A Sudden Romance
by Melanie Brown
Copyright  © 2022 Melanie Brown

Tom decided to fill in for his sister

 

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“Hey Tommy!” shouted a familiar voice off to my left. “You’re going the wrong way!” I looked over and saw my friend Paul Conway holding his helmet but otherwise suited up for football practice. I felt tiny whenever I stood next to him.

I looked over at him with a questioning expression. I shouted back, “Hey Paul. What’s up?”

He grinned and said, “Your house is back that way. You’re heading back to school.”

I took a few steps over towards him and said, “Oh yeah. I’m going to cheerleader practice.”

Paul narrowed his eyes and asked, “Seriously? They have boy cheerleaders at school now?”

Before I could answer, his coach shouted, “Conway! Focus. I’ve told you guys, girlfriends come after practice.” Several of the team laughed.

Paul shrugged at me and turned back to face his team. I sighed at the coach’s comments suggesting I was Paul’s girlfriend. I get it a lot. Of course, I’m hardly anybody’s girlfriend as I’m not a girl. The confusion comes from the fact that I look exactly, and I mean exactly like my twin sister. I could end some of the confusion by getting a haircut instead of growing it out as long as hers. But if I had done that, I probably wouldn’t be heading to cheerleader practice. I’m sure some confusion came from the fact that Paul dated my sister last year.

My sister Cynthia, besides being a straight A student, a cheerleader, all round busybody and heartbreaker is also a would be actor. She auditioned for and incredibly got a part in a movie. Not just as an extra, but a speaking role. She’ll be gone for the next several months. Mom went with her as she’s under eighteen and left me stuck with a grumpy dad.

Having a sudden hole in the cheerleading squad, the coach approached me to fill in for my sister. I fit her uniform perfectly, our hair’s the same length and color. All the girls on the squad are okay with it as long as I don’t use the girls restrooms.

As I entered the gym, the coach frowned at me. “You’re late.”

I looked at my feet for a moment. “Sorry, coach. I had to run home and change into my workout clothes. You only asked me to fill in for Cynthia this morning.”

Coach shrugged. “Oh. Well that’s true. It’s okay this time. But let me suggest that for the rest of this week, or really however long we need you, bring your sister’s workout outfit in a carry bag and leave it in your locker during the day. You can change in my office.”

Cathy, the cheer captain, with arms folded, stood next to the coach. “Coach. Tommy needs a different name. Tommy’s not a good girls name.”

Coach studied me a moment and then said, “How about we just stick with Cynthia? They look exactly alike.”

I shook my head vigorously. “No. No. I don’t want to be my sister. And I don’t want all her old boyfriends hitting on me.”

Coach chuckled. “They might anyway.”

Ashley, who was sitting on the gym floor said, “How about Tammy? Tammy. Tommy. Close enough.”

I said, “I can handle that.”

Coach clapped her hands once and said, “Tammy it is. Okay, Tammy. Let’s do a mini-tryout just to make sure you got what it takes.”

I smiled at the coach. “Bring it on.”

For the next twenty minutes, Coach and Cathy ran me through the wringer, doing tumbles and going through the list of cheers. I should know how to do all this as Cynthia usually asked me to do her at home practices with her. At first, she was uncomfortable doing the exercises by herself.

When the coach and Cathy finished running me though all the routines, Coach said, “That was excellent, Tammy! Watching you perform, if I hadn’t known better, I’d swear I was watching Cynthia. Congratulations, Tammy. You’re officially in the squad.”

Cathy came up and hugged me. “Welcome to the squad, Tammy. Come on everyone. Let’s welcome our new girl.” All the cheerleaders came up to me and gave me a hug. I could get used to this.

Coach said, “Okay, girls. We don’t have much time left today, so let’s have a run through on our skit for the pep rally.” I stood to one side, not sure of what to do. Coach turned to me and said, “Tammy. You get to sit out this Friday for the skit. Be thinking of an idea for a skit next Friday. Okay, girls. Let’s go.”

I sat up on the bleachers that hadn’t been rolled the way against the wall and watched them go through the skit a number of times. It was funny, but of course had to poke fun at the opposing team’s cheerleaders. I think the plan is to get the two biggest and hairiest football players to play the opposing cheerleaders. Naturally, I had to come onboard for the big game against the Admirals, the team on the other side of town. Our team had managed to lose one of the first three games of the year.

After the skit, Coach had us all practice our cheers and tumbles. Being a cheerleader, while a lot of work, is also a lot of fun. I actually enjoyed the practice. Of course, it’s just my first day. We went a little late as it was totally dark outside. The squad congratulated me again for joining the squad and we all walked out of the school by the gym’s exit.

I looked around at the darkened school grounds where only a few lights tried to dispel the gloom. Football practice must have already ended. The field was empty.

