The game was just about to start with the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. There were a lot more people than I expected since we were knocked out of our quest for state, but the stands were very full on both sides of the field. I carried the heavy blanket folded over in my right hand and held onto Anna’s hand with my left. Anna looked all around us in amusement and then in sadness.
“So much like Alabama, but colder.” Anna wore a heavy coat while I had my hoodie and her father’s bomber jacket that he said would keep me warm. He was right.
‘Do you prefer hot chocolate or coffee?” I asked as I lifted out hands and pointed them to a little building that sat near the “visitors” side of the stands.
“Can they mix ‘em up?”
“We can get our chocolate and caffeine fix in one cup.”
Anna nodded as we slightly changed our direction to the concessions stand and stood in line. The line was a little long, with a lot of the people staring back at the field as a whistle blasted out signaling the kick-off for the first quarter. The concession stand was populated by four juniors who were popping popcorn, giving out sodas to the ones brave enough to drink something cold in the balmy forty-five-degree weather.
As we approached the front of the line one of the students stared at Anna.
“You’re the one who sent William to the hospital.”
Anna’s eyes locked on him. “Maybe he’ll get a donor heart and brain transplant cause the boy didn’t have one.”
“Knock if off, Jeremy,” one of the girls chastised.
“He didn’t do anything to her and.”
“-Were you there, Jeremy? I don’t remember seeing you and if you were then you would know that William was able to get up, mosey to the principal’s office, and then walk himself on home.”
Jeremy glared at her and took several steps back behind the popcorn popping machine.
“Can I help you?”
“What do we want?” Anna asked. “Oh yeah. Two Coffee and chocolate mix, two hot dogs and one popcorn.”
She reached into her purse and took out a ten-dollar bill.
“I got it,” I replied.
Anna shook her head. “It’s all good. You can help me carry all of it.”
“Jeremy, I need two coffees mixed with hot chocolate. Now.”
I watched as Jeremy made the coffees with the precision of a three-year old with an open cup on a sugar high. The others gathered the hot dogs and popcorn.
“Bitch,” Jeremy muttered as he set the coffees down.
“Got your knickers in a knot, Jeremy? Step out and you’ll find how much of a bitch I can be.”
Jeremy looked everywhere except at Anna’s face.
“I’m calling you out, in front of everyone.”
Jeremy sighed, picked up the cups and handed them to me. He abruptly left the concessions booth while the ones waiting behind us in line murmured about what had just happened.

We walked around the edge of the field of the other side and found a seat close to the pep band.
Anna placed her cup and hotdog on the bleacher decking to help me with the blanket. We sat down without a word between us.
“You okay?”
“I was expecting something to happen.”
“The William Riffle fan club has a lot of members.”
“I’d say they’re more like operatives.”
I nodded as Anna snuggled closer to me. “It saddens me that people are like that. They fear what they don’t want to understand and instead of learning, decide it’s better to make fun of them or worse. Who licked the red off their candy?”
“I’m sorry,” I replied.
“Never apologize for people like that. That’s what Pa told me to do.”
I didn’t want to admit I had a lingering thought that William would appear at the game. Perhaps not sitting with the team but somewhere in the stands, watching us. I felt a cold shiver—even though I was warm under the blanket—with the realization there were sets of evil eyes looking at us. Students, parents, athletic boosters—everyone who only heard a sound bite of what happened.
“I’m still glad we came. We can sit so close to each other without someone watching over us.”
I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You keep doin that,” Anna replied as the crowd—on the other side of the field—cheered for a touchdown.
I should not have tried to drink the entire cup of coffee as my bladder screamed out in pain, so I excused myself to go to the bathroom and Anna wrapped herself back into the blanket.
“I’ll need right back.”
Anna nodded as I walked away from our seat. I turned back to her with every other step and our locked each time I turned back. The daydreaming I had of her the other day came back as I pictured the house in the suburbs, the two—maybe more—kids with all of us getting together with our parents and other family. I wanted that future, and I was ready—even though we had only been together for two days—to talk to her about it.

