The bleachers on both sides of the field where filled to the brim with people. The whole school had turned out, with dozens of people waving small flags that had the school’s mascot on them. The cheerleaders where busy whipping the crowds into a frizzy. And thereby the side, My eyes firmly fixed upon the strawberry blonde girl being lead to our side of the field by three Manchester cheerleaders. Lily, Joan, and Mindy were there. The three talked with the other three and finally, Joan escorted the girl from Manchester over to a waiting table where our homecoming court sat. Then the three turned their eyes toward me. Lily called me over to her side.

Taking a deep breath and crossing myself, yes, even Episcopalians can cross themselves in times of great need. But once I had crossed myself. I walked over to where the three stood. Joan then took a deep breath and placed one hand upon my shoulder and so did Lily. Both then exchanged a look and without a word being spoken, the two marched me across the field.

Once we reached the other side of the field. Lily took a deep breath and gently pushed me toward the three Benton cheerleaders that stood before us. Lily then cleared her throat and in a firm tone of voice called out.

“We, the cheerleaders of Benton Academy, having been charged with the duty to deliver into your hands Jamie Sarah Potter into your hands to act as a hostage for the rest of the game. We pray you will treat her with respect and kindness.” Lily said as she peered toward the tallest of the three cheerleaders. The girl smirked and step forward and reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“We’ll treat her alright. Can’t promise we're going to return her clean.” She said grinning as she peered toward the Manchester boys gearing up for the game. “Cause we going to clean the floor with you country hicks. So skip back to your side girl, and kiss your boy's goodbye. We're about to bring your historical season to a close right now!” She said as she guided me toward there side of the field.

I looked over at my sister and smiled as she marched away.

Once I reached the sidelines. Kick off started and the game got underway. It was confusing, to say the least, and quite horrible to watch. The crowd roared with cheers and boos after each play. The sound of crashing plastic pads and the horrible screams of twisted knees and ankles filled the cool autumn air. The cheers from the other side of the filled where carried on the breath of the wind. Along with the groans of pain from the other football players.

“So.” One of the cheerleaders said to me, she wore the white and green uniform of Manchester. “You guys are getting hammered out there. But, that aside. How do you like your steak? Where about to fire up the grill and cook some steaks. And like, how do you like yours?”

“Medium-rare,” I said without taking my eyes off the field. Now, I’m a big history buff. I love reading about things and I dig our local history. And part of being a local historian if I might be so bold as to call myself that is attending the dozens or so small-scale civil war reenactment’s that take place in Benton, Vicksburg, Yazoo City and finally Rolling Fork. The thrill of muskets being fired and men charging each other excites me.

And that tingling of excitement filled every nook and cranny of my body as I watched each play. The Manchester boys where built like tanks. And they rolled through our team. I can only compare them to a flying spearhead of Green and White, that broke and shattered the line of Red and White. As the mad bulls thundered on toward scoring one touchdown after touchdown, the wreckage they left in there wake caused my eyes to mist.

After each play, defeated and broken players would limb to the bench on our side of the field and sit down, toss there proactive helmets down on the ground and burry there faces in there hands. The autumn breeze carried the acidity smell of puke and gator-aid. And the score at this point was Home: O and Visitors: 20 My fate it seemed was sealed and I saw nothing short of holy intervention on the side of the armies of heaven would save me.

At that point, I started to smell the bitter smell of burning charcoal. Fifteen minutes later, the smell of sizzling meats filled the air as a few of the days that followed the team stood around half a dozen or so grills. Each one held a small can of light beer and after each touchdown or completed pass for Benton, they would hold there cans up and raise their voices in celebration. Their voices joining the cheers rising from the throats of the cheerleaders who kept doing high kicks and such. Then the cheerleaders did one cheer that made me blush!

“Hey, Manchester! Hey Manchester! Keep on rolling, keep on rolling! Bring this game, to a close and bring Lana back home to us! And send this brat to the tank!”

The chant was taken up by the crowd behind me. And from three or four hundred voices, one might roar came and filled the cool autumn hair.

“Save LANA! SAVE LANA! SAVE LANA!” The voices chanted and a loud roar of approval filled the air as Manchester scored another touchdown! I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole right then and there.

“Here you go.” The same cheerleader from before said as she placed a plate down in front of me. The paper plate held what appeared to be a good twelve-ounce Ribeye, a baked potato that had been wrapped in foil and to top it all off, a twenty-four-ounce bottle of ice cold coke. We love coke here in the south.

Beside the coke, there was a salt and pepper packet, a plastic knife and fork and some paper towels. The cheerleader then pulled up and chair and sat down beside me and gave me a little smile. “Name is Katie by the way. I’m the head cheerleader in these parts. And I guess. Your jailer for the night.”

I smirked and held my hand out and said.

“Jamie,” I said and smiled as she shook my hand.

“Cute name. Well, I’m going to let you finish eating right now. Where almost at .. And..” She blushed and reached down and pulled me into a quick hug. “No hard feeling kay? It's just a dumb tradition, just be brave kay? I’m not going to lie to you. We have are slop.. Like packed in dry ice. Cause you guys are like our biggest rival. So it's going to be freezing!” And with that, she giggled and skipped away. Leaving me to ponder her words.

As I chewed upon my steak, I heard a chant filling the air from the other side of the field, dozens and dozens were chanting “Save Jamie! Save Jamie!” and the cheerleaders were leading the chant. And so with both sides demanding the players on the field save there respected hostage the second half started.

And boy was it a slaughter. Despite Benton playing better in the second half than they did in the first. Their sudden effort came too late to save me, with the final score being. Home: 14 and Visitors: 37.. And so the game ended. And as I stood there and watched the causalities from the last desperate push to save me, being carted off the field by there fellow football players, I felt the blood in my vain turn to ice water as I heard him crying for his mommy as he was eased down on the ground. That image has stayed with me. It was like something straight from the black and white pages of our history books.

“And so. The historical season of Benton Academy comes to an end as Manchester winds a stunning victory with the final score being fourteen to thirty-seven. Now, in the center of the field is something called a gunge tank. As a tradition, the hostage of from the losing school will be, I think the word is slimed in a mixture of cake batter, eggs, and oil, colored in the colors of the winning school.”

Before I knew what was going on. I found two cheerleaders surround me, their strong grips reached down and lifted me up and hoisted me into the air. I swallowed hard as I was marched into the center of the field. As I looked over my shoulder, I noticed Lana bouncing across the field. She quickly threw her arms around the neck of a tall football player. The two then shared a deep kiss. I looked over my shoulder and stuck my tongue out at the two and then closed my eyes and as I opened them, I stood before the tank. The tank had been constructed of PVC pipes. Indeed plastic white PVC piping and sheets of clear. The plastic seemed the two main things used in the construction of the tank. Above the for pipes forming the frame there was a large clear tank. Thirty gallons of creamy stripped colored slop. The bottom layer was green, the second one snow white and the third and final layer was green as well.

“The hostage from Benton Academy is one Jamie Sarah Potter, she the little sister of Lily Elizabeth Potter, the second child of Albert Jonathan Potter and Alice Parker Potter. Albert and Alice own and operate Potter’s Mercantile. Potter’s Mercantile is one of the oldest business family own business in town. Having been in the ownership of the Potter Family for over two hundred years. There also a proud sponsor of the Benton Raiders!”

I took a deep breath and shook my head. None of that mattered now, I took a deep breath and eased my bottom down on the chair I provided with. Smoothing out my skirt I folded my hands in my lap and took a deep breath and waited.