“Tommy!” I jumped at a voice in the dark.

Stepping into some light, I saw it was Paul. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I wasn’t scared,” I lied. “You just surprised me standing in the dark like that.”

Paul grinned and said, “Sorry. You guys were taking forever to finish. I wanted to offer you a ride home so you didn’t have to walk home in the dark.”

I grunted an embarrassed laugh. “That’s nice of you, Paul. But it’s not that far of a walk and it’s nice out.”

Paul looked serious. “Remember that girl that was attacked about this time a few weeks ago?”

I untied my pony tail and let my hair flow around my shoulders. “That was a different neighborhood. And I’m not a girl.” I jerked my head to toss my hair over my shoulder.

Sounding earnest, Paul said, “I insist Tommy. It just isn’t safe out at night by yourself.”

I gave up and said, “You win. I’ll ride with you. Oh, and when I’m a cheerleader, my name is Tammy, not Tommy.”

Paul laughed. “Good to know. It fits you. Well, come on. My car is right over here.”

I hesitated a second and asked playfully, “Wait a second. How do I know you’re not some perv?”

Paul turned to me and laughed a sinister laugh. “You don’t.” He grinned.

I laughed. “Well, I guess it’s okay. My sister is still alive.”

Curiously, Paul took my hand and led me to where his car was parked.

As I climbed into the passenger seat of Paul’s fire engine red Dodge Challenger Hellcat, my stomach rumbled. Paul looked over at me with a wry grin.

“Hungry?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, breakfast was a long time ago. I had to skip lunch. I’ll get something when I get home.”

As Paul brought the car’s eight hundred horses to life, he tilted his head. “Taco del Rey is just around the corner. They’re usually open until midnight.”

I sighed. “I love their burritos, but I don’t have any money with me. I don’t have any pockets.”

With the car’s exhaust rumbling, Paul started to drive out of the parking lot. “I can get it. No big deal.”

I shook my head. “You don’t need to buy me dinner. I’m sure my dad didn’t eat all of the tuna casserole I left out for him.”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Yummy. Look. It’s no big deal. Besides, just think of all the bacteria crawling all over that tuna.”

I stuck my tongue out and said, “Eech. You know, the same could probably be said about the burritos.”

Paul laughed. “At least that’s cooked bacteria.”

Paul parked and started to get out of his car. I said, “Aren’t we going through the drive-thru?”

“Are you in a hurry to get yelled at by your dad?” asked Paul before he closed his door.

As I got out, I said, “He won’t necessarily be angry. I left him a note saying I might be late after I put the casserole in the fridge.”

Paul held the door to the restaurant open for me. “Does he know you’re now a cheerleader?”

I grinned sheepishly. “Not yet.”

Following me through the door, Paul said, “He’ll be mad.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I smirked. “But what will really piss him off is that he’ll have to fend for himself for dinner every night.”

I told the girl behind the counter what I wanted, Paul placed his order and paid for it. We then sat down to wait for our order to be ready.

After we sat down, Paul looked at me curiously. “So you’ve taken on the role of your mom and sister while they’re away?”

I frowned. “Yeah. I was hoping we’d go out to places we never get to go to. But noooo. Dad wants to save money. The problem is he’s pretty helpless around the kitchen. Mom insisted both Cynthia and I learn to cook and be self sufficient.”

Paul asked, “That’s a good thing, right? My mom never taught me nuthin’.” He then chuckled. When they called out our number, he got up and brought our food back.

There were three boys sitting in a corner. They looked like street punks dressed in leather jackets and unkempt hair. Other than looking in our direction, they didn’t bother us.

As he unwrapped his burrito, Paul asked, “So. How do you like being a cheerleader? Did you loose any brain cells?”

I frowned. “Ha, ha. Very funny. Actually though, I like it. It’s fun. Granted, it’s weird that I’m expected to basically be Cynthia, but to be honest, I wish I could have done this sooner. Or, maybe I’ll change my mind after a few tough days of practice.” We both laughed.

After he finished off his burrito, Paul got up to use the restroom. As he got up, the three boys in the corner got up and one approached me. I sighed, worried what he might do. He was a big, tough looking guy. A little bigger than Paul actually.

The boy put a piece of paper on the table in front of me. He said, “Hey, babe. When you get tired of boys, give me a call.” He grinned at me and the three left. Great. He must think I’m a girl. And Paul’s my boyfriend? I wonder if Paul knows him.

When Paul returned to the table, I slid the note over to him. “Do you know this guy?”

Paul studied the note for a moment. He furrowed his brow and said, “Yeah. He’s a real jerk. He graduated last year. He was on the team. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women. He approached you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m going to guess he thinks I’m a girl.” I chuckled. “And that we’re dating.”

