The Touchdown

by Bishop, K. M.

  “I told you, didn’t I?” she said. “This is why you don’t cross that line. This is not a game.”

  “I know. But I’m not sorry I did. Bobby and I really care about each other. We aren’t going to let some school rivalry keep us apart. That’s silly.”

  “Ok, but I don’t think you yet understand the full scope of what you may have unleashed here.”

  “I’m starting to. But I can handle it. I’m not afraid.”

  “You should be. I’ve seen these things go terribly wrong before. My cousin used to go here and something similar happened to her. She started dating a guy from Indiana and the Purdue football team jumped him and beat him senseless. He ended up in the hospital for a week. They never could say for sure who did it because they all wore masks, but everybody knew.”

  I listened closely. What in the hell was this? It was only a game. These people were insane.

  “I don’t know what to do, then. Do you think Bobby is in danger?” I asked.

  “He could be, especially if he comes by here again. This is not the place he wants to be seen hanging out. It’s just too dangerous. And that goes for you, too. If people find out you are going there it will be trouble when you get back here. I know you and Bobby care for each other, but for precisely that reason you need to back this thing off. Just put things on hold until graduation. It’s only six months. That sounds like a long time, but not for two people who say they love each other as much as you two.”

  I nodded. “But, we can’t let them win. Yes, we could do the six months, but that just tells them that they’ve won and we backed down. I’m not sure if you’ve forgotten who I am, but I don’t let anyone tell me what to do or control me in any way.”

  Allison smiled and shook her head. “Oh, I know that. You are just too stubborn for your own good.”

  I smiled. I finished getting dressed and was just about to head out to the practice field when Dawn and a few of her friends on the squad surrounded my locker. Allison had gone out already, so now I felt very alone. Still, I wasn’t going to let this skank intimidate me. She’d been so out to get me since I’d been made head cheerleader that she wanted to kill me on sight. She was just waiting for the right time. Come to think of it, I would not have been surprised to learn that Dawn was probably stalking me and was the one who ratted me out about Bobby. But right now I couldn’t prove it. So I would just let it lie for the time being.

  “So, it’s our illustrious leader,” Dawn said in her mocking tone.

  “What do you want?” I demanded standing strong with my hands on my hips.

  “What do I want?” Allison asked in a mocking voice. “I want to know how stupid do you think we all are?”

  I smiled. “Is that a trick question?”

  Dawn’s eyes flashed with rage. “Cut the shit! We know about your little boy toy.”

  I laughed. “My private life is private to me. You don’t have any say in it, Dawn. Now get out of my face.”

  “When you are dating member of the enemy, we sure do have a say in it. This stops now. Did you really think you would get away with it?”

  “Again, I don’t care what you think. You can approve or disapprove. I’ll be with who I choose to be with. Deal with it.”

  Dawn laughed a vicious cackle. Her three friends all scoffed at each other and shook their heads as if to say I’d really messed up now and I was going to get what was coming to me. Well, bring it on.

  “You don’t get it. You are forbidden to associate with Bobby. He is one of them. You will not betray our school that way. We can’t have that. You could be giving him secrets about our team, our plays, and who knows what else. This won’t do. Are you so blind you can’t see that he is just using you?”

  “Are you done? I have a cheer squad to lead. And for the time being, you are still part of it. Until coach finally gets sick of you and gives you the boot.”

  Dawn was in my face now. I braced myself for a fight. I was ready. If she made one move I was going to drop her fast.

  “You are still having trouble comprehending. This will end now. If it doesn’t you will be the sorriest bitch who ever lived. Your life will become a hell that you can’t begin to imagine.”

  “Idle threats? So childish. Whatever you think,” I said.

  I walked past her, bumping my shoulder against hers to move her from my path. As I walked out of the locker room I heard Dawn call after me. “You’ve been warned!”

  I laughed and continued walking without even looking back. Dawn didn’t deserve the energy.

  When I got out to the field I told Allison about the warning. I was snickering about it but Allison did not find it at all amusing. “This is getting out of hand. You have to stop this now.”

  “No. I’m not backing down from them. They can do what they want.”

  We started the practice and everything went smoothly for a while, until about halfway through when Dawn and her closest friends began to act up and giggle with each other. We’d taken a quick water break and they were all huddled around Dawn’s phone laughing like cackling hyenas. And they kept glancing over at me.

  I had to see what was going on. My curiosity was getting the best of me here.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Oh, it’s just amazing how easy it is to ruin someone’s good name nowadays,” Dawn said. She held up her phone. There was a picture of me on my knees that had been cropped in with another picture of a bathroom stall with a hole in the side wall. Through the hole there was an erect penis. The picture had been photo shopped together to appear as if I was servicing guys in some bathroom glory hole. And it had been posted and shared on social media dozens of times with loads of comments.

  I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach. I wanted to cry. This was so humiliating. But it was just some goofy, fake picture. Fine. Whatever they wanted to do. I wasn’t going to let them get to me.

  “That’s cute,” I said with a smile.

