September 12, 2005
Jim laid back in his bed and smiled at the ceiling. He had just had the best time ever at a football game. And he lived for football at Penn State and had some amazing times in Happy Valley, where Penn State played.
Jim met up with Mark at the gate. Mark had the night off from work and had agreed to come to the game with Jim. “Hey, man,” Jim greeted Mark.
“Hey. So don’t you feel just a little bit…”
“What?”
“Weird being back here.”
“Mark, I work here. It’s your school and your town. Show some support.”
“All right. You’re right. Go West!”
“There ya go. C’mon.”
Jim showed his faculty card to the guy at the gate and got in for free. Mark had to fork over the $8, which Mark claimed was “unfair” since he “made this school what it is today.” Obviously. Jim calmed him down by telling him he would buy him a coke.
When Jim left his seat and walked underneath the bleachers to the refreshment stand, that’s when he saw her. She was in jeans, a blue West Scranton t-shirt, and had a blue “W” for West Scranton painted on her face. Adorable, of course. Pam looked over, and when she noticed him, she smiled and waved at him. Jim walked over to the concession stand and said, “Excuse me, aren’t you the school’s secretary?”
“Who wants to know?” Pam asked, still smiling.
“Well, I just wanted to know if you had any inside information that I could perhaps profit from. See, I’ve got this bookie, and I have to make a splash tonight or bad things might happen.”
“I see. First, let me tell you how irresponsible it was to get into such a predicament…”
“Noted.”
“And next let me tell you that I cannot participate in illegal gambling on amateur sports in the state of Pennsylvania.”
“Geez, Pam. Such a spoilsport.”
“Sorry, Halpert, that’s just the way I was raised.”
“Well, I can forgive your one glaring deficiency if you’ll sit with me. Though,” Jim paused, “I’m not quite sure I’m decked out enough to sit with the likes of you,” Jim said, pointing at her face.
“Shut it,” Pam said, swatting his arm. “As a school employee, it’s your duty to do everything you can to support the team.”
“You’re right. I just didn’t know face painting was necessary.”
“It’s very necessary. At least as necessary as your letterman’s jacket.”
Jim blushed a bit. He was wondering about whether or not he should wear his jacket, but he was proud of his basketball days, and it was a good thing to do to support the team. “Okay, then, Beesly. Glad we got all of that cleared up. Next week, I’ll have face paint along with the jacket.”
“Good.”
The two of them stood there grinning at each other for a few seconds until Jim broke the silence. “You want to go sit down?”
“Sure.”
“Let me just get a coke.” Jim ordered his cokes and walked back toward the bleachers with Pam. “So, I’m sitting up there with my friend Mark,” Jim said, pointing him out, “if you want to, um…”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Jim thought back to their conversations and how much…fun they were to be a part of. It was like they could turn a conversation about absolutely nothing into a truly fascinating discussion. Not something that’s easy to find, Jim thought.
By the third quarter, Jim was having the absolute best time talking with Pam and watching the game. Pam was really into the game, though Jim tried his best to ignore the reason why, and it was just infectious. She wasn’t loud in her cheering or anything, but she just got this look of excitement on her face when things went well. And things were going well. Scranton had a three touchdown lead midway through the third quarter. Mark, however, was feeling like the third wheel and got up to leave. “Okay, Jim,” he said, “Some of us have to work in the morning, so I’m going to get going.”
“Really?” Jim asked. “It’s like nine o’clock.”
“And I have to be at work at seven. Plus, I will need some time to come down from this huge victory before I can get to sleep.”
“Okay wise ass. See you later.”
“Bye, Jim. Bye, Pam, nice to meet you.”
“You, too, Mark, hope you don’t have a trip when you’re coming down.”
Jim turned to her and laughed. “Nice, Beesly.”
“Thank you, sir,” Pam said with a sort of bow.
Mark grinned and said, “Yeah, guess I walked in to that one. See you guys later.”