Sliding the note back over to me, Paul said, “You should feel honored. He only chases the most beautiful girls. And he gets them too. It’s that whole bad boy thing.”

I wadded the note up and placed it with my crumpled burrito wrapper. “I know I get mistaken for a girl a lot. I mean I look just like Cynthia. But it bothers me that he thinks I’m beautiful.”

Paul just looked at me for a moment and in a serious voice, said, “You are beautiful. Even without trying.”

I felt my cheeks flush as I laughed an embarrassed laugh. “Well, thank you for the compliment. But I really disagree that anyone can call me beautiful.”

Grinning slightly and very briefly touching my hand, Paul said, “Maybe you should embrace it.”

After several moments of an awkward silence, I said, “Thank you for dinner, Paul. I’ll owe you one. But it’s almost eleven. My dad’s going to kill me.”

Paul nodded. “You don’t owe me anything, Tom. I mean Tammy. And yeah. It’d be bad if your dad killed you. The cheerleaders would have to find another new member.”

Laughing, I said, “We can’t have that!”

We didn’t say much as we drove to my house. Paul had no trouble finding my house as he’d picked up Cynthia many times last year.

I did enjoy the real leather seats. I closed my eyes and inhaled the smell of real leather. With my eyes still closed, I grinned as I said, “I have to say, Paul. I really love your car.”

As we rumbled up in front of my house, Paul said, “Thanks. It was my birthday present.”

I sat up in the seat and said with disbelief, “You’re shitting me, right? All I got for my birthday was an iTunes gift card.”

Grinning he slid his fingers along the top of the steering wheel. “No shit, man. Anyway, we’re here. Want me to walk you to your porch?” He reached up and touched my hair.

I opened my door and said, “Thanks. I think I can make the rest of the trip on my own.” I noticed the curtain on the front windows move. Dad’s still awake.

Paul nodded. “Okay, Tammy. See you at school.”

I waved as I shut the passenger door. “See ya!”

I stood on the sidewalk as Paul chirped his tires and his Dodge rumbled away down the street.

As I opened the front door, Dad stood next to the couch with is arms folded. “About time you got home. Who was that in the muscle car?”

“Oh. You remember Paul? He gave me a ride home. Sorry for not calling, but you should be happy. I signed up for a sport today. I was at practice tonight.”

Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “Sport? What sport?”

I smiled and said, “Cheerleading! I think it’s going to be fun.”

Dad frowned at me. “Your school doesn’t have boy cheerleaders. Don’t lie, boy.”

I shook my head. “I’m not lying, Dad. I’m filling in for Cynthia.”

Dad’s face clouded with anger. “Are you fuckin’ serious, Tom? You’re filling in for a girl?”

I nodded. “It’s perfect, Dad. Cynthia and I are the exact same size so I can use her uniform, I know all the cheers. And I’m finally involved in a sport.”

Dad shook his head. “A girls sport. But you know what Tom? I’m not going to tell you no. Go ahead and make a fool out of yourself. You’ll get tired of all the other guys in your school making fun of you. It’ll be a good lesson for you.”

I grinned broadly at Dad. I pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket on my sweat pants. “Thanks Dad! Just sign this consent form and we’re all set.”

Dad took the form and glanced over it. “I’ll sign it in the morning. Right now we both need to get to bed. Oh, I was never that fond of that boy Paul. I don’t want him bringing you home anymore. Just call me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

I was hit with a wave of disappointment. “But Dad. I don’t mind riding with him. He’s got this really cool car and…”

Interrupting, Dad said, “Yeah yeah. I saw his car. I’m sure he picks up a lot of chicks with it. I didn’t like the way he burned out when he left.”

My shoulders slumping slightly, I said, “I’ll talk to him about that.”

Dad glared at me. “Just call me when you’re ready. Now hit the sack.”

I sighed. “Yes, Dad.” I turned and walked down the hall to my room.

*          *          *

I looked at my new schedule as I stepped out of the school’s office. My lunch period moved to the third period so I would have the same lunch period as the rest of the cheerleaders. My schedule also got re-arranged because they dropped boy’s PE and added girl’s PE. The person in the office explained I needed it to be in cheerleaders. Still seemed bizarre to me since I’m not a girl. I needed to go by the boy’s gym and get my t-shirt and gym shorts out of my locker.

As I was walking towards the boy’s gym, I heard a girl’s voice call out “Tammy!” It took a moment before it dawned on me she meant me. I looked behind me and saw Ashley from the cheerleaders running up to me.

Grinning, Ashley said, “Hey Tammy. I have a question for you.”

I faced her and said, “Make it quick, Ash. I don’t have a lot of time.”

Her voice taking on a conspiratorial tone, she asked, “Are you dating Paul Conway?”

