Cheerleading tryouts were the week before school starts. Luckily, I had been getting myself back into shape over the last two weeks. Arizona Robbins was the captain this year. We were never really close but we were friends so I might be in luck. When I got to tryouts, there were a few familiar faces and some new faces. I saw Arizona and Callie standing off to the side, checking out the new prospects. They hadn't seen me come in yet so I walked up behind them.
"Good looking crop this year, huh ladies?" I asked, scaring them.
"Oh my gosh! Addison! I didn't know you were cheering this year!" Arizona replied, giving me a hug.
"Yeah, I figured I should finish out high school with a bang. I mean, why not? I know what I'm doing and although I'm not the captain, I can help out with the newbies. If that's okay with you…"
"Of course you can help out. Heck, you can be captain if you want."
"Really? What would Coach Lynch say?"
"She didn't even want me to be the captain. She just picked me because I was next in line after you."
"Wow. Well, let's wait for Coach to get here and we'll go talk to her."
At just that second, Coach Lynch walked into the gymnasium. When she saw me, she ran over to where Arizona and I were standing.
"Addison! You're here! We didn't think you would be cheering this year, that's why Arizona is captain. Would you like to be captain?" Coach Lynch exclaimed. Looking at Arizona, she added "No offense."
"None taken." Arizona replied.
"I would love to be captain, as long as Arizona doesn't mind." I said, looking at Arizona.
"I don't mind at all. I didn't even want to be captain. You can have it." Arizona replied.
"So, Addison, you're the captain. I hope you have your "welcome to tryouts" speech ready." Coach Lynch told me.
"Oh crap! I totally forgot about that!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to have to think on my toes because it's almost time to start."
All the girls, old and new, got into the bleachers to prepare for the "welcome to tryouts" speech. I knew I had to tell them about last season and introduce myself, Coach, and the girls on the team already.
"Good morning, ladies. I'm your captain, Addison. I was a cheerleader my freshman and sophomore years. I took last year off because of a medical issue. I just became captain ten minutes ago, bringing me to my next subject. Can all the seniors stand up, please?"
Arizona, Callie, and Erica stood up.
"Ok, working from my left to my right. The light blonde haired girl is Arizona. She has been a cheerleader all four years of high school. The Hispanic girl is Callie. She has been a cheerleader every year except for freshmen year. Last but not least, Erica has been a cheerleader for only one year. This is her second year."
Tryouts continued with introductions. There were three juniors, five sophomores, and two freshmen trying out. Our team already has six girls; me, Erica, Arizona, Callie, a junior, and a sophomore. We're only looking for two girls. Singles tryouts started with freshmen going first. The first one was a dark blonde haired girl named Meredith Grey. After she was done, Izzie Stevens was up. Neither of them was bad. They had the right amount of pep and talent. I would have to talk to Arizona but I'm pretty sure those two were the ones we needed. After tryouts, Arizona, Callie and I met up in the student parking lot.
"So, what's the verdict, Captain?" Arizona asked, jokingly.
"I personally liked the freshmen. No one else was as spirited as those two were. What did you guys think?" I replied.
"I agree. The rest of the girls seemed bored." Arizona answered.
"Yep. Agreed. So the two newbies are freshmen. Cool." Callie said.
"Yes they are. We have to go talk to Coach now." I answered.
Arizona, Callie, and I decided to wait until the next day at tryouts to talk to coach. She agreed with us on our picks. We just had to tell them. Arizona thought we should take Meredith and Izzie off to the side at the end of the day. I agreed with her. At the end of the day, I told Meredith and Izzie to stay behind.
"Hey girls. There's something I need to talk to you two about." I said, walking over to them.
"Uh oh. What is it?" Izzie asked.
"We didn't make the team, did we?" Meredith questioned.
"Would I keep two of you back to tell you that you didn't make the team when the team needs two girls?" I replied.
"No, I guess you wouldn't." Meredith answered.
"So, we made it?" Izzie exclaimed.
"Yes, you did. Welcome to the team. You are now Spartans. Congrats!" I told them.
"YAY!" Meredith and Izzie both exclaimed.