Falling For Amelia Manning - 25 Bright Futures

Nine in the morning was an awful time to meet someone for a date, Phoebe thought to herself. A bitter cold wrapped itself around her face just as she pulled the collar of her jacket up around her chin and tightened the buttons down her front. She was going to grill her mom about what Amelia had talked to her about but when she got home her mom was asleep and Phoebe was so tired, she didn’t even get undressed to pass out in her bed.

When her mom woke her up this morning, there was no talk about where she was the night before, or why she didn’t get ready for bed properly. It was all lights on and no talking. It struck Phoebe as strange, yes, but it was so quick she didn’t get to properly ask what the hell was going on. Even after she was dressed for the day, showered and ready, she couldn’t find her mom in the house to talk to her, she just grabbed a bagel and headed for the porch to wait on Amelia.

She was running late and the bagel that hung out of Phoebe’s mouth didn’t taste the same knowing she didn’t have one to give to James. She still had the second one sitting in her other hand out of habit. It already had jam and stuff on it, so it would have been harder to put back in the bag. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but her heart was beating so loudly she could almost hear it outside her chest.

Nervous didn’t cover what she felt right now and when a familiar car pulled up to the curb, her heart hammered harder in her chest.

Walking up to Steven, the car, she tried to stare into the window and see who was driving. She didn’t think it would be James, not with the fight they had, but it was James’ car. Opening the door, she slid into the seat and was met with the lovely face of Amelia smiling at her.

“Why are you in Steven?”

“Who?” Amelia asked her as a look of confusion crossed her face. Slamming the door shut and reaching over to crank the heater, Phoebe settled into the seat.

“The car, James’ car is called Steven, you’re driving him,” Phoebe pointed out just as she finished off her last piece of bagel. Still remembering she had the other one in her hand, she reached out to offer it to Amelia.

“Oh, thanks, I don’t usually eat breakfast.” Pulling the bagel to her side, Amelia started to pull away from the curb.

“She let me borrow it, we’re running late, buckle up,” she told her while taking a big bite of the bagel as they moved down the road. While Amelia sped down the road with the bagel in her mouth, Phoebe thought about where they would be going, why James lent Amelia her car, and why she was up this early on a Saturday. All these things didn’t make any more sense when she saw where they were pulling into once the car slowed down.

“You brought me to the high school stadium for our first date?” Phoebe questioned while looking out the car window as they drove slowly around the lots to find a spot to park.

“So, this is a date?” Amelia mused making Phoebe blush even facing away from her. “You said at the house – I mean if you don’t want to – it’s just that,” Phoebe was flustered, and it made Amelia very happy to see her this way. Once she parked the car, her hand grabbed Phoebe’s from her lap, so she would stop stammering and look at her.

“This is a date. It’s official, especially if we walk through that stadium. Everyone from school is here for the competition and there will be eyes all over us, are you ready?” Phoebe gulped back and held Amelia’s hand tighter. She wasn’t sure what competition they were going to but that was far from her mind at the moment.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” her voice didn’t falter, but Amelia was still concerned that she wasn’t actually ready. When they got out of the car, the stadium seemed different from Phoebe. It’s been so long since she’s been on the field here that she almost forgot what it looked like. How it smelled like popcorn even if the stands weren’t open. How the large concrete monster was giving her an anxiety stomachache she would never forget.

It was different from the field at the school, larger, for one, but everything about it screamed that she didn’t belong in it. She felt it other times when she had games here, but now that she’s off the team for the year, she had nothing else to do but listen to the concrete monster looming overhead as they walked into the entrance, hand in hand.

When Amelia could sense Phoebe getting nervous, she held her hand a little tighter as they waded through the crowd accumulating in the front of the stadium. Finding the right hall, they ascended a set of stone stairs all the way up to the stands above them. When Phoebe saw her mom waving from a bench with blankets and cups of what Phoebe assumed was coffee, she realized this wasn’t going to be an ordinary date, but that she felt a lot more comfortable knowing her mom was around.

They quickly jogged up the rest of the way and found their seats next to Mrs. Edan who covered them with a blanket and gave each of them a cup. When Phoebe took in the smell of the coffee cup, she didn’t smell the lovely roasted beans, instead, it was a cloud of chocolate steam meeting her nose. Taking a small sip, she told herself chocolate beats coffee any day of the week.

“It took you guys long enough, I almost couldn’t save these seats,” her mom shouted over the crowd around them. When Phoebe looked down at the turf-covered field all she could see were cheerleaders performing routines. No football, Lacrosse, or any other sport that would draw such a crowd.

“What are we watching?” She asked them.

“She wanted to keep it a surprise, but she also didn’t want to start another fight,” her mom nudged her shoulder making Phoebe lean further into Amelia, who wasn’t complaining.

Her mom didn’t get to finish before the announcer started over the proceedings. Listening intently, maybe she would find herself a clue, she thought.

“Welcome to the field, the varsity squad from Jackson High, led by senior James VanWright!”

The second her name was called over the loudspeaker, Phoebe jumped to her feet, nearly spilling her hot chocolate all over herself if her mom hadn’t grabbed it first. She threw the blanket off her body and ran to the stairs trying to make it down to the front where she could stand at the guard rail to see them better. Amelia, going much slower than Phoebe, caught up with her once the whole team was on the field. They both watched James run out with the rest of the squad wearing her purple and gold uniform with a regulation black long sleeve shirt underneath. Her hair was done up in a high pony and braided down her back.