Stunned by the question, I said, “What are you talking about? Of course not!”

Still grinning, Ashley said, “I was at the drive-thru of Taco del Rey last night and I saw through the window, you and Paul on a date! Don’t say you weren’t there!”

Frowning, I said, “We were there. I didn’t have any money so he bought me a burrito. That’s all. Trust me, it wasn’t a date.”

Ashley then shouted to another cheerleader passing by us, “Hey Brandi!” Brandi walked over to us and Ashley said, “You missed your chance, Brandi. Tammy is already dating Paul.”

Brandi frowned, “Seriously? That was fast.”

I scowled at both girls. “Chill out, guys! I’m not dating anyone! Now quit making crap up. Look. I gotta run.” Why would Ash say such a thing?

As Ashley and Brandi walked away, I heard Ashley say, “I saw them both there!”

I’ll have to deal with it later. I needed to get to the boy’s gym. Another minute of walking and I arrived at the gym. Class was about to start, so I ran up to the coach. “Hey, coach!” I called out as I got close.

Looking a bit annoyed at being bothered as he was about to start class, he asked, “What’s up, Garret?”

I said, “I’m transferring out of your class. I need to get my stuff.”

The coach said, “You can leave it there if you’re just getting another time.”

I handed him the card from the office. “It’s a bit more involved than that, coach.”

He looked at the card. “Is this a joke, Garret? This says you’re transferring to girl’s PE. And it has your name as Tammy Garret.”

I just said, “It’s complicated. I’ll get my stuff and I’ll get out of here.”

Coach frowned as he looked at the card again. “I’ll have to verify this with the office. You’re not a girl.”

I shrugged. “That’s why I said it’s complicated.” I then rushed back to the lockers and got my shirt and shorts. Needless to say, I was late to my first class.

The rest of the morning went by smoothly, as it should. Just a few classes re-arranged to accommodate my new lunch. Since lunch was moved to the third lunch, it really made the morning long.

At lunch, I picked up a pre-made burger from the snack line and looked for the cheerleader’s table. It wasn’t officially marked that, but it was where they all gathered. Cathy waved to get my attention and I headed over to them. As I sat down, I noticed I was the only one without a salad. Is that expected?

Cathy smiled at me as she said, “Hey Tammy! Are you ready to get serious about being a cheerleader?”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it if I wasn’t going to give my all.”

Brandi smirked, “At first I thought you agreed so you could be around the five hottest girls at school. But I guess not since you have a boyfriend.”

Before I could respond, Cathy asked, “What boyfriend?”

Ashley giggled, “Paul Conway.”

Some girl I didn’t know added, “Oh yeah. The cutest boy on the team!”

Scowling at Brandi, I growled, “Paul is not my boyfriend! I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ll bail on you guys if this crap doesn’t stop.”

Cathy touched my arm. “Just chill, Tammy. They’re just teasing you. Everyone on the squad gets razzed. Just be glad it wasn’t the ‘freezer’ they’re saying is your boyfriend.” The “freezer” is an unfortunately less than attractive boy who is rumored to have been lab grown to play football.

Ashley laughed, “Except I saw them out on a date! She got to ride in Paul’s new car too.”

Cathy gave me a shocked expression. “For reals? You had a date with Paul and rode in his car? What’s it like?”

I frowned at Cathy. “It’s like riding in any other car with leather seats and eight hundred horse power. And it wasn’t a date! He just bought me dinner, that’s all.”

Brandi sighed. “Sounds like a date to me.”

Cathy grinned at me. “Cool. I’ve heard he’s a great kisser too.”

I scowled at Cathy. “I wouldn’t know. Look, I think I’ll go outside and enjoy my mystery burger in peace.”

Cathy touched my arm again and giggled. “We’re just hassling you, Tammy. We’re just having fun is all.”

Ashley laughed. “Welcome to the club.”

Brandi frowned, “And nobody blames you for wanting Paul. He’s really hot.”

I felt horrendously embarrassed. Did they honestly believe I was dating my sister’s ex-boyfriend? They easily believed the lie, but reject my truth. The rest of the lunch break was what I guessed was typical girl conversations. When someone asked who was their favorite movie star, I got some knowing looks when I said I liked Tommy Kincaid. Brandi mentioned that he looked like Paul.

When lunch was over and I was heading for my next class, I saw Paul in the hall. I called out to him. He smiled and walked over to me.

“What’s up, Tammy?” he asked. He grinned. Why is he calling me Tammy?

“I just wanted to let you know you don’t have to wait around to pick me up after cheer practice.” I said to him. Brandi and Ashley had been walking with me as we left the lunch room. They stopped and pretended not to listen.

A definite look of disappointment crossed Paul’s face. “Why not? You know I don’t mind.”

