10 || Bring it on

My ego gets me in a lot of trouble.

Take today for instance.

Cheerleading tryouts were today and of course we went to go support Nikole. The basketball team had just finished practice and were scattered along the bleachers to watch. Perverts.

Ivy, Chanel, and I sat on the bottom bleachers so we could have a better view. Plus I didn't want to be anywhere near Carter.

"Okay girls as you know Britney is your captain this year," Britney smiled and the girls clapped. Coach Brown kept talking. She was a very broad lady with an echoing voice.

"We're looking for girls with flexibility and some dance skills. Also you must be able to do gymnastics. It is the basis of cheerleading after all."

Nikole smiled back at us nervously and we gave her a thumbs up.

"So with that being said I'll let Britney take over," Coach Brown stepped back and Britney stepped forward.

"Ok ladies we're going to start with some simple cartwheels and back handsprings. Anyone who can't do it won't be making the squad. I'll go first." She stood at the edge of the mat set up and took a running start before doing a cartwheel. Then she did a double back handspring, probably just to show off. The girls clapped and she bowed.

"Ok now your turn."

I truly felt bad for some of the girls. Some couldn't even do a cartwheel. Honestly Nikole had been the best out of all of them.

"What is wrong with you people!" She yelled. "This is cheer tryouts, not the circus!"

"You don't have to be a bitch," I said to myself. Britney froze.

"What did you say?" She glared at me.

Shit. I didn't know I had said it THAT loud.

"Nothing," I muttered.

"No, you called me a bitch."

"Well you kinda are," I said tired of her attitude.

"Oh really? I bet you can't do any better than these girls."

"Actually I can."

"Ooooh," the guys said from the bleachers.

Britney laughed. "Please. What can you do?"

"More than you," I got in her face. "In fact, I bet I'm better than you."

"There she goes being pretentious again," Carter said and I whipped around to glower at him.

"If you can do so much better than me prove it," Britney snapped.

"I will."

Ivy grabbed my hand. "Aubrey don't," she said in her warning tone. I shook her off. My ego had been challenged.

Now I wasn't completely speaking out of my ass here. When I was four I started taking gymnastics. Was one of the best actually. I'd won lots of ribbons and medals.

Then eighth grade year I was doing a flip and landed the wrong way, breaking three places in my leg. That was where my fear of falling had stemmed from. After that I quit gymnastics.

Sometimes I brushed up on my skills once in a while but nothing major. I figured it was like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget.

"And I'll try out with you!" Chanel stood up. Britney smirked.

"This should be fun."

"What do you want me to do?" I crossed my arms.

"We'll start easy. Cartwheel."

Easy. I did it without a problem.

"Backflip."

Again I did it with no problem.

"Frontflip."

Even easier.

"Handspring. Back handspring, front handspring."

I did all three in a quick succession. There was some light applause. Britney glared.

"Front aerial and side aerial."

Geez could this get any easier?

"Layout and half twist!" She shouted. I did them. That's when she started firing harder flips.

I started breaking a sweat and I got nervous. Still I completed each flip with no problem. She was practically livid.

"Double Layout Full In, Full Out," she spat.

Oh no.

This was the one I broke my leg on.

"I think that's enough," Ivy said nervously.

"No. She thinks she's better than me, she can do this," Britney said gleefully. I think she saw the fear in my eyes.

I couldn't let her win.

I tied my hair up and took a deep breath. Nikole came up to me.

"You don't have to do this," she said cautiously. "Anyone with a brain knows you're better than Britney."

I ignored her and prayed to God above that I would stick a good landing.

I stood at the edge of the mat and made the cross sign before taking a running start and launching myself in the air.

I didn't think. I just acted.

My eyes were squeezed tightly and it was completely silent. I opened my eyes.

The entire gym was staring at me.

"OMG," said a cheerleader. "She actually did it!"

If Britney was a dragon steam would be coming out of her ears and she'd be breathing fire. There was tremendous applause and I bowed eating it up.

"That was really something," said coach Brown. "Congratulations, you're on the team!"

"What!" Britney and I shrieked.

"I'm the captain!" Britney's face was red. "I decide who gets to be on the team!"

"And I don't wanna be on the team!" I whined.

Coach Brown shook her head. "Britney while that may be true I am the head coach and I'm personally picking her."

"But she can't be on the team!"

"Yeah, I mean the uniform isn't even pink!" I agreed.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"I literally can not wear anything but pink! It's just wrong!"

Some of the guys snickered and coach Brown frowned. "I'm not sure that's a very plausible reason."

"It is for me!"

"Um did we make the team?" Nikole and Chanel asked.

Coach Brown nodded. "Yes you did."

"Yeah!" They high fived. Britney was fuming. Then the coach turned back to me.

"Aubrey if it's an issue with your parents I can always call them."

"No!" My mom would just force me to join. She was so upset when I'd quit gymnastics I knew she would be overjoyed that I had technically made the cheer squad.

With a heavy sigh I spoke. "Fine. I'll join the stupid cheer squad."

And that's the story of how I became a cheerleader.

Rah rah.

🎀🎀🎀

Cheer practice was hell.

Scratch that. Cheer practice with Britney Matthews was hell.

"You didn't do that move right!" She yelled. I threw my hands up.

"Are you kidding? I copied exactly what you did!"

"No because if you did I wouldn't be telling you this."

I had half a mind to tell her where she could stick her pom poms.

Ivy came to all our practices but she just sat on the bleachers and read.

I was surprised Chanel and Nikole hadn't been scolded by Britney and I'd been yelled at by her over a hundred times. It was probably because she was still salty over tryouts.

