Better Off Friends

Levi held his arms out, his focus clear.

He jumped up slightly and caught the ball. He hesitated for a second, probably shocked that the ball was safe in his arms. He turned around and sprinted to the end zone.

The stands erupted in applause while the remaining players arrived in the end zone to celebrate their victory.

Adam and I hugged each other. We hugged the people next to us. I made my way over to Levi’s mom and dad.

“That was amazing!” I said as Dr. Rodgers picked me up.

Celebrating with Levi’s parents felt right. They were like my family — that hadn’t changed. I knew we’d get back to the place we once were. You don’t just toss family aside.

I glanced down at the field. Stacey ran over with the other cheerleaders and joined in the commotion. He quickly kissed her before the team hoisted him up.

Levi was beaming. This was all he ever wanted: to be part of a team. One of the guys.

The elation I felt quickly evaporated. While I knew I should be happy for him, I had to face the truth.

I knew right then that I had lost him for good.

It’s truly amazing what wi

I texted Levi after the game on Friday to congratulate him and never heard back. I saw him in the parking lot at school that Monday morning and gave him a wave, but he was too busy being the athletic stud he’d always dreamed of to notice me.

The entire school kept talking about it as if we’d never won a football game before. Nobody seemed to remember that it had been an extremely boring game for the first three quarters. Apparently, the last twenty seconds were the only thing that mattered. Had that play happened with two minutes left, we would’ve already moved on to something else.

And yes, I was being a horrible friend for not being more excited for Levi, but were we even friends anymore? We hadn’t talked in weeks. He had bigger (in no way better) people to spend his time with.

My a

I reminded myself that only a small percentage of their team would end up playing sports in college, and an even smaller percentage would go on to become professional athletic egomaniacs, if any at all. So at most, Keith would sit around twenty years from now, fat and balding, recounting the glory days of his high school athletic career.

I wanted to believe, at least hope, that my best years were ahead of me. It would be too depressing to fathom if high school was as good as it got.

“Hey, Macallan,” Keith sang out to me.

I grimaced as I passed by.

“Oh, it must be someone’s time of the month.” Keith snickered. “You’ve got to have that marked on your calendar, right, California? Can’t imagine you want to be near her when that hits.”

First, ew. Second, was that the best Keith could come up with for a reason to not be pleased as punch to talk to him? It couldn’t be that he was a complete tool, so it must be a womanly function.

I stopped in the hallway. I should’ve ignored him and kept going, but I wasn’t in the mood for his crap today.

“Is that the best you got?” I spat out.

The three of them stopped, and all of them turned around except Levi. Who muttered something about ignoring me.

Keith smirked at me. “Oh, I’ve got much more, but I don’t think you could handle it.”

Keith was used to getting what he wanted. And in that moment, I wanted to get under his skin. To have someone else feel dejected for a change.

“Believe me, Keith, I’m sure I can handle it just fine, since you apparently only know about women from what you find out in health class. So try me.”

Tim did that “oh” thing guys do when they try to one up each other. “She did not just say that.” He was laughing. Levi remained motionless.

Keith was not as amused. “Honestly, Macallan, I’ve so got you outnumbered in terms of intelligence.”

That was laughable.

Seeing his smug face infuriated me so much. He’d taken Levi away from me, and I wasn’t going to be so easy on him this time.

I leaned in toward him. “You do know that a D on a paper is not for dope job, yo, right?”

Keith sized me up, and then a smile slowly spread across his face, like he knew he’d gotten me. But there was no way Keith was going to get me. As a date, in an argument, ever.

“Well, yeah.” Then he slurred his voice. “I’m not part retard.”

I was stu

I walked a few steps closer. Levi took a few steps back. “Excuse me — would you care to repeat that?” I was convinced that even Keith wouldn’t stoop so low.

He bent his arms up toward his collarbone and let his wrists go limp so his hands were dangling. He collapsed his legs together at the knees and started to walk like he had a disability. “I don’t know, can I? What’s repeat mean?”

Before I could understand my movements, I pushed Keith. Hard. He stepped back a few inches. Then he laughed. Which angered me more.

“Macallan.” Levi grabbed my arm. “Calm down.”

I shoved him away. “No, I will not calm down. And how are you going to stand here like that when he’s making fun of my uncle, who, need I remind you, has been nothing but kind to you? Has never said a bad word about anybody? Who certainly would never be so cruel as to make fun of somebody?” My voice started to crack. I could feel my entire body start to shake.

“God.” Keith looked shocked at my behavior. “I’m sorry, Macallan. I thought you could take a joke.”

“Do you find this fu

His face became as hard as my voice. “You think you’re so tough and above it all, don’t you? But guess what. Just because your mom’s dead doesn’t mean you can be such a bitch.”

A rage I could not describe, one that I hadn’t felt in years, overtook my body. Even though I could see that the second those words left his mouth, he regretted them, it was too little, too late. Keith could say what he wanted about me, but how dare he bring up my mom.

I wanted to shut him up. And I did that the only way I knew how.

He wasn’t lucky like Levi to get a kiss from me.

Instead, I tightened up my fists and hit him right in the kisser.

Keith, Mr. Athlete Extraordinaire, was knocked onto his butt.

I towered over him. “You say one more word to me ever again about my family, and I will not be so gentle.”

I turned on my heel and came face-to-face with Mr. Matthews, the gym teacher.

“Miss Dietz, I think you need to come to the office, and that goes for you gentlemen as well.”

“She attacked me!” Keith cried out.

“That’s enough, Mr. Simon.” Mr. Matthews stepped in between us. “Don’t think I didn’t hear what you were saying.”

The four of us followed Mr. Matthews to the office. I was put in a separate room from them. I knew I was in trouble. I knew my flawless school record was in jeopardy. But I didn’t care. I was angry. I was mad at the world. And why shouldn’t I have been? I’d had the most important thing taken away from me without explanation. There were times where I was able to be strong. Many instances where I could pretend that everything was fine.