Nodding, I said, “I know. But my dad wants me to call him instead.”

Paul frowned. “He doesn’t trust me?”

I smiled slightly. “I think he doesn’t trust your driving. You left tread marks in front of our house.”

Paul chuckled. “Oh yeah. Sorry about that. I won’t do that again.”

I giggled. I actually giggled. “You don’t have to impress me, Paul. But hey, I need to get to class.”

Paul grinned and said, “Catch ya later, Tammy.” We both waved.

Ash and Brandi grinned at me as they turned to head for their next class.

*          *          *

We were all exhausted as we sat on the gym floor in a circle around the coach. The coach looked at each of us.

“All of you have done great this week,” coach exclaimed. “I saw lots of hard work and spirit and I know all of you will do a wonderful job at the pep rally in the morning and cheering on our team at the game.” She then pointed at me. “And you, Ms. Garret, thank you so much for coming to our aid! I’ll let the principal know how well you have performed as a cheerleader and that we’re going to need you the rest of the season if not longer.”

Cathy looked around and smiled. “That’s right, Tammy. I know I speak for the rest of the squad in thanking you for filling in for Cynthia. Don’t tell her this, but I think you performed even better than she did!” She giggled.

Brandi frowned. “At least Cynthia didn’t go around stealing boyfriends.”

Cathy tossed a smelly sock at Brandi. “Will you shut up about that? I doubt Paul Conway would go out with you anyway.”

I shook my head. “Paul dated Cynthia last year anyway.”

Coach sighed. “And on that note, I think we’re done. Don’t forget. Pep rally tomorrow during Second Period. Remember. Pink lipstick and pink nails. Uniforms all day.” She looked directly at me. “That means everybody. Alright. Get out of here and we’ll see you in the morning.”

As we left the school building, I retrieved my cell phone from my purse. Before I could call, Cathy grinned and said, “Be sure to tell your boyfriend that we’re all counting on him to get us to the play-offs!” She giggled.

Some girl I still don’t know said, “Exactly!”

I shook my head and said, “I’ll be sure to let him know.”

Ashley pointed at me and exclaimed, “She admits it!”

I frowned as I turned to walk out into the glare of the parking lot lights to call Dad to come get me. A few minutes later, Dad picked me and a minute after that, we were going through the drive through at Taco del Rey.

I held the bag of food as Dad drove us home. I asked, “So, Dad. Are you coming to the game tomorrow and see me in action?”

Dad rolled his eyes and said, “Honey, you know I don’t like the idea of you jumping around in a short dress in front of boys. I wasn’t exactly crazy about your sister doing it either. But I can see it means as much to you as it did for Cynthia.”

I looked over at Dad and pressed my question again. “But are you coming?”

Dad grunted and sighed. “Of course, honey. I need to pick you up after the game anyway.”

I looked down at the bag I was holding and said, “Oh. It’s the same thing as when Cynthia was on the squad. After the game, the squad and most of the players go to Lorenzo’s House of Pasta for dinner. It’s tradition.”

Dad looked over at me and asked, “You’ll call me to come get you?”

I shook my head. “No need to bother you. I’ll ask someone there to bring me home. I don’t want everyone to think I’m a child that has to get carted around by Daddy all the time. I am seventeen, you know.”

Dad shook his head. “God. You’re turning into your sister. You’re going to get that Paul whats-his-name to bring you home, aren’t you?” I remained silent and just stared into the bag. “I have no idea what you and your sister see in that boy.”

I frowned and looked at Dad. “I don’t see anything in Paul. And since they broke up, neither does Cynthia.”

Dad drove up into the driveway. As he killed the engine, he asked, “After dinner, you want to go with me to Walmart?”

I held up my hands. “Sorry, Dad. I have to do my nails.”

Dad shook his head and groaned.

*          *          *

Dad dropped me off near the front entrance of the school. I got up two hours earlier than normal so I could shaves everywhere, not that I was particularly hairy and to put on my make-up. I have to say I’ve been worrying that I might be expected to start wearing make-up and even girls clothes all the time, now that I’m a cheerleader. Until today, nobody really knew of cared because I looked the same. But today, I’m wearing make-up, a dress and a pair of shiny hoop earrings. There’s no hiding today.

Oddly, nobody really seemed to notice. As I made my way to my first period class there were no shocked expressions. There were boys looking at me though.

As I took my seat in my first period class, I did get several confused looks. Across the room from me sat another cheerleader, of course in her uniform. I think her name was Donna.

The teacher stood up and looked around the room. He said, “Okay. I see I have two cheerleaders in class. I used to just have one, I think. Anyway, I have a note excusing you girls from class in about twenty minutes to get ready for the pep rally. Please write down the homework assignment for the weekend. Yeah, I know it’s terrible. Let me mark your names down.” He marked down Donna and then glanced over to me.

