Chapter 2: Duo
A sense of melancholia settles over me like a thick fog, wrapping me up and leaving me emotionally adrift as I curl my long blonde tresses before the first day of my senior year. Law's Harvard boyfriend flew in last night so I was kept up all night by the tell-tale sounds of them banging as the old oak headboard in her room thumped against the wall in a rhythmic fashion.
Jones seems alright, though. Despite his overwearing of sweater vests and dockers, he seems down to earth, or at least he was able to hold himself to that over the dinner we ate last night. He's not my type, but I can see how he would fit in with Law's world. The seamless perfect boyfriend for the seamless perfect life.
I slipped my black leather booties on, zipping them over the seam of my dark-wash skinny jeans. The girl I see staring back at me from the mirror looks like me. Vacuous and vain with a million-dollar smile. Only she's not me. Not anymore. She was buried with my father. My vacant eyes are my only tell and I endeavor to keep it that way.
Closing the door behind me, I cross the old colonial-style porch with its hunter-green cracked paint scuffing against the heels of my boots before making my way down the sidewalk to Veronica's car. The sounds of Flyleaf are blaring through the open windows of her Lexus when I approach, climbing in against the hot black leather seats.
"You look good, Sunday. You up for this today?"
"Nope. But it's gotta be done. Just because my world is crumbling doesn't mean the real one doesn't keep spinning."
She flashes me a sad smile knowing all too well what I'm feeling. We've been close since we were kids, so my father was also a big part of Ronnie and Poe's lives as we grew up. They lost him, too. We all did. It's easy to forget that as I wallow in my overwhelming self-pity.
Pulling up beside Poe's red convertible in the school parking lot, we can see her raven black hair glinting in the sunlight. Perfect timing.
Her long legs glide out of the car, her gold-tipped pointed-toe stilettos hitting the old asphalt that is in desperate need of attention. Despite the fact that we're seniors she already looks like she's walking out of a boardroom, with the slightest drop of classic goth. Students have confused her for a teacher or an employee in the past. New students anyway. So many of the people we attend school with have grown up together, so it's rare that we have new kids. Except for Oakley. The thought of running into him today spurs a tingle in my belly. Low in my belly.
Marching into the school side by side, heads turn to watch us. I set my features in my standard resting bitch face in the hopes that no one looks at me with pity in their eyes. I don't want it. I have plenty of my own.
Standing next to Poe's locker, I throw a few of the heavier things I don't want to lug around the halls inside. The three of us always share lockers, that way we have several places throughout the school to store books and whatnot. It helps keep the time we spend running to lockers at a minimum. It's brilliant, I must say. My idea.
"I have English with Morrissey first period. What do you have?" Poe asks us both. I'm the first to answer.
"Chemistry, so I'm down the science hall," I answer first watching a smile spread across Veronica's face.
"I've got Physics. I'll walk with you."
Closing the locker we go our separate ways acknowledging that the next time we'll be seeing each other is in cheer after lunch. We have a period for it this year because we're Senior Varsity and then additional practice after school. It takes up a ton of our time, especially right now. We weren't able to hold tryouts before school started this year, so we're doing it tonight. The football season is big at our school so it's a rush to get things together before the season kicks off, which is in about a week and a half.
Rounding a corner I collided with a broad chest, dropping the notebooks I had clutched against myself in a defensive gesture. Looking up I found myself staring into a pair of amber eyes that soften at seeing me.
"We've gotta stop meeting like this, ladies," he says with a smooth smile.
Dipping down to pick up my notebooks, I get a good look at the way his grey henley grips his abs, and his jeans stretch across his bulge in a way that grabs my attention, pulling a blush to my cheeks. "At least there was no financial damage this time around," I say, casting him an awkward smile.
Veronica has a flirty smile pasted on her face as she plays with her hair, ever the cliche cheerleader. "Nice to see you, Oakley. How are you finding things?"
I stifle the need to chuckle. What is she, the official ambassador? Obviously, she's into him and I can't say I blame her. The sight of him triggers something deep and feral within me. Something that I haven't felt for quite some time, and judging by the lust in his eyes as they track to my lips, the feeling is mutual.
"It's great. So far. Just on my way to auto shop. Do you ladies have any idea what time the football tryouts are? I used to play a bit, and thought I'd give it a go."
