Chapter 140 - State Fever
Monday morning, Briarwick acted like it had won state already.
Roxie felt it before she even made it past the front doors.
The hallway was louder than usual, packed shoulder to shoulder with students in Ravens hoodies, black ribbons, cheer bows, letterman jackets, and smug little smiles from people who had spent Friday night screaming like they personally ran the winning touchdown.
A huge banner stretched across the main hallway.
RAVENS ARE GOING TO STATE.
Someone had taped printed photos from the regional final under it. Zac was in most of them. Zac with his helmet under one arm. Zac mid throw. Zac running with two Northview players closing in behind him. Zac being lifted by Mason and Kyle after the clock hit zero.
Roxie stopped walking for half a breath.
There he was.
Dirty uniform. Grass stains. Jaw locked. Eyes sharp.
The picture had caught the exact moment before the pile hit him, before everyone buried him under their arms and helmets and victory.
A group of juniors stood near the banner, pointing.
"That run was insane."
"My brother said Northview had him."
"Yeah, then he just went through."
"Prescott is carrying us to state, I’m telling you."
Roxie kept her face blank and moved past them.
Her body still remembered Friday night differently.
Zac had been sore. Quiet. Hurting in her room with an ice pack wrapped in a dish towel. His hoodie had smelled like cold air, sweat, and field turf. The same boy smiling from the hallway pictures had fallen asleep beside her because he could barely hold himself together anywhere else.
Now the school had turned him into a poster.
Typical.
She reached her locker and twisted the dial.
The cheer side of the hallway was almost as loud as the football side. State cheer posters had appeared beside the Spirit Week schedule, all neat fonts and silver borders.
BRIARWICK CHEER IS GOING TO STATE.
Roxie’s name was there under captain.
Kendall’s name was right beside hers.
That alone almost ruined the poster.
"Roxie!"
Angela came through the crowd with her bag hugged to her chest and her hair clipped back neatly like she had woken up already prepared for academic suffering. Karen followed beside her, carrying an iced coffee big enough to count as a personality trait with her trusty water bottle tucked against her side.
Angela looked at the cheer poster and smiled. "Gosh. It’s like they forgot our win."
Karen leaned closer to the poster. "I would too. They got poster 100x than ours."
Roxie pulled her locker open. "It’s natural. This town is literally obsessed with football."
Karen squinted her eyes on her. "You sure you ain’t saying that cause Zac is there?"
Roxie rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to do? Feile a complaint?"
"Would help."
Roxie shoved her books into her locker and pulled out the ones she needed for first period, smiling. Her thighs still ached from cheer practice. Her shoulders felt tight from the regional routine, and Coach Miller had already sent a message to the team group chat before seven that morning.
Full effort sounded expensive for a girl who had work later and homework already sliding out of her bag.
Angela touched the edge of the state cheer poster. "Third place is still state. That matters."
"It matters," Roxie said.
She meant it.
She had heard the applause at regionals. She had seen the scores. Briarwick had made it because they earned it. They had hit their routine. They had survived the pressure.
Riverside Gale still looked cleaner.
Westbrook still looked sharper.
Briarwick had walked out proud, but Roxie had carried third place home like a challenge.
Karen sipped her coffee. "You know Kendall is going to act like she personally trained us herself."
"She already did," Roxie said. "In the group chat."
Angela’s smile turned careful. "Coach Miller sounded intense."
"He saw first place," Roxie said. "Now he wants us to look like that."
Karen lifted her cup. "Then he should buy us better knees. He might be aiming too high."
"We can do it," Angela said.
Roxie shut her locker. "We could and we would."
A fresh wave of noise rolled through the hallway.
Roxie turned before she decided to.
Zac had entered through the side doors with Mason, Kyle, and two other football players. The hallway reacted like someone had pulled a string. People clapped him on the shoulder. A sophomore shouted, "State, baby!" A teacher smiled from outside her classroom and told him congratulations.
Zac gave the right smile.
Roxie saw the small delay before he raised his right arm to return a fist bump. She saw how he shifted his bag to his other shoulder. She saw how Mason angled himself at Zac’s side like he was blocking people without making it obvious.
Then Zac looked across the hall.
Their eyes met.
Only for a second.
Roxie felt it anyway.
Friday night came back too fast. His breath against her neck. His hand stilling the instant she told him to stop. His quiet voice in the dark. The weight of him beside her, careful because his ribs hurt.
In the hallway, he only nodded once.
Barely anything.
Enough to make Karen look between them.
Roxie turned back to Angela and opened her notebook like it had personally saved her.
Karen leaned closer. "Interesting."
"No."
"I only said interesting."
"And I answered."
Angela glanced at Zac, then at Roxie. Her expression softened into something dangerous.
Roxie lifted a finger. "Angela."
Angela smiled warmly. "I support secrets."
Karen gasped. "There is a secret."
