build character; these were still just high school students, after all, and even if football, let alone sports, was what they were most passionate about, it should not be something they should tunnel-vision onto if it means shirking any other responsibilities, obligations, or commitments they may have during their final years of childhood – hence why he had previously released Spencer from training during his unforeseen family matter (or, so he had been lead to believe).

Even so, to help build character, the coach wanted his players to run out onto that field with a positive attitude, as well as the confidence that they could achieve whatever it was that they set their mind to.

"Play smart… play with heart… and play with pride…" he concluded his little pep talk before he began to feed their adrenaline. "Now, I ask you again… are you ready to play?"

"YES, SIR!" The players cheered.

"Then, let's get out there and get 'er done!" Coach Rubiner exclaimed, before he and his players circled around and placed their hands out in front of them for their team cheer.

"ROCKET SQUIRRELS, WHOOOOOOOOOSH!"

To the roaring cheers of those in the stands as well as the cheering squad off on the sidelines, the Royal Woods Rocket Squirrels ran out onto the field, each of them with their arms extended before them, as though they were flying squirrels gliding their way through the air to get this week's high school football game underway, and as contagious as the energy was, Ruby had, likewise, hopped out of her seat along the bleacher that had been reserved for the girlfriends of the other players to applaud and cheer the home team as they made their presence known… however, she couldn't remember which was Spencer's number, and to see that each of the players were suited up in their helmets and padded uniforms, she was unable to discern which of among them who ran out onto the field was her boyfriend… how embarrassing; nevertheless, as long as she continued to cheer for the team in the royal blue uniforms who also had decals of flying squirrels on the sides of their helmets, that should be sufficient enough for everyone.

As everyone remained standing, next came one of Royal Woods High's finest traditions: a rockin' performance of the national anthem, as provided by the band known as the Moon Goats, whose guitarist and lead vocalist was one Luna Loud. Luna Loud? Upon hearing that name, Ruby deduced that this had to be another one of Luan's sisters, and a look at the purple-clad rocker who belted out the words to The Star-Spangled Banner served as a visual confirmation of such a realization, as this girl looked almost exactly like Luan, only with darker hair, and freckles across her face. Ruby was blown away by not only the powerful set of pipes this girl had as she belted out the patriotic lyrics, but the passionate and aggressive manner in which she shredded into the purple electric guitar she played as well; were all of Luan's siblings so talented? It made her curious to know if that was, indeed, the case.

Once the performance had concluded, and those within the stands took to their seats again, Brandon's redheaded girlfriend, Tiffany, was who sat next to Ruby along their specially reserved bleacher, as she turned to the Indian girl and asked, "You excited to sit in on your first football game?"

"I am, like, totally psyched!" Ruby exclaimed, and she did, indeed, mean it; she very much anticipated what would play out on the field below them this evening.

After the two team captains met with the referee at the 50-yard line for the coin toss, of which the visiting team, the Hazeltucky Hustlers called correctly, they had opted to be the kicking team, which made the Royal Woods Rocket Squirrels the receiving team. Sure enough, the place kicker for the Hustlers punted the ball soaring across the field over toward the Rocket Squirrels, where it was caught by one of their two returners, whose responsibility was to, 'Return,' the ball by running it back down the field toward the end zone on the opposite side to score a touchdown for the home team, all the while other players charged toward him. Luckily, thanks not only to the returner's quick and agile footwork, and the fact that his fellow Rocket Squirrels were able to keep the opposing Hustlers from tackling their return player, he was able to achieve his objective.

"TOUCHDOWN, ROCKET SQUIRRELS!" The referee shouted with his arms extended up into the air.

Taking her cues from other spectators in the stands, including the other girls with whom she sat, Ruby leaped out of her seat and cheered for the home team that had scored their first six points for the evening, after which they opted to go for a point-after-touchdown. After another Rocket Squirrel ran out onto the field and stopped on the three-yard line where he snapped the ball back to his teammate who had previously scored their team their first six points; a kick sent the ball soaring through the goal posts at the end zone, which had garnered them their extra point, and another cheer from the crowd.

Once the spectators had returned to their seats that was when Flip began making his way up through the stands with a concession tray strapped to him as he proceeded to hawk whatever snacks and refreshments he had on hand.