Veronica's pillowy lip is pinched between her teeth as she considers him. "Tonight. We'll see ya there. We have cheer tryouts as well."
His smile is dark and haunting in a way I can't place as he flashes his eyes between Veronica and me. "I'll see you guys there, then."
He walks around the side of us, and my traitorous eyes turn to watch his backside as he strolls down the bright white hallway. The desire he triggers within me is at odds with the darkness I can sense within him, but that's something I can dissect when I'm not running behind to make it to my first class in my last year of school.
Oakley is a mystery I can crack another time.
***
The folding table that is set up on the sidelines of the football field is dark in color, absorbing the light from the sun and making it hot to the touch. Usually, we would hold cheer tryout's in the gym, but they're putting a new layer of sealant on the floor today so we're cast outside with the rest of the athletic department trying to share a space that suddenly feels too small.
The lawn is still dry and crunchy from the hot summer months, but the caretakers will have it lush and green by the time the homecoming game rolls around making it far easier to tolerate against the skin of the players and cheer squad when we eat shit. As it stands right now, I've seen more than one person take a rough dive against the needle-ey blades this afternoon.
"Alright. Let's see the last group, group C. Let's see what you guys retained of the routine. We're going to run through it three times just like everyone else did," Veronica hollers over the raucous noise coming from deeper in the field where the football coach is yelling at his players.
The group breaks into the small cheer routine we taught them as Ronnie, Poe, Jocelyn, and I observe the girls, making notes on the ones that do the best. The ones that retain the routine aren't the only thing we're looking for. The girls that kick high easily and hold a smile are something we're watching for, too.
Right now we're anxious to fill spaces on our Junior squad. We need to make sure that we have enough cheerleaders to cover all the upcoming games, and we need to train for the cheer competition, as well. We took regional last year which was a big win for our school. This year, with Ronnie at the helm, I have no doubt that we would be able to do the same if not better. She's able to retain a singular focus I'm just not capable of. Especially this year.
"Alright ladies, let's try the pyramid. It's a cheer staple and you have to be able to do it!" Ronnie commands as she sashays back and forth across the yellow lawn in her bootie shorts and tank top. It's a hot day and we're all wearing the same.
The girls climb atop one another to get into the standard pyramid. In a move like this, it's easy to spot those that may have more experience than the others. Some of these girls were in cheer last year and are looking to move into varsity positions this year while others are new to the squad. A particularly thin girl is making the climb to the very top of the pyramid when her hand slips, sending her tumbling. I see her head crashing toward the ground and lose my breath, standing and throwing my arm forward on instinct, watching as everything stops, frozen.
The girl falling is stuck mid-air. The faces of those on the bottom of the pyramid are stuck in a grimace awaiting the inevitable impact. Veronica's ponytail is held firm in an upswing in mid-air. As I glance around with my hands to my mouth I notice that I'm the only thing that moves. The trees are still and the football players in the distance are frozen in whatever maneuver they were practicing. The birds in the sky are cemented on the updraft they were riding.
This is it. I've finally lost my fucking mind.
Stepping forward, I move to grasp the girl that's about to tumble face first into the rough earth, wrapping my arms around her chest under her armpits when everything swings back into motion, like a cd that was stuck on a skip and suddenly found its way, sending her crashing down on me far more gently than if she would have fallen to the ground.
We're all breathless. The girls on the pyramid immediately climb down to check on their fellow cohort and Veronica stands over me, her features a picture of shock and confusion. As I turn my gaze back to the black table I was seated at next to Poe and Jocylin I find them standing with shock coloring their features as well. Although I do notice that there's less surprise in Poe's eyes than there seems to be in everyone else's. She must not have seen what happened.
Pulling myself up from the lawn and helping the younger girl up as well, I quickly dismiss myself, charging off the sidelines in an effort to get out of everyone's purview. Before I turn the corner to the bleachers, I see Oakley standing in pads, holding a helmet, arms folded, stance wide, considering me with his brows pinched together. His face is set in a frown that is somehow still the hottest thing I've ever seen. He opens his mouth to say something to me, but I turn and dash through the break between the bleachers. I need to get out of here and figure out what the fuck just happened.
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