Lunch ends, we go to our classes, and...cheerleading tryouts at last! My pulse is racing, yet I'm feeling kinda dizzy. I'm excited yet nervous. What if I don't make it this year? I also get tired way more easy lately. Should I even try out considering how I've been feeling? Silly Ying of course! Your squad needs you!

On the path to the gymnasium in the quad I meet up with Ronnie Nessa and new girls trying out for the team they're talking to. With my right foot standing on a big toe behind my heel and I smile shyly, "Hi..."

A small fox girl about Pip's size says, "Is this Ying?! Oh my gosh you're so lucky to have such a nice friend!"

Her rabbit friend looks kinda intimidated, "We just know you'll make the team Ying! You have a reputation for being a pretty amazing flier! "

Please stop you're embarrassing me. I can feel my face warm I don't deserve such praise. If only Denise had as good character judgment.

"Hi...and thanks." I lean forward and move my hand to tell them I want to tell them a secret.

"You wouldn't believe what Ronnie Nessa and I saw at the store the other day! We saw Pip...stealing!"

The fox girl was hopping and squealing quietly, "Omigosh what was he stealing?"

"Chips, tortillas, and soda. So be careful with your stuff near him okay?"

I also tell them, "I so have to tell you this before she gets here but like Denise...she's that chubby girl who wears black lipstick purple eyeshadow and lacy black tops anyway these girls were teasing her!"

The rabbit girl's face says she feels bad, "Oh no! That's terrible!"

I knowingly smile, "You would think that...unless you actually knew her. She's like so mean and I can't stand her! I know she bullies me because she's jealous!"

Ronnie and Nessa agreeingly nod.

I continue, "I think she's mean because her mom wants her to be mean like her I heard her say she needs to become strong and that the world is a tough place! Her dad was hugging her trying to make her feel better but her mom interrupted."

The rabbit girl's face lit up, "I know her! She thinks my parents are so dumb for like being friends with your parents."

I tilt my head, "Huh?"

"I think it's because she said your parents keep her parents from doing what they want. My parents are friends with both of yours and Denise's."

I shrug, "Why haven't we met?"

"Their visits sounded so...adult it kinda sounded boring. I know I know visiting the palace and whatever should be like way exciting but I just wanted to chill with friends." Her and the fox friend look at each other.

I say, "Wait...didn't you tell your friend about her?"

The fox shrugs and says, "Nah."

I ask, "So if you know Denise's parents you must know something about her I don't?"

The fox replies back, "Not much, she's like so obsessed with reading about Seris and sometimes Androxus. Did you when I was at her house her and her mom were working on a spell they found in some scroll? They didn't actually do the spell tho the mom is writing an easier version so Denise can work up to the actual spell."

I feel my eyes widen as I exclaim, "That sounds like bad news!"

Nessa rolls her eyes while saying, "Oh my gosh seriously Denise's mom sounds so conceited?! Like how does she even know those scrolls are from Seris? Why are they stanning so hard over some fairy tale sorceress who was probably never even real?"

I shrug and smile, "I don't know but you know them. Say isn't it weird how small species students get chairs that fit them but us short elves and humans are too big for them but too small for normal human chairs?"

Ronnie and the fox girl giggle and the fox says, "That's just one of those things at least you aren't a midget."

At least I'm not a midget, just small for my age.

I ask the fox girl what encourages her to be a cheerleader.

"Because gymnastics isn't available I mean like seriously!? Tumbling for cheer is like way different than gymnastics I'm getting used to cleaning and it feels kinda different tumbling in shoes!"

I spray some dry shampoo in my hair to keep it from going too crazy.

I tell them, "We should be going inside now."

My facials are kinda weak and could spirit better. I know I'm a veteran and on the team last year but I still don't feel like a real cheerleader even tho I know the coaches and keep making the team. I just know Evie will help me again but honestly, we should help the new girls.

It's almost time for tryouts so we go inside the gymnasium. I notice some of the other girls looking anxious and intimidated and one of them says, "Yikes she's making the team fer sure, dur!"

"I know right! She was captain last year! Oh she just got here! Look at her show off that tumbling! And her bow..."

It's my bestie Evie! She's a peppy girl with gorgeous eyes like azure jewels, thick cerulean blue wavy pigtails, cheer shoes with blue sparkles when we sparkled our shoes together, and slides into the gymnasium on her knees merrily yelling, "Evie is here! Say hello to your squad captain!"

