I know. I ran out of time, I also know that it is now almost Easter, but I'm deciding to pull these back up and finish writing and posting them.
-owl
"You guys gotta come to the football game," Fridge begged as he walked into the school building with Martha, Spencer, and Bethany one Friday morning. "It's the last game of the regular season, and it's our senior year."
Bethany shrugged. "I've been at all the home games this year, and I was planning on going to this one already."
Fridge smiled. "Thank you, Bethany. Maybe these two will join you in the stands," he said pointedly, looking directly at Spencer.
"It's going to be cold, though," Martha said, crossing her arms as though she was already cold.
"So bring a blanket," Fridge suggested.
"Or, better yet," Bethany put in, grinning, "bring Spencer and just sit really close together."
"What if I said I don't like watching football?" Spencer asked, Martha nodding in agreement next to him.
Fridge sighed. "Spencer, you pushed me out of a helicopter into the path of a stampeding herd of rhinos. I died from that, I think you'll survive one single football game."
Spencer sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll go, but only if Martha does."
All three of them looked at Martha.
"Ok, whatever, I guess I'll go. But someone is bringing me a large, hot, coffee."
That night, at six forty, Bethany pulled up in front of Spencer's house. After sitting in the car for a minute, she honked the horn twice. Then, finally, Spencer exited his house, a large travel mug in his hands. He was wearing his regular, yellow, jacket, with the hood up. A scarf was wrapped around his neck.
"Hey," he said as he sat down in the passenger seat.
"Hi, Spencer."
"What time does the game start?"
Looking at her watch, Bethany responded with a rushed tone. "The game starts at seven. We still need to go get Martha, so it'll be tight."
Spencer nodded and Bethany was tearing away from his house before he had the time to properly buckle his seat belt. From his house, it was a five minute drive to Martha's, then a ten minute drive to the high school.
The car was quiet as Bethany drove them to Martha's house. When they turned onto Martha's street, Bethany could see the other girl standing by the road, waiting for them. She had on a winter coat, and still seemed to be shivering. Draped over her shoulder were two blankets, and on her head was a knit hat with a pom-pom on the top.
As soon as the car stopped, Martha practically launched herself into it, desperately clutching the blankets so they wouldn't be caught in the door.
"Hey, Martha!" Bethany greeted her. Sorry to make you wait so long, I got caught in traffic on the way to Spencer's, then he took a while to come outside. I hope you're not too cold."
Martha shrugged. "I'm sure I'll warm up on the way to the game. And I do have two blankets with me."
Bethany laughed as they drove away from Martha's house. "I'm glad you have a positive outlook, M!"
They arrived at the football stadium only seven minutes later, Bethany able to shave nearly three minutes off their travel time by taking turns quickly and taking more yellow lights than she really should have.
"Remind me to never let you drive when there's a chance we'll be late ever again," Martha muttered when they piled out of the car.
Bethany looked betrayed. "What did I do so wrong?" She asked, her voice a mix of outrage and amusement.
"The amount of yellow lights you ran nearly gave me a heart attack," Martha responded.
"Oh," Spencer said, holding out the travel mug to Martha. "I brought you coffee, Martha."
Accepting the mug from him, Martha gave Spencer a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."
Even though they were arriving so close to the kick off, there was a long line winding away from the ticket booth. By sheer luck, the three friends were able to get in just as the game started.
"Come on!" Bethany exclaimed, grabbing Martha's hand and dragging her towards the home stands, Spencer trying to keep up behind them.
They chose seats at the top of the bleachers, in line with the fifty yard line. Facing the stands they sat, Bethany, Martha, and Spencer. Or, rather, Martha and Spencer sat. Bethany was standing, throwing her arms in the air, cheering for their team.
Martha, though, had her coffee in her hands and was sitting leaning against Spencer, his left arm around her. Covering them were the two blankets that she had brought.
"Are you warm enough?" Spencer asked, looking down at Martha.
She nodded. "Yes. This is perfect. Thanks again for the coffee. I think I'm still going to make Fridge get me one, though."
Spencer laughed. "That sounds like a plan."
The entirety of the first half, Bethany stood to cheer, yelling for Fridge to this or that. The second half, though, she sat down, complaining her throat was sore and her feet hurt.
"Final score!" The man in the announcer's box spoke through the loudspeakers, echoing slightly throughout the stadium. "Brantford 21, Newbury 20!"
Then the stands broke out in tumultuous applause. Feet were stomping, hands were clapping.
"Let's go find Fridge," Bethany said, grabbing her stuff and making her way down the bleachers, towards the field.
Their path to the field was not as straightforward as Martha and Spencer were hoping. They had to get around parents, and little siblings. Bags and discarded blankets were strewn in the pathways as well.
When they made it onto the field, Fridge made his way directly to the three of them, a huge grin on his face. His jersey had a fine layer of mud on it, the field still being wet from the previous day's rain.
"So, you did come, after all," he said as a way of greeting, pulling Bethany into a hug. "Did you have fun?"
Bethany shook her head. "We were running late so we were at the very top of the stands, you probably didn't hear me cheering. I had fun, but, while Martha and Spencer were watching the game, I doubt they retained anything from it."
"They came, that's good enough for me."