Free Snitch by Kat Kirst

spent the next hour tangled in her soft lips and strawberry hair.
    Of course, I didn’t want the movie to end, but it did. The four of us walked across the parking lot to the pizza place just like we had done a few weeks before. Kate and Jason chattered on about the movie, about how unrealistic, how exciting, or how funny parts of it were. They didn’t ask me about my opinion too often , which was good because to tell the truth I didn’t see much of the movie.
    Over pizza , Jason talked on and on about the film and then compared it to others he had seen, but I didn’t pay much attention to that either. I was still thinking about Liz, and by looking at her I think she was thinking about me too.
    Maybe I was falling in love with her.
    That night when I walked her to the door, I didn’t care that Dad was in the car watching. I didn’t care that her parents might be looking out the front window where the curtain was suddenly parted. I didn’t care that Kate and Jason were still in the back seat of the car. I kissed Liz long and hard before she opened her front door and left me standing on her front step wishing I could kiss her again.
    ***
    “How was the movie?” Mom asked as soon as I walked in the front door.
    “Just okay.”
    “Just okay?” Her knowing eyes traveled from me to Dad and back to me again.
    “Can you be more specific?” Dad asked.
    “Parts of it were pretty unrealistic,” I said, quoting Jason. “But some of it was pretty funny.”
    Then I had a whole discussion about a movie I hadn’t paid more than two minutes of attention to. I had Jason and Kate to thank for being able to do that; a ll the highlights they had brought up over pizza came in pretty handy at that moment with Mom and Dad.

 
#hallway drama
    I love pep rally days. I think the teachers know we aren’t very focused, so they don’t expect much from us in class. By the last period of the day, they kind of give up trying to teach because half the class has to leave early for band or cheerleading or to suit up.
    When the assembly starts it’s crazy. The band plays and everyone sits with their friends, talking and laughing. The cheerleaders strut out looking fine, and everything kicks into gear to the beat of the drums and cymbals.
    The crowd roars , j ust like on TV. It roars. Only when we do a pep rally, one of the people they are roaring for is me. I am one of the people in the center of the gym, and if somebody in the school didn’t know who I was , after the pep rally they do.
    Pep rallies are unbelievable.
    Our rally was Wednesday , seventh period , because we were playing Thursday night . We were tied with Nolanville for first place, and the game was set for our home court, so I knew the stands would be filled. With the district championships hanging in the balance, I couldn’t wait.
    The cheerleaders were busy running around like they always do, but this time it was different. They had been rehearsing some special cheer, which I thought Chrissy probably had a lot to do with since she was busy bossing everybody around and organizing these big signs they had p ainted on poster board. She kept checking them and double - checking them, so I knew it was important to her.
    The band was playing our fight song, and kids were stomping on the bleachers in time with the music. My heart was pumping as we all high-fived one another and got ready to run out on the court where the whole school would cheer us. The cheerleaders strung out a piece of long, green paper and held it so when Coach announced us , we could run through it. Even though it was torn in half by the time I got to it, I held out my arms and managed to snag a piece of it as I faced the wall of screaming, cheering faces who were doing it all for me.
    Above the cheers , Coach said some great things about our team, introduced each one of us by name, and gave our team stats: Eight and One. It was impressive, but I wondered if everyone’s stomach lurched a little when they