That's our Evie, so sure she'll make squad captain...again.

Like Ronnie Nessa Denise and I and others she's wearing last year's bow and backpack to show she was on the squad last year so the new girls know to respect us veterans. I tell Evie that her hair looks great because real talk here that hair is so amazing!

A new girl looks like she's having trouble.

I ask with concern, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Yeah our water bottles are frozen!"

I go into the locker room and...mine is too!

Evie comes in leaning against the doorframe giggling, "You've been pranked!"

I shake my head smiling, looking to her, "Ha ha you sure got us good!"

We go back into the main part of the gymnasium and prepare.

Denise smirked evilly as she approached Evie, "I know you, everyone is so happy whenever you walk into a room and you're like 'Hey I'm Evie!' or 'Omigosh I'm so amazing!' well I can see right through you little..." she is slowly walking towards Evie as Evie backs away.

Evie replies, "What did I ever do to you?! Just because I like making people laugh and making them feel better? Is this about your water bottle because honestly you kinda des..."

Denise angrily interrupts her, "Oh it just comes so naturally to you doesn't it? People like you, laugh at your jokes, and be with you to prank people! I saw you and your friends TPing my house! Guess who had to clean up your mess?"

Before she shoves her the other girls barely manage to hold her back. Ronnie and Nessa's rabbit friend looks at Denise and says, "Wow you're like so upset you should really chill Denise!"

Nessa raises her voice to defend Evie, "Yeah like seriously Evie is our friend and you're making a butt out of yourself in front of everyone!"

Denise says with a mean tone throwing up her hands, "I don't care!"

Oh fer sure she walked into my reply, "You mean making people mad just to laugh at them? Puh leez Evie makes others laugh while you make them cry just so you can feel better than them!"

Denise meanly claps back, "Oh yeah Ying I remember how much of a nervous wreck you were last year! If Evie didn't help you then you fer sure wouldn't have made the team! Your facials are also way unconvincing! Like seriously how can you even attack the crowd you have like no charisma! You even wore a dumb face veil last year!"

"I had braces okay and like hiding my weird mouth okay!?"

Oh crap...I just told Denise one of my fears!

Yay the coach is here! Thank goodness her arrival rescued me! "Hey girls so what was all that noise back here?"

"Oh nothing" I said nervously "Just getting warmed up."

Before she can give her speech about safety and not feeling too bad if you don't make the cut Denise asks, "I know I'm not exactly the smallest girl here, in fact I'm obviously the largest, but can I still try out for a flyer position? My friends Ying and Evie here want to be my bases."

The coach says back with a I'm so proud of you tone, "That's lovely of you Ying and Evie, bases are so underrated! Especially you Evie since you love being center flyer so much!"

Then the coach went on, "When you put up a stunt don't just try getting it over with so really focus on what you're doing okay? If the flyer falls she won't feel as confident so please focus on keeping your flyer up!"

Evie and I cross our arms and pout shaking our heads. I feel a stale and acidic feeling going through through me with some eye pressure, and Evie looks just as hate filled and frustrated as me.

Evie whispers into my ear, "Hehe if she wants to fly oh she'll fly! I might not have a third digit on my weight but I'm still pretty strong hehehehe."

"I'm not tho but am strong magically for my age."

"Omigosh me too!"

The coach blew her whistle, "We have some veterans like Evie, Ying, Ronnie, Nessa, and Denise! They made the squad last year and the year before that! Many of you girls are new and don't have cool gear from last year to show off! There's a risk of injury with this sport blah blah okay stretching time!"

I watch the fox and rabbit girls from earlier tumbling, but the rabbit's front tuck and fox's flips need some serious work. Okay, if your entrance skills are off it's going to hurt your momentum.

I approach the rabbit, "I see you're trying aerials. You're really having trouble with something so basic!? Here, let me show you."

I keep completely turning over in the air without using my hands, like cartwheels without touching the ground. I wonder if that many turns are illegal?

"Now you try, you just need to believe in yourself and know where you are compared to the ground. Did you stretch?"

"Yeah...well here it goes."

Denise is holding two other newbies for a double cupie. I'm not even sensing magic from her either that's pure strength on her part. She sure thinks she's something for showing off like that, seriously!