"FLIPPEES! GET YER FLIPPEES HERE!" He shouted over the ambience of the crowd of spectators. "ALSO NACHOS, HOT DOGS, POPCORN, AND FOR A LIMITED TIME, COTTON CANDY!"

The timing could not have worked out any better; Ruby had skipped out on dinner in order to come to see her boyfriend play that evening, so in the moment, she was quite famished. Once the man with the large, bushy, gray mustache, and the raggedy red shirt had reached the particular bleacher where she sat, the Indian girl began to wave him down in order to get his attention.

"YO! NACHOS!" She called out.

He then stepped over to the maroon-clad girl to whom he handed a tray loaded with crunchy, round tortilla chips smothered in a tangy and slightly spicy melted cheese sauce.

"Here ya go; that'll be twenty bucks."

"Twenty bucks for nachos? Are you serious?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I could, like, buy a whole shipment of nachos for twenty bucks!"

Flip was in the business to sell and move merchandise, and although it was clear to anyone that he was price-gouging, as he undoubtedly would do, the truth of the matter was concessions were always rather expensive – after all, food vendors do have to make a profit. Still, the old codger was not in the mood for debating the issue with a potential customer.

"Take it or leave it, girly," he said as he pulled the tray of nachos away from her. "I got plenty of other takers here!"

As Tiffany watched this side spectacle unfold before her, she decided to slip in an offer of her own, as she told Ruby, "I'll go halfsies if you don't mind sharing…"

It still seemed like a rip off as far as Ruby was concerned… however, the growling in her empty stomach was clearly the winner of this little battle. Out of reluctance, she and Tiffany each handed Flip ten dollars, which he happily pocketed in exchange for the tray of nachos, before he resumed his trek through the stands to sell overpriced concessions to other spectators. Even in spite of her little financial loss, Ruby wasted no time in helping herself to the cheese-smothered chips from the tray.

"Whoa, Rubes, save some for me, too, huh?" Tiffany pointed out.

Ruby blushed a little as she swallowed the bite she had finished chewing and apologized while she handed the tray to the redhead who sat next to her.

"Yeah, sorry about that… I haven't eaten since, like, lunch…" she explained.

"It's cool," said Tiffany as she, likewise, helped herself to the nachos from within the tray. After she had eaten a cheese-smothered chip, she shared some of her own commentary on what they had witnessed thus far. "At least we're off to a great start tonight, huh?"

Even if Ruby was still rather clueless to the object of this sport, she was quickly able to figure out that tonight's game was, indeed, off to a great start, considering the home team had scored the first touchdown of the evening.

"Totally!" She agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

Both teams assembled at the line of scrimmage, with the Rocket Squirrels in possession of the ball, which gave them an opportunity to play both ways, as it were, as they were now the offense.

"BLUE-22! BLUE-22! HUT-HUT!" The home team's quarterback called out before their center snapped the ball back to him, as the linemen from both teams rammed into each other.

Up in the stands, Ruby's face contorted as she watched what looked like a series of head-on collisions, but with football players on a field as opposed to motor vehicles on a highway; she hoped that her boyfriend wasn't getting seriously hurt from such a physical contact sport. Spencer, meanwhile, was very much determined to put his weeks' worth of training to good, hard work; he knew that the objective of the opposing team's line was to get to their quarterback to tackle and/or get the ball away from him, as he and his fellow Rocket Squirrel linemen utilized their strength to push back against the Hustlers' linemen, which would afford their quarterback some opened gaps to throw the ball to one of their wide receivers sprinting down the field in the number twenty-two uniform, who, in this case, happened to be the tall and lanky Brandon, whose girlfriend was so ecstatic over his catch, she nearly knocked the tray of nachos she had been sharing with Ruby onto the lap of the Indian girl who sat next to her as she shot up to her feet.

"WHOOO! GREAT COMPLETION, BRANDON!" Tiffany cheered as she watched number twenty-two run toward the end zone. "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Although Ruby had something of a smirk on her face over nearly having a mess of cheese-smothered chips flop over onto her lap, she could understand the redhead's enthusiasm for her boyfriend's rather effortless catch of their quarterback's forward pass… this also only further made Ruby wish she had paid more attention to what Spencer's number was, so that she could know exactly where he was on the field, and likewise cheer for him accordingly.