Wrinkling his brow, he said, “Garret? You’re a cheerleader?”

Donna giggled and said, “Tammy just joined us this week.”

The teacher looked at me funny and said, “Tammy Garret? Let me make a note of that. I didn’t even know you were a girl.”

A boy sitting in the middle of the class blurted out, “Are you single?” The class laughed.

Before I could answer, Donna said, “Sorry, Ralphie. Her boyfriend is Paul Conway.”

Ralphie sighed and said, “Well, shit.” The class laughed again.

Dammit! There it is again. I was going to correct her, but then I thought maybe if boys think I have a boyfriend, they’ll leave me alone. I hoped so.

About fifteen minutes later, the teacher informed Donna and me that we were excused from class. We picked up our stuff and hurried to our lockers to stow our books and stuff. I hurried to the field house to join the other girls. Other girls. That’s funny.

Cathy smiled broadly as I approached her. She said, “Damn, girl. You look great. If I didn’t know she was away, I’d swear you were your sister.”

Giggling, I said, “I’m prettier.”

Cathy grinned and said, “I think you’re right.”

Since I wasn’t involved in the skit, which was being set up, I just stepped to one side and watched the field house fill up with kids.

Band students were filing in and taking their seats. One boy looked confused and walked up to me. “Cynthia? I thought you were out of town?”

I smiled at him and said, “Cynthia is my sister.”

His eyes widened. “Oh. I just thought she had a brother. Maybe we could go out?” He grinned at me.

Before I could respond, a girl in the band who was walking by said, “Careful, Rick. She’s dating Paul Conway.” Who’s spreading this rumor? And what the hell? Is Paul some kind of monster that everyone is afraid of? Granted, he is a big guy. But he’s also very nice.

The principal got up and started welcoming everyone to the pep rally and made a few announcements. Finally, he said, “And now it’s time to bring out the mighty Tigers!” He pointed to the back of the field house. There were two rows of folding metal chairs lined in front of the stage at the rear. One by one, a boy just wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the school colors and their numbers front and back along with their last names. That was my cue to start jumping and down, cheering and waving my pom poms along with the other girls.

The members of the football team would run out from the side of the field house when their name was called and then take a seat. Paul smiled at me as he sat down. Why did I feel a tingle?

The coach made some announcements about what the team was doing and about some of the members. The cheerleaders would all jump up and squeal at each name called. When Paul’s name was called I jumped up and squealed extra loud but discovered I was by myself. All the other cheerleaders just stood there grinning me. They had planned to do that. Paul laughed and pointed at me with a smile and the audience in the field house laughed as well. I was totally embarrassed and wanted to crawl under a rock.

Before they started the skit, Cathy walked up to me. I was so embarrassed I was almost on the verge of tears. Cathy leaned close to me and asked, “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I guess so. Just took me by surprise.”

Cathy said, “Sorry. But I think Paul liked it. Girl, he likes you.”

I let out an embarrassed laugh. “I can’t imagine why. I’m not a girl.”

Cathy squeezed my hand and smiled. “You are now.”

They started the skit and sure enough, they had gotten the two hairiest football players to not shave their faces for a couple of days and wear miniskirts and jerseys in the other school’s colors, along with blonde wigs that didn’t fit to pretend to be cheerleaders for the other school. It was corny and stupid, but everyone laughed.

After the pep rally and everyone was starting to leave the field house, the band director asked for volunteers to take all the music stands back to the band hall. He, along with the football coach asked everyone gather at the school’s main entrance and start lining up. The cheerleaders, followed by the football players followed by the majorettes followed by the band were going to march through the school’s hallways. We were going to make three circuits of the school before everyone returned to class. Everyone liked this because nobody could get any work in class done while we are making all that noise. This was going to be my first and I guess only year to be a part of it.

Paul walked up to me and took my hand. He said, “Oh my God, Tammy. You are absolutely gorgeous! Just beautiful! Would you like to walk with me over to the entrance?”

I smiled at Paul and said, “I’d love to.”

As we walked from the field house to the school, holding my hand, Paul said, “Being a cheerleader really suits you, and you’re so pretty. If you ask me, you’re prettier than your sister.”

I looked at my feet as we walked. “Oh, I really doubt that.”

Paul grinned at me. “Girl, trust me on that.”

As we were walking into the school, Cathy saw me and grinned as she gave me a thumbs up.

We marched through the school’s halls for twenty minutes while the band played the school’s fight song. The cheerleaders ran ahead of the band, doing cheers and tumbling. The whole school saw me in a dress and nobody fainted or heads exploded. I had an absolute blast.

