Page 36 of Campus Heat

“Wow! He found his own guy and still missed!”

Darkness invaded my vision, and heat coursed through my veins. My ears rang, and I didn’t remember deciding to move. Before I knew it, I was climbing the bleachers. My movements were fast and hard, demanding attention.

I stopped directly in front of the loudest guy, who also happened to be the one with the sign.

“Say that again,” I sneered. The words came out low, almost like a growl.

He blinked in confusion. “Uh…”

“Say it again,” I repeated, louder this time.

Everyone around us became quiet, unsure of what to expect next.

“It’s a joke,” someone muttered.

I laughed, but it wasn’t soft or kind. It was sharp and very creepy. Like a villain in a Marvel movie.

“You think this is funny?” I snapped. “Do you really think standing here and filming these guys like they’re a bunch of zoo animals makes you superior? Does it feel good to milk people who are trying their absolute best because of their mistakes?”

A few of them averted their gazes while others looked around uncomfortably.

“It’s a public practice session,” one girl shot back defensively. “We’re allowed to be here.”

“If you want to use that right, then sit there and shut up like any normal supporter would.”

The guy with the sign scoffed. “Chill out, cheerleader. They suck and we’re allowed to say that.”

Something inside me broke as he said that. I didn’t know what it was, but I was sure that it wouldn’t end well.

“Allowed?” I shouted.

The word echoed across the bleachers like thunder. Heads turned on the field, and Coach Harris paused mid-instruction, but at that point none of it mattered. I moved forward until I was inches away from his face.

“Do you think you have the right to talk about what sucks?” I asked. “You’re standing here at three in the afternoon heckling your home team because a meme page told you it’s funny. And you think you’re an expert judge of character? You’re pathetic!”

The guy swallowed hard, but he said nothing. He barely moved.

“Do you think you can handle hits like the ones they took last night?” I continued, raising my voice. “Do you think you could get back on your feet after someone as big as Malik flattens you? And then do it again and again and again until the final whistle blows?”

No one answered, but my hands were shaking with the force of my fury.

“You want content?” I asked, grabbing his phone. “Go out onto that field and try it. Put on a helmet and some extra padding, and we’ll see how long you take to run to Tara crying for help.”

Someone snorted nervously, and my angry eyes shot in his general direction. He apologized quietly before looking away.

“Or better yet,” I went on, my voice cracking but still carrying as loud as ever. “Drop out of college and go major in being an internet troll. At least then you can use your disgusting skills for something.”

The silence hung heavily in the air. The silence was so bad that even the wind seemed too scared to blow. But that was okay because I had nothing more to say to them.

“Get off the bleachers,” I said through clenched teeth.

No one moved. And yet my eyes were wild. I could feel it, but that wasn’t all I could feel. There was something else. Something dark and unfamiliar pushed through my chest.

“Get. Off.”

The first guy moved, and he was quickly followed by another. And that was the beginning of their escape. They all filed past me with their eyes on the ground and muttered words falling from their lips. A shoulder clipped me deliberately, but I didn’t mind, as long as they stopped their madness.

As the last girl walked past me, she pushed a newspaper into my chest and said, “You should read this.”