While Brandon ran back down the field, he had a number of very close calls as Hustlers charged in an attempt to tackle him, but luckily, his tall and thin build made him rather wiry, and he was able to avoid any tackles, even as they kept coming after him the closer he reached the end zone; one Hustler was right on his tail, but even so, he was able to escape the clutches of the Hustler who missed him by inches as he made a lunge toward him. Finally, Brandon not only reached the end zone, but he also spiked the ball as he and everyone else saw the referee raise his arms into the air again.

"TOUCHDOWN, ROCKET SQUIRRELS!" The man in the black and white striped shirt called out.

As before, the spectators who rooted for the home team shot up from their seats to cheer another touchdown; a stoked Tiffany grabbed ahold of not only Ruby, but also another player's girlfriend who sat on her opposite side, and screamed so loud she could have punctured either of their eardrums.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?! DID YOU SEE BRANDON RUN THAT BALL DOWN TO THE END ZONE?!" She squealed to both of them.

"Awesome sauce!" Ruby exclaimed.

Throughout the evening, no matter how hard an opposing player tried, getting past the Rocket Squirrels' number seventy-seven lineman was akin to getting past an immovable object or an unstoppable force. One big highlight for Spencer during the game was when the Hustlers gained possession of the ball again – the center punted to their quarterback, who then passed to their running back; not only did the defensive line manage to push through the offensive line, but before the running back had the chance to sprint down the field with the ball, Spencer was able to tackle him, which resulted in a dropped ball that rendered the play dead. While those who rooted for the visiting team groaned over their misfortunate, those who rooted for the home team cheered over the outcome.

It also assisted Ruby in finally identifying which one of the players was her boyfriend when Tiffany remarked, "Wow, Spence nailed him!"

"Oh, yeah?" Ruby responded before she realized that the player of whom Tiffany spoke, who had just tackled the opposing team's running back, was, indeed, her boyfriend. Quickly, she made a save of her own, as she then responded with a far more confident and charismatic, "Oh, yeah!"

Even though this was only his first game after missing so much of the season thus far, Tiffany was still impressed with Spencer's efforts; she added, "He's really doing great out there tonight, isn't he?"

"Heckz yeah, he is!" Ruby exclaimed with a huge grin on her face while she made mental note to keep an eye on number seventy-seven for the rest of the evening.

Another highlight for Spencer during the game was during another down in which the Hustlers were in possession of the ball… but not for long; the Hustlers underestimated the defense and failed at their attempt at a screen pass, which resulted in the Rocket Squirrels' number seventy-seven being able to intercept the ball. This had left Spencer rather awestruck by his interception, which was uncommon, but not entirely unheard of for a defensive lineman; in spite of this amazing highlight for him, becoming caught up in the moment provided some Hustlers a perfect opportunity to tackle him. Ruby was horrified to watch as Spencer became buried under a dogpile of other players about his size and build in black uniforms and helmets; even with what little exposure she had to sports in her life, she never realized until attending this game just how violent football could be, and she really hoped her boyfriend was not seriously injured or hurt by this tackle.

"Ouch Town!" She groaned. "Is nobody gonna, like, see if he's alright?"

Tiffany smirked a little and responded, "Oh, he can probably just walk it off."

The Royal Woods Rocket Squirrels had some tough players, and Spencer had proven himself to be no exception, as, to Ruby's amazement, he was, indeed, able to get up and walk it off, as though the tackle he had just received was absolutely nothing; this did bring some relief to his worried girlfriend, but she wasn't sure if this was a sport she could get into –even as a spectator- it just seemed far too brutal for her liking… how any of these player were not walking away with broken limbs or missing body parts was beyond her.

At one point during the evening, the marching band had not only begun to play again, but out onto the field came a few other students in matching purple uniforms, both male and female, and each of them twirled Royal Woods High's school flag, which was royal blue with a giant acorn in the center; Ruby came to learn that this was the halftime show, as being performed by the school's color guard. As she watched in interest, she was unable to help but wonder if any of the girls down on the field twirling flags may have been another one of Luan's many sisters, but little did she know that this was not the case at all.

