The students roared with excitement, waiting for us to showcase what we were bringing this year. The September air was blowing, keeping the football players cool. It was around 8, so the sky was already a dark blue color. It was halftime, so the cheerleaders were allowed to go out on the field and tumble. We huddled together, the material of our uniforms keeping us warm.

“Okay, anyone who wants to tumble needs to make a line out on the field,” said our captain.

Immediately, I began to panic. I’ve always wanted to tumble at a game, but I never did. I will this

year though. No more letting Peter outdo me. I follow the ones heading to the field, eager to do

my best. We lineup, Taylor first­ since she’s the captain­ followed by Sarah, Laney, Peter, then

myself.

“Hey Hattie,” Peter whispers, nudging me in the arm. I stare at him with vengeance in my eyes.

“Are you scared?” he asks. I roll my eyes in annoyance, looking at the Paragould football players

behind me. I take a deep breath, the stench of sweat drenched boys filling my nostrils.

Ooh! I see him! There sits #5, waving at me. I smile sheepishly and wave back. He’s the one

that watched me warm up earlier. Now I’ve really gotta step up my game. I need to impress him.

“Pshh. No, I’m not scared,” I say, more to myself than to him. I turn my attention to the front of

our line where Laney just landed her roundoff double back handspring. My stomach begins to

tighten, the feeling of anxiety making me sick. My inner Hattie begins to argue with me.

Oh, crap I can’t do this.

Yes, yes you can!

No,I seriously can’t.

Oh, but you will today.

What if I fall? What if everyone laughs at me!

Listen, get your stomach out of your butt and tumble! Tumble like your life depends on it.

What about Peter? He’s better than me.

Hattie, I’m about to punch you. Wait, then you’d be punching yourself. Just­ nevermind.

I breath in deeply, waiting for my humiliation to drown me. Peter steps forward, and then he

stops, looking back at me.

“Peter, go!” I yell.

“Come up here so you can tumble beside me,” he says. Is he crazy? He’s trying to embarrass

me. Without thinking about it, I step up beside him, putting a good 3 feet in between us. We both

glance at each other, counting in unison. Mosquitos bite at my calves and the bad aftertaste of

nachos dance on my tongue.

I’m pretty sure that he’s gonna do amazing. He’s going to do like 7 backhandsprings and a tuck,

maybe even a layout. I’m stuck with my basic round off triple backhandspring.

“5,6,7,8...”

We step off together, adrenaline coursing through our veins. The cold wind nips at our skin. I

throw my first flip, then forcefully throw myself into my second and third. Before I know it, I’m on

my feet and listening to the cheers of my fellow teammates. My vision blurs and tiny, black dots

prance before my eyes.

My head feels light and the sudden grip of a hand on my shoulder startles me. Ah, it’s just Peter.

“We killed it Hattie,” he says. The corners of my mouth curve up and I thank him. He pulls me

into a bear hug, cutting off all oxygen from my lungs. I tug at the bottom of his uniform top,

signaling for him to free him.

Annis appears on my left side, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from Peter.

“Hattie! You and Peter planned that!” Wait, huh? I stare at her with confusion written clear on my

face.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Peter was supposed to do his tuck, but you both did a round off three,” she tells me. My heart

skips a beat.

“Nuhuh!” I squeal in awe. No, he did not do that. He didn’t outdo me for once.

Next thing I know, I’m running at the speed of light and crash into Peter. I hug him tightly, pull

back, and hug him again.

“Thank you Peter.” I yell, smiling so big that my cheeks hurt. He tries his best to give me his

serious face, failing miserably.

“Hey, this was a one time thing. But you’re welcome,” he says. He grins and I turn to walk away.

I’m only three feet away before Peter shouts at me.

“I’m still better than you!” He screams. I smile to myself.

I say, “Yeah, whatever!”

“I love you Hattie!” He says.

“Mhmm! Love you too!”

The football players begin to run onto the field as I’m making my way back to my team. The

strong smell of body odor and the KFC/Taco Bell down the road makes my nose burn.

“Hey! Hey you!” I turn around to see #5 from Paragould. I stand there, probably looking like an

idiot. He jogs up to me, taking off his helmet. HOLY MOTHER OF ZKSDFG! This boy is fine! His

dirty blond hair sticks to his forehead, slightly covering his hazel eyes.

“Yes?” I say, trying to keep my voice from sounding too stupid.

“I’m Jackson. I uh, saw you earlier. You did really good.” He says, scratching the back of his

head. Aww! He’s nervous. I smile with confidence.

“Thanks! You’re not so bad yourself out there on that field.” I say. A whistle shrieks in the

distance, indicating that it was time for Jackson to return to his coach. He glances behind him,

then takes a step towards me.

“I’ll talk to you after the game?” He asks. Umph, he’s so cute.

“Yeah, right after we kick your butt.” I say. With that being said, I walk away, returning to the

eagerly waiting cheerleaders whom were spying on me.

“Ooooh! Hattie!”

“Get it girl!”

“Lawd, he fine.”

“Traitor!”