I watched the team line up, and Jake Peters counted his steps away from the tee. The stumpy bald ref blew his whistle to begin the game. Peters put his left arm in the air, sprinted at the ball, pointed his left toe towards the ground, and kicked the ball as hard as he could.

I could feel the adrenaline in the crowd and the people sitting next to me in the stands. I watched the couples sitting in front of me, cuddling under their blankets. The aroma of hot chocolate and popcorn filled the air. All I could hear is the cheerleaders yelling and the crowd chanting along with them.

I'm a senior at my homecoming game, and I'm still in the same position I was my freshman year, watching my classmates chant '07 while I sit there silently. The cheerleaders began chanting, “B-E aggressive, B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.”

At that moment all I could focus on was Emily Schwartz, her long blonde hair pulled away from her face with her bangs falling over her right eye.
***

The first day of freshman year when I was roaming the bland unfamiliar halls, Emily stepped out of her group clumped in the middle of the hall to talk to me. She asked with a big smile on her face, “Do you need any help? I can point you in the direction of your class.”

I suttered back, “I-I think I know where I'm going.”

She just smiled and walked away.
***


Now when I watch her standing on the track, I can only think of that moment. Too bad she's the stereotypical cheerleader, dating the star quarterback and won't even give a glance to the nerdy boy. If only I was the quarterback, I could be the popular guy dating the flawless head cheerleader.

That was when I decided I wanted a change. When there was two minutes left in the second quarter I walked over to the bushes behind our scoreboard. A song began playing that was completely unfamiliar to me. I could see the cheerleaders starting their routine, and I began getting butterflies in my stomach. I started running towards the cheerleaders standing on the field. This is when I heard a shout from the crowd, “He's naked!”

I sprinted right in front of the cheerleaders, and by this point they were all standing completely still, not believing what was happening. I shot a glance at Emily, gave her a little smirk, and kept running. When I got to the twenty yard line, I saw the principal and two cops running towards me. I knew I was caught, so I just stopped where I was and put my hands above my head.

The next day of school that's all I heard about. All the guys high fiving me as I walked through the halls and the girls giggling, “Hey, stud.”

This was the most attention I had gotten in a long time. Between third hour and fourth hour Emily walked up to my locker. “I saw your little prank you pulled; it was very brave,” she said with a smile on her face.

I replied, “Yeah, I don't know what made me do it, I guess I thought the game could use some humor.”

“It was the funniest thing that has happened at this boring school in a while. I'm having a party this Friday; you should definitely come, you'll be the life of the party.”

She walked down the hall towards her next class, glanced over her shoulder, gave me a smile, and kept walking.

I just got invited to my first party, and whatever punishment they give me, it was totally worth it. I finally made the change that I wanted to for so long; maybe my senior year will be something to remember. In my next class the school secretary, Mrs. Stewart came into my class with a slip of paper, pointed at me, and walked out of the room. My teacher called me up to the front of the class, and as soon as I got out of my seat, everyone started clapping and cheering. The slip told me to go to the office, I just smiled, bowed at the class and walked out the door.