I look back at the group I'm helping. A couple of girls flopped like, so hard thinking they could tumble.

The rabbit stuck a front handspring into a back tuck as a warmup. She's now doing a roundoff back tuck and then a punch front, slapping her thighs as she lands. She could use more spin otherwise she's like so good. She's actually kinda good and might push out some of last year's vets. Well not me of course...at least I hope not.

"Not bad, now try a double full. Here, I'll show you."

I do two front handsprings then I spring off the mat with my feet, feeling my body spin twice on the way back to landing on my feet.

The rabbit girl looks impressed, "Wow! Can I do that?!"

I smile, feeling kinda proud of myself, "Now you try. I'll make sure you don't get hurt."

She's showing a talent for tumbling!

We walk to her fox friend, I tell her, "I mean no offense when I say this, but your flip flops are so sloppy. Here, I'll show you."

I jump backward onto my hands then push up springing to my feet. Even tho I'm taller and heavier than the fox girl I don't struggle as much going down, my elbows pointing straight instead of kinda outward like the fox, then I push myself and land on my feet.

"See? You shouldn't keep your elbows so far out. Yeah I get at first your shoulders feel it more and it isn't as smooth but once you practice it and keep stretching and working out you'll get a smooth seamless motion just like me!"

Her face lights up, eyes wide and mouth open as if it's some great honor that I acknowledged her.

"Thanks! You know Evie right? What conditioning exercises would she recommend?"

I feel a light fluttering in my stomach and lighter. I really enjoy helping people.

"You know we can ask her she's like right over there." That made her and her friend so happy.

"Really!? You'd introduce us!? I so hope she won't be annoyed with us!"

I tell them, "Oh it's no big deal!" Evie is stretching a leg, we wait since you need to get both sides even.

"Evie...hi, these new girls want some help from you. I helped them a little but they want your take on things."

Evie's smile got bigger and looks happy, "You think I can help you!? Thanks I so can, for workouts I kinda recommend frog jumps. You hop back and forth to strengthen your thighs and hips, hand standing push ups, reverse planks, and for stretching downward dog, cobra, and of course jogging."

The rabbit looked down to her fox friend quite excitedly, "Oh my gosh she spoke to us!"

Evie and I walk over to a struggling group, orc and human bases trying to hold up a dragon girl.

Evie knowingly and confidently smirks and slightly giggles, "Are you seriously having trouble with a basic liberty?"

Her voice warmed, "Here...don't let her rock back, put your index finger on her heel and please don't hunch your back it is so bad for it! Sit back further and pull your chest up and keep your back straight. Five...six...seven...and legs! You're so talented!"

I then tell them I have DIY ice packs if they need any. Evie and I made those together.

After they basked tossed the dragon and she did a herkie they whispered to each other, "My gosh she acknowledged us!"

The coach whistles and tells us, "Okay girls tryouts are officially starting right now!"

Sigh, so much emphasis is put on tumbling and the spirit entrance. It used to feel weird not cheering in front of anyone but other try outers. One of the girls tried a tumbling routine and her face hit the mat. Poor girl.

Oh, and that one tried jumping as she moved sidewise gosh girls please remember your pathing! Spirit, pause, and then jump!

Evie takes a step closer to me and says in a very quiet whisper, "Those girls...is 'woooo!' the only way they know how to spirit? Like seriously use actual words!"

I whisper back, "I know right! At least we tried helping them."

Evie and I spirited and tumbled quite smoothly. "Heyyo let's go!" Evie yells with boisterous enthusiasm.

Then we follow up with, "Don't stop slaying! Come on move that ball! No matter how hot the ball gets stay...and...slay!"

Our focus is mostly on cheer's competitive side but it doesn't mean we'll forget about facials and spiriting and cheering on our school too!

After a few more drills and testing us on what we knew it was finally time, we were going to be bases for our "friend" Denise. Oh my gosh she's like so fat and she obv knows it because she wants to annoy us!

The coach says in her usual proud and peppy tone, "I know Denise wasn't a flyer last year but her and her friends agreed to give her a chance!"

Denise looks at us with a mean smile, the malice of her eyes piercing through her glasses, "It's time girls!"

