The girls felt a rush of adrenaline and nerves as they huddled together in a victorious group hug. Even Gabrielle joined despite her generally cruel and uncaring demeanor towards the squad, specifically Lexi.

"I knew I read the stars wrong!" The shortest of the girls cheered as she jumped around, nearly hitting Lexi with her long white ponytail.

"Are you sure it wasn't the stars that were wrong?" Lexi smirked teasingly.

"The stars are never wrong." The girl whispered almost aggressively while clutching the peace sign hanging on her long necklace.

Forget about those stars, Maisey. The only stars I'm concerned about are the ones we'll be if we win this thing. " A girl with wild colored hair said, hugging them.

Shanice, sometimes you're so funny. You know that's not true... Right? " Gabrielle laughed, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Gabby is right. Maisey, what did the stars say about me winning the spot? " The fifth member asked the hippie cheerleader as she dug through her locker.

"Uhmm, you're a Capricorn, right Linda?" Maisey asked, dropping her things while scrambling to grab her phone. "Er, I don't know," Linda said, closing the stall door after she entered. "I'm a Gemini," Shanice said, stepping out of a stall dressed in a black and red cheer outfit. "Umm, hold on." "The little Martian said' as she struggled to figure out the star chart on her phone.

You can sort that out later. " "You need to get ready," Lexi said, handing her friend her bag. She then forced her into a stall. All the girls tried to hurry to get changed and fix their hair and makeup before they were called out to perform their routine for the judges. The team had already won the regional competition and was getting to move on to nationals.

Now they were competing for the chance to perform with the flapjack squad at the world dome.

"You're on next, Gabrielle, so be ready." The coach called, just popping her head in.

"I'm so sorry ladies, but after I perform, everyone going after me will just be a downgrade." Gabrielle scoffed at the other girls. "But hey, you can hold out for second."

"But Gabie, one is an unlucky number for you today." Maisey cried, holding up her phone. Gabrielle stopped in her tracks and stared at her with anger and genuine worry.

"Please welcome Gabrielle Le Pew." The announcer called from on stage. Gabrielle gave her the evil eye before heading out on stage.

"Aaah, I've been cursed." Maisey rushed to her bag to find a charm to neutralize it.

Lexi started to feel nervous as she watched Gabrielle perform her routine. Lexi's stomach balled up in knots when she saw Gabrielle perform what she thought was a perfectly good flip. When she saw the judges frown and start scratching their pens aggressively on their tablets, Lexi turned away, rushing into a free stall, unwilling to watch anymore. Lexi's heart raced as she tapped the stall's wall, making a mirror appear for her to do her makeup. "Calm down. "The worst that could happen is that you don't win," she told her reflection with a deep breath. As soon as the words left her mouth, a thousand ideas of horrid advents popped into her head. From unbearable humiliation to outright death. Lexi wasn't sure which was worse.

"You're an Aries, right?" Maisey called, interrupting Lexi's doomsday simulator.

"Yeah, I am," Lexi said, rubbing her eyes as she popped her head out to see her.

"Wonderful. The stars say you will see the fruits of your labor soon, and your lucky number is rose and the color is 37. " Lexi smiled, somewhat relieved.

It's about time they made pink a number. " Lexi joked.

"What?" "Pink isn't a number. Maisey said, "Truly complexed," not realizing she had mixed up her last words. The pressure was really getting to all of them. A roar of applause interrupted the girls' conversation.

"How,d it go?" Linda asked as a clearly upset Gabrielle emerged from the stage. Gabrielle stormed into a stall, slamming the door behind her. There was silence for a moment as they all stood still until Shanice was called to the stage. Gabby, don't be like that. I'm sure you did better than you think. " Linda called as she knocked on the stall door. A moment or two later, Gabrielle responded in a shaky voice.

Yeah, I did excellent. Very superb, certainly better than you all could do. Now leave me alone. I've got to get my earrings on, okay. "

"All right, let me help you." Linda offered.

"Fine, whatever. You can if you want. " Gabrielle grumbled, opening the door for her.

"I warned her." Maisey shook her head.

Well, at least my fortune didn't say anything bad would happen to me. Lexi joked.

"Well, actually it does say to watch out for flying objects and avoid going uptown anytime after 4:30." Lexi stared at her for a moment, then shook her head.

"Good to know."

The girls all watched the others perform while they waited for their turn. However, Lexi hanged back, trying to keep her mind off the pressure of the contest. Lexi noticed Gabrielle sneaking off. "I wonder what Miss Congeniality is up to?" Lexi thought out loud.

