"What even is Freshers Fair?" Lynn is demanding.

A group of us are trudging through campus. It wasn't organised, we just sort of banded together.

"Wasn't Felicity Jones in the drama society at Oxford?" Kerry asks.

"Oh." Lynn says. "It's where we sign up for activities?"

"Did you not do any research into Uni?" Kerry chides, rooting through her bag.

The same time Jordan says, "It's a good way to make friends."

"There are over four hundred societies," Lynn reads from a pamphlet that Kerry handed her. "Four hundred? Isn't that a bit of over kill?" She continues reading. Then, in a distinct tone of disgust, she says, "I bet there's a Star Trek society. Or Harry Potter. There's always something to do with Harry Potter."

However many societies there are, I don't think any of us are prepared for what greets us as we enter the exam halls. Primark sales are heavenly compared to this.

Chaos is the only word for it.

Masses of stalls make a maze around the room, all with posters advertising absolutely anything you can think of. People grinning at us, shoving leaflets in our face, waving and tugging us towards their table.

"Ooh," Lynn breaths. "Salsa dancing?"

She doesn't look back as she leaves. The rest of the group split off and everyone seems to have quickly found things they're interested in. I stand in the middle of the room, overwhelmed and bewildered. There's so much to choose from.

"Can you play an instrument?" Jordan asks me.

"What?"

He nods his head to the back of the room, "They have a brass band."

"No." I say. "I can't play a single instrument. How the hell am I meant to pick something?"

"It's easy." He says. "What do you like?"

"Reading. Writing. Generally avoiding other people."

He laughs. "What about Doctor Who?"

I'm perplexed. "What?"

He nods again, this time to the left. "They have a Doctor Who society."

"But I don't know anything about Doctor Who!"

He puts his hands on my shoulders and gently massages them. I will my entire body to ignore it, but my knees go weak when he smiles. "Don't worry, we'll find you something."

I look at him, head cocked. "What society are you joining?"

"Media." He says, without missing a beat. "I'm going to be working on the Cherwell Newspaper."

"To write?" I ask, dumbly.

Jordan laughs, "I bloody hope so. That's all I've ever wanted to do. Journalism, author, I don't really care. I'd just love to write."

I'm surprised by this admission, but it's also highlighted how little I know about him. I frown. "What degree are you doing?"

"English Language and Lit. You?"

"English and Modern Languages. Well, English and Spanish, technically."

His eyebrows go way up. "You can speak Spanish?"

"I can speak most languages."

It always sounds like I'm showing off when I say that.

But truthfully, mum paid for me to have Latin classes from the moment I babbled the sound "mama".

I had a knack for it from a young age. My tutor pushed for me to start learning Spanish, French and Italian. When that picked up fast, it sort of divulged into what it is now - the ability to speak most modern languages.

I don't know if I chose to do a degree in it because I'm interested in studying it, or because it's what I'm good at. Either way, I don't think I'd want my spare time to be the same thing my degree is about.

"Why don't you join some sort of Spanish society?" I shake my head and he gives me a little smile. "What else are you good at?"

"Well..." I start, slowly, trying to think. "I've always done gymnastics and dance, but I gave it up last year."

"That's it!" He yelps. "Cheerleading."

"Cheerleading?" I repeat.

"Yes." He says, "Oh, come on. You look the part, apparently you can dance the part. It will be great fun!"

Before I know it, he's dragged me across the room and made me sign up.

"Try outs are at five tomorrow." An extremely peppy blonde girl tells me. Her name badge reads: LUCY - PRESIDENT in big, bold, letters.

"Perfect." I tell her, almost in a daze.

Jordan is grinning at me. "I'm going to be on the rugby team. You can be my personal little cheerleader."

A bit stunned, I look at the leaflet in my hand as we walk back through the room. "Isn't cheerleading American? I had no idea we have it over here."

Jordan points at the leaflet in my hand. "Clearly, we do. Come on, don't look so panicked, you'll be great."

"How do you know? You've never seen me dance. What if I just made that up?"

He's beaming at me. "Did you?"

"No."

"Then it will be fine, won't it?"

When I was a kid I always wanted to be a cheerleader. I was so jealous when I'd watch One Tree Hill and the like. I couldn't understand why we didn't have it over here. Turns out I just wasn't looking hard enough.

The leaflet details how they go to nationals (which I wouldn't have ever thought was possible) and even play against Cambridge. It's one of the most well funded sports.

I didn't realise it was something I'd be interested in, or get stressed about, until it's the next day and I'm desperately getting ready for tryouts.

Jordan is more excited than I am. He's loitering on my bed, watching me get ready. It's not lost on me that since he tried to barge his way into my room the only time we've spent apart is when we're sleeping.

Last night we sat in the common room eating copious amounts of food and watching The Hunger Games. At first I thought he was team Gale, so we spent a good portion of the film bickering. Turns out he was just winding me up.

Which was a relief. I'm not sure the right guy for me would be someone who is team Gale. It's an injustice that I wouldn't be able to let go of. It says a lot about a person.

