Chapter Sixty-Two: Two, Four, Six, Eight

Cheerleading: a sport involving the performance of organised cheering, chanting, and dancing in support of a sports team at matches.

*

I consulted the sporting options given to me on the school's website, my mind constantly going back to last night as I tried not to smirk like an idiot in front of Mia.

We sat at the dining table, me on my laptop while Mia occasionally marked the pages of a book she was reading. She had decided to join me because out of everyone else in the house, that being the twins, Bonnie and Alexis, I was the quietest.

I wondered what everyone else was doing.

Coach Morrison had been urging me to consider other sporting groups other than track. While I wasn't terrible at track, track wasn't what I had trained in for the past few years, to quote Coach it 'didn't demonstrate my true sporting skill.' I just hoped football wasn't demonstrating my sporting skill. That was a high school cliché I wasn't willing to demonstrate.

A lot of the try-outs were this term, for sports, it included basketball, soccer, and even cycling. Not to sound arrogant, but my focus was mainly on the training times when applicants got in the teams, rather than the dates of try-outs. None of them overlapped, which I appreciated, but they would all keep me busy.

Exhaustively busy.

"What's your poison, Mia?" I asked, hearing her annoyingly put her pen down from the noise disruption. "Basketball, soccer or cycling?"

I lifted my head and watched her sign. "Sports aren't really my thing," she signed, "I like figure skating. Is that as a sport?"

I smiled, "It's not a sport at the school."

She rolled her eyes as she picked up her pen and continued reading the book. "Maybe you should try out for a sports team," I suggested.

Mia lifted her gaze, raising a brow as she signed, "Did you not just see what I said?"

I nodded, "I know what you said, but sports could be good for you. You can make friends, let off some steam and be part of the school community in a good way," I informed.

Mia mimed a gag reflex as she went back to her book.

"No, come on. There are tonnes of stuff you could do," I said.

She grimaced, "Like what? I'm too young for a lot of them or too short."

I had forgotten that that was a factor. I started scrolling through some options, including school run sporting teams and social clubs. Mia was right, none of the school run sporting teams had much to offer for her, aside from a chess club that for some reason was listed as a sport.

"Some sporting clubs 'll have you," I informed, "There's volleyball, the community team, they've got cricket, golf, swim teams and get-togethers. There are tonnes of stuff."

Mia scratched at her nose, rolling her eyes as she signed with one hand, "And yet no figure skating."

I glanced at her, "Can you even skate?"

She puffed up her cheek, "No, but I'd like to."

I rolled my eyes as I continued looking, taken aback by one option. "Okay, how about cheerleading then?"

Mia's face was pricelessly shocked, almost like she was offended by the suggestion. "No. Cheerleading is for brainless airheads," she informed.

I grimaced, "Harsh."

She shrugged, "All the airheads in my AP classes are part of the cheer squad," she said, "And why is that even an option? They've been at all the sporting teams meets all year. It's full."

"Some girls in my classes are in the cheer squad, I overheard some of them wishing Abagail Marsh well because she's part of the exchange programme to Japan," I informed, "Maybe that's the opening."

"I'm not an Abagail Marsh," Mia informed, "I mean, she's got like two and a half heads on me."

I smiled, checking the try-out times. "Looks like the try-outs are next week," I said, "They need a replacement cheerleader before a big competition next term."

Mia stood on her chair, leaning forwards and hitting the table. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were firm. "I," she signed slowly, "don't," she made sure I was looking at her, "want to be a cheerleader."

*

"I hate you." She didn't need to sign it, we all knew what she was saying.

Everyone from the dorm had come out to the cheerleading try-outs, the whole dormitory was dedicated to dressing Mia in the cutesy clothing and dragging her down to the school fields.

It was strange, seeing Mia with blonde twin tails, depressing looking pom-poms and dressed in an old cheerleading shirt and black tights. The uniform was outdated, the current edition a bright blue and clean white, while the one Mia wore was faded, too big and a different pattern. Some of the go-getter girls wore brand new outfits, confident they would all make the team as they sat on the ground stretching out for the trial.

"You look good," Ava assured as Mia continued to pull at her oversized shirt.

"I look like a colourful duffel bag," she countered.

"It's cute," Robyn signed, sitting on the grass eating some celery.

"I look like an idiot." Mia dropped the pom-poms and crossed her arms as she sat down.

"A cute idiot," Robyn added.

"You don't look any worse than anyone else," Amada informed. Unlike the other girls, his eyes were on the other girls, watching them stretch and warm up. I nudged him, motioning for him to be subtler than just blatant staring.

