Everyone just kept running into each other. At least, that’s what it felt like. It looked really messy. White guys running into blue guys. Striped guys running in and out. Guys holding a big orange stick thing walking up and down. Headphone guys yelling at other guys. Guys, guys, guys.
It was weird because Jon knew he used to really get into this stuff. He was a football fan, right? But now watching on TV, the whole sport felt unfamiliar. Lots of guys doing guy things. But he was a guy? So why did it all feel so alien to him?
Jon finished letting the lotion dry on his legs and folded them up underneath himself, letting his mind wander. He had started to admire those guys.
They were so strong, and so fast, and so much, bigger, than he was. Like they could easily fit a whole arm around him. It wasn’t like he wanted that to happen, but it was nice to know that if like, something bad were to happen, there were people around that could protect him. The extra height from his leg trainers made Jon look extra intimidating, but they were sure hell to run in.
The funniest thing was, while he couldn’t figure out how to make sense of what was happening on the field, the sidelines made more sense than ever. Everyone lined up in formation, calling a play, music starts, choreographed number, take a rest, call a new play, do it again. Much more organized. Poms shaking, kicks kicking. A team. One group. He could see why people liked them so much, wanted to book them for events, and constantly asked to take photos with them. The more he thought about it, the cheerleaders felt more like a team than the actual guys wearing the helmets.
Jon snapped out of his daydream. He had homework to do, straight from the Career Center. Tonight, his job was to watch the game, and pick out the cheerleader that he liked the most. Beyond that though, he didn’t have much direction. All he was supposed to do was find someone who ‘caught his eye.’ Kind of a weird assignment if he was being honest, but easy - and with all the workouts and weird things going on with Karen, his Sister and everyone else getting work assignments at his school, Jon was happy to have a blowoff for once. Apparently, tomorrow was the day they he was going to go into the career center with Brittany-Lynne to finalize his ‘look,’ and this exercise helped, whatever that meant.
His eyes scanned the lineup. Blondes, brunettes, redheads. Some taller, some shorter. All girls, sure, but he couldn’t hold that against them. Definitely made it easier for them to fit into those hotpants. God they sure didn't leave much to the imagination, did they? But so is the burden of the professional cheerleader. Interesting to look at, and all that.
They all looked cool in their own way. How could he choose?
