Chapter 2: Friday Night Lights
Since she joined the writing club, Tina found her group rather quickly. She quickly made four close friends. Cara, a junior, liked writing horror stories. Jamal, a senior, liked writing dramas and historical fiction. Katie, another freshman, liked writing poetry. And then there was Derek, a sophomore, who also liked writing stories about zombies, but his stories weren't erotic. She hasn't told anyone about her love of butts yet, but they'll find out sooner or later.
The group sat at lunch together and talked about upcoming events. "Are you guys going to the football game tomorrow night," Jamal asked, "the first game is a big one and I'll be playing."
"I know I'll be there," Katie said as she opened her water bottle, "I made varsity cheer and I'll be cheering you guys on!"
Derek and Cara looked over at Tina. "Want to go with us, T?" Derek asked.
"Sure," Tina said, "I'll be there." They looked over at the jock table and saw a couple of them roughhousing. One of the jocks started wrestling Zeke. Tina wasn't paying attention to the actual roughhousing. Just butts.
"Alright, that's enough you two," a teacher said sternly as he walked over, "save it for practice." The two got up and the one, who was obviously an upperclassman, jokingly smacked Zeke on the back of the head. Zeke looked over his shoulder and saw Tina looking over at them.
"'Sup girl," Zeke said as he laughed nervously, "you goin' to the game tomorrow night?" he asked. Tina nodded. The other jocks jeered and teased Zeke as he talked to a girl and he cringed. "Anyway, I'll see you later." He said as he scurried back to his table and was met with playful punches.
"He likes you." Cara said affirmatively.
Tina shook her head. "No he doesn't."
"He so does," she said as she leaned in, "did you not see the way he looks at you? He's got it bad for you, Tina." Tina groaned and trailed off as she met Jimmy Jr.'s gaze and her heart fluttered ever so slightly, though she did not get weak like she used to. "Oh, I see," Cara said as she crossed her arms, "you still have feelings for Jimmy Jr." Tina blushed and didn't say anything.
Derek looked over at Jimmy Jr. and looked back at Tina. "I mean, I can see why," he said, "but he's taken you for granted in the past. And to add insult to injury he pretends that he doesn't know you. Go for the guy that's not going to string you along."
Tina groaned again, "I don't know." Although she still had some feelings left for Jimmy Jr., they were right. But still. It's Zeke. The kid who lied about needing the Whaler costume for his grandma. The third wheel when Tina invited Jimmy Jr. to potential dates. The Mad Pooper. There was no way that a guy like Zeke would have feelings for anyone, especially Tina.
Tina went home and went straight up to her room instead of going to the restaurant. She set her bag down and face planted on her bed and groaned. She heard a door opening and footsteps walking toward her room. Louise stood in the doorway and looked at her groaning sister. "Okay, T, what's wrong?" she asked. Tina looked up at Louise, who was experiencing her own changes. The bunny ear wearing, anti-puberty, anti-boy sadist was no more. The fifth grader traded in her bunny ears for a hot pink beanie and was starting to experience the first stages of puberty.
"This is bad." She said.
"Okay, scoot over." Louise said as Tina rolled to the side and Louise sat on her bed. "What happened? Did your tampons fall out of your bag again?" She asked half jokingly and half seriously.
"Not this time," Tina sighed, "my friends are convinced someone likes me."
"Well, that's great it's about time. Who is the lucky guy?" She asked.
"Ugh, I don't want to say. Guess." Tina groaned.
"Is it Jimmy Jr.? Jamal? Derek? No, he's gay. Bryce? Jonas? Logan? Darryl? No, he didn't graduate yet. So that just leaves… oh. OH SICK!" Louise exclaimed as she hopped off the bed.
"I know." Tina said as she covered her face. The two of them were quiet for a while.
"Do you like him, too?" Louise asked with one eyebrow raised.
Tina sighed as she sat up. "I don't know." She said. Louise thought about it for a moment.
"I mean it's not surprising because of all of the pet names and junk. He's probably felt that way for a while, but never said anything because he was in Jimmy Jr.'s weird shadow. Not to mention you pined for Jimmy for years. So, you could do worse. Remember when Gene and Courtney dated? Twice?" Tina nodded. "So, if you do decide to get with that grease ball, it's still better than being put last. Like just the other day Rudy and I-" Louise screeched without finishing her sentence.
"Wait, you and Rudy?" Tina asked.
Louise turned bright red and shrieked again. Tina knew she wasn't red because she was angry, but was blushing. "Ugh, you are SICK, Tina! Why would you ever think that!?" Louise stormed out of the room.
It was the night of the first football game and Tina had just finished helping close the restaurant. She met up with her friends and they piled into Cara's car to go to the football field. By the time they got there the stands were full of people. They found seats for four, even though there were three of them, which were close enough to see Katie cheering and Jamal play. Before the game started, Tina heard a familiar voice. "Is this seat taken?" they asked. She looked up and saw it was Zeke.
Tina looked over at her friends, who were grinning, and turned to Zeke. "No, go ahead." She said as he sat down. "I thought you were playing."
"Naw, I'm on JV. Varsity plays tonight." He said as he buried his hands in his pockets.
The game ended and people began making their way home. Zeke walked with Tina to Cara's car, even though there were people walking with her. "Well," Zeke started, "I guess I'll see you on Monday." He said as he kicked up some dirt.
"Are you sure you don't need a ride, Zeke?" Cara asked as her keys jingled in her hand.
Zeke shook his head. "Naw, I'll just walk. Fresh air clears my head. See you around, T-Bird." He said as he waved his hand and walked away.
"O-okay, bye." Tina said awkwardly.