"Weirdly enough he has a point," Estelle remarked, ripping her eyes away in a similar fashion, "You don't look any more idiotic than any of these other girls." Her attention was taken by some girls jogging by, everyone momentarily distracted by their curvy features and bouncy jogging form.

Mia groaned as she slipped the shirt over her knees and tucked into a ball, burying her face in the fabric.

"You don't need boobs and curves to be a cheerleader, Mia," Bonnie assured.

Mia lifted her head and heaved a sigh. "Why did you want to do cheerleading anyway?" Alexis asked. She was lying on the bench above us, wearing jeans and one of my white logo shirts.

"Because Landon is a bully who makes the unfit and introverted do sports," Amada answered.

I gently punched his arm, "You love track."

Amada pouted, "If you say so."

Some girls in the cheerleader's dresses rose from a table and chairs. I recognised them; Elizabeth Harrison and Kendal Worthingle. I had seen them around since they were at most major track events cheering on the major teams. Kendal held a clipboard as she walked over, Elizabeth had a whistle around her neck, a plastic smile on her face and her hands firmly on her hips.

If I had to describe the pair, one, Elizabeth, was your classic plastic cheerleader stereotype. She did nothing but smile, her skirt was pristine and vibrant, her hair was bouncy and shiny, and her voice sounded like she was speaking to a small child trying to encourage them to eat their vegetables. I wondered if she smiled too hard if her face would crack.

Kendal was almost an opposite, going the more gothic cheerleader direction. Her pale complexion was intensified by her dyed black hair, several silver earrings were pierced in her earlobes, and, despite wearing the bright cheerleader uniform, she wore jet black lipstick, foundation designed to further paler her, and dark eye shadow. Unlike her counterpart, her expression was very neutral, equally able to burst into tears as soon as she could conduct a slam poetry session.

"Kendal is still one of the last people I'd expect to be in cheerleading," Estelle commented as they approached.

"Lizzy is entirely who I'd expect to be a cheerleader," Amia added.

Elizabeth led the charge, announcing with an overly cheery voice, "Hello everybody! How're we all doing today?"

Kendal was in the middle of tying up her hair, despite her otherwise dark appearance, she had a loud voice, "Today is cheerleading try-outs. We have two positions to fill," she tightened her hair, "Rule 101 of cheerleading, no piercings, no unnatural hair colours, no unnecessary jewellery, closed shoes and scungies under skirts." To show this off, she lifted her skirt to show the sewn in underpants to cover her undies. "I am currently an example of what not to do."

"These aren't our rules, it's the school and cheerleading meets', okay?" Elizabeth cooed, "Kendal here takes out her piercings for practice and events, okay?"

I grimaced, wondering how much of Elizabeth's 'okay?'s I could take.

"But I ain't taking them out for this, because I'm not trying out and I don't want to, okay?" Kendal's voice was deep and even.

"Oh no, she's an okay person too," Amada noticed. I couldn't hold back my laughter.

"So," Elizabeth clapped, "Everyone who is trying out needs to line up in a straight line in front of us, so we can take your name and give you a number, okay?"

"I'm this close to knocking out one of those perfect, okay teeth," Estelle murmured, pinching her fingers close together. Ava nudged her, appreciating the joke but half-heartedly telling her to stop.

Mia didn't stand up while all the other girls went to the line-up. Bonnie rolled forwards, "Move, or I'll start running you over."

Mia didn't budge.

Bonnie sighed, "Mia, come here." Begrudgingly, Mia obeyed, standing up and sitting on her sister's lap. Bonnie curled one of her twin tails in her hand and sighed. "If you ever repeat this, I'll deny it, but I kinda wanted to be a cheerleader," she said, this fact surprised all of us, but we didn't interrupt. Mia didn't believe her. "No, it's true. I wanted to be one of those hairspray vampire drama Queens when I was your age. Because even though we love to hate them," she lowered her voice and said with a smile, "there is something glamorous about what they can do."

Mia tilted her head, "What can they do?"

"Think, Mia, what can't they do," she whispered, "And moreover, imagine if you became a cheerleader. You'd be smart, beautiful, and being on the cheer squad might make you athletic. A triple threat."

Mia blushed, pressing her lips together as she eventually pushed Bonnie's face away from her. "I'm already a triple threat," she replied.

Bonnie winked, "We're here now. Humour Landon. Go for it."