Jim’s smile shrunk just a bit. Mark had called later and teased him mercilessly for his ‘shameless flirting’ during the game. Jim tried to explain that Pam was spoken for, but Mark just said that’s what made it ‘shameless.’ Jim really just couldn’t help himself. He had known Pam for less than two weeks, but it felt like so much longer than that. She just instantly got him, and she was really the only friend he had made at West Scranton so far. Though Michael would certainly claim otherwise.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Jim turned to Pam and asked, “So as someone with an intimate knowledge of the team, can I ask you a question?”
“I already told you, Jim, I’m not helping you gamble.”
“Dang it, Pam. Quit being so selfish.”
“Jim, I think you have a problem, and the first step is admitting it.”
“You’re right, you’re right. Okay, can I ask a different question?”
Pam rolled her eyes and said, “Okay.”
“Is there a reason our cheerleaders are dressed entirely in pink when our colors are blue and white?”
Pam giggled. “I think that has something to do with the cheerleading coach.”
“Which one is that?” Jim asked.
“Kelly, the Indian girl down there. The only one in the whole stadium that is dressed in pink but not holding…oh, wait, she is holding pom poms. Well, she’s the only Indian girl on the field. See her?”
“You mean the one jumping up and down, even though we just failed on third down?”
“That’s her.”
“Yup. I see her.”
“Kelly’s…special.”
“No doubt there is something special going on there.” Jim turned to smile at Pam and saw her shiver a little bit. “You cold?” he asked.
“No, I’m okay.”
“You sure? It’s cooling off a bit.”
“Well, yeah, I’m a little cold, but it’s fine. It ‘s just this stupid Pennsylvania weather. I need to remember next time to bring a jacket.”
“Here, take mine,” Jim offered.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Seriously, take it. I’m starting to sweat a little.”
“Oh, well in that case, please let me borrow the sweaty, disgusting jacket.”
“Okay, the sweating thing was a lie. But I will feel like a total ass if you are shivering and I’m sitting here wearing a jacket. Pam, the other guys will look down on me, and more importantly, I will lose any shot with all the single ladies here.”
“You mean the ones down there?” Pam asked, pointing at the student section.
“Pam, that’s illegal. Geez. So not what I was talking about. I was thinking of Angela, actually.”
“Really?”
“Yup. The uptight, riding my case, snarling bible-thumper is exactly my type,” Jim deadpanned. But then he busted up laughing.
“Well, in that case, Jim, thank you so much for lending me your jacket. You are such a gentleman,” Pam said in a much louder voice than she normally would.
“Not a problem,” Jim said as he handed it to her.
“So,” Pam said, looking at the patches on the sleeves of the jacket, “seems like you were some kind of basketball star around here, huh?”
“Nah, not really. I mean I was okay, but, I definitely wouldn’t call myself a star.”
“You’re right. I actually can’t imagine you being good at, well, anything, so there’s no way you were a star.”
“Thanks, Pam, for the overwhelming vote of confidence. If you don’t mind, I’ll just take my jacket now and go home and cry myself to sleep.”
“Aww, poor baby,” Pam cooed, “did a bully make you feel bad?”
“Don’t want to talk about it,” Jim said as he turned toward the field.
“Good, I hate crybabies.”
Jim just smiled.
All too soon, the game was over. Pam stood up and clapped for the team and for Roy who gave a thumbs-up to the cheering fans. “Well, I’m going to go down to the field and wait for Roy. It was fun watching the game with you, Jim,” Pam said.
“Yeah, it was fun,” Jim agreed. “I’ll walk down with you. It’s on the way to my car.”
When they reached the bottom of the bleachers, Pam handed his jacket back to him. “Thanks for letting me borrow that,” she said, genuine appreciation in her tone.
“Not a problem. Have a good weekend, I guess.”
“Yeah, you, too. See you Monday. I’ll try to come up with some new ideas to torture Dwight.”
“Cool,” Jim said. “See you Monday.”
Maybe it wasn’t Jim’s dream ending, but it sure was good while it lasted.
Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N: I don’t own The Office. Or Jim and Pam. Or Scranton and any of its surrounding high schools. Or Friday Night Lights, the book or the movie. But I own some stuff, and I’m keeping it.
Flashbacks are in italics.
Flashbacks are in italics.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading!
