It was the opening day of The Annual Chestnut High School Sports Tournament. The day all high school students in Chestnut had been preparing for the past two months. It was held at Fairview High, the only school that had an adult size soccer field in town.
The soccer team was getting ready in the locker room. Soccer was the opening match for the whole tournament that will take place in one week’s time. So everyone involved was gathered in the arena that day for both the opening ceremony and the match.
The marching band, the cheerleaders, the dancers, the whole lot were packed at the lower ground of the arena waiting for their turn to go out. The dance team was getting ready in the hallway in front of the locker room. They were all part of the opening ceremony and they were going first.
Lee was warming up with his dancer friends when he saw from the corner of his eyes TJ was giving a kiss to his girlfriend for good luck. He looked away and focus his vision to the entrance towards the fields. The MC had announced it, the ceremony was about to begin.
Hazel was sitting close to the entrance, she had texted him. He told her it was entrance door number 4, so they’ll see each other when he passed. He regulates his breath, stretched his arms and legs, the pre-performance excitement was slowly building up inside him. It will only increase as time goes, this was the moment he craved for being a dancer.
The Marching Band goes first, they have their own routine for about 10 minutes before the other follows. There was a loud murmur from the crowd. Lee was jumping up and down, stretched his neck in a circular motion. The cheerleader followed, did their routine, and then the dancers.
“Lee!!” Hazel’s voice called him from the bleachers as he passes.
He waved with a smile. He jogged to the middle of the field and took his spot in the formation. The crowd went quiet. The marching band started to drum, the cheerleaders moved out to the sidelines. Then the music start.
They were playing a BTS song, it seems like the Korean boyband had taken the whole Chestnut high schoolers by storm, the crowd went wild. They imitated the song’s choreography almost to the T except for the singing parts because none of the dancers were singers. It was a grandiose performance nonetheless, especially for high school students. They made their own choreography for the singing parts and it worked really well.
The seven star dancers stood out among the others, Lee was the one who takes the middle spot in the formation. They’ve rehearsed the dance so many times, it almost seemed like watching the real thing. It blew the minds of the audience who were mostly teenage girls and were BTS Army. It was really fun to watch and with the looks of it, Lee was having the time of his life too.
Their faces were sometimes shown on the large monitor. Hazel was giggling with Jan making comments on how awesome the opening ceremony was. By the time the show was over, at least half of the audience became an instant fan of the star dancers.
As soon as he changed, Lee went back to the audience bench to sit with Hazel. She greeted him with a hug, congratulating him on his successful performance. He was still out of breath from all the running and dancing, his face was blushing not sure if it was from the heat or because he just got a warm hug from a girl.
The soccer team went in through the same entrance. The cheers from the crowd were equally loud. They were star athletes from their schools too. They took pictures before the game started, standing in a row facing the audience.
The girls were cheering loudly, including Peyton who was shouting for Theo. But his attention was totally distracted by Hazel who was putting her hairband on Lee’s head and fixed his hair. Her face was beaming as she smiled and laughed with him, then he saw the look in Lee’s eyes as he was looking at her. Theo looked away.
Soccer for Theo was like dancing for Lee, it gave him an outlet, it kept him energized and motivated. He was passionate about it and it showed in how he played. As team captain, his leadership made him even more confident and comfortable in his skin. He didn’t look like an 18-year-old when he was playing, he looked a lot more mature than his age.
Hazel had grown to love the sport too. She had never missed her brother’s game ever since he started playing. She was their loudest supporter, but with Lee by her side, she toned it down by a notch.
“Do you want to stop by at my house later?” Lee asked her in the middle of the game.
“You mean after the game?”
“Yeah … unless you have something else to do,” he hesitated.
She thought about it for a moment, “No … I don’t have anything … sure, let’s go to your house after this … is there a special occasion?”
He smiled, “No, just hang out … I’ll take you home afterward.”
“Cool … I never went to your house before …” she laughed lightly and rested her hand on his thigh.
It was another sudden change from her. At the end of the game, which Pinehurst won by 3 goals to 1, and Theo scored 2 of the goals, she didn’t even take the time to congratulate him.
Theo saw her leaving with Lee without even looking at him or Max. It was weird and somehow it disappointed him. It was always nice to see her running to the field and congratulate everyone, she was always there. But she wasn’t there that day, she went with Lee.