"Lexi Bunny." The announcer called.

She scrambled to her feet, straightening her outfit one last time before heading out. Lexi walked out on that stage with a confident air that every performer had to put on. Her track started playing and she began her routine. Her feet glided along from one move to the next, remembering her days of hip-hop dancing. Lexi was carried from her cheers to the dancing with an energy that made her feel alive. It felt almost as if no one was watching her. She felt free. Soon, she had come to the end of her performance and was met by the loud screens and thunderous claps of the crowd. Lexi stared out at the sea of people, awestruck at their response to her. She could see all sorts of humans and anamorphic beans cheering her on. Lexi blushed as she shyly waved at them and gave a small bow. She had never gotten this kind of response before at any competition she had ever competed in. She had to wonder if this crowd was just particularly enthusiastic. After a moment or two, the crowd calmed down. The judges stood up and got ready to give their feedback.

I think I speak for all of us when I say that this was the best performance I have seen at a competition of this size. Bravo, bravo. " The blonde lady in the middle complimented her.

"Thank you," Lexi answered, still shocked.

"Amazing, simply amazing."

"Quite right, just breath-taking," the two men on either side of the blonde lady told each other.

"We've got a real champion here, Brook, don't you think?" The man to the left asked the blonde lady.

Yeah, I don't think Brook was that good when she was her age, Charles. " The man across from him added.

"Michael, there are still girls that haven't gone yet." Let's get this show on the road, shall we? Brook growled with irritation."You may go now, young lady." She told Lexi, not taking her eyes off of her fellow judges.

Lexi thanked them and then rushed backstage, where her friends embraced her in a big group hug. "Hold up, ladies, nothing is final yet," Lexi said, breaking away.

"You joking?" "You slayed it back there, girl," Shan said, hitting Lexi's arm with her fist.

Lexi laughed "Heck yeah, I did." The girls joined in, squealing with joy as they hugged and spun around with each other. Lexi looked out from the crowd of girls to see Gabrielle glaring at her from a distance. Lexi felt a tug of guilt when she saw her, but then Gabrielle gave her an evil smile and walked off. It sent shivers down her spine. Whatever she was up to couldn't be good. Lexi's mind went straight to Maisey's silly star reading and the bit about flying objects. She wouldn't throw something at her to try to get her out of the running. Would she?

The next girl rushed out onto the stage. The group separated, each going off to their own corner of the room. Each was nervously waiting for the results to come in. Gabrielle was still gone, but Lexi kept her eyes open for her. Lexi even felt the urge to find a helmet or some kind of shelter. Lexi fought the urge, though, telling herself she was being silly. But then again, Gabrielle was a very sore loser. Lexi sat there more worried about what Gabrielle was up to than about what the results would be.

At long last, all the girls had gone, and it was time to get their scores and find out the winner. The girls all came out on the stage one by one. When Lexi came out, the crowd erupted in cheers. Lexi blushed and waved at them, not sure that she liked the attention. Lexi had to admit she felt sad seeing the other girls' families in the bleachers. She knew her dad wanted to come, but she understood why he couldn't. Lexi's eyes wandered around when she caught Gabrielle's gaze. She looked at her with a nasty grin. Lexi looked around the ceilings and walls for anything that might come flying at her. Gabrielle laughed at her for, covering her head and looking around like an idiot. Lexi glared at her, still covering her head. Gabrielle then began to have her score read out to her. She got the usual compliments and criticism. Then they moved on down the line to the next girl, and so on.

"Lexi Bunny," Brook called with a growl in her voice. Lexi was honestly scared by her tone."It's no secret that we were very impressed by your routine." She began giving Lexi a tiny bit of relief. The crowd cheered loudly. Clearly, so was everyone else. "(She let the cheering die down before she spoke again. "We almost gave you a perfect score, Lexi.

Almost? What did I do wrong? " Lexi thought as she started to feel the sweat dripping off her forehead. Michael whispered something to Brook and they all started arguing.

"No, I'm not changing my mind." Brook's voice broke over the others. Then she turned back to Lexi with an angry look. "You have disappointed me, young lady, and I don't think I have to say why." "You know what you did. "You little cheater." Brook hissed at her.

"Cheater?" Lexi exclaimed, shocked and angry.

"You heard me, kid. You've been caught. Now get off this stage. "

The crowd was silent, looking on in shock and disbelief. Lexi filled up with anger, wanting so badly to lash out at her. But her tongue was tied. All she could do was nod and walk off the stage as she was asked. On her way out, she gave Gabrielle the evil eye, who looked back at her with that same cruel smile. all but confirming that she had something to do with it. Lexi got a balling out by her coach, who demanded to know why and how she cheated. She stood her ground and insisted she was innocent.