  I walked away fuming mad. I had to keep it together and get a grip. There were going to be bumpy roads ahead. I could feel it coming and I knew that I’d better get my resolve and keep it icy if I wanted to make it through.

  * * *

  I stepped out of my Statistics class and took a big breath of the cooling night air. It was getting a bit chilly in the evenings now. Six weeks later and snow would be everywhere. I sighed. I’ve always hated winter weather. One day I hoped I could move to a great, warm climate and said goodbye to snow and ice for good. So many people around me wanted to embrace the changing seasons and they seemed like they were built for the cold, as if they actually thrived on it. Not me. It always depressed me a bit.

  The past two days had been rough. Everywhere I went it seemed that people were pointing and laughing at me. This was awful. I hadn’t reached out to Bobby about it yet; it wasn’t his problem. This was not his fault and it wasn’t mine. This was silly. I was tempted to reach out to the Dean, but I doubted he could or would do much about it. What people posted on social media was really their business and he had much more important things on his plate to deal with.

  Besides, I wasn’t the type to go running for help. I planned to ignore all the haters and keep my head up high. I would not let them beat me. That just wasn’t going to happen. I would fight hard and I would come out the other side even stronger than I had been originally. I’ve always been a survivor.

  I stepped out into the path that led to my dorm. I hated Mondays because I had this class late at night. It was almost ten o’clock and I still had some studying I had to do. I would be lucky to get to bed by three in the morning. And then I had to get up bright and early in the morning and start it all over again. This was the life of a college senior who was heavily involved in athletics. But I would never have traded the challenges for the world. I was determined to continue getting closer and closer to my goal.

  The campus was fairly quiet on a Monday night. Everyone was still half hungover from partying all weekend and they
actually had to catch up on the school work they’d neglected. So, yeah…Monday’s were pretty chill.

  I enjoyed the lonely walk from class to my dorm on these late nights in some ways. They were peaceful and I could breathe in the fresh air. I had no one around to bother me or weigh on my mind with any of their problems either. For some reason most of my friends always came to me with their problems as if I had all the answers. I didn’t have those answers most of the time. And whatever advice I gave people half the time I was just winging it. That was all. But it worked for them apparently, because they sought me out repeatedly.

  But the long, quiet walk was also a bit scary. The campus was generally considered pretty safe, but walking alone at night in the dark was enough to make anyone a little jumpy. I usually walked quicker than my typical pace and when I got home I would let out a sigh of relief, eager to be home.

  I quickened my pace and moved along the path, which required me to go off the main path through the quad where the lights were bright and you could see in every direction for a hundred feet. Now, I was heading down a slightly narrower path towards the apartment I shared with Allison which was just off campus. This was the part of the walk I really hated, but I got through it every single night.

  With everything else going on though, my sense of self was not feeling much relief. I actually felt pretty lousy. I felt timid, which was kind of alien to me. The past two days it was like the entire school had turned on me. Word had gotten around about me and Bobby, and of course the rumors that I was a total slut who let the entire Indiana team run a train on me were circulating constantly. Everywhere I turned people were pointing and laughing. It was hard enough to get through class just knowing what they were all thinking about me. It was so hard.

  But I had to be strong. I was the head cheerleader. I had to show that I could persevere through this adversity and show them all that I was not someone they could break. I would not allow myself to be defeated.

  I heard a noise behind me.

  Quickly, I spun around to see only darkness. “Who’s there?” I called out.

  There was only silence in response. I was losing it. It must have been a twig or a leaf in the breeze. What was I thinking? I had to get a grip and move on.

  I quickened my pace even farther. My apartment was only about two hundred yards farther. Then I’d be home. I’d be safe and sound in our cozy apartment. I would make some tea and cuddle up under my blanket on the couch while I did some much needed studying.

  That was all I needed to think about. Soon, I would be home safe and sound. And this lonely, late night walk would be history for another week.

  The noise came again. I spun around quicker, almost losing my balance. “Who is there? This isn’t funny!” I yelled.

  I heard nothing but I was paralyzed with fear. I wanted to run the rest of the way. Just turn around and bolt for the door to my apartment and not turn back. But I couldn’t move. I was frozen with fear. I didn’t know what to do. Was I hallucinating? Was I just freaking myself out?

  Then I felt the hand on my mouth. It was heavy. A leather glove smothered me, covering my mouth and nose. I couldn’t breathe. I was falling quickly to the ground. The hard ground met my back and slammed into me hard. I was lying on the ground now with some big, h heavy person on top of me.

  They were wearing all black, covered head to toe with a ski mask covering their face. I couldn’t have identified them even if I did know them. The eyes stared into mine, cold and menacing. This was real. This was happening. I was being attacked. What was going to happen to me? Every worst case scenario played out in my head right then. I felt very scared, very small, and so afraid. I’d never been this terrified before in my entire life.

  I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry out for help, but the gloved hand over my mouth was preventing this. My arms were pinned at my sides and my legs were being sat on by this heavy person. It had to be a man. He must have weighed well over two hundred pounds. I felt like I was being crushed.