I scowled as Mia agreed and slipped off her lap, picked up her pom-poms and rushed over to the line up in time to see a pin. Elizabeth's façade of smiles faltered for a second at the sight of her, but she quickly regained her grin before handing her a number.

Slowly, the bleachers were filled with boyfriends or friends of the girls and two guys that were trying out for the squad. At first, the routines were simple. Arm gestures and leg kicks and fancy pom-pom work that didn't require too much athletic flexibility. It was mainly cheer calling which Mia refused to partake in, much to the lead cheerleader's confusion.

As the calls stretched on, Mia's interest greatly diminished. At first, her movements were sharp and precise, but gradually they got less enthused. Her actions were still accurate and strong, but I lost count of the number of eye rolls she made at the back of the group.

"Okay!" Elizabeth had been leading the charge, Kendal occasionally jotting something down as she watched. "So, we're going to have a water break and then go onto the more complicated routines. Woohoo!" The students trying out were still pumped up and rushed to their water bottles.

"She's inconsistent," Estelle announced, "She didn't end her sentence with 'okay', she ended it with 'Woohoo!' I call scandal!" Estelle stomped her foot on the metal bleacher, the sound catching the attention of people around us.

Mia wandered over, taking the water bottle and having small sips. "Please, don't exert yourself," Ava jested, "Your participation is overwhelming."

Mia rolled her eyes as she placed the water bottle back on the bleachers. "If I have to hear more of that two, four, six, eight crap, I'm gonna murder someone," Alexis said. She had moved from behind me to next to me, resting her elbows on her knees and gently massaged her temples.

"All this cheerfulness is bumming me out," Ava confessed, Robyn agreeing with her.

"And you all want to subject me to this," Mia signed.

The longer the try-outs went on, the more I realised Mia wasn't enjoying this as much as I had hoped. Even during the water break, people glanced in our direction, offering soft mutters to each other. While none of us could hear them, we assumed they were about our presence, at the very least Mia. Mia either ignored them or wasn't aware they may have been talking about her.

I assumed the first because she locked eyes with the occasional gossiper, who quickly darted their eyes away to talk with their group.

It became more apparent when a pair of girls strolling by blatantly mocked Mia, "Didn't think hermits went out in sunlight."

"Probably going to be paranoid about the cheerleading dresses," they chittered.

"Surprised she can even walk," the other added.

I widened my eyes at the second comment, surprised they were ballsy enough to say that out loud. Ava's jaw clenched as she rose, ready to follow, only for Robyn to hold her hand to stop her.

Bonnie rolled forward and placed a hand on Mia's shoulder, "Just ignore them. They aren't worth it."

Mia's teeth bit down so hard on the water bottle the rubber mouthpiece started to break. Slowly, Robyn pulled the water bottle from Mia's hands. There was a second where Mia seemed genuinely shattered, her eyes turning glassy on her otherwise blank face.

Before any of us could comfort her, Elizabeth's voice rung out, "Fellow world builders, take your places! Okay!"

Mia turned on her heels and marched back to the grouping, angrily wiping her eyes as she shook her head, her twin tails falling in front of her shoulders. The other try-out cheerleaders got in their lineups and listened to the next instruction.

"Okay!" Elizabeth clapped.

"I'm gonna commit homicide," Estelle grumbled.

"Now, cheerleaders must know different singular tricks," Elizabeth informed, "Cartwheels, tumbles, jump splits and what have you. Copy me, do as I do! Okay?"

"Feel better? The 'okay' was in the correct place," Amia asked, shouldering Estelle.

"Barely," she answered through her teeth.

What followed was an interesting exercise to witness. Elizabeth was clearly an athletic and effective cheerleader, as she demonstrated many of her tricks flawlessly. The wannabe cheerleaders were less than flawless. Apart from maybe three or four, everyone awkwardly jumped in the air in an attempt to a split jump. Many were off-balance and stumbled when they landed, or their legs weren't straight or, in one instance, couldn't land at all.

I watched Mia, who watched the girls and two guys around her flailing their legs and arms, she tiled her head at their attempts before trying herself. She could do the jump and the trick, but couldn't pull her legs down in time and landed on her behind many times.

"Check out Elizabeth," Amada chuckled.

Elizabeth and Kendal stood at the front of the grouping. Kendal sucked her lips together trying to hide her amusement, and Elizabeth's smile remained the same, but her eyes gave away how slowly terrified by their attempts she was.

Her overly cheery voice gave it away.

