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Epilogue

Julia

Josie, Chloe and I squeeze onto the bleachers at the high school, all decked out in orange and gray, holding oversized poster boards, cheering for Graham. It’s his first wrestling tournament of the season, and I am determined to be the best, most obnoxious girlfriend in the crowd.

“Wrestling for the 165 weight class, Jacob Miller from Mesa High School and Graham Kealoha from Desert Valley,” the announcer yells into the microphone.

I jump up and scream, shaking my GO GRAHAM sign. Nathan is sitting a few rows ahead of us with some guys from the baseball team, and he laughs because, really, no one is cheering quite that loudly. It’s a wrestling tournament. There are three matches going on at a time, and because some take the entire six minutes and others get pinned in ten seconds, there isn’t a great flow. It feels pretty disorganized, and I’m not sure people are really paying attention. Judging by the amount of irritated looks I’m getting, my screaming is not what they are here for.

But, even though I wrote the Girlfriend List, I know that Graham wants me to cheer loud. It’s on-brand for him. I watch them shake hands and crouch, hanging their hands between them. The ref blows the whistle, and before his opponent even realizes what is going on, Graham shoots, yanking his legs out, lifting him up, and slamming him on the mat. He tries to roll over, but Graham grabs his arm, shifting his weight to hold the other wrestler's shoulders down. They struggle for a few seconds, the ref lying on the mat next to them. He blows his whistle, signaling the pin. Graham jumps up, flexing his muscles and shouts, “Let’s go!” Coach T.C. tells him to keep it to himself, but that only slightly douses his enthusiasm. He takes off his headgear and shakes hands with the Mesa coach before heading to his coach. They put their heads together for a few seconds before Coach pats him on the back and nods towards me.

Graham looks over at me, says one more thing to the coach, and runs onto the bleachers. He bumps into a few people before picking me up and kissing me in front of everyone. I tighten my arms around him and lose myself for a minute.

Chloe clears her throat. “Public, children.”

We let go and laugh, Graham grabbing my hand and leading me down the bleachers. “Julia! I won.”

“You were amazing! He didn’t even have a chance. By the way, I saw Mabel earlier. She said she wants to come watch you wrestle. She’s heard about the uniform.”

Graham laughs before gently stroking my cheek, making me lean against the wall by the gym entrance. Cheers fill the gym, signaling the end of another match, most likely a pin.

“So, what do you think? I’m all dressed in school spirit, your initials on my cheek since you don’t have a number, made signs. Can I check something off The Girlfriend List?”

“Absolutely. But don’t forget, you need to finish it all.”

“Haha, yeah. I noticed you added one. But I don’t know.” I chew my lip, pretending to think. Graham’s eyes flash as he watches me. “I already have the guy. What’s the incentive?”

“How about a bet?” Graham smiles, holding his hand out for me to shake.

“Deal.”