2 2. The Star

The summer months flew by in a blur. It was a whirlwind romance. They studied together, ate together, played together and spent way too much time talking on the phone when they were apart. The number of days before school started dwindled down to nothing and soon he had to return to school early for football practice.

He let her come watch practice but it didn't calm her fear that things were going to change. The end of their summer was an end of an era and she felt an emptiness she couldn't quite shake even though he was hers again after practice ended.

During one such practice session she stood by the fence that encircled the football field and looked out longingly at the players. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over to see a girl with long curly red hair standing behind her with a camera around her neck. She was holding out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Sheryl. I'm with yearbook. Are you a cheerleader?" she shook the Sheryl's hand while shaking her head no.

"Hi, I'm Deja, "she responded, "No, I'm not a cheerleader. I'm Jeremiah's girlfriend."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, THE Jeremiah? Jeremiah McKenzie?"

Deja didn't get what the big deal was, "Um, yeah. Why?"

"And you're NOT a cheerleader?"

"Again, no," Deja laughed, "I guess I'm a nobody."

The girl squeezed her eyes closed, tilted her head back and laughed heartedly.

"Nobody! You're the star quarterback's girlfriend!"

"What?!"

"And he's dating a freshman! WOW!"

"I'm not a freshman. I'm a junior."

"Really? Sorry. I thought you were new. I've never seen you around here before."

"I moved here during the summer."

"So, you're the new girl and you're already dating Jeremiah McKenzie?" Sheryl's eyes almost popped out of her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not from the States. What is a "star quarterback"?

"Yes, I hear it. You have a deep accent. I'm so clueless sometimes. It's beautiful. What is it, French?"

Deja nodded but was getting a little annoyed because her question had been ignored.

"Oh, Sorry!" Sheryl realized her mistake, "He didn't teach you about American football?"

"No," Deja's shoulders slumped as she recalled the fact that he hadn't mentioned football until he had to go back for practice. She watched their plays and did notice that he seemed to always start off having the ball but she hadn't put things together that he was some kind of star at it.

"Aw, sweetie," said Sheryl as everything came together for her, "He was being modest. He's always been like that. He's a big deal here at GH. He's taken us through two State championships and singlehandedly won us a buttload of games."

Deja frowned, "How long does American football last?"

Just then Jeremiah excused himself from the coaches and sauntered over.

"What's up, babe" he looked at Deja then Sheryl and nodded in her direction, "Acosta."

Sheryl put her hand on her hip, "You didn't tell her anything about football?"

"She didn't ask." He replied curtly.

"But you gotta tell her about all the times-"

"Don't you have pictures to take?" he said annoyed.

"Uh. Yeah, sure." Realizing she wasn't quite welcomed, "Well, here take my card. Since you aren't a cheerleader or anything, we'd love you on yearbook."

She handed Deja a card on white stock with a glossy back that had candid shots of teenagers from the school on it. She couldn't help but notice the assorted shots which were different sizes had a larger shot of a football player in action holding a ball with the same number as Jeremiah's on his chest. The other side had Sheryl's name and number.

Feeling meek all of a sudden, she stuffed the card in her purse and said, "Thanks." Not meeting her eyes.

"No problem." Sheryl looked the girl over again, a little bit concerned as she wondered what else she didn't know about her boyfriend.