Red

by Richard P Rigoli

  It all hinged on that untouchable quarterback, the second-string replacement coated in Teflon. Jordan’s stomach lurched as if he hadn’t eaten all day. He reached down and knuckled the grass in his left hand, waiting for the snap. The QB scrambled away and was winding his arm back for a long pass. Jordan faked a block on his opponent lineman this time. He spun left and charged down the quarterback who faced the other way. Ryan broke through the line, and the St. Anthony QB seemed focused on him. Jordan had a clear shot at the quarterback’s blind side, and he rushed in hard.

  The sharp crack of one helmet striking another echoed over the field as Jordan slammed into Ryan instead. His teammate took the worst of the hit, staggering away drunkenly. There was no way he should have missed the sack. Jordan turned about, and now the QB, just to his right, had already completed the pass.

  Suddenly, Jordan’s vision was off. There were odd, wavy outlines around everything, like heat mirages. That hit with Ryan must have affected him worse than he thought. He shook himself, fighting off a strange feeling of dizziness and nausea, and then closed his eyes. His chest throbbed with mounting pressure. Was he having a heart attack?

  The game was important, but it was only a game. He needed to calm himself somehow. His pulse was pounding in his ears loud enough that it drowned out the crowd. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. His skin was on fire, and he opened his mouth to scream. Then the pain faded suddenly. Gasping, Jordan stood and looked around. Everything around him was vivid, appearing clearer and brighter than ever.

  ***

  Kendra watched Jordan on the field, hoping that knock on the head didn’t take him out of the game or worse—making her spend the night alone. Then, he got up.

  She felt a rush of searing heat that caused her to stagger back a step. Random patches of grass smoldered around her, and she frowned angrily. If she caught any of the Spirit Team smoking again, there would be hell to pay! She quickly corrected her stance, so that no one would notice her misstep, and focused on the simple routine.

  Kendra had been prone to hot flashes, but that one must have been the worst ever. Stupid hormones! She looked across the field and saw Jordan confidently still playing.

  ***

  A sudden gust of wind tore across the bleachers, flinging discarded cups and paper in its wake. Rai jumped up and whooped excitedly, eliciting raised eyebrows from Jade and Olivia. Emma took a double take at the field and frowned at Rai.

  “Are you cheering because those two guys banged heads down there?” She asked.

  Rai colored and quickly sat down. “Seriously, I wasn’t even watching. I just feel awesome all'uva a sudden.”

  “You’re weird,” Olivia laughed and handed him a chip.

  ***

  Jordan had shaken off the nausea and the knocked heads. In fact, he was feeling like himself again as they lined up for the next play. No, it was more than that. He felt lighter and more energetic than ever. He raised his head and looked suspiciously at Ryan down the line from him.

  “Hey, Ryan!” he shouted. There was no response, so he called again. “Ryan!”

  “What?” Ryan replied.

  “Did you put something in my water, man?”

  “I admit nothing!” Ryan said laughing.

  “You’re an ass!” Jordan hollered.

  “That I’ll admit to,” he answered as the play began.

  St. Anthony snapped the ball and there was an immediate handoff. The running back managed to slip through the defensive line, but Jordan was close enough to cut him off. Everyone seemed to be moving slowly now. All traces of his earlier fatigue were gone as Jordan cut under the running back and flipped him to the ground.

  The St. Anthony player bounced once with a grunt of pain as he hit, and the ball came free. Jordan didn’t think, he just plucked the live ball from the air and ran. Opposing team members appeared in front of him, but Jordan tucked the ball tightly under his arm and charged through them. Players crashed into him, grabbing and clutching, but they didn’t even slow him down.

  Jordan ran and eventually found himself standing in the end zone, looking back across the field in shock. His teammates were cheering and running toward him. The roar from the stands was deafening, but all he could see were the St. Anthony players left in his wake. Many of them crying out in pain, and others weren’t moving at all.

  “What is happening to me?!” he cried out, his words lost amid the deafening crowd.

