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The excited chaos of regionals was upon us at school. It was evident as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. There was a massive banner cheering on our team, decked out in our school colors. People were wearing their jerseys, grey and yellow splashed all over the school. Even Sugar Maple, our mascot, was stamped all over the place.
Cheers kept breaking out as some of the soccer teammates began chanting one thing or another.
“This is insane,” Micah said, joining me by my car.
“I guess regionals is a big deal,” I said.
Micah chuckled. “Of course you would say that. This is the moment the team has to shine. Seniors go crazy because this is where their chances are to get college scholarships. If I remember Hazel correctly, she said only like five percent of athletes are offered college team spots.”
“I get that,” I said, remembering my competitive days. It wasn’t just about wooing the crowd and judges, it was about wooing the music experts who snuck into the crowds. To show off to them so that more opportunities would open. There were some competitions I only had the chance to be in simply because they saw me at another competition and decided to invite me.
If I had kept up with the competitions, there was no telling where I would be at the moment. My dad and Lindie had high hopes that I could have been one of the best.
I no longer held any interest in finding out.
“Where are the twins?” I asked. “Aren’t they usually at your side these days?”
My question made Micah turn bright red. He cleared his throat and glanced away from me. “They are not.”
“They are too.”
He sighed. “They needed to meet with their volleyball coach.”
I smirked, no longer surprised that he knew. “Right. I nearly forgot they were the stars of the team.”
“It keeps them busy.”
“How is their team doing?”
Micah raised an eyebrow as he opened the door into the building for me. “You really don’t know?” he asked.
“I’ve been really distracted. And I’ve never been able to keep up with the sports and how they’re doing.”
“They actually have a game today. It’s their last one and then next week they’ll have their championships. They’re not doing bad.”
“But sounds like they aren’t doing the best?”
Micah shrugged. “Good enough. If you didn’t know about the volleyball team and you barely even know about soccer, what about football?”
“That’s the game where they toss a leather ball around, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “Now you’re being silly.”
I laughed. “Okay, how are they doing?”
“Terrible, unfortunately.”
“Okay then.”
He shrugged. “Just trying to figure out where you stand in your knowledge about your own school teams.”
“Ask me about music competitions and how our band is doing, and I’ll give you all the knowledge you need. Sports are not my thing. I can barely run down this hallway without getting out of breath.”
“Wait, you know how our band is doing?”
I shrugged. “I like to keep tabs on them. I love music after all. And my teacher, Mrs. Odera, runs that program. I’m happy to announce that they’ll be going to the championship too and have a decent chance to rank well.”
“Why haven’t you joined them before?”
“Mrs. Odera asked me to, but let’s be real. I don’t have the time.”
“If you did, would you have?”
That was a question I never really considered. Would I have joined our band? Most likely. And even to make it weirder to think about, if Dad had been around, I was pretty sure he would have ensured I joined and I would have been happy to do it too.
“Most likely,” I said in a softer voice.
We found a table to claim in the cafeteria, sitting across from each other while we waited for the others to join.
We talked a little bit more about where our teams stood and how they were doing. I didn’t even realize how many others there were, like gymnastics and cross country. We apparently even had a golf team. That one surprised me.
And at the end of this month, we were going to be transitioning into winter sports like swimming. I at least knew that much. Micah gently reminded me that there was also basketball, wrestling, more gymnastics, indoor track and field, and a cheer team.
I almost felt bad for not realizing how many teams we had and how decent many of them were. We’d won some championships, or at least ranked high up there. Granted, we also had some teams that unfortunately struggled to do well.
“Cadence.” A boy wearing a soccer jersey came walking over with a grin on his face.
Micah was on his feet in a moment, eyes narrowed. “Shut your mouth, turn around, and walk away,” he warned.
“I just wanted to say hi.”
“You just did. Now you can walk away.”
“Micah,” I warned, taken aback by his intense reaction. I almost expected him to throw a punch at the poor guy.
He still didn’t look at me, his hands fisted on the table.
The boy looked between us, shrugged, and went back the way he came.
“What the hell was that?” I practically hissed at him.
Micah sat back down. When his dark gaze met mine, it was filled with fury, but also apprehension. Reacting like that couldn’t have been easy. Micah was a nice person at heart. He hated being in opposition to people and tended to shy away from confrontations. Yet, he didn’t hesitate for me.
“I’m not giving anyone a chance anymore when it comes to you. Not after what happened.”
I reached over and squeezed his fisted hand. “Thank you,” I said. “But you don’t need to try to create battles where there isn’t one.”
“You’re wrong, Cadence. I do. Because they need to understand that you aren’t to be touched.”
My throat closed as I realized how all my shit was affecting him. He had been devastated when he realized what had nearly been done to me. So much had happened, all of it out of his control. Micah liked control, liked knowing things were going as they should. So much of his life was watching as things happened to his family and knowing there wasn’t anything he could do. He was forced to watch as his mother got sicker and sicker, as she had to fight to live. He couldn’t do anything as his father struggled to support them, as their family became strained from all the stress and grief. He hated when random acts of life happened and he was powerless to stop it.