"Okay! Moving on!" Elizabeth shook her hastily before grasping them again, "Everyone will have to demonstrate a tumble roll. Even if you're not confident in doing one, we would still love for you to try. Trying is all that matters! Okay!" Elizabeth's hair bounced around with her head movements. She and Kendal guided the group over to a mat they had laid out earlier, one that stretched maybe ten meters across the grass.

She faced the groups and made her usual cheer motions, stating what she was doing as she did them. "Arms up, arms down, to the side, diagonal, diagonal, front, back, and begin!" She demonstrated a flawless tumble, throwing herself gracefully down the mat in one swift motion before landing with a pose on the final jump. I had seen her do similar tumbles at track meets but seeing it up close reminded me how impressive it was.

Kendal quickly cleared something up when the group looked frightened. "You don't have to do a tumble that advanced. Just so long as you make it from one side of the mat to the other without walking, you're good."

Like the split jump, some were more successful than others. We watched as some merely did cartwheels or forward rolls down the mat, the more creative did standing summersaults, but overall no one correctly copied what Elizabeth did.

Mia walked up to the mat, ignoring the looks she was getting from everyone, and mimicked the arm poses she had seen those before her do.

I leaned closer to Bonnie, "Can Mia tumble?" I asked.

Bonnie hummed, "No. I don't think she can."

"So, is this going to be a disaster?" Alexis quizzed.

"Probably."

Much to our surprise, it wasn't. While Mia seemed somewhat awkward at times, she did several cartwheels with a light hand and feet, managing to do a one-handed cartwheel, roundhouses, and, instead of ending with a pose, finished with the splits on the ground.

Elizabeth and Kendal gave her polite applause as she got to her feet, nodding to them as she walked towards us for the drink break.

"Since when can you do the splits?" Bonnie quizzed.

Mia shrugged as she signed, "Splits is just simple flexibility. It's not hard."

"You say that, but every time I try to do the splits, I feel like my hips are going to dislocate," Ava said.

The next one was where I almost drew the line to pull Mia from these try-outs. It was group oriented where the stronger girls would throw the more petite or lighter girls in the air or hold them up to do tricks, just to catch them again.

Mia was singled out for being small, and often against her will was picked up and balanced between half a dozen hands. The look on her face was sheer mortification.

They tossed her in the air, her small figure sailing likely several more meters then they anticipated. She released a squeal as she flailed around and was caught again, those who caught her laughed.

I went to stand, but Kendal stepped forwards. "Hey!" she snapped, silencing the snickers, "Cheerleading is about trust, I will not have you frightening her during a cheerleader routine and tarnish the expectation that comes with this practice! If any of you pull something like that again, you will immediately be unconsidered for the cheerleading slot." Kendal's voice startled everyone who heard it, except Elizabeth, who's toothy smile had turned into a flat grin at the sight of Mia's toss. "Now again, this time I expect you to do it properly or you can all leave."

Mia was still visibly panting, but Kendal's words seemed to relax her terrified expression.

The remaining routines continued without incident, and overall Mia was fine. Because of her shortness, the ones holding her up would under or overcompensate when they lifted her. She would wave her arms around to gain her balance, clearly not trusting the people who were holding her. Mia managed a few flips and followed the instructions and techniques on landing, so she wouldn't get whiplashed. Overall, she was fine, nothing that overly stood out, but she was by not the worst one there.

Mia was happy when the try-outs were over, and it turned out if we stuck around Kendal and Elizabeth would tell us who made it into the squad and who didn't. "We have specific skills we're looking for," they explained, "We can tell who had the skills necessary to fill the two positions, so after some discussion, we will quickly have some answers for you all, okay?"

After twenty minutes, Kendal and Elizabeth came forwards and announced, "Thank you all for trying out, it's always so heart-warming knowing so many people are interested in joining the cheer squad." Elizabeth's smile seemed less plastic this time, it was quite lovely, but she still had that obnoxious head tilt and deliberate bouncy hair movement.

"If you don't make it into cheer squad, do not threat. We take applicants from all years, so every year there are always slots open for the next generation of cheerleaders," Kendal explained, "So if you didn't make it this time, there's always next year."

"Again, thank you all for coming," Elizabeth added looking at Kendal's clipboard, "And congratulations to numbers twelve and fifteen. Let's give a round of applause for those two!"

There were scattered claps as people came to realise, they weren't numbers twelve or fifteen. I frowned, leaning forwards and checking the number Mia was assigned; fifteen.

"You did it, Mia!" I exclaimed a touch too loudly.

