Pumped Up

The bus practically vibrates as we head out of town to face our rivals for their homecoming game.  The self-appointed DJ sits on the seat in the back of the bus, one hand on the volume knob and the other around his girlfriend.  He was up half the night putting together this mixed tape and currently RUN-D.M.C is blasting out of the speakers.  The energy is high this afternoon and raucous laughter erupts from the starters in the back.

I sit half-way to the front, a forced smile on my face, enduring the noise and re-thinking having volunteered to be the ball-girl for the varsity team.  "It'll be fun!  Then you can come to the away games and when I'm not cheering we can sit together."  I look at my best friend as she adjusts her pleated skirt before sitting in the seat next to me and then roll my eyes as Aerosmith screams at us to "Walk This Way".

Three hours later, we're back on the bus, but the music is off.  So were the games.  Three losses for us, embarrassing losses with more than a few technical fouls, according to my clipboard.  To have handed three wins to our rivals stings.  It's a turkey for them, leaving us with only gutter balls.

In the flash of the headlights on the highway I slip on my headphones and hit play on my walk-man.  In the silence I can finally enjoy my own music.  Leaning back I close my eyes and Van Morrison ushers me "Into the Mystic".

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Linking up with Write at the Merge this week - 264 words inspired two music videos from the my high school days.  I still prefer Van Morrison over most anything else you might hear on the radio.

Linking up with Trifecta - inspired by the word:  Turkey 

3: three successive strikes in bowling