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“I do.” He points behind him. “Make her smile, please?”

“I’m on it.” Inside the tunnel, I find Phia leaning against the wall, her hands on her thighs like she’s catching her breath. “Girl, that was hot!”

Her head snaps up, a slow grin stretching her lips. “Almost dying, do it for you?”

I fan myself as I step closer. “Not usually, but the rescue…dayum! Edee Shingleton. School newspaper photographer.” I hold out my hand for her to shake. Strong, firm grip. I can already tell she’s good people.

“Phia Kerr. Sideline nuisance.”

Waving off her concern, I tell her, “Ah, don’t let Coach He-A-Cock into your head. He’s a fucking asshole and not worth your time or tears.”

“He-A-Cock? I love it!” She laughs so hard, tears fill her eyes. “Thank you, I desperately needed that.”

I nod in understanding, “Glad I could help. I’ll let you get back out there, just wanted to tell you, I got some good shots of Big Prib saving you if you want some vag vault material.”

“Oh my gosh!” Her laughter follows me as I walk backward a few steps, then spin on my heel and leave her to finish collecting herself in the tunnel. On the sidelines again, I take a few shots of the cheerleaders, the band, Prib, and Phia when she returns.

“I told you, girl, you have to take the right kind of shots of the right kind of subjects!” With a heavy sigh, I stand up and turn to find Heacock in the passenger seat of his golf-cart, scowling at me. “Hey!” I offer him a half-ass salute and wander off to do my thing.

I stop in my tracks about 20 feet down, when I look through my camera lens and find the mascot staring in my direction…again. I tilt my head and snap a few pics of them. I’ve caught them several times since last game, but I’m not sure who the mascot is. I should know, but I hadn’t taken the time to learn anyone’s names if they weren’t a key player on the team.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone is essential; band member, mic-man, groundskeeper, towel boy, mascot and everyone in between. I just didn’t want to overwhelm myself with too much info at one time. Now, I’m kinda wishing I’d pushed myself to learn more.

The crowd goes wild as the clock counts down. We win and I can feel the energy from the stadium, like a pulse beating beneath my skin. A hum of excitement. I literally had nothing to do with today’s win and yet, I feel connected to the team. I guess this is school pride.

I stay behind as the field and stadium empty, capturing every minute of the win. Walking through the corridors of the athletic complex, I run into Lilly Geddes, who handles the PR for the team. We’ve been in communication since the summer when I was initially assigned to the football team.

“Get any good shots today?” she asks, leaning against the stone wall, her ankles crossed. Her casual posture lasts all of two seconds, before she slaps both high-heeled feet to the ground and bounces slightly. “Please tell me you got every second of Pribula rescuing Ms. Kerr?”

“I did!” I reply with just slightly less enthusiasm. Lilly claps her hands.

“Put them in the shared folder as soon as you can. I’m gonna put them on the homepage! In a slideshow!”

I chuckle at her exuberance and the fact that Heacock will hate it. “Happy to oblige. Hey, who’s the mascot?”

Still smiling, she answers, “Tyrone Wicawiil.”

“That name is so familiar,” I muse, knowing I’ve heard it somewhere.

“Lyndell is his brother.”

“Oh! Lyndell! He’s such a sweetheart. He gave me a towel during the last game because it was so hot, I had to keep wiping sweat off my forehead and under my braids.”

“He’s as much a part of this school as the mascot itself.” Her eyes widen alarmingly. I turn to see what has her so concerned. Lyndell runs into me and picks me up. He squeezes me tight.

Laughing, I pat his shoulder. “Hi, Lyndell!”

“Lyn,” Lilly begins in a soft voice. “Put her down.”

“Sorry!” He drops me to the ground, but I manage to keep my balance as he abruptly lets me go. “We won!” He kisses my cheek, then Lilly’s before he takes off. “ICE CREAM!”

We watch him go. “Edee, did something happen with Tyrone?”

“No. Not at all.” I wave her off and fiddle with the strap of my equipment bag. “Just wondered.”

She grins obnoxiously at me. “Of course. Well, if you wanted something to happen…I hear he’s single.”

“I haven’t even seen his face!” I blurt out, then backtrack. “I mean, good for him. Being single is great.”

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