4

Brittany's POV

Keeping up with Cheerios and dance lessons was hard. My classes in high school weren't super easy either, but I had stopped caring so much about my grades in middle school; it's not like I was going to become a doctor or a teacher.

Coach Sylvester wanted to test us new Cheerios in extreme ways. I was sore for the first few days and with walking home after, I was exercising more than I ever had before. Luckily, Santana walked home with me after practice before continuing to her own home. It was nice to have a friend to talk to.

Today was the last day of school for the first week, and Santana would actually be staying at my house after practice. I was excited, although I hoped she wouldn't judge me the way my old friends did. A lot of them called me stupid for talking to my cat, Lord Tubbington, and for my quick remarks. All of the things I said made sense in my head; why couldn't anyone else understand?

My classes were all boring, and I was ready to get moving by the time Cheerios practice started.

Quinn approached Santana and I while we were changing into our gym clothes.

"Have you girls found popular boys yet?" she asked.

I knew I hadn't, but, in my opinion, we didn't need popular boys to make us popular. Why couldn't we just be popular without boys?

"I'm going to talk to Noah Puckerman today," Santana replied.

"Great. And Brittany?"

"I'll find someone."

Quinn luckily stopped asking questions after that, and the three of us went to the gym to warm up.

I was exhausted after Cheerios practice, but I knew that Santana would be coming over, so I tried my best not to act so tired. We changed and left Quinn behind as we started walking to my house.

"Do you have any siblings?" Santana asked while we were walking.

"I have a little sister," I replied. "She's six."

"I used to want a sister." Santana looked down at the sidewalk.

"Me too... until I got one."

We laughed a little, then finally arrived at my house.

My room walls were covered in blue wallpaper with pink flowers, and there were posters on the wall. I had stuffed animals on my bed. Lord Tubbington was sleeping on my bed as well. I wondered how my room looked to Santana; was it how she imagined it would look?

She seemed quite interested in my room. Maybe it was because it showed who I was more than the few of my belongings that I brought to school did, but I wasn't sure.

"This is Lord Tubbington," I said as I walked over to my bed where my cat was sleeping.

"How long have you had him?" Santana asked. Based on her voice, I could tell she truly was interested in knowing the answer to her question, which meant she actually cared about my interests, just like a real friend should. She was still looking around my room but not touching anything.

"Two years," I replied, sitting down on my bed.

Santana kept standing for a moment before sitting down beside me. I was glad that she already felt comfortable in my bedroom.

"Why did you join Cheerios?"

I looked at Santana when she asked me the question.

"I love dancing, and I've been cheerleading for a few years; I went to cheer camp last summer," I replied. "Plus, I wanted to make some friends."

"How long have you taken dance lessons?" She looked at Lord Tubbington for a second before looking back at me.

"Since I was three. Now it's my turn to ask you a question." I smiled, then asked," Why did you want to join the Cheerios?"

"I did cheerleading in middle school and also went to cheer camp. Plus, I want to be popular."

Santana's answer to my question kind of surprised me. She didn't seem like the type of person who did something just to be popular. I highly doubted that she genuinely enjoyed being bossed around by Coach Sylvester.

"Do you enjoy it then?" I asked.

"It's alright." She got quiet.

I changed the topic to Quinn and why she was so obsessed with us girls all finding a popular football player to date. Santana didn't seem to want to talk about that either, since she still hadn't talked to Noah Puckerman, so I asked her if she wanted to meet my sister.

"Sure," Santana replied, and we went to her bedroom.

One Week Later...

It was Friday of the second week of school, and high school was already overwhelming me. I had begun to give up on getting good grades and focused on asking as many questions about the subject as I could instead, trying to add humor to the otherwise stressful classes.

Classes weren't the most stressful part either. Coach Sylvester had been pushing us freshman girls super hard, and dance lessons were practically impossible when I was so sore. Plus, she agreed with Quinn, saying that we should find some popular boys to date.

"Today, I will be promoting a few of you to the real Cheerios. You will get a uniform and your pom poms after practice today and will be promoted to early morning practices," Coach Sylvester announced.

I walked over to Santana and Quinn after stretching while we waited to hear who would be moving up.

"Quinn Fabray, Amanda Hanson, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce, come here!" Coach Sylvester ordered. She was talking in her usual yell and didn't sound excited or even happy at all.

The four of us walked toward her.

"Meet me in my office after practice."

We tried not to act to excited until Coach Sylvester told us to get changed, but once we were in the locker room, we all smiled.

All the freshmen's measurements and weight were taken frequently, so it didn't come as a surprise to us that our uniforms were in our sizes. We collected the uniforms and pom poms, then Coach Sylvester told us, "Regular after-school practice is still reserved for the rest of the freshmen, so you girls will be joining the real Cheerios at their practice on Monday at 7:00 am. Am I clear?"

We nodded with tight smiles before leaving her office to head home.

"Do you want to walk together again?" I asked Santana.

"Sure." She adjusted her backpack straps on her shoulders and we walked in the direction of our houses.

Right before arriving at my house, I looked at Santana. "Do you need a ride on Monday morning?"

"You don't even know where I live," she said.

"Where do you live, then?" I asked.

She gave me her address and I told her my mom and I would be there to pick her up on Monday morning.

"See you on Monday, Santana!" I said before heading inside my house.

"Bye, Brittany!"