  “You listen bitch,” the man moaned. “We tried to be nice. We tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen. You know what you’re doing and we are not going to stand for it. This is your final warning. You end it, or we will. Do you get me?”

  A knife came into view right in front of my face simultaneously with a springy sounding pop. A switchblade. There was a switchblade knife pressing against my cheek.

  “Do you get it?” The man growled.

  He waited a moment and then he was gone. Almost as fast as the blink of an eye, I was alone again. There was no one else around me. The dark was the only company I had right then and there.

  But I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I laid there for several minutes trying to collect myself and process what had just happened to me. I was so scared. I could barely think about who I was and where I was, what was I doing? Where was my home…:? Home… yes… I had to get home…I’d be safe there.

  Little by little I found the strength to stand up and made my way to the apartment. Once inside I closed the door behind me and locked it.

  Then I broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. Anything could have happened to me right then. I’d been threatened. I was attacked and the man had a knife. It was just a miracle that he didn’t actually hurt me.

  But his message was very clear. The next time would be no warning. I would be hurt. And I had no idea how badly.

  I didn’t know what to do.

  “You have to go to the police,” Allison said when I told her. She arrived home about thirty minutes after I did to find me curled up in a ball on the floor still crying my eyes out. I couldn’t do anything else. I was a blabbering mess and it took me several attempts to get everything out about what had just happened to me and to transmit this information to her.

  “I don’t know if I can. It won’t do any good,” I said. “I didn’t see anything. There is nothing to give them to go on.”

  “You have to report it at least. This is getting crazy. Some psycho threatened you with a knife. If you don’t go, then I’ll go by myself.”

  I nodded.

  Twenty minutes later we were talking with the campus Police. I told them everything and they took down my statement. To my surprise they seemed to be taking this very seriously.

  “Ok,” officer White said as he finished writing up his report. “We will definitely look into this. There has been a spike of campus crime lately. That’s why we are advising people not to go places at night by themselves. At least take one other friend with you. It’s sad to think things are getting that bad, but there have been other reports lately of similar attacks, and some of them resulted in injury unfortunately.”

  “I’m not sure these are related,” Allison said. She patiently told Officer White the whole story about me and Bobby. He listened calmly, hanging on her every word until she was done while sipping his coffee out of a large mug. Something told me he filled that mug up several times a day. When Allison was finished he made some notes and adjustments to the overall report.

  Then he spoke calmly. “I’m familiar with this crazy rivalry stuff. Some kids got hurt a few years ago with this same kind of nonsense, but rest assured we do not take this stuff lightly. We are doing our best to crack down on these types of incidents. So, we will investigate this fully. Do you have any idea which individuals might have been involved in this attack?”

  I mentioned Dawn to him. “But she wasn’t the one who attacked me. It was a man. Someone she put up to it, maybe? I think she is dating Keith Michaels now. He is a linebacker for the team. The size would have been about right. But again, it’s just speculation. It was dark and I couldn’t really see anything.”

  He nodded.

  After we left the police station I felt a bit better about things. At least they hadn’t blown me off. They were investigating this. They were going to take it seriously and if the investigation turned up anything they would let me know right away.

  Allison drove me home and together we just stayed up and tal
ked a bit while drinking Chamomile tea. It always calmed me down at night when I had a bit of insomnia every now and then.

  We sat and talked things over and tried to decide what we needed to do about this. My mind felt like it was being crushed by some sort of a vise. I’d never dreamt that so much hell could befall me simply because I fell in love with a man. This was utterly absurd.

  “You have to tell Bobby,” Allison said.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know what he would do. If he finds out I was attacked… he would go nuts. He is so strong and protective, especially when it comes to me. He is almost overprotective. And this could get him hurt. He can’t take them all on by himself, besides we don’t know who actually did it.”

  “I’m sure it was Dawn’s boyfriend. He’s her puppet. She pulled the strings and he did as he was commanded by the marionette.”

  “Maybe. But without actual proof, there isn’t a lot I can do. I’m not going to stir up something based on a hypothetical. That’s not me. I hate drama. You know this.”

  “I can’t believe they went this far,” Allison said.

  “You tried to warn me.”

  “Are you sorry you didn’t listen to me?”

  I paused a moment and thought about the answer. Finally, I said, “No.”

  Allison laughed. “You are so stubborn. You are going to keep seeing Bobby aren’t you.”

  “Yes.” I answered without even thinking. There was no hesitation. “I will not let them ruin my relationship. Bobby and I are together and that is that. They can do what they want to me and it will never change that.”

  “You are the most stubborn person alive. I love that about you.”

  I smiled. Allison was such a great friend. We were like sisters and I knew that we always would be.

  When I went to sleep later all the problems continued to swirl around inside my mind. Should I tell Bobby? Would it make a difference? Would he call it quits with me? I didn’t think so, but it was a legitimate fear. How would he really respond? I had a pretty good idea that he would let the anger get the best of him and lash out at whoever was trying to hurt me. I felt safe knowing that Bobby was in my corner, always.