Not surprisingly she made me a flier which meant I had to risk life and limb so our performances looked cool. I was not happy about being tossed in the air like some rag doll.

Friday was our first game and I was anxious as hell. Since our uniform wasn't pink and I had made a big fuss over it, Coach Brown let me wear a pink cheer varsity jacket, use a pink bow, have pink cheer shoes and let me wear pink makeup.

"Ok team!" Britney clapped. "Let's go out there and shake our pom poms. Remember to smile and look pretty!"

"Does my bow look ok?" Chanel asked.

"It's a little lopsided. Here let me fix it." While Nikole readjusted her bow I applied more glittery eyeshadow.

I went outside the locker rooms to get a drink of water and bumped into Carter.

"There's my cheerleader," he grinned.

"I am not your cheerleader."

"Sure sure, whatever you say."

"I cheer for everyone."

"But you're secretly rooting for me," he winked.

"I hope you fall flat on your face during the game. And I'll be the one laughing loudest."

"Don't break any limbs love," he said. "I've seen some nasty accidents."

I spun on my heel and marched off, foregoing my water. He was always one upping me and I hated it.

Somehow I'd get him back.

💅💅💅

"Rah rah, sis boom bah, cheer them on, cheer them on!"

"More pom pom waving Aubrey!" Britney snapped. "You're too stiff!"

"Why don't you come wave them for me!" I snapped back. I was waving them so much my hands felt like they would break off.

Being a cheerleader was hard. You always had to be perky. Always had to smile, always had to be enthusiastic.

"Woohoo go Ryan!" Nikole cheered. He turned to her and winked.

When half time came we were leading by seventeen points. To put it blatantly the other team really sucked.

I grudgingly allowed myself a moment to check out Carter. Sweat was glistening across his face and he took off his jersey to wipe the sweat from his chest. I watched his Adam apple bob up and down as he greedily drank an entire bottle of Gatorade. His muscles flexed like he was in a Nike or Adidas sports commercial.

"Checking out Carter are we now?" Chanel said smiling cheekily.

"No!" My face turned red.

"Yes you totally were!"

"I wasn't!"

"Can't blame you hun. He's model material."

I rolled my eyes.

For the rest of the game I cheered my little heart out and luckily for me Britney the diva had no more complaints. Thank God because I was ready to smack her in the face with a pom pom. We won of course.

"You were great honey!" My mom hugged me tightly. "I'm so proud of you."

"Too. Tight!" I wheezed.

"Sorry dear."

"His Mrs. Powers!" Nikole and Chanel came bouncing up to us.

"Hi girls! How are you?"

"Good!"

"Aubrey we're going out to celebrate," Chanel informed me.

"Celebrate where?"

"Shirley's."

Ah Shirley's ice cream temple. Yes she actually called it a temple. Said parlor was too basic.

Shirley's had been around since the beginning of time. Ok I'm kidding but it been around for a while. Nothing could beat Shirley's ice cream.

"Mom can I go?" I turned to her with pleading eyes.

"Of course dear just be home by eleven."

"Thank you!" I gave her a quick peck on the cheek before going off with the girls to change. Ivy was waiting for us in the locker room.

"You guys did good," she said.

"Please I bet you were reading the whole time," Nikole opened her locker. Ivy blushed.

"Well I looked up a few times and you seemed to be doing great to me!" She spluttered.

"You didn't miss much," I reassured her. "All we did were some lame cheers. We didn't even perform at halftime since this was the first game."

"But we will perform next time," Nikole piped up.

"And at all the rallies!" Chanel added.

"Yay," I shook a pom pom halfheartedly.

After we changed into our regular clothes we drove to Shirley's. She had reserved the party sized table for us.

Unfortunately for me I ended up next to Carter. Why did the universe hate me?

"Stop stepping on my foot!" I hissed.

"What're you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"No I really don't," he grinned showing off his pearly whites. I cursed him for looking like perfection but having a personality equal to dog shit.

All because he had bumped into me!

"What can I get y'all?" Shirley skated up to us. Her hair was done up in a beehive that looked great on her but would look terrible on me. She blew a pink bubble.

"Pink Rhubarb Ice Cream," I ordered politely.

"Pistachio for me," Carter said. Nikole looked up from her menu.

"I'll have cookie dough please."

Soon everyone was shouting out their orders.

"Chocolate fudge brownie!"

"Mint chocolate!"

"Coffee!"

"Rocky road!"

After our orders were taken she skated off and we chatted amongst our selves. Carter stretched his arm behind me and started playing with my hair. I turned to glare at him.

"Can you not?"

"You have long hair," he commented.

"Thank you captain obvious," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I like girls with long hair."

"Oh yeah? Well I hate boys who play with it," I moved my hair out of his reach. "By the way, that's really offensive to short haired girls."

He shrugged. "It's a preference love."

"So you don't like short hair?" I accused him. He rolled his eyes.

"I never said I didn't like it, I think it fits some girls well, I just said I preferred long hair."

"Well not everyone can have Rapunzel like hair!"

He looked at me cooly. "You're blowing this way out of proportion. Chill."

I could never 'chill' when it came to him. He just had a way of riling me up.

"See? I try to be nice and you spit in my face."

"That's because you're not being nice. You're being annoying."

"You think I'm annoying?" He smirked. "I'll show you annoying."

Great. I should've just kept my big fat mouth shut.

Why don't I ever learn?

I am so sorry for making you guys wait this long for an update. I feel horrible but life kinda got in the way and yeah... school is busy, midterms are coming up, and I just got back from a trip.

Anyway please vote and comment. It encourages me to try and update faster.

Love y'all and I will try to update sooner rather than later.

Stay pink🎀