  5

  RAI DOESN’T DANCE

  Emma blinked and kept her expression neutral as they walked into the auditorium for the Homecoming Dance. From her left, she heard a sound like air escaping from a tire. She slid her eyes to the side enough to note that Olivia's lips had compressed into a hard line as she waved her hands at the walls and ceiling.

  "Someone tell me I'm being pranked. Please?" Olivia moved forward, not waiting for a reply. "This isn't what we planned! I need to find Tina and Gale. This is bull! I'm going to..." her voice trailed off as she disappeared into the crowd. Emma turned to Jade.

  "I'm not an expert on dance decorations or anything, but I'm going to assume this is bad, right?"

  Jade snorted as she regarded the walls and ceiling. "You have a talent for understatement."

  Sizable portions of the walls were covered in brown butcher paper painted to resemble forest trees. Other decorations included a large cardboard facade of a log cabin. Across the top, bore a banner with "Welcome Home!" painted in large letters that resembled cut logs. Various depictions of crudely drawn wolves and fleeing girls in bright red hoods scattered amongst the decor.

  "I thought Olivia said they were going to do some enchanted forest theme for this. I'm not sure Little Red Riding Hood counts," Emma said as she headed towards a free table.

  "Olivia is finding out the realities of the school’s budget process," Jade said with a pained expression. A moment later her wry grin seemed to freeze in place.

  Emma followed that gaze back to the door and noted Kendra entering with Jordan. As the couple crossed the threshold, the first song wailed out of the sound system like a fanfare.

  ***

  The lively music caused Kendra to smile as she made her way into the room. Everyone looked at her and Jordan with expressions of awe and jealousy. The music started as she entered, signifying that the dance could begin now that she had arrived. It made her laugh. She hadn't known that was coming, and she wondered which of her many friends had arranged it.

  The red-head felt energized by the moment and glanced up at Jordan. He was handsome and that made her smile more. Sarah waved them over to a central table, and they exchanged tight hugs before sitting. Jordan looked pensive, but Kendra was feeling too good to let that bother her. It had been two days since the game, and he had been in a funk the entire time. It had been amazing time for her, though. Jordan had been unstoppable in the game, and the whole school was talking about him—and her—ever since. It bugged her that instead of Jordan relishing his accomplishment, he was focused on the injured members of the other team. It was sweet that he thought about those players, but it wasn't like anybody had died, she mused.

  She slipped her arm through his and gave him her best, practiced smile. The one that could reduce rich boys to beggars and score her a sixteenth-birthday BMW. She felt perfect around Jordan and would do anything for him.

  Kendra glanced across the table and noticed Sarah looking at him. She felt a heated flash of anger. It must have shown on her face because the girl looked away at once. Where did that come from? She had never been jealous over a guy in her life. Kendra took a few calming breaths. If this was what love was like, it wasn't very rational. She needed to get her emotions in check and keep them there. She repeated the thought a few times then looked over at Jordan, sighed, and bobbed her head along with the new song.

  ***

  As the music switched to something worse, Rai sighed and stepped into the room amid a flow of late arrivals. Terrible headaches and a flurry of asthma attacks
had defined the last two days. He decided to make an appearance at the dance for Olivia's sake, regardless. He was relieved when the pain faded completely that afternoon. One look at the gym and current playlist inflicted on the student body, and he almost preferred the migraine.

  He spotted Olivia standing near the DJ with two other girls and a teacher. From the way she tugged at her hair as she spoke, he decided to avoid her for now. He shrugged out of his jacket and shook the rain off it with a sigh. It was supposed to be “partly cloudy” but was coming down heavy when he got out of the car.

  The sky was waiting for me to step outside, he complained to himself. He didn't dance and didn't like dances in general. He looked around for Emma and Jade and tried not to think of the fifty or sixty things he would rather be doing. Then, he caught sight of something very odd.