Indeed, the Hazeltucky Hustlers always proved to be worthy adversaries, as most of their players possessed the qualities that anyone would desire in an ideal high school football player: aggression, agility, coordination, speed, and strength. However, the Royal Woods Rocket Squirrels also possessed these same qualities; with the clock winding down on the fourth quarter, the score was awfully close, with the home team at 14 and the visiting team at 13… however, with the Hustlers in possession of the ball again, and less than a minute to play, they were going for a field goal to win it. The ball was snapped to the holder and the kicker sent it toward the posts, only for it to fall short of its goal, which was a major disappointment for their last-ditch effort.

Final score: Royal Woods, 14; Hazeltucky, 13.

While not the most satisfying win for the Rocket Squirrels, those who rooted for the home team were still pleased just the same with the final score, as was Coach Rubiner; the confidence he held in his players had been rewarded, even if it was a close game like he had predicted with one of their most notorious rivals.

Later still, after the game was over, and the players dispersed from the locker room, some who had girlfriends met up with them, including Spencer who was curious to know what Ruby thought about sitting in on her first football game.

"So, did you have a good time?" He asked her.

Rather than respond to his query as to whether she enjoyed watching the game, Ruby was far more concerned about Spencer's wellbeing, as she asked, "Dude, are you alright?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, you, like, took some really nasty hits out there tonight…" she pointed out.

Spencer was practically a pro when it came to such physically demanding contact sports – as far as he was concerned, the tackles he had endured during the evening were not much of anything at all; he just waved it off and said, "All part of the game…"

"Well… I'm just glad you weren't badly hurt or anything…" said Ruby with a sense of relief.

Spencer shook his head, "Nah! I might be a little sore in the morning, but I won't let that stand in the way of our victory celebration tomorrow."

Ruby perked up at hearing this; she asked, "Moi is included?"

"You know it, babe!" Spencer happily responded as he threw his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

As they casually strolled toward the exit that lead out of the field and into the adjacent parking lot, they took notice of some of the fellow players and their respective sweethearts, such as Brandon and Tiffany, Carlton and Brittany, and Horatio and Sophia; it appeared that they had already begun some early victory celebrations of their own as these couples shared in some celebratory smooches from their sweethearts giving them congratulatory kisses. Slowly, Spencer and Ruby turned to one another with a rosy glow in their cheeks… it had occurred to them that they still had yet to have their first kiss as a couple (their previous discussion of whether they should practice, or save it for Romeo & Juliet went no further than that)… now seemed like as good of a time as ever. Their eyes eased shut and their lips puckered up until they finally made contact; at last, Spencer and Ruby shared in their very first kiss. One would believe that their first kiss with their first love would be quite a magical and electrifying experience… in this case, it turned out to be more of an awkward one – it wasn't quite what Spencer was expecting it to be like as he and Ruby pulled away from each other.

"Wow…" he remarked. "Your breath smells like nachos…"

Ruby chuckled, "Well, Tiff and I did split some during the game…"

Spencer nodded in both understanding and low-key disappointment; he responded, "Well, that explains that, I guess…"

They pressed on toward the exit, though Ruby suddenly felt the awkwardness of the outcome of this momentous occasion… she and her boyfriend had finally just shared in their first kiss, and all he could comment on was her nacho breath? Her mouth twisted crooked as that remark sank in and registered with her; her first kiss with her boyfriend turned out to be a trifle disappointing for her as well, though for different reasons.

Royal Woods High seems to have a curious affinity for squirrels, doesn't it? Between having an after school club dedicated entirely to feeding squirrels, to the fact that their school statue is a giant acorn... Rocket Squirrels seemed like a fitting name for their football team (plus, if you haven't figured out, it's also a subtle reference to the character of Rocket J. Squirrel, who was the flying squirrel half of the moose and squirrel classic cartoon duo of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

Speaking of rocky, that seems to be the sort of road that Ruby and Spencer's relationship is currently on, doesn't it? Maybe things will smooth out a little as the team celebrates their victory... or... not?