"There is no secret."
God. How long can she keep secrets from this two. Guilt feeling.
"Your face says otherwise."
"My face is tired."
"Your face is making choices."
Roxie started walking. "Your coffee is making you worse."
"My coffee loves me."
They joined the stream of students moving toward first period. The whole school felt charged, like the win had given everybody permission to be louder. Football players were treated like royalty.
Cheerleaders got congratulations from girls who usually pretended they did not know their names. Even teachers looked more relaxed, which made Roxie suspicious because adults only smiled like that before ruining something.
Near the stairwell, Kendall stood with two cheerleaders and a phone in her hand. Her hair looked perfect, her uniform jacket sat clean on her shoulders, and her smile was sharp enough to make Roxie want to check for blood.
"Roxie," Kendall called. "Cute poster, right?"
Roxie slowed. "Very cute. Shame your name is beside mine. The design almost recovered."
One of the cheerleaders choked on a laugh.
Kendall’s smile stayed in place. "Enjoy the attention. State practice starts today."
"I know. I read Coach Miller’s message. All three paragraphs."
"He wants upgrades."
"He wants miracles," Roxie said.
Kendall tilted her head. "Can you handle that?"
Roxie smiled. "Can you?"
Angela’s eyes widened a little.
Karen whispered, "I love Monday violence."
Kendall’s gaze flicked over Roxie, then past her toward where the football boys were still getting stopped by people.
"Football is getting most of the hype," Kendall said. "So we better make sure they remember cheer is going to state too."
For once, Roxie agreed with her.
That annoyed her enough to make her answer slower.
"Then we better pray you can count later."
Karen made a small sound behind her.
Kendall rolled her eyes and walked off with the other girls.
Angela waited until Kendall was far enough away before saying, "That was almost teamwork."
Roxie adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Take it back."
"It was hostile teamwork," Karen said. "Very inspiring."
By the time they reached Mr. Callahan’s room, the excitement had followed them inside. Students kept talking across rows. Someone replayed Zac’s winning run on a phone with the volume low. Two girls near the windows argued about what to wear for blackout Friday. A cheerleader from JV asked Roxie what VCU looked like, as if Roxie had already competed there in another life.
Roxie slid into her seat beside Angela. Karen dropped into the chair behind them and immediately leaned forward.
"State cheer. State football. Winter Formal. Spirit Week." Karen counted on her fingers. "This school is one confetti cannon away from losing its mind."
Roxie opened her notebook. "And finals."
Karen’s face fell. "Why would you say that?"
"Because reality enjoys timing."
Angela placed her review packet on the desk. "Mr. Callahan already posted the exam coverage."
Karen stared at her. "You looked?"
Angela blinked. "Yes."
"On purpose?"
"Yes."
Karen leaned back. "That is disturbing."
The warning bell rang.
Mr. Callahan walked in carrying a stack of papers thick enough to ruin lives. He was a tall man with glasses, rolled sleeves, and the tired patience of someone who had seen too many seniors believe December meant freedom.
The class kept buzzing.
He placed the stack on his desk.
Nobody stopped.
He waited.
A football player near the back said, "State, Mr. C. You have to give us one day."
Mr. Callahan looked at him over his glasses. "I gave you Saturday."
A few students laughed.
The football player grinned. "We were celebrating Saturday."
"Then I gave you Sunday."
"We were recovering Sunday."
Mr. Callahan nodded once. "Excellent. Then Monday belongs to me."
The room groaned.
He picked up the first stack of papers and began passing them down the rows.
"Congratulations to the Ravens," he said. "Congratulations to cheer. State is a major achievement, and you should be proud."
The class perked up again.
Then he lifted a finger.
"But pride will have to share space with responsibility. Afterall," He paused and grinned. "With great power, comes with great responsibilities."
The students groaned.
One say, "That didn’t even make sense."
Mr. Callahan just grinned. "Your final exam is next week. Colleges still look at grades. Eligibility still exists. Scholarships still come with requirements. So today, we celebrate by reviewing Chapters seven through ten."
The groan this time was louder.
Karen dropped her forehead onto Roxie’s shoulder from behind. "Tell my story."
Roxie took the packet Angela passed her and looked down at the first page.
Name.
Date.
Finals Review.
Across the room, Zac sat near the windows with his own packet in front of him. Everyone around him still looked at him like a win had followed him into class.
Roxie watched him lower his eyes to the paper.
His jaw tightened again.
Then her phone buzzed once inside her bag.
She looked down.
Zac: You ate?
Roxie stared at the screen under the edge of her desk.
The room around her was still loud with state talk, exam complaints, and Mr. Callahan’s voice telling everyone to begin.
Roxie typed back.
Roxie: Good morning to you too.
His reply came fast.
Zac: That is not an answer.
Roxie pressed her lips together and looked at the first question on the review packet.
Monday had barely started.