*          *          *

The cheerleaders were riding on the buses loaded with the football team heading for the stadium. I had to move to the back of the bus with the other girls after Paul got chewed out for stroking my hair. I wasn’t supposed to be sitting up with him. I found it odd that I wasn’t yelled at. Just Paul. I felt bad about it.

Ashley grinned at me as we gathered at the back of the bus. “Are you still insisting you’re not Paul’s girlfriend?”

I frowned at Ash. “Seriously, we’re not dating.” I looked over at Cathy hoping she’d tell Ash to knock it off.

Cathy grinned. “I have to admit. I have to side with Ash on this.”

I shook my head. “You guys are crazy.”

After we got to the stadium, we took our carefully rolled up banner out to the field. We laid it out on the field and I helped attach a pole on either side. In the middle of the banner was a hand painted tiger head and above it the words “Highland Tigers”. Just before the game, a couple cheerleaders would hold the banner up and the rest of the cheerleaders along with the dance team would create a gauntlet for the players to run through. The other team had a giant, inflatable football helmet for their players to run through.

While I’ll admit to not knowing a whole lot about football as we never watch it at home (Dad is big into motorsports) I shouted to Paul as we were all leaving the bus, “Make a home run!” I said it on purpose and Paul just shook his head and laughed. I heard some other boy on the team say something about a stupid girl.

I stood next to Cathy and Ashley out on the field, looking up into the stands at all the people. I must be insane to be down in front of all these people, wearing a short dress and jumping around yelling.

Cathy turned to me and said, “Excited?”

I shivered. Partly from the cool night air and partly nerves. I said, “Oh yeah. This is amazing. Being down here on the field is so different from looking down on it from the stands. I’m also nervous as hell.”

Cathy smiled at me. “Girl, there’s no reason to be nervous. You’re going to do great. And you’re going to have fun!”

I grinned. “I’m going to try.”

Cathy called the cheerleaders over to her. “We need to line up, guys. The band’s starting to play.”

Cathy and Brandi each took a pole and the rest of us lined up to form the path for the players to run through. The stadium’s announcer announced our team and a moment later they broke through the banner and ran through our gauntlet. After the team had run through, Cathy said, “Let’s get this stuff off the field.”

The band barely left the field before the game started. Cathy had us line up in front of the stands to do some stunts and yells. And then we’d move down to the next section. I tried to keep an eye on Paul. It’s funny though. Cathy took a lot of her cues from the band director. Many of our yells were associated with music the band would play.

It was obvious from the start, this was going to be a hard fought game. In the first quarter, neither side scored. We were doing a good job in getting the crowd worked up. And then in a move that I think surprised even Paul, he intercepted a pass and managed to run the length of the field to score. The crowd got really excited and we were working hard to keep that excitement up.

For a while, that’s the way the score remained. Both teams would almost score but couldn’t. Nearing the end of the last quarter, the other team managed to tie the score. The roar from the stands on both sides was incredible. When our team lost control of the ball with the clock running out, the yelling was deafening. Ashley was crying. Even I was caught up in the emotion of the moment. It looked like we were heading for a loss. And then it happened.

The quarterback was about to get tackled and he just tossed the ball. Paul was in the right spot and caught the ball and then ran a few feet to cross the goal and then the game ended. We won in the very last second. And it was Paul… my Paul, that won the game. I was yelling and jumping up and down.

After the frenzy had slacked off, the football team, cheerleaders and dance team all gathered in front of the stands where the band was set up. It was the final ritual we do at the end of every game. The players and everybody linked arms as the band played the alma mater.

A crew for the local news was down on the field. The reporter said, “I need a couple of cheerleaders standing on either side of Mr. Conway.”

Cathy, being lead cheerleader immediately took one side of Paul. She looked over at me and said, “Tammy! Get your butt over here!” I stood on the other side of Paul as he put his arms around both of us.

The photographer said, “Okay girls. I’d like a shot of you two giving tonight’s hero a kiss on the cheek.”

A kiss? I’ve never kissed a boy before. It’s just on the cheek, but still. It’s a kiss. As Cathy got in close to Paul, she pointed at me and said, “Come on, Tammy. Don’t be shy.” Paul smiled a big toothy grin at me. Cathy and I both had to stand on tip toe to lean in to kiss Paul on the cheek. When our lips touched his cheek, the photographer had us linger there while he took several shots. I couldn’t believe I was actually kissing a boy. Kissing Paul.

When I pulled away, I couldn’t help but giggle at seeing my lip prints on Paul’s cheek. Paul put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him as the reporter interviewed him. The reporter jokingly asked Paul if I was his girlfriend because he was holding me tight. Paul said I was. I wasn’t exactly sure what to think about that.

