It's All Good by Nikki Carter

emotional?
    As we march off the field, I tap her on the shoulder and ask, “You cool?”
    She nods, but stays silent.
    Someone from the stands shouts, “Ooo-OOO!”
    Valerie grins, pumps her fist and hollers back, “Ooo-OOO!”
    The rest of the Hi-Steppers follow Valerie’s lead and yell back at the stands. The tears still run down Valerie’s face, but she’s smiling extra hard.
    Since she can’t leave her fans without a little extra, Valerie pops her behind the rest of the way off the field. Boys from both schools show their appreciation by cheering and whistling.
    What part of Powerful Girls are Pure is this? Gwen would not be pleased. I’m just saying.
    Now that we’ve got the halftime routine out of the way, I can be a real BFF and pay some attention to my boy Ricky and the rest of the team.
    The second half of the game starts off with a bang and an early turnover by the Finley Sabers. The Spartans return it for a touchdown because they got it like that.
    On the next Spartans possession, Ricky leads the team up the field, but the drive only gives them a field goal. Are you impressed by my football knowledge? Yeah, me too. Ha!
    The Sabers aren’t going down without a fight, though. They get a touchdown the very next time they get the ball. The Spartan defense better pull themselves together real quick. Coach Rogers must be reading my mind because he takes a timeout.
    While the team is on the sidelines we start a “Spartans fight” chant. And the Sabers fans counter us by yelling, “Sabers roar! Grr!!!”
    Grrr? Are you kidding me? We should win the game just based on the lameness of the Sabers fans. Boo!
    The rally girls have pulled out flags and streamers and are lighting up the stands with red, white, and gold—the Spartans’ colors.
    When the team takes the field again, Ricky turns and looks into the stands. Since he’s looking over in our direction, I yell, “Go Ricky!”
    A huge smile bursts across his face and before I can catch myself the thought crosses my mind that he looks totally hot. Wow. My best friend is a hot boy, and apparently I’m not the only one who appreciates all his fineness. A lot of the girls cheer when Ricky smiles up at me.
    My heart sinks a little as I have a second revelation (Ricky being a hot boy was the first). Ricky can have any of these girls. Why should he settle for me when he can have anyone else?
    What if Ricky’s reluctance to date has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with playing the field? That would be all bad.
    â€œWhat are you thinking about?” Kevin asks, snapping me out of my worst-case-scenario daydream.
    â€œNothing. Y’all did good at halftime.”
    â€œThanks. This is fun. I hope we make it to state again next year.”
    â€œLet’s get through this game first,” I reply.
    As if the team hears me, Ricky throws a touchdown pass to Romeo. Every Longfellow Spartans fan jumps up because it’s pretty much a wrap! The Sabers are trailing by eleven points with less than two minutes in the game. As long as the Spartans defense handles their business ...
    Oh snap! Somebody missed a block because the Sabers just did a forty-one-yard run up the field. Me no likee. And neither does Coach Rogers, ’cause he’s blowing whistles and carrying on like he’s lost his mind.
    Even from the stands we can tell that Coach Rogers is letting the defense have it, but he soooo has a good reason! We’re like two minutes away from being the state champions! This is not the time to start falling apart.
    The defense runs back onto the field with the Spartans fans screaming in the stands. I think we all want this as badly as the team does.
    On the next snap the Spartans do what they’re supposed to do! They’ve got the Sabers quarterback scrambling for a receiver and he can’t find one.
    I guess he thinks he sees an opening or maybe he’s