Startled, Mia looked at her badge and widened her eyes, looking between the head cheerleaders and us. "Oh my gosh, congratulations!" the group cheered as we all hugged a stunned Mia.

Our celebrations were cut short by a not-so-happy girl as everyone started to disperse. She walked up to Mia and growled, "What did you give them?"

"Excuse you," Bonnie snapped, immediately rolling in front of Mia.

The girl dismissed Bonnie and continued to berate Mia, "How the hell did you get on the cheer squad but not me? Or Erica? Or Natalie? Or literally, anyone else who could do any of the drills ten times better than you?"

"Don't be a sore loser," Alexis countered.

"I have every right if this little witch cheated!" the girl snapped.

"Problem?" Kendal asked, appearing like a sudden force behind the girl.

And like to Mia, she was very vocal about her accusation, "How did this little runt make it onto the team? She wasn't any better than half of the other girls here!"

"Including you, I assume," Kendal replied putting her hands on her hips.

"Including everyone. It's not fair!"

Elizabeth cleared her throat as she answered, "Want to know why? Mia is short and lighter, making her easier to do tosses and air tricks. We can't throw your fat ass anywhere. Happy?"

The sudden bitchiness took everyone off guard, but Kendal offered a smirk. "We have that down for notes, Gwen, if you want to see."

"Maybe lay off the milkshakes and cookie dough if you want a chance in next year's squad, okay?" Elizabeth smoothly insulted.

Kendal was a touch nicer, but still frank. "We don't need tossers, we need people to be tossed," she explained.

Gwen was left speechless, her cheeks immediately flushing, as she bashfully fled the grouping, trying and failing to pull down her skirt to cover her backside.

Mia released a long sigh, visibly deflating at this information. "Great, I'm on the squad because I'm little," she signed.

The girls each exchanged a giggle, surprising all of us that they understood what Mia said. "I wouldn't dismiss your efforts so quickly, Mia," Kendal informed with some very elegant one-handed signs, "Sure, you weren't the most skilled out there, but if you're willing to be one of our tosses, we could have a real edge in our routines."

Elizabeth nodded, "Indeed. Plus, we're aware of how smart you are too. Surely you don't think all of what we do is just throw people in the air and scream at the top of our lungs. There's a lot of maths and science in what we do. It's not as simple as performing these tricks and hope for the best. People get hurt that way."

At the mention of the academics behind cheerleading, the longer I thought about it, the quicker it made more sense. Ice skaters needed a working understanding of maths and physics to have an easier time with their routines, why not cheerleaders?

The two head cheerleaders squatted down to Mia's size and beamed sweet smiles, "We would love to have you on the cheer squad, Mia. We know the reputation isn't exactly up to scratch with your academic expectations, but it's beneficial all around."

Kendal nodded, "You've tried out, and you've been accepted. If you just email us your sizing information, we can have a uniform to you by the end of the holidays, and our first meet-up is the first Tuesday of next term. Until then, we'll email you videos and tutorials on stuff we would like you to practice until then. Sound like a plan?"

I liked Kendal. She was strangely respectful to Mia, which was a rare sight in students and some teachers.

Mia looked around to everyone, uncomfortable because they were all staring, and, with shaky hands, she gave them a thumbs up. Elizabeth was loud and happy as she released a cheer of triumph, Kendal offered a nod and straightened as she marked something on her clipboard. "Alright, if it's okay with you we want a photo," she explained.

Mia tilted her head, "A photo?"

Elizabeth pulled out her phone and smiled, "Yep. A photo. You and Nicoli, the newest members of the cheer squad."

At the mention of his name, Nicoli looked over to the group and offered a wave. I recognised Nicoli, not the sharpest tool in the shed, but to quote the girls, he was nice to look at. Nicoli was tall, with broad shoulders, smooth orange-red hair and a charming smile. Estelle guessed he was gay.

At the motion of Elizabeth, he walked over with such an over exaggerated fabulousness I couldn't deny Estelle's assumption.

"You good for a photo with Mia, Nicoli?" Kendal asked.

Nicoli smiled, reaching forwards and picking up Mia, much to her, and our, surprise. She must've weighed nothing to him, as he placed her on his shoulder and cheered.

Elizabeth fed off that energy with quick hops in place as she held the camera up for the picture, "I love this guy!"

Despite the suddenness of the photo pose, Mia managed to laugh at the situation as she braced herself against Nicoli's shoulder, and lifted her hands to make a peace sign, Nicoli copying her pose.