Most of the stands had emptied and it was mostly just us down on the field. I looked up at the stands, and standing on the lower tier was Dad looking down at me. I couldn’t read his expression. The coach said, “Okay guys. Let’s load up the buses. Don’t forget we’re meeting at Lorenzo’s for pizza later.” When I looked back up at the stands, Dad was gone.

As we loaded up in the bus, not sure what I was thinking, I stupidly tried to sit in Paul’s lap on the bus. The girl’s coach was not happy when she ordered me go join the other girls.

Twenty minutes later, we started pulling up at Lorenzo’s. I rode with Cathy and a few other girls. I thought it would have been easier if the school just drove us there in buses, but the coach said they only do that for out of town trips.

It was a madhouse both in and outside the restaurant. Some of the staff didn’t look too thrilled to see us. I waited outside for Paul to arrive. About a dozen players arrived, but no Paul. I was beginning to worry he wasn’t going to show.

Finally, his bright red Challenger arrived and I watched him get out. I ran up and shouted, “Paul!” He smiled and he reached out to hug me. After the hug, he put his arm around my waist and we entered the restaurant together. He still had my lipstick on his cheek.

There was a big cheer when we walked inside. Well, okay. The cheer was for Paul. The staff had pushed several tables together so we could all sit together. A couple of players directed Paul to sit in the middle as others crowded around. I started to go find Cathy and sit with the cheerleaders when someone touched my arm. It was one of the players and he asked, “Hey. Where do you think you’re going? You sit right here.” He pointed at a chair next to Paul.

I walked around the table and people made room for me to get by and take the chair next to Paul. He slid his arm behind me. I felt embarrassed. How did I suddenly become Paul’s official girlfriend?

It was just too loud and too busy to talk to anybody. Paul only scored twice, the only scores for the whole game, but he was treated like a hero. I was happy for him, but it all just seemed a bit crazy to me. Overall, I felt a little uneasy. A dozen times or more, Paul introduced me as his girlfriend. And even without that, everyone just assumed. Maybe if I was actually a girl, I wouldn’t be so uneasy.

*          *          *

Paul’s car rolled to a stop at the curb outside my house. He killed the ignition and sighed. I studied my hands in my lap.

Turning to me, he asked, “Are you okay? You’ve been very quiet since we left the party.” He slid his arm behind me.

I glanced over to him and then back to my hands. I smiled weakly. “That party was a little intense. I think I’m more worn out from that than from cheerleading. I really wish your friends hadn’t broken that stack of plates.”

Paul chuckled. “Yeah, that was kinda bad. I think we collected enough money to cover the cost. But outside of that, how was cheerleading?”

I looked up at Paul and smiled. “I loved it. I wish I’d been doing it all along.” I looked back at my hands.

Paul played with my hair. “I knew you’d like it.” He paused a moment and just looked at me. “What’s wrong, babe. Something’s bothering you.”

I studied my hands for several moments. I looked up at him. I sighed and asked, “When exactly did I become your girlfriend? I mean, Ashley kinda made a joke out of it. But tonight, I kissed you, you introduced me as your girl and everyone just assumed. Shouldn’t we have talked about that first? I mean, I’m not even a girl!”

Paul was silent for a moment. He picked up my hand and gently rubbed my knuckles. In a quiet voice, he asked, “Are you ashamed to be my girlfriend?”

I turned quickly towards him and said, “Oh, no, Paul. Anything but. It’s just that everyone assumed. I didn’t get any say in it. Like I said, I’m not even a …” Paul placed his finger against my lips.

He shook his head. “Tammy, you *are* a girl. A very beautiful girl.” He ran his fingers through my hair and held the side of my face. “A *very* beautiful girl.” He leaned towards me, closing his eyes as his soft, warm lips pressed gently against mine. He pulled me closer to him. I closed my eyes and moaned softly as he kissed me. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. I was turning into a warm puddle of goo in his arms. We pulled back and I just looked deeply into his gorgeous blue eyes as he softly stroked my hair.

He looked deeply into my eyes as he gently touched my face. He said, “You’re my girl.” His lips then pressed again into mine. I never wanted this kiss to end. I was forever his girl.

*          *          *

I stood on the sidewalk as I watched Paul’s car slowly drive away. He didn’t chip the tires this time. I had a hard time dealing with my emotions. Am I in love with him? His last kiss and hug left me with a warm afterglow.

I turned to look towards my house. Oh my God. Dad is going to just kill me. It’s almost three o’clock in the morning. I took a deep breath and sighed. I walked slowly to the house.

As I entered, I saw Dad’s shape on the couch. The TV was on and Dad was snoring like a freight train. Mom always keeps a blanket by the couch. I found it on the floor and gently covered Dad with it and turned the TV off. I grinned at Dad and shook my head. I bent over and gently kissed his forehead. I turned and walked slowly into my bedroom.

*          *          *

The End