  The girl stood near the cheap plastic fountain that was serving as a punch bowl. Her dark blonde hair was swept back and gathered in a stylish clip. She was pretty, and her light gray blouse and skirt complimented her figure well. The girl had a casually bored expression on her face that Rai could certainly understand. The blond-haired person also seemed to be glowing with faint golden light. Rai blinked, rubbed at his eyes, and then looked at her again. She looked back, regarding him with an arched eyebrow. Rai felt his face heat as he looked away and almost stepped on Jade.

  "Hey, you made it!" She yelled over the background noise. He stumbled back with a yelp, and Jade reached out to steady him before he fell over.

  "Whoa, there!" She laughed. "Jumpy much?"

  "Sheesh, you came out of nowhere like that. What did you expect?" Rai shot back. He glanced over at the blonde girl again, hoping she hadn't seen him almost fall on his butt. She was watching him intently and had a definite grin on her face.

  Oh, I'm a smooth one, I am, he chided himself.

  Jade followed his gaze, flashing a grin of her own. "Is that why you're all-walking-into-people? You're checking out Amber?"

  "Is that her name?" he began absently before catching Jade's Cheshire-like smile and calculating expression. "Oh, just help me find a hole to crawl into and don't make it any worse. I already blew it."

  "Nonsense!" Jade motioned with her chin. "She's still watching. Go talk to her."

  "Not a chance,” Rai said resolutely and shrugged, “I was mostly curious about the rave lights she rigged up in her dress anyway." Rai spotted Emma and moved past Jade in the opposite direction from Amber.

  ***

  Jade side-stepped as Rai went by, feeling herself make a face at the suggestion that Amber had something up her dress. She had no idea what that meant. But, then again, she never understood Rai much. He was Emma’s friend, which made him her friend by default.

  Jade looked back at Amber and frowned. She didn't see any glow bracelets or LED jewelry on the girl. Jade did note that Amber was still watching Rai very intently, though. She shrugged and moved to follow Rai back to the table, only to find one of Kendra’s lackeys standing behind her.

  "I had a feeling you were here, Jones," the tall Rad named Ashley said with slow and not so subtle disdain. "It was that or the toilets backed up again."

  "I don't know what I'm more impressed by," Jade replied, her smile remained but her eyes grew very hard, "How tired that insult is, or that you're stepping up to me without your friends to back you up."

  Ashley's lip curled upward in an unpleasant way, and she tipped a cup of punch out of her hand. It hit the floor, splashing outward, covering the lower half of Jade's skirt. "Oops! I'm clumsy tonight. I must be tired or something."

  Jade took a step closer. The other girl met her gaze with an eager gleam.

  "Go ahead, Jones. Right here. Right now."

  "Like you're worth a suspension." Jade wanted nothing more than to lash out, but she recognized the blatant attempt to bait her for what it was. As she turned away, she noticed Sarah just a few feet away with her phone out. Jade spared a mocking pose and grin as she passed, heading off to her friends’ table.

  Jade dropped angrily into a seat next to Emma with Olivia and Rai. Olivia still looked sulky, and Emma glanced from one to the other. "Would it help if I set up some dolls for you two to stick pins into?"

  "It just might," Olivia shot back.

  "Sorry, I got punched by Ashley on my way over here." Jade laughed, and her expression lightened somewhat.

  "She hit you?" Emma blinked.

  "I wish." Jade smiled. "She dumped punch on my skirt, trying to get me to hit her."

  "Amazing," Rai added.

  "What's so amazing about a Rad giving me grief?"

  "Nothing," Rai replied, "I find it miraculous that you didn't feed Ashley her own shoe."

  "Believe me, it was tempting. But it was just a setup." Jade shook her head. "Sarah was recording the whole thing."

  "Well, I'm glad you didn't get into a fight," Olivia agreed. "It's way too early in the year to start getting in trouble." A loud rumble of thunder from outside added emphasis to her words.

  ***

  After Jade walked off, Ashley and Sarah made their way to the wall where the bleachers were folded up for the event. A gathering of boys there collectively looked displeased.

