Alluring

The night of the football game was a wet dream, a rosy fantasy. Tara was the same in math class, as quiet and humble and bespectacled as I knew her. A month later, I heard she was no longer on the cheerleading team, a fact that angered the seniors. They had a heated argument of sorts — rather, she listened to them with utter calm, then left without a word. Her cheer career was over, and she started taking the first bus after the bell. For the rest of the school year, we made no more than small talk about timetables, due dates, and course selection.