Phoebe missed seeing her like this, she thought. The smile on her face, whether it was for show or not, the energy she was putting out on the field, and even when it was her turn to flip in the air, Phoebe held her breath just in case something happened. But the only thing that did happen was a roaring round of applause from the crowd behind them. Phoebe yelled and screamed at her best friend and if Amelia hadn’t been down there, she would have assumed they were curse words or anger, not cheers of glee and excitement.

James locked eyes with her for a second, flashed a winning smile at her by the guard rail, and went back to what the team was performing.

“She wanted to tell you she made the team back when you didn’t make the Lacrosse team. She’s been going to practices and competitions and she was just tired of you not knowing. She told me it was better that you found out this way, otherwise you would be paranoid that something was going to happen to her while she was on the team.” Amelia explained next to her ear, so she could hear her over the crowd.

“I’m such a shitty friend, I could have been here, cheering her on the whole time but she was worried that I would mess it all up,” Phoebe spoke loudly but only Amelia could hear her.

“It’s not just that, she wanted to defend herself, to see if she could stand up to people if the time came. She’s not going to have you at the community college if something happens. She’s fine by herself but she’s even better with you.” Amelia shoved her a little with her shoulder and stared at the team finishing up. She watched them so closely that she nearly missed what someone behind her said in passing. Phoebe didn’t.

“Sorry, do you want to repeat that?” Before Amelia had a moment to react, Phoebe had spun around and faced a couple of teens from the school walking toward the stairs, snickering to each other and pointing directly at James among the other twenty cheerleaders. When they found who was talking to them and saw that it was Phoebe, the first guy’s eyes went wide, and his mouth closed quickly.

“I didn’t say anything,” he mustered up.

“No, I’d really like to hear it again, how you’re going to expose that ‘tranny’ – is that what you called her?” Phoebe asked, sweetly, but with an edge, Amelia could hear. She had her hands on her shoulders quicker than she could blink, but she still wanted to wait it out and see what she would do.

“What are you going to do about it? Let’s go,” the first boy waved for her friend to follow him, but Phoebe’s hand was quicker. “I better not catch you even looking at her, otherwise, I’ll put your head through a wall, are we clear?” Her tight fists gripped harder and harder on his collar. There were so many people around them that they were going unnoticed for the most part.

“Fine, let me go!” The boy shouted, and Phoebe shoved him toward the stairs before they scurried away from them.

“I hate people like that,” she mumbled just before turning back to the performance that just ended on the field. It took a few minutes to announce the winners. Phoebe, her mom, and Amelia left the stands to meet James at the main gate to the field after the winners are announced. Phoebe was glad that Amelia didn’t say anything to her mom and that the crowd was so big that she didn’t see anything either.

She had to give herself three big breaths just to calm down. She wanted to find those boys and punch their lights out, but Amelia said that would be a waste of energy and that seeing James next would be better. It took a few minutes, but the talk worked, and they found themselves waiting to see the winner of the contest.

The moment she broke through the gate, Phoebe grabbed her in a too-tight hug and didn’t let her go until she gasped for air. She didn’t care about the sweat coating her skin or the way the uniform made her want to punch someone, she just cared that her best friend was happy – being the winner was a cool bonus.

“I am so sorry I made this into something you had to keep a secret. You were amazing out there and everyone loved you and there are so many things you are going to achieve by just being you, and I –” Pulling Phoebe off of her fully, James held her crying face in between her hands.

“You, stupid, obsessive, nerve-wracking, beautiful, lovely girl,” James brushed some of the hair out of Phoebe’s face and just kept her face there for a moment. “We will never fight like that again; I was so scared that you wouldn’t come back. That I went too far. I’m sorry I kept this from you, I just needed to do it, you know?” Phoebe understood what she meant. It wouldn’t have been something she would choose, but that’s what all this is about, right? Letting people do what they want to do and not obsessing over it and trying to change it.

“Never again, I swear,” Phoebe held up a mock boy’s scout salute which made James let her face go and shove her toward Amelia standing behind her.

“You were amazing, sweetie!” Margaret took her turn with the champ as did Amelia who hadn’t wiped the smile off her face since they arrived. “Did my dad see it?” She asked quickly. “He was able to see the start of the other groups but got called away, I recorded it though, even got your last flip with the splits land, all of it!” Margaret started showing her on her phone while the four of them walked towards the parking lot.

“Anyone else hungry?” Phoebe shouted over the crowd starting to form at the front of the stadium.

“I could eat,” her mom spoke up while putting her phone away “if you three want to take James’ car, I’ll call Paul and we can meet at that diner on 4th, okay?” She pulled the keys out of her purse and headed for the car on the other side of the lot. Taking Amelia’s hand and throwing her other arm over James’ shoulders, the three of them walked toward Steven sitting a few rows away.

“What are you thinking about in that diabolical head of yours?” James asked her.

“Just about the future, how amazing it’s going to be,” Phoebe told them as they coordinated their steps, so they wouldn’t trip each other.

“So bright you’ll need shades,” Amelia drew her own pair of shades from her pocket and put them on without missing a beat. The other two threw their heads back and laughed. Things would never be bad again between the three of them, not if she had anything to do with it. Distance, personalities, and secrets would never get in the way of a future almost too bright to see.