  "Sorry, Hunter," Sarah said to one of them. "We tried."

  "Yeah, we saw," he replied. "We won’t be able to get him with Jones around. That girl is crazy. We'll just have to wait for Aoi to go to the bathroom or something."

  "Good luck." Sarah nodded as they went back to their table, the rumbling weather outside startling Ashley.

  ***

  Rai shook his head. The music continued to be a terrible regurgitation of a pop station playlist. Half the jocks were eyeing him like he owed them money, and the punch was watered-down. Weren’t punch bowls were supposed to be spiked at these things? Rai inwardly complained.

  Jade was off dancing, and Olivia dragged Emma to the bathroom for what seemed like an hour ago. None of his other friends were anywhere near this dance. He looked at his smartphone watch and wondered how it could have been only forty-five minutes since he'd first walked in.

  "Ghaaa!" He cried aloud. "It's the evil dance time-dilation effect!" Everything about the dance was torture.

  Rai looked around and couldn't even see Jade anymore. The room filled to the brim with people he had nothing in common with. Rai began to think he'd served an acceptable amount of time at the event, but figured he'd at least wait for Olivia to let her know he was heading out. It was that or face her unmatched ability to lay down a guilt trip on Monday morning. Then, he saw that girl, Amber, walking toward the doors.

  Rai sat staring for a moment before he swallowed hard, grabbed his jacket, and headed out after her. He had no idea what he was doing and no idea what he would say. He just knew he needed to talk to her. There were things he needed to know about her.

  Amber was at the end of the hall that led out of the auditorium. As she exited, lightning lit up the sky framing her. Rai lowered his head to run after her, but rough arms grabbed him. A fist impacted in his midsection, and breath exploded out of him. Rai tried to cry out but couldn't inhale. He tried to focus, but the hallway seemed to tilt sideways and rose to meet him. He saw his inhaler skid across the floor out of reach.

  "Your dirt-bag folks ruined my dad's business," a voice called out from behind him. A foot struck him in the back, and Rai folded up as he tried to catch his breath.

  "But you don't care about that, do you?" Someone else kicked him on the side of the head, and bright starlight flashed behind Rai's eyes.

  "You still have plenty of money, right?" Another hard kick hit him in the legs.

  Bright lightning ignited the sky outside followed by a thunderclap that shook the floor. A gust of wind howled through the hallway and Rai tensed for the next blow that never came. He felt oddly numb, his vision was clearing, and his lungs no longer burned. Oh, crap! I must be going into shock or something.

  He looked up and saw Hunter slouched against the wall. Amber stood between him and
Rai, holding her fists up in front of her like a boxer. Hunter looked dazed, and his lip was bleeding. The two cohorts sprawled in a tangled mess against the opposite wall.

  "Are you okay?" she asked, half turning toward Rai. Other students starting filing into the hall. Hunter stood up straight, and Amber tensed her arms toward him. “Y’all get going before I beat the ugly out of you!”

  Looking murderous, they left without saying a single word. Amber drew closer, and Rai noticed the strange golden glow around her again. He was about to ask her about it when she asked, "How are you glowing blue?"

  6

  JADE STRIKES BACK

  To Emma, the situation with the Rads became even more antagonistic after Homecoming. Everyday involved nastier verbal jabs at each other.

  “I say we line ‘em all up behind the gym and furiously mug them with a bag of rocks!” Jade exclaimed at the lunch table. “I’m tired of taking crap from Rads.”

  “For some reason, I don’t think hitting people will make them hate you less.” Olivia sighed.

  “I don’t want them to like me,” Jade replied. “I’m fine with them hating us. It’s about encouraging the proper attitude.”

  “What kind of attitude?” Emma asked.

  “Fear,” Jade said with a nod. She shrugged a moment later and left without further comment. Olivia and Emma exchanged looks at each other.

  “That was scary,” Olivia muttered.

  Emma had to agree.

  “What do you think she’s going to do?”

  “I’m not sure,” Emma said. “Be ready for the fallout?”