"All right, fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but I'm going to go talk with those judges before I let you off the hook. " The coach said and then left to do what she had said. Just as she left, the other girls came running over to Lexi, surprising her with a group hug.

"They don't know what they're talking about," Linda said, embracing her.

"That old hag was clearly just jealous of you." Shanice ensured her.

"Thank you, guys," Lexi said, embracing them too. The girls huddled around each other, comforting Lexi until the scene was interrupted by the clicking of high hills.

"Hey, girls. Oh, you guys are so nice. I'm not sure I could be so nice to a cheater. You guys are truly good friends, you know that. " Gabrielle said, in an oddly genuine-sounding voice.

"She didn't cheat Gabby." Linda defended

"Yeah, Brook's got bad jealousy issues," Shanice added.

"Why would she be jealous of Lexi? She's a world champion. I don't think someone like her would find anyone in our league even remotely threatening. " Gabrielle said, calmly.

I'll admit it was rather odd, but Lexi is a good person. She would never cheat. " Linda replied. Lexi didn't say anything, worried that if she did, Gabby would twist what she said against her.

"You know, those celebrities get rather crazy sometimes," Shanice added, but with less confidence than before.

"You may be right." But didn't you find it odd that Lexi did so well? I mean, they did say they would have given her a perfect score. No one has gotten that good of a score. At least not on our team. " The girls were quiet. Lexi started racking her brain for what to say. She felt like she was now on trial.

"I wonder what it was they found in her bag," Gabrielle whispered just loud enough for Lexi to hear.

"What! They went through my bag! " Lexi yelled with shock and anger.

"Who said anything about them getting into your stuff?" Shanice asked. Lexi couldn't help but gasp when she realized she had just walked right into her trap. "Come on, Lexi, no one would ever be so rude." Besides, it wouldn't really be all that bad. I mean, what are they going to find? A hairbrush. " Gabrielle joked, putting her hand on Lexi's shoulder. Then she smiled and walked out of the room, leaving it in silence.

"So what do you have in your bag?" Shanice said, looking at her sideways.

"Really Guys? The same kinds of things you all do. " Maybe a few of my brother's manga that he keeps forgetting, but nothing incriminating like itching powder, Lexi said, joking.

"She looks nervous," Linda whispered to Shanice. Shanice nodded, not taking her eyes off her.

"Nothing else unusual?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lexi clenched her teeth, trying to hold herself back. "Would you like to inspect it, officer?" Lexi snapped at the girls. "Aaaaaah! I won! Guys, I won. I really won! " Maisey screamed, running up to them gripping a huge trophy.

"No thanks to Lexi," Shanice said, giving Lexi a nasty look.

"Good for you for playing fair." Linda joined in, also keeping her eyes fixed on Lexi.

That was it. Lexi couldn't take it anymore. "I'm going home." Good job, Maisey. " Lexi blurted out before she turned and ran off as fast as she could. She kept going until her feet took her to the bench where her brother was going to pick her up. She whipped out her phone, getting ready to text him to come right away. When she did, she saw a text from her mom that read, "How did it go?"

Lexi ignored the text and continued to type out to her twin. "BING!" A new message from Daddy the phone alerted, "Getting a space cleared for your trophy." She read. Lexi's eyes began to well up. Lexi tried her best to look like she was super into something on her phone and definitely not upset. BING! Lexi read the new message from Ace. "On my way." Lexi took a deep breath.

"Thank goodness," Lexi said, putting her phone on silent so she would not see any more texts. She had a crossword open on the screen. She stared at the puzzle, the letters blurred out of focus with her thoughts. Once again, she heard the sound of high hills clicking. Lexi didn't even have to look up to know who it was. THUD! Lexi's bag landed square in her lap.

Did you forget something? " Gabrielle said with a smirk. Lexi looked up to see her and Linda glaring down at her.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, seeing it had been dug through.

Don't mention it. " Gabrielle hissed, then she turned to Linda. You want to go get some food at the Pizzarriba?

"Sure, but I'm more of an Evert Fudgy gal myself. Hey, don't you have to pick up your little sister? " Linda answered as the two walked away.

"Nah, she's fine," Gabrielle answered.

Lexi quickly stuffed her earbuds into her sensitive bunny ears and turned up her music with her media bracelet, drowning out the girl's chatter.