Infinite Testament by Greg Ness Page B

unison, with oddly
exuberant smiles on their faces. It was part of their routine, he was sure.
There was no way they were all that delighted to be constantly
rah-rah-ing. He examined the faces and bodies of the envied
cheerleaders. They were more attractive and in much better shape on the
Michigan State side. How unfortunate.
    All of the Michigan State cheerleaders were sleeveless,
except for one; she had long, white sleeves covering her arms. That was
strange. Maybe she was the captain. Bruce squinted his eyes to
catch a glimpse of her face.
    Then it dawned on him: the girl was Sara Ixley.
    The shock of seeing her knocked Bruce backwards into his
seat. His jaw dropped; it fell out of his seat and rolled down a few
aisles. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but it hurt.
    Bruce stood up and watched. The cheerleaders broke
apart and wandered around. Sara approached one of the male cheerleaders,
who leaned over and conspicuously kissed her. It was a quick kiss.
Bruce snarled. The sight gave him a headache. Bruce continued, like
an explorer in the wilderness, to watch Sara Ixley.
    Natalie stood up to ask Bruce, “You okay?” He didn’t
look right. “I’m fine,” he responded, “I just need to use the bathroom.”
    “I’ll go with you.”
    Upon hearing this, Vince shot up. “I have to go too.”
    The three of them hiked to the bathroom. Vince
finished first and stood outside the bathroom, waiting for his friends to
finish up and meet him. A food vendor grabbed his attention. His
stomach commanded him to buy some food so he hopped over.
    The stadium was like a giant outdoor party. People
yelled, drank, and shoved each other. Vince struggled to squeeze his way
through the crowd and managed to reach the line for the vendor.
    “Hey!” yelled a voice from behind him.
    Vince looked. It was a drunk Michigan State
fan. His wide pupils and Michigan State t-shirt told him that much.
“No cuts! I’m getting my beer before you , Michigan boy!” His
group of friends behind him laughed like idiots.
    Vince looked at the sign for the vendor. There were
hot dogs, fries, and some other food items. No mention of beer. This
guy was in the wrong line. “There’s no beer here,” Vince informed him.
    The drunk Michigan State fan gave Vince a small
shove. His eyes were struggling to remain open.
    Vince stumbled and uttered under his breath, “You don’t
need to do that.” He wanted to avoid a confrontation at all costs.
    Too late. The drunk’s wrath had been awakened.
    Bruce left the bathroom. Maybe he shouldn’t have been
so distraught about Sara Ixley. Obviously, she had moved on just
fine. She was just a young fling, he told himself. He vowed from
that moment on to let her go. It wouldn’t be easy, but he would
try.
    Bruce looked for Vince. He wasn’t where he was
supposed to be.
    The irate Michigan State fan reminded Vince of a gorilla;
he beat his chest and roared. Vince tried to walk away but was pulled
back by his shirt.
    The drunk yelled, “You don’t walk away from me!”
    “Okay, sorry,” Vince conceded as he hung his head.
    The rabid fan gripped Vince’s shirt and threw him to the
ground. A crowd of people yelled in reaction to Vince’s launch. He
found himself surrounded with a circle of people wanting to see what happened
next. Bruce plowed through and helped Vince to his feet.
    “Come on, buddy,” Bruce said. Vince lifted himself
off the ground with Bruce supporting him. Bruce looked at the drunk
Michigan State fan. It was a face he recognized. Not again.
No way.
    It was Ronnie.
    All the muscle he had two years ago was gone. Now, he
was a skinny scrawny rat.
    “Look who it is!” Ronnie blurted out in a drunken slur,
“Bruce, my old friend!”
    Vince brushed himself off. He stepped back and
allowed Bruce to take control of the situation.
    Bruce stared at Ronnie. He had dozens of his stupid
Michigan State friends with him. “Do I need to put you in your place again ?”
Bruce asked. Really. How many