"Ashley" Scarlett called breathlessly, "Ashley wait up"
Ashley Wilkes turned around to see who was calling his name and when he saw Scarlett his face broke out into a smile.
"Hey there pumpkin" he said.
Scarlett frowned. While it pleased her that Ashley called her by an endearment, it was this particular one that bothered her. Back in freshman year Scarlett had invited Ashley over for dinner. That night had been one of her many attempts to get him to make a move. But he had been a gentleman the whole night. The only thing that had come out of that night was that Ashley had heard Scarlett's dad calling her pumpkin and had since then refused to call her anything but.
"Ashley. Didn't you hear me shouting your name? I had to run down this stupid corridor to catch up with you. Why were you in such a mighty rush anyway? If I didn't know better I'd think you had a secret rendezvous to get to" Scarlett said flashing her dimples.
Hearing her words Ashley actually blushed a little and looked away.
"Nothing like that Scarlett. I just have a meeting with Melly. She's on the yearbook committee you know and I was going to give her a few pictures that she might want to include"
"Oh Ashley, you're such an overachiever. End of year is still ages away. Besides you shouldn't have to go drop them off yourself."
"I know, I just thought since I was headed that way, I may as well do it myself. But since you're here now I bet I'm not going that way anymore am I?" Ashley knew Scarlett wouldn't let him out of her sight now and truth be told, he enjoyed her attention.
"Damn straight! We're going to the coffee bar. I don't feel like Spanish and I know you have a free period"
"Lead the way" Ashley said holding out his arm for her.
"Why thank you dear sir" Scarlett batted her eyelashes prettily before they both burst out in laughter while making their way down the hallway.
Rosemary Butler was having a lousy day. First Miss Johnson gave her a 'D' in chemistry, 'I miss one lousy assignment' and then the guidance counsellor, Mr Matthews had called her in to tell her that she wasn't involved in enough extra-curricular activities. Every student at Lafayette was required to be a part of atleast two activities outside of school work and Rosie was currently in none. Which suited her just fine, but no they had to make her life miserable. Finally when she escaped the meeting from hell, she had run straight into Miss super-popular-I'm-so-pretty Scarlett O'Hara. Not that she had anything against Scarlett, just they way she had turned out. When they were kids, Scarlett had so much fire but since starting high school Scarlett had turned into a plastic doll. Pretty and perfect with no soul. Sometimes Rosie couldn't believe it. Scarlett and Cathy had been her best friends, now they were strangers who walked the same halls. Rosie turned her thoughts back to the most depressing news of all. Her sudden drop in grades meant her guardian had to be brought in for a parent-teacher conference. 'How the hell will I get Rhett to do that?' she asked herself. Rhett, who was once the most fun loving and irresistible charming guy anyone had ever met, was now a cold monster. Except with her. With Rosie he was all smiles and sunshine but Rosie wasn't sure if she should subject her teachers, however nasty they were, to the horror show that was Rhett Butler.
Scarlett really wanted to go home, play some music, light some candles and climb into her big bathtub. But that wasn't going to happen yet. No, she had to get through Cheerleading practice. Normally she looked forward to practice. But not today. She had had another frustrating non-date with Ashley. 'Why won't he just ask me already?' she questioned angrily. 'I'll give him till the end of the week. If he hasn't asked me by then, I'll ask him myself' That thought immediately cheered her up and she walked into the gym only to stop again. This time it was shock. For standing in front of her was none other that Rosie Butler.
"Rosemary" Scarlett asked warily, "What are you doing here?"
Scarlett noticed the other girls were all staring and she shot them a look.
"I'm not quite sure. Mr Matthews told me I had to be involved in some extra curricular activities. At the time I told him to just sign me up for anything but now that I see that by anything, he took that to mean cheerleading, I really don't know what to do"
Scarlett was astonished. Not only was Rosemary here for cheerleading, but she was also stringing full sentences together. Scarlett hadn't heard Rosie say that much in the past four years.
"Umm, I don't know what you can do. If Kenny put you down then I guess you are meant to be here. Did you check in with Fanny? She's captain you know. She should be able to tell you what to do" Scarlett said.
"Yeh okay" Rosie said clearly not enthused by the idea.
Throwing her a sharp look, "If you don't want to be here you should just leave. Have your brother write you a note saying you have a bad knee. Then just get it signed by a doctor. Simple. No one can make you stay if you really want to go" Scarlett said
Rosie was quiet for a while and then just shook her head, "No, I want to be here. Ok, maybe 'want' is too strong a word but I'm not averse to being here' she said with a half smile.
Scarlett gave her a big smile back, "Finally, you've decided to live again"
Scarlett then walked over to Fanny and had a quiet discussion with her. A student being appointed to the Cheerleading Squad was highly unorthodox, but then again Scarlett could see quite clearly why it had happened. Rosie was a Butler and although no one made a big deal about it, everyone knew Lafayette was founded by Rosie's great-great-grandfather in an effort to preserve the old world. The family still retained the original ownership of the school all though its governing had long been turned over to a board elected every five years. A Butler was also always on the Board so Scarlett knew how much clout Rosie had, if she ever chose to wield it. To have her quit the school would be a terrible blow, so most teachers went out of their way to keep her happy. 'Even going so far as to sign her up for 'popular' activities.' The last thought made Scarlett laugh to herself. She knew that making Rosemary be a cheerleader was more torture than pleasure for the lanky girl.
Scarlett looked over at Rosie and gave her a once-over. 'Not bad' she thought. 'I just need to make sure she has her eyebrows plucked, definitely a mani-pedi, and oh a facial for sure' Scarlett studied her clothes, they were obviously expensive but not what you would call cutting edge 'I guess we need to go shopping too' Scarlett tried to concentrate on what Fanny was saying about Rosie not being trained and such before Scarlett shushed her.
"Fanny, this is Rosemary Butler. We both know if Kenny sent her here, she's here to stay. If you're so worried, let me be her sponsor. I'll make sure she's ready to cheer on the Warriors before the pep rally next weekend. Okay?" Scarlett was getting impatient. She hated when people procrastinated and she also knew how to pick her battles. Challenging Rosie's position on the team would not be one she would win. And also was not one she wanted to win. 'How odd. It's almost like I want her here' she wondered absently before smiling at Rosie and waving her over.
"Well Rosemary, Scarlett and I have talked about it and we'd like to welcome you on team"
Rosemary's expression was priceless. She was caught between shock and despair that she had actually been allowed to stay, and mild pleasure that she hadn't been reject outright.
"Thank you, I think" Rosie muttered the last bit but Scarlett heard her and gave her a small smile.
As Fanny turned to the rest of the squad to tell them about their new team member, Scarlett and Rosie walked to the back and settled down to do some stretches following Cathy who seemed to be leading the group.
"Why cheerleading?" Scarlett asked suddenly. "It can't be as random as just pulling an activity out of a hat"
Rosie sighed and looked over at Scarlett, "I guess you don't remember us taking Ballet lessons"
"Yeh I do, but that was years ago. We were like 12"
"I didn't quit when you did. I'm pretty good actually. I might even study dance at college. But anyway, since my interests were reading, horse riding and dancing that left me few options. And as you know there's no dance team at Lafayette so…"
Scarlett nodded, "So that's why you're here. I must say I am relieved. I was afraid you might be an uncoordinated klutz" she said laughing as they continued their warm up.
Hey this is going slowly. I'm still not sure if I should continue. Please review. Good bad anything. Rhett should come around in the next few chaps. Right now I'm focussing on Scarlett and a bit of background.