The struggle wasn't nearly as hard as we thought, tho our shoulders knees quads and triceps are as sore as you'd expect from picking up a heavy girl. Evie is magically gifted, more so than me, and Denise does a scorpion so beautifully well for a fat girl. How does she do it? That technique...wow I'm legit scared now. Evie tosses her far with a combination of her mind and physically so the spotters can't catch her. She does some flips but falls on her butt. Serves her meany dumb face right.

Evie, Ronnie, Nessa, and I all laugh at her and her face is like so literally red and the coach looks at Evie with disapproving eyes shaking her head, "We don't do that sweetie."

She said to her, "But coach she's a big girl so I thought I'd need that much thought to throw her and believed in her enough to land I don't wanna be in trouble I want to shop for cute clothes!"

"Okay, I can see why you did that, but this is a warning so you better behave okay!? You girls may have talent but I know what kind of trouble you girls can get into!"

"Yes Miss Coachies!"

The coach tells Evie with some affection yet annoyance in her voice, "Evie...you know that's not my name! How long have we known each other?"

Evie just shyly smiles and coyly replies to her, "Sorry coach!"

Practice is over and I approach Abby seeing her walking home, "I saw how you defended that boy from those mean bullies. That was so nice and brave of you!"

"Yeah, I just had to, I just can't stand mean idiots!"

She shrugs with a smile. "They're friends of Denise, wait isn't she on your squad?"

I sigh and look down to my pretty cheer shoes, what used to be all white NFinity Vengeances Evie and I glittered together, "I'm afraid so."

Gosh I hope I don't ruin my shoes you aren't really supposed to walk on the street with them. I just couldn't leave Abby waiting though.

I look back up to Abby with an aggravated tone, "She's always so mean to me! She insults me and tells everyone I kiss all the boys and worse! Are you okay Abby?"

"Of course! I'm only suspended for 3 days but those boys are gone for the whole week. The principal said I'm only suspended because she had to or whatever. I don't get it if she makes the rules can't she just let me get away with beating those boys up I mean they did have it coming."

"I don't get it either Abby. Some people are like that they follow some rule only because they have to even tho following it is wrong."

"I know right that's like way weird!" It was a few days ago since I was suspended like a JD.

Now it's Abby's turn. We walk through town and see many people as school ended. "What about cheerleading practice?"

"Oh I helped so much!"

"Not really I mean it can but...ehh it depends. Strix's cooking is like so good you have to visit! He makes amazing hamburgers anyway you want and the special sauce for the fries oh my gosh you have to try them!"

"That does sound good, maybe I'll stop by."

I ask "Won't your parents ground you?"

Abby replied confidently, "No Ying, dad understands it's only because of rules and I didn't really do anything wrong."

Abby replied confidently. We have lots of time until then so we walk together.

A lady says, "Where are your parents!"

Abby tells her, "None of your business!"

We walk past dark wooden houses with a nice beachy aesthetic. The poor live in many of these wood buildings and I kinda feel bad for the people here. Imagine if your neighbors were pirates? Like why do people even become pirates? I have a bad feeling about this and I look to Abby, but she wants to keep going.

She tells me, "That guy with the tiger boy looks kinda familiar!"

I see a weird group of people walking into a hotel, a tall buff guy with a black hat and burgundy red long navy coat with yellow shoulder thingies with the tassels and scraggly beard. There's also a tall thin man with a cowboy hat, beige trench coat and lots of stubble and a goatee and there's a tiger kid with them.

The man with the red beard says, "Arrrggghh matey you're gonna win the tournament fer sure!"

"And if I don't? We don't know who else will be there."

Abby nods her head with a confident smile that says yeah like me.

"You will arrrgggg! You're going against landlubbers I reckon arrrgggg!"

"Dad can you please chill with the pirate talk it's like way cringe."

"Ye kids don't understand!"

He shakes his pirate sword in a lecturey way at him.

"Yeah...we never do." He shrugs.

"What ye lasses be staring at begone with ya arrrrggg!"

Abby casually walks towards them, and I grab her wrist and whisper in her ear, "Let's go!"

We run a few blocks away and Abby goes into her house. Good thing I don't live too far from her and good thing those weird guys aren't actually chasing us.

I get home, I pet the horses, and sit in the dining room waiting for my white tea and dinner. There were enough people walking where it felt safe.

I watch the red pink and orange sunset while I dreamily stare out into the ocean on my back balcony. The palms clatter under pink and purple clouds.