"Stop faffing." He tells me.

I glance at his reflection in the mirror and then back to myself. "I look like a peacock."

"I don't think they're going to care about your hair."

I whirl around to face him, "They're cheerleaders. Of course they care."

I readjust my sports bra, pull up my leggings and fix my hair. I'm trying to channel some kind of, coolness is in my DNA, vibe. I don't think I'm succeeding.

"You look great," Jordan says as. "Really. More than great. Perfect. Come on, let's go."

I did not know words could make me feel so alive, but when Jordan compliments me it's like it pierces my soul.

I spend a little bit longer trying to make my hair stop sticking up before he drags me out of my room. He drops me all the way to the hall where tryouts are being held, gives me a weird squeeze of good luck, then he shoots off for his rugby trails.

Looking through the glass in the door, I can see four girls and two boys sat at a table. They're wearing the cheerleading uniform, clipboards in front of them. It's like that scene from 'Bring It On'.

In the middle of the room is a clump of people sat on the floor. They're chatting and stretching. Obviously they're here for tryouts. They are the people I should join. But I can't seem to get my feet to move.

I really have done dance for years. Mum wouldn't finish work until six p.m. I had all these after school clubs I had to go to. Dance and gymnastics were the only ones I liked. I gave up gymnastics when I was fifteen, and I only stopped going to dance the second year of A-Levels.

"Are you going to go in or are you just going to stand and stare?" A very small girl, with dark skin and big brown eyes is standing behind me. "'Cause if you're going in, can I come with you? I can't bare the thought of all of them turning around to look as a I enter."

She doesn't even let me respond, just continues talking. "I don't want to look friendless or like a complete weirdo, you know? I bet they all know each other. Look at them chatting. Sorry, I'm nervous. I'm Reign."

"Autumn."

"That's a nice name. So, are you going to go in?" She loops her arm through mine. "I thought about having a bit of dutch courage but then I thought getting drunk before I potentially get thrown in the air probably isn't the best idea." She grins up at me. "Let's go in together."

Then, without any warning, she uses the arm she has looped through mine and pulls me into the room. Conversations stop, all eyes turn to look at us.

"See?" She hisses lowly to me. "Why do people do that? It makes it so awkward."

But she doesn't slow down or even look like she's slightly embarrassed. She continues talking to me, even as we sit on the floor with the group. She doesn't acknowledge them, just drags me to the ground. I give a small smile to the few looking at us then everyone goes back to normal.

"I didn't know what other Soc to go for. I thought this could be fun. I'll simply die if I don't make it onto the team. I've told everyone I'm going to be a cheerleader, I'll never be able to show my face around campus if they reject me. No, I know, you don't have to say anything. It's my own fault for opening my big fat mouth, but I was excited. Did you tell anyone?"

Surprised she's even letting me speak, I say, "Just my friend, Jordan."

"Is Jordan a girl or a boy?"

"A boy."

"A boyfriend or a boy friend?"

"Uh, we're just friends."

"Ah," she makes a clicking sound with her tongue. "But you'd like to be more?"

"I-" feel myself go bright pink. "Don't know."

"Well, let me tell you from experience, the friend-zone is a zone that is extremely hard to get out of. If he's not interested in you, cut him loose, find someone who is."

"I-"

"Okay, everybody!" Lucy, the President, calls. Saving me from whatever I'm going to say next. "I'm Lucy, president of The Sirens and this is Sarah, our captain."

"Lucy and Sarah are names of people who would be head of a cheerleading squad." Reign whispers to me, I bite back a laugh.

She seems bat shit, but in the best way.

"We're going to run through some simple dance steps." Sarah says. "Up on your feet. Each round the steps will get harder. If we tap you on your shoulder, you're out. And we ask you to leave the room."

"Respectfully." Lucy adds.

"Brutal." Reign murmurs.

"We'll count you in. Five... Four..."

The moves are simple and easy and me and Reign have a blast. I don't feel nervous as they tap people out. The people they're tapping out have no rhythm at all, they look like beam poles trying to get their bodies to move fluidly.

Four rounds in and it's more complicated, but even more fun. I had forgotten how much I love to dance; to move. It's cathartic, freeing. It wakes me up.

"Last round!" Sarah calls.

Her and Lucy circle, tapping people on the shoulder quicker than ever before. I move in sync with Reign. She can move that girl, probably better than anyone I've seen.

"Congratulations," Lucy beams at the ten of us left, causing us to stop dancing. "You've made it onto The Sirens!"

Reign lets out a huge whoop and fist pumps the air. Others cheer. We stand with big smiles on our faces as we listen to Lucy detail what happens from here.

Something inside me solidifies. A sense of belonging. For the first time in my life, I feel like I know exactly where I'm meant to be. Not some beach in Bali. In this hall, with these people and it's all thanks to Jordan.

And mum. We can't forget her.

Authors Note;
I'm really unhappy with this chapter but as it's NaNo, there's a pressing need to push on. I'll hopefully come back to edit it, to find out what it's missing.