Suddenly, I felt my foot strike something and I fell forward to the ground. Then, two hands grabbed my feel and pulled me from the grassy area of the sidelines, through a gate and onto the gravel parking lot. It took me a few seconds to recall what happened but at that time I felt what going to a painful evening. I was going to answer to Mr. Joel about the damage to his jacket.
A large body sat down on my back.
“Where’s your hero bitch at?”
I almost asked him why he at the game but saw several other pairs of feet…so he technically was not at the game, but in the parking lot. I kind of wanted to congratulate him on his thinking.
“I’m taking it out on you then.” William whispered as he bent my left arm back and then my right.
I struggled to try to get up, but Willian’s girth caused the sharp quartz rocks to stab into my chest and face as someone smashed my face to the ground. I flailed my legs, kicking my feet against his back, but William was not going to budge. I had forgotten he was also on the wrestling team.
“She got me nearly kicked out of school.”
“Didn’t you do that to yourself?” I asked as someone shoved my face into the rocks again.
I continued the lost cause of getting up and I was ready to scream like I was being murdered.
“Oh shit,” one of William’s lackeys said as I heard rocks shuffle under their feet. William was still on my back.
“They say I look cute when I’m angry. Best get ready, cause I’m about to be gorgeous!”
William got off of my back but took a step onto my back as he turned to face Anna.
The pain to my back felt like Gallagher had rammed his Sledge-O-Matic 200 into my spine.

“Beating up on someone ‘cause you think you can?”
William answered by charging at Anna, knocking her to the ground.
I flipped to my side, still in pain from the bad chiropractic session I had endured.
Anna pushed him off, stood back up and jumped away from his grip. However, William went in, grabbed Anna by the neck and slammed her against a car. He then picked her up and threw over the same car.
By then, a small crowd had formed but no one took a step forward to help her. I struggled to get up as Anna got up, her hair free of the ponytail and her sweater ripped enough to reveal the white shirt she had on underneath it.
“Let me tell you, something, sweetie. I’ve dealt with the likes of you.”
William and Anna played a game of ring-around-the-Plymouth until William turned back to me.
“Stay down!” William yelled as he ran towards me. I was on my hands and knees, unable to get up from that position fast enough to flee.
Anna jumped over the car, ran past William and blocked him, William’s eyes were just as surprised as mine were, but he took action and grappled Anna, lifting her over his head and then threw her to the ground.
I tired to yell for him to stop but only a gasping, wheezing sound came out.
William’s lackey took several steps back as William walked toward Anna again and picked her up the hair. “Not talking now, are you?”
Anna’s face contorted into extreme pain as William whispered something into her ear.
Anna replied to him, but I couldn’t rear over the quiet roar of the crowd that had gained the attention of several adults.
William grabbed Anna by the neck again and slammed her onto another car.
“Someone help her!” I croaked out.
He struck her against the car several times until four adults tackled him to the ground like they were on field themselves.
I sat up and then tried to get with my back in immense pain. I staggered over to Anna, with several adults racing in front of me. No one would pick her up as no one knew the extent of her injuries. The crowd behind us had swelled to a number that I was pretty sure was greater than the ones still watching the game.
“Anna!”
“Bryce,” she wheezed.
“You’re going to be okay,” I lied as I took her left hand.
“I wish that was true. Did you mean what you dreamed? Of being with me?”
“Every thought. Every thought, Anna.”
“Bryce-”
Several EMT’s pushed through and blocked me from Anna. One of them turned to me and asked if I was alright.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“I need you to sit down, okay?”
The adrenaline running laps around my veins finally threw the race and I fell into the arms of two of the EMT’s.
“It was pretty rude of him,” she said as she smiled and closed her eyes. “Meet me tomorrow, Bryce.”
The EMT’s moved her to a gurney and rushed her to an awaiting ambulance.
They wouldn’t let me leave with her.