Hate Every Beautiful Day
Chapter 13
By: Makena
Another Friday, another football game. It was an away game this time, and Benji had to fess up to his mom about him joining the football team so she would let him take the bus. The game was an hour away in Annapolis, and Benji just wanted to go home.Instead, he got dressed in the guest locker room and joined the team for stretches and warm-ups on the field. He took a spot on the field next to Aaron again, simply because Aaron was the only person Benji could tolerate.
On the field, anybody was tolerable, but off the field and after the game - that was a different story.
"Second football game, Benj," Aaron said, stretching his legs out. "Nervous?"
"No," Benji replied simply and truthfully.
"I would be."
Benji frowned and copied Aaron's stretches.
"Why?" Aaron jerked his head towards the stands where "guests" were seated. Benji scanned the crowd for a moment before realizing what it was he had been looking for. Someone - or a couple of some ones - had taken a large white strip of paper and cut out "Benji for President" in red bubble letters.
"Benji for President..." Benji said in a low whisper. "What the hell?" Aaron laughed and stood up.
"And you're going to love who's holding it, too," he said, pointing back up towards the stands. Benji looked and groaned. Holding the sign and dressed quite unusually - unusually for a football game, anyway - stood Billy, Nicole and Shannon, with Paul, John and Brian to one side and Makena to the other.
"Agh!" Benji cried, but his scream was drowned out by the whistle. "Why won't they just leave me alone?! WHY?!"
-----
"I'm bored."
"I told you we shouldn't have come to a stupid football game."
"Does anybody have any money? I'm hungry."
"No food - you’re holding the sign."
"I hate this!"
"Everybody SHUT UP!"
Everyone stopped bickering and shouting as Nicole tried to shut them all up. A couple of people that weren't in their group looked in their direction, but only for a moment, before cheering for their own kid on the football field.
"We're not here to eat or complain about being at a stupid football game we shouldn't have come to. We're here to support Benji."
"Doesn't he have a jock strap or something?" Paul asked. Nicole frowned, a little freaked out Paul had asked something like that.
"What?" she asked. Shannon and Makena snickered from behind her.
"Doesn't he have a jock strap? You know... something to support him...?"
"You're sick," Nicole said, trying not to laugh. "And that's NOT what I meant."
"Sure, sure."
"Okay, you and Billy go get something to eat. Makena, help Shannon and me hold the sign."
"I," Makena corrected. "Shannon and I."
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Mr. Lantz." Makena shrugged and moved over on the bleachers so she could hold the sign.
"Hey... it's 20 - 16. When'd we score extra points?" Nicole asked.
"I think somewhere between I'm hungry and I hate this," Shannon replied. "I don't know how, though."
"I'm so confused," Makena said in mock confusion. "I actually don't really get it." "I don't think the ball can touch the ground," Nicole said.
"And if you get tackled, the whistle blows," Shannon added.
"And a touchdown is six points," Makena finished. "I still don't think I get it."
"Eh... me neither," Shannon admitted.
They looked out over the game again, just in time to see number 14 pass the ball to Benji, who ran like hell and made a touchdown.
"For a guy who doesn't care and isn't social, he's a good football player," Shannon admitted. Nicole and Makena nodded in agreement.
"I wonder why?"
-----
The game was over. Another win, thanks to Benji. The final score was 32 - 20. But Benji could have cared less. People danced around them and congratulated them and kissed them. Benji ignored it - all of it - and headed down to the showers. Despite the fact he didn't enjoy showering in front of a bunch of guys, he needed a shower. And he brought his swim trunks.
"Good game, Combs," the coach yelled happily as Benji passed him. "Good game!" Benji shrugged. He didn't feel the need to plaster fake emotions on his face when he didn't feel the way he was supposed to feel. Tricking people was just as low as hitting a girl in Benji's eyes. Benji got to the guest locker room and quickly changed into his swim trunks before anybody could walk in. He took his shower quickly while people slowly began to file in and changed in a bathroom stall.
"Hey! Combs!" Benji groaned and turned around to see the brown haired boy. This was one of those "different stories" that happened off field.
"What?" Benji asked, shoving whatever parts of his uniform he could fit into the duffel bag he had been given.
"Why'd you join the football team?" Benji frowned at the question.
"Not that it's any of your business," Benji began. "But it’s my gym credit."
"You should have just taken gym," the boy sneered. "We were doing better without you."
"Dude... we won," a different boy spoke up.
"So?" the brown haired boy shot. "Without Combs, we probably could have gotten 40 points!"
"Probably," Benji said with a shrug. "If you're trying to insult me, you're not, because I don't WANT to play football. I just HAVE to. Insult me, harass me, I don't give a damn. Because I don't care."
"That's because you're a weak little bastard who couldn't play football if he wanted to..."
"Back off, Jason," Aaron warned.
"And you," Benji said, turning on Aaron. "I don't need you to keep sticking up for me. I can defend myself."
"I'm just trying to help."
"Well don't. I've gotten this far in life without anybody's help, I'm sure I can make it without it now."
He grabbed his duffel bag and hopped over the bench before walking out towards the bus. He kicked his duffel bag and was about to retrieve it when a car pulled up in front of him.
"Hey! Hey Benji!"
Benji groaned and looked through the window. Nicole. Shannon and Paul were crammed in the first seat, while John, Brian, Makena and Billy were stuffed into the back.
'Why can't they just leave me alone?' he thought miserably, bending down to pick his duffel bag up.
"Need a lift home?" Nicole asked.
Benji looked over at how many people were stuffed in her car again and shook his head.
"I'm riding the bus," he said.
"Oh, let us give you a lift," Nicole insisted. "We're gonna go get something to eat first, and..."
"I have to ride the bus," Benji repeated.
"We'll kidnap you, then," Nicole said. "You don't really wanna ride the bus with those people, do you?"
Benji hesitated, weighing his options. Sit on a bus seat, in his OWN seat, half asleep with a bunch of people that he hated, and hated him in return, or ride in Nicole's car for an hour, where there were already four people in the back and three in the front.
"Fine," he groaned, walking towards Nicole's car. Nicole grinned and jumped out so she could unlock the trunk for him to put his duffel bag in.
"Good game, by the way," she said. "Our team is doing so much better now that you're on it."
Benji laughed to himself as he piled into the back, watching Makena climb onto Brian's lap for extra space.
'I've cursed the team, but I've made it better,' he thought as Nicole drove out of the parking lot.