Chapter 8: Real Friends

CHAPTER 8 : Real Friends

Charlotte's POV

“Charlotte, do you like it ?” Maya's voice echoed in the room and snaps me back to reality.

“I love you so much Maya, thank you for always being my friend’

Maya chuckles a little confused by the expression on emotions

“I love you too Charlotte”

Oh shit it's almost 10, I grabbed my phone from beside me staring at the time

“ Do we really have to go now, I was beginning to enjoy this new emotional Charlotte” she kicks her feet in the air giving me a very shipish smile.

“Get your ass up, I need a good sit to watch the game”. I obviously did not care about the game, I don't even like football, the way the boys are always sweating or falling and injuries just gives me the ick. I just need a little distraction to get my mind off Sophie.

I haven't texted Sophie back, shit. I don't even know if she cares, she hasn't sent any new messages apart from the two she sent the last time. She's probably busy confessing her love to every boy and girl she meets.

I shook the thought off my head and followed Maya behind to get into the car.

Maya sat in the driver seat, while I sit behind. I can never sit in the front or rear seat whenever Maya drives. I know I say I hate my life a lot but trust me when I say I'm not ready to die a virgin.

The car ignites and we zoom off to school. A few rough turns later and we are packed opposite a black SUV, that kind of looks like Jayden Ortiz car.

Jayden Ortiz is the hottest, most sexiest footballer player alive. Yes, I may be exaggerating a little but trust me when I say he is. I wish he was in my year, I would have thrown myself on him and dated him instead of Max.

Jayden has always had a crush on Maya since we were in fifth grade and it was so obvious, during one of our musical festivals in year seven, he offered to play the recorder while Maya played the trumpet because Maya was wailing and crying like a baby cause she never got the role.

It was quite funny the way he did stupid things for her like giving her his pencil while he waited for her to finish writing but what can I say? Love is truly blind, but not blind when you are a senior and suddenly transforms to a very hot senior that can play football overnight.

In Bridghall dating a senior is like dating your dad's best friend uncle that has twenty side chicks. It's super confusing and stressful because once you are dating him, he can be dating his friends girlfriend, his ex and a random girl at the same time.

But Maya could have never dated him, she's a full blown rainbow girl and she truly loves her girls.

I quickly got down from the car, adjusted the mini skirt I was putting on and patiently waited for Maya to lock the car doors.

“Maya, did you bring my digital camera?” I stared at Maya waiting for a positive reply and stretched my hand out to collect it from her.

She hands me the camera and continues walking right In front of me moving her hair left and right

“Hi internet besties, I know you all miss me and I miss you all very much” I stared at the already recording camera.

Maya just rolled her eyes and sighed.

We headed over and sat at the two available front seats, I stared around and saw the whole school decorated with blue and red ribbon and girls walked around with face paint.

“ Do these hoes know they look like clowns?” Maya says, half laughing.

I bursted into a loud laughter that made the whole crowd stared at me.

“exactly, the look like circus animals”

Nia and the other cheer teams summersaulted and made their way to the field with the school mascot behind them while the drummers club continued beating the drum harder as the footballers made their way to the pitch.

I leaned back on my seat, letting the noise and chaos wash over me. The footballers were warming up, stretching like they were about to wrestle, their sweaty shirts sticking to them as if they were challenging everyone to look.

Max was strutting around, thinking he was the king of the field. I shuddered.

“Charlotte, you seriously need to stop staring like you’re plotting a world takeover,” Maya whispered, elbowing me gently.

I smirked, “I’m just… analyzing their strategy. For journalism purposes.”

Maya rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She knew I hated sports but loved commentary. I grabbed the camera from my lap and started recording, pretending to focus on the cheerleaders.

Honestly, it was mostly me looking for things to make fun of. The mascot, a giant blue and red bird with flapping wings, started dancing awkwardly, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“This is the most uncoordinated thing I’ve ever seen,” I muttered into the camera.

Maya snorted, “At least he’s trying, unlike some people.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Some people?”

She shrugged with a mischievous grin. “Oh, you know… someone who just spent the last ten minutes whining about having to be here instead of scrolling through their socials.”

I laughed so hard I almost dropped the camera. “Okay, okay, fair enough.”

The footballers finally lined up on the field, and the crowd went wild. I could see Jayden Ortiz and Max across the field, stretching with their team.

My stomach twisted. Max was ridiculously attractive today, I wasn’t going to lie. The kind of guy that made you feel like your chest was under construction.

“Stop staring,” Maya hissed. “You’re going to make it obvious you have a crush or something.”

I snorted. “Me? Crush? Pfft, No, Absolutely not.”

I'm supposed to be angry at Max, what the hell is wrong with me.

Maya rolled her eyes again, obviously not believing me for a second “Sure, sure, anyway, look at this” She pointed the camera toward the sidelines where Nia and her squad were performing their routine, perfectly in sync for once.

I had to admit, they were impressive. The flips, the high kicks, the synchronized claps. it was like watching a carefully choreographed chaos.

I adjusted my camera to catch a few angles. My followers would eat this up.

As I filmed, my mind wandered back to Sophie. I hadn’t checked my phone in what felt like forever, and part of me wanted to know what she was doing. Did she even care about me? Or was all of that just a lie.

I shooked my head, No. I wasn’t going to think about her or Max now, not tonight.

Tonight was for Maya and me.

A sudden scream from the bleachers startled me. A girl had dropped her face paint all over the concrete. She squealed, and her friends scrambled to pick it up. I laughed so hard I nearly spilled my soda.

Maya elbowed me again, “You’re lucky we did not decide to sit close to any faint painters, they’re so embarrassing.”

The game started, and the drummers set the pace. Boom, boom, boom, the sound vibrating in my chest. I pointed the camera at the field, capturing Max’s team charging forward. Even though I didn’t like football, I had to admit, this was exciting.

Maya leaned over, whispering, “Bet you a hundred bucks he scores first.”

I raised an eyebrow. “ Max?”

She nodded, “Duh. Watch and learn, Charlotte.”

I pretended to be care while inside, I was thinking, Why do I even care about him? I should be focused on Sophie and her messages.

But no, my mind refused to let go of Max’s dumb face from earlier today.

A sudden cheer from the crowd pulled me back. Max had scored and maya and the rest of the school jumped up, raising her arms, and I recorded her wild celebration, laughing along with her. She was truly happy, and that made me happy too.

After the first quarter, we decided to get snacks. I carried my camera like a trophy, following Maya toward the concessions stand. Hot dogs, popcorn, nachos.it was a stadium dream.

As we waited in line, I noticed a group of girls whispering and pointing at me, classic.

Probably talking about Sophie again or the whole Max thing, I sighed. High school never changes, does it?

Maya noticed and gave me a reassuring smile. “Ignore them. You’re better than that.”

I smiled back, Honestly, I didn’t know what I’d do without Maya. She made me feel safe, accepted, and ridiculously silly all at once.

By the time we returned to our seats, the game was halfway through. The stadium lights blazed over us, the cheers growing louder with each play. I held the camera tight, not missing a single moment, not for my followers, not for my haters and definitely not for myself.

And as I watched Maya cheer and laugh, I realized maybe life wasn’t completely unbearable.

Maybe tonight, just for a little while, everything could be okay.