Rosalie: FHS Cheerleader – Tryouts: Stunts

(RPOV)

Just as I was about to run over to Emmett and leap into his arms for a PG-13 makeout session, I was interrupted.

"You," The coach said, indicating Emmett, "Out! You are not allowed to be in here. It's a closed tryout." she scolded him.

"I'm leavin, I'm leavin'," he said, backing out of the gym, grinning.

I quickly whispered for him to wait in the hallway at a level that no human could hear. I waited for a few minutes and then excused myself to 'go to the bathroom' as I told everyone.

He leaned against the fake stone walls encompassing the hallway, arms folded and smiling.

"You know," he said, "You do look pretty hot in the short shorts."

His eyes lingered. I reach my arms up, encircling his neck, and pulled him down to kiss me. We came up from the kiss after a few minutes and looked at each other.

"Thanks, but I really have to go. I told them I was going to the bathroom, and, though I'm not that up-to-date with bathroom times nowadays, I don't think even the vainest of teenage girls go to the bathroom for a good ten minutes," I said.

"Alright, see ya back at the house. Hope you have fun, you know do a good routine or whatever. Good luck! Alice says you'll do great. Though I always thought you would." He smiled and walked down the hall, toward the double-doors leading to the exit.

I stood in the hallway for a minute and figured I'd better go back in now or they'd think I was kidnapped or something else bad. When I walked back into the gym, the dynamic was a lot different. Girls were staring at me like I was their new hero, some kind of cheer Goddess. No one talked about me in hushed whispers. The Coach smiled at me like I was her ticket to Nationals. I probably was. Since everyone was standing around like a bunch of stoic vampires, I decided to give them something to stare at.

Triple side-aerial into a twisting double front tuck. That's how you do a proper tuck, Jamie.

I walked back over to Sabrina, ignoring the ever-present stares. I noticed that a pretty dirty-blonde haired girl and a pretty curly redhead sat next to her. Kristy and Katie.

"Hey," I said, sitting on the bleacher.

"Hi, I'm Katie," Katie said, "Nice aerials."

"Thanks," I replied, smiling. I'm being way too nice today.

"Kristy," Kristy told me, "And ditto on the double tuck."

"Yeah," Katie said, "It's a shame we missed the first session. Sabrina here says it was even better."

"So, you've got a double? Nice." Sabrina said, "You were definitely being modest when you said you were 'pretty good'."

"Yeah, that was downright proffessional or maybe even Olympic gymnast level," Kristy said.

"So, enough of the tumbling talk," Katie paused, "Who's the stud?"

"Oh, right. Yeah that's Emmett, my boyfriend," I said. Husband's more like it.

"Definitely a hottie." Sabrina commented absentmindedly. It wasn't a 'I'm gonna steal him from you' kind of way, more of just admiring like you do with a big movie star that you know isn't attainable.

"Oh yeah," Kristy said, "What about your guy? He isn't all that bad either."

"I never said he wasn't a hottie," Sabrina countered.

"Total hottie," Katie agreed, "Like Abercrombie and Fitch model."

"You're one to talk," Sabrina said, "What about the twins you guys have been dating since freshman year? They aren't exactly bad looking."

"Now don't you go insulting my boyfriend," Katie said.

"Mmm-hmm," Kristy said, backing up her twin.

"Aww," I said, "Twins dating twins, how cute."

Before we could discuss boyfriends, or in my case husbands, any more, the Coach called the gym to order and we all had gather on the mats.

As the four of us were walking up to the rest of the cheer-candidates, I asked, "So, you're all old-pros. How do these tryout things usually go?"

"Well," Kristy answered, "Normally the newbies, that would be you, not that you really fall into that category with your killer tumbling or anything, but still. So newbies show the Coach what they got, first in stunting positions where the rest of the stunt is all experienced, seasoned girls and then in their routines. Second, JV does the required cheer and dance with jumps configured into the dance and then individual tumbling. The newbies trying out for Varsity do their own cheer and dance then jumps if their not included in the routine and finally tumbling."

"What about the veterans?" I asked. "What do they have to do?"

"Nothing really," Katie said, "Veterans can tryout if they want to for the fun of it, but unless you've got broken limbs you almost always make the squad. The only exception is for the transition from JV to Varsity then, veteran or no veteran, you're trying out again."

