Sincerely,
Dr. J. Reams
Is there an excuse?
Well, Dr. Reams— Finn and I were having a romantic and very, very sexual relationship, often on top of math books that he’ll probably wind up selling back to the bookstore. We broke up because I was freaked out he’d cheat on me, and so that’s why I’m not tutoring him anymore. That happened, by the way, a half hour after we had sex on the fifty yard line of the football field.
These are things I want to write back but, of course, don’t. I just ignore the email entirely.
I’m not the cry-into-pillows-for-days type, but I am definitely the moping and junk food eating sort. I’ve plowed through a truly embarrassing amount of Twirlers and tacos from the combination Mexican/Chinese take out place down the street. My mother is annoyed with me for disappointing Dr. Reams, though I can tell she can’t bring herself to totally blame me. She hates football players, and I’m sure she thinks whatever happened must be Finn’s fault.
Mandy feels guilty for suggesting we spy on him, but she’s one of those people who handles guilt really poorly— rather than apologizing, she’s mostly saying things like “Well, what was I supposed to think?” and “I’m not crazy for suspecting him!”. Bradley is annoying the absolute shit out of me by saying things like “Hey, buck up”, as if he’s the dad from a 1950’s TV show.
“Hey— I just told them I’d stay here,” Mandy says when I come out of my room on Saturday, wearing yesterday’s mascara. She was supposed to go tailgating at the football game with Bradley and her friends.
“You don’t have to. I don’t care if you go to a football game just because my ex-boyfriend is playing in it,” I say, shaking my head at her before starting to the kitchen for Lucky Charms. Lucky Charms are proof that God loves us, or in the very least, that God understands getting your heart stomped on.
“I can watch it here,” she says, shrugging. “I don’t need to tailgate. Besides, my tailgating dress is too tight right now. Bradley’s always convincing me to go get burgers and it’s starting to show.”
“I haven’t noticed, for what it’s worth,” I say.
“Well, thanks,” she says, but I can tell she has, and that it’s bugging her. She’s making game-watching food, and it’s all super healthy stuff like veggies and hummus and turkey wraps. She brings all this over to the couch and sits down, looking surprised when I join her. “You’re going to watch it?”
“Yes, but just so you know, today I’m rooting for the other team,” I say, and she grins.
The Harton team comes out to massive fanfare, the stadium packed with screaming fans and cheerleaders and the marching band. It’s hard to believe I was lying on the fifty yard line, in Finn’s arms, just two weeks ago— but then, so many things about that night feel hard to believe in retrospect. Adams is the starting quarterback, and the announcers are already doing a crazy amount of comparison— they display his and Finn’s stats side by side, their photos, their histories, seeming to relish referring to them both as bad boys at every opportunity.
“That guy is so gross,” Mandy says as the camera zooms in on Adams. “I have to admit, even though I was pretty mad at Finn for getting arrested and all with you around, I wasn’t too sad to see Adams’ black eye.”
I frown. “He had a black eye?”
Mandy grins. “My friend that works at Sephora said he came in every day for a week to have one of his fuck buddies cover it up with waterproof concealer.”
Harton is ahead, though barely, at halftime; the station airing the game cuts to some guys talking about the game, about what Harton and the other team needed to do in the second half, about what an amazing player Adams is—
“Honestly though, the thing is, he’s made such a name for himself off the field that I think it’s going to be hard for anyone at the NFL to want to take him on. He’s a liability,” one of the commentators says.
“Yeah, but you know, he’s good on the field, and regardless of what happens off it, he’s a good leader. They’re in the business of winning football games—“ another begins.
“But they’re also in the business of selling merchandise, and tickets, and broadcast rights—“
“If anything, a squeaky wheel like Adams is going to make those things more valuable. He attracts attention, even if it’s not always the good kind,” the first announcer finishes. “Now, I think that we’re actually going to see Finn Thorne playing in the second half. With Adams probably going pro at the end of the season, they need to start giving Thorne a chance to lead this team.”