“What’s up?” Paxon asked, putting his book bag on the table and joining us.
I jumped slightly, not expecting him. I gave him a wavering smile as my heart thudded against my chest.
“Sorry.” His sheepish smile showed his sincerity.
“We’re talking about Thanksgiving plans,” Micah spoke, effectively making our conversation go in a different direction.
“Oh, what are your current plans?” Paxon asked.
“Current plans? For what?” Toby joined with Bryan and Justin.
“Thanksgiving plans, apparently,” I said, staring at Micah, not happy about the change of topic. There was still more I wanted to say, but I wasn’t about to do that in front of everyone. I made a mental note to talk more with him about what had just happened. For now, I caved and let everyone talk about Thanksgiving instead. I was curious about everyone’s plans anyway since it was only a few weeks away.
“I won’t be around.” Toby looked a bit down. “I’ll be with my parents and brother.”
Right. He lived with his aunt, but his parents lived nearby with his brother. Toby moved in with his aunt to make it easier for his parents after his younger brother was in an accident and became quadriplegic.
“It’ll be good to see him,” Paxon said. “The last time you saw them was at the end of summer, right?”
Toby nodded but didn’t say anything else, opting to frown down at his water bottle instead.
Paxon spoke up next, looking at me. “We don’t spend Thanksgiving together too much,” he explained. “I’ll be with my dad and brother, and some other family from my dad’s side. I know Seth is going to take a trip out to go spend it with his parents. That was one promise he made before his parents moved.”
“Makes sense,” I said, realizing that it seemed everyone already had plans. Where would that leave me? By myself? With my dad? The idea of spending that time alone with my dad didn’t sit well with me.
Bryan scowled. “Fancy family dinner for me with parents and relatives.” He shuddered.
“Not sure,” Justin said. “I usually just make something for Laura and me. She’ll be working Thanksgiving again.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.
“What about you?” Toby asked me. “What do you normally do for Thanksgiving?”
“I haven’t really done anything before. Sometimes Lindie would use it as an opportunity for me to do some kind of charity event. My dad did invite me to go to Vegas and spend it with him.”
“Aw, I was hoping you’d join my family and me,” Micah said. “My mom keeps mumbling about how she’d wish you’d be there.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that. I should have though. In Bayley’s eyes, she had already adopted me. Even offered me a bedroom and place to live so I wasn’t alone. But for some reason, it didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t want to become anyone’s responsibility. I refused to become a burden.
“You know what, both you and Justin can come.” He looked at Justin. “And if your aunt is free, she can join us.”
“We can’t do that to your mom,” I said.
Micah shrugged. “Probably be doing her a favor. We usually have a big dinner with family, but we don’t have any family nearby to join us. It’ll be too quiet with the three of us. You’ll provide a good distraction so she doesn’t miss everyone too much. Unless you wanted to go see your dad instead? In that case, I understand. My invite is still open for Justin.” He sent Justin a wide smile to show he meant it.
Bayley would definitely adopt Justin too.
“I don’t know if I want to go there for Thanksgiving.” I nibbled at my lip as my anxiety grew. “He’s still... I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right to go stay with him for Thanksgiving.”
“He’s still a stranger,” Justin said.
I nodded. He was right. The man was my dad, but I only knew him from when I was a little girl. Not as the current me.
“Think it over. Both of you. I’ll let my mom know I invited you guys so she can prepare. I think she’s already starting to shop. Thanksgiving is huge in my family.” His voice went somber. “It’s one of the holidays we appreciate the most.”
“What kind of spread does she put out?” Paxon asked.
That was enough to get Micah talking for the next while, going on about more dishes than I understood. I knew the staples, like turkey, ham, stuffing, and pies. But he talked about all kinds of casseroles, salads, and a ton of desserts.
Toward the end, when the bell was about to ring for us all to go to homeroom, the cafeteria broke out into a chant, clapping to the beat.
‘Trilec High,
Time to fly’
Over and over again, it was chanted. First starting with cheerleaders standing near a table of soccer players, but it quickly spread out to all of the cafeteria as the excitement spread like fire to everyone else. Even Toby and Micah got into it, cheering along with everyone else.
I kept a smile plastered on my face, letting the beat of it thump against my chest. The team and everyone all around were hyper. Confidence spread to everyone as the room got louder and louder.
I glanced at Paxon and my smile slipped away.
He wasn’t chanting with his own teammates. He wasn’t even smiling. He just sat still and watched his teammates as they hyped each other.
It felt too wrong. He was their captain. He should be in the midst of this, letting this tidal wave of passion wash him away.
He blinked and met my gaze with his own. Something in it was challenging. And sad. Too sad for me to be able to react. I could only sit there and stare back at him as his whole team hyped up the entire cafeteria for the weekend’s tournament.