"We always try out, each time," Sabrina informed me, "We think its more fair. Not that the others use the same line of thinking."

"Yeah, the Plastics, as you called them, tried out twice. As freshman to make JV, and as juniors to transition to Varsity," Kristy said.

By the time we'd finished our conversation, we were in the middle of the mat, watching the newbies as Kristy had called them, break off into their respective stunt positions with Varsity helping them. A lot of the smaller ones were flyer because of their size but a few who were borderline based, maybe they were afraid of heights. The taller girls served as backs in the stunts. That's what I should have been, with my height, but I didn't particulary like it. I'd tried it at home, backing Alice. Something about the idea of a person falling onto you just doesn't appeal to me. Basing's better, but I like flying the best.

All the newbies besides me were off with some stunt group, showing their skills. Each stunt group started off easy, just doing a prep and grabbing the flyers hands to get them down. Then they did prep-pops, which escalated into extensions and extension pops. Two groups were at the point of doing liberties now. One flyer even had her heel-stretch down.

The Coach finally noticed I was standing there, a newbie without a group and assigned Katie, Kristy and Sabrina to be my stunt group.

"What are you?" the Coach asked me. If only she knew.

"I can be anything, but I'm most advanced as a flyer and I like it the best," I replied. Answering 'vampire' did cross my mind though.

I could see she was deliberating, with me being so tall and all, but she agreed and left me with Katie, Kritsy, and Sabrina. A new sophmore was caught in a twisted-attempt at an extension and the Coach left to go handle that.

Our group had been so delayed in starting that every other group was done, except for the caught sophmore but she was being safely lowered to the ground now, so all eyes were on me. Just the way I liked it.

The three girls shifted into their spots, two bases and a back with the twins as bases and Sabrina as a back. Before we did anything, I spoke.

"Can you guys do a twist-down from a liberty?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Kristy whispered back, eager.

"What're 10 years of All-Stars without a twist-pop?" Katie replied, triumphant. Sabrina nodded.

"Okay, then let's just skip the stepping stones and go straight for the grande-finale," I said to them. They bobbed their heads eagerly.

The Coach had set up her iPod Doc in the gym, and the sound level and quality was surprisingly good. She'd been playing music to get the newbies used to stunting while music's going. The music had been on a normal level, but someone had turned it up once the other groups had finished, making it a lot more louder.

We knew everyone was watching us, but it just fueled our energy levels, not making us nervous in the least. They had a decade of All-Star squads behind them and I had vampire capabilites. We were the best.

With all eyes on us, we went up. The speakers blasted "Fire Burning" by Sean Kingston into the gym. I put my right foot into the twins' hands and Sabrina grabbed the back of my ankle, pushing me up. As soon as I was in the air, I began the sequence. I could hear the astonished gasps and see the shocked looks on their faces.

Arabesque, leg sticking out the back, slightly bent over. Hands in a T. Smile. Left heel stretch into my left hand. Turn and pull leg. Hold it. Pull farther back with both hands and hold behind head, lean back into it. The Scorpion. Then straigten it into a straight-leg Scorpion. Double twist down.

Stick the landing. People stared.

I quickly asked if they could do a basket toss into a tuck-to-extension. They said yes.

I put one foot into the bases' waiting, entwined arms and Sabrina shoved me up. Once I was in the air, I threw a back aerial and landed in their arms. They put me down and a split second later I was going again.

Double back tuck into their hands, up to an extension. Then pop, so high I thought I might hit the ceiling. They really are good. I landed and smiled. The Coach's mouth fell to the floor along with quite a few others.

"Wahoo!" "Yeah Rosalie!" I heard. It's not. It can't be. But it is: Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Bella, and Alice.

Just as the Coach looked like she was about to object to more than half my family being here, Edward beat her to it.

"It's one o'clock," Edward informed her smoothly, "Tryouts are over at one o'clock."

"Guess you'll have to continue tomorrow," Bella said.

The Coach looked a little flustered, I guess we ran over. A lot. "Umm… yeah."

Then she announced, "Everyone, back here 9 am sharp. Tryouts start at 9:30. Don't be late!"