"What's got you in a good mood, Sofin?" asked Amber. The three Enchancian royal children were sitting together on the flying coach, heading to Royal Prep. It was the day after the dazzleball match, and Sofin was still excited to try out for the cheerleading team.
"Huh?" said Sofin. "How did you know?"
"You've been grinning ever since we got onto this coach," replied Amber. She faced Sofin, then held each of her hands to one of Sofin's cheeks and turned his face so they were looking at each other. "Now, spill."
"Well," said Sofin, "I went with James to the dazzleball game against Hexley Hall yesterday—"
"We won, of course," interjected James.
"Yep," continued Sofin. "But while I was there, I got to see the Royal Prep cheerleading team perform, and now I want to join them! Isn't that so cool?"
There was silence in the coach for a moment.
Amber turned to James. "You told him cheerleading is a sport for girls, right?"
James just shrugged in response. "He wanted to try out anyway."
Amber sighed, then looked to Sofin. "Sofin, cheerleading is a princess thing. You're a prince, not a princess. You can't do cheerleading."
Sofin couldn't stop the stab of pain that pierced through his heart. He couldn't stop his smile from disappearing. He couldn't ignore the icy cold feeling of hurt, burning in his chest.
Amber noticed and immediately backpedaled. "Oh, no, I mean—I didn't mean—well, what I meant to say, Sofin, is just that, most princes don't do cheerleading. Isn't it better to stick to the things you know how to do and you love, like Flying Derby? It's just that, if you try out for cheerleading, some princes might make fun of you."
Sofin shook his head. "I have to try, Amber. If Freya can play on the dazzleball team, then I can play on the cheerleading team. Noone makes fun of Freya, do they?"
"That's different, Sofin," said Amber. "Freya is really good at dazzleball. Noone would want to make fun of her."
"Well maybe I'm very good at cheerleading," replied Sofin, crossing his arms and turning away from Amber. He couldn't believe Amber would say he couldn't do cheerleading. Closing his mouth, he was silent for the rest of the coach ride.
When the coach finally landed at Royal Prep, Amber spoke up once again. "I'm sorry I said you couldn't cheerlead, Sofin. You could, I'm sure of it. I'm just worried about what this means for your social life at Royal Prep. Will the princes still want to be friends with someone who's on the cheerleading team? Just…think about it." Amber stepped off the stopped coach, making her way towards the school.
"Most of my friends are princesses anyways," muttered Sofin. Zandar and Khalid were okay, but the rest of the princes, especially Hugo, were just insufferable. But as Sofin walked to his first class of the day, he thought about what Amber had said, and wondered if the cheerleading team was really right for him, anyways.
The classes passed in a blur. Sofin barely focused on anything but royal history class, which was the last of the day. This unit, they were talking about Rapunzel, and her journey to escape the wicked Mother Gothel and finally see her homeland again.
Professor Velova stood at the front of the class. She was a rather tall and thin woman, wearing mostly black, with fair skin and dark blonde hair. The professor loved hats and would always wear one each day for class: today, she had a dark brown cloche hat which hung below her ears. She clapped to get everyone's attention. "Welcome, class! I hope you're just as excited as I am, since today we're covering the part of Princess Rapunzel's story where she and Flynn ride out in the boat as the townspeople release lanterns." She pushed aside a desk to reveal a wooden boat, with blue cardboard waves sitting on the floor to mimic water. "We'll be acting out this scene, so would anyone like to volunteer to be Princess Rapunzel?"
Sofin's hand flew into the air, but Amber was just a little bit faster. "Princess Amber!" said Professor Velova. "You always bring life to the role of Rapunzel! Go ahead, take a seat." Amber moved to the front of the class and sat down in one of the two seats on the boat. It rocked from side to side, but didn't tip over.
"And a Flynn, I need a Flynn Rider too!" said Professor Velova. Sofin's hand raised into the air, but instead of picking him, Professor Velova chose the only person without their hand raised.
"Prince Desmond!" she called. "I'm so glad you volunteered. Come have a seat with Amber."
"Um," said the boy, who Sofin had never met before, "I didn't actually raise…" Professor Velova just smiled at him. He hung his head. "Okay." The prince moved to the front of the room and took a seat across from Amber.
"Now, go on, you two!" said Professor Velova. "With some energy!"
The class proceeded like that, with the two reading out lines from a script, and then eventually performing the song, "I See The Light." Sofin thought Amber's voice was wonderful. Had she practiced this before?
"Now, can anyone tell me what that song meant for Flynn's character?" asked Professor Velova, after the song had ended. "Prince Desmond, would you like to try?"
"Well, um," stalled the prince. His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "I…I don't really know, Professor Velova."
The professor clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Princess Amber, do you know?"
Amber turned away from Desmond and towards the class to answer. "It's the moment that Flynn realized Rapunzel meant more to him than thievery. Oh, what a great love story," she said, staring off into the distance, a dreamy expression on her face. Desmond's face reddened further.
"Very good, Princess Amber," said the professor. Amber preened under the praise.
"Well now class, I think that's all we have time for now," said Professor Velova. "You are all dismissed. Anyone who has further questions may stay after class."
Most of the students filed out of the room, but Sofin stayed to ask about cheerleading tryouts. He had thought about it, and decided that no matter what Amber said, it was still worth a try. Another girl who Sofin didn't know stayed back as well.
Sofin approached the professor first. "Professor Velova," he said, a little nervous, "I'd—uh, I'd like to join the cheerleading team. If you're okay with that. Do you know when tryouts are?"
The professor looked at him, and said just one word. "No."
Sofin felt like he must have misheard. There was no way his favorite teacher had just said what she had said. "I thought you were the coach—"
"No," repeated the professor. "You will not get a spot on the cheerleading team as you are. To cheerlead, one must have an energy, a passion in movement, a life in dance. You do not have it. You will not get a spot on my team."
"Oh," said Sofin, feeling horribly disheartened. Hanging his head, he turned away, leaving the classroom and slowly walking through the hallway towards the carriage to go back home. Amber had been right. Cheerleading was just a princess thing after all. There was no way he could do it.
Someone bumped into Sofin from behind. "Hey!" he said, turning around to see who it was.
It was the other girl who had stayed behind to talk to Professor Velova. She wore her light brown hair in a ponytail and had blue eyes. "Sorry about that," she said. "Wasn't looking where I was going. My bad!" Then she hurried off in a rush.
A small piece of paper fell from behind her and landed on the floor. Sofin picked it up, then called out, "Hey, you dropped this!" But the girl was already gone. Sighing, Sofin turned over the paper, reading the written words. His eyes widened.
After school tomorrow. Inside the big gym.
That was…was that the time for the cheerleading team tryouts? Just who was that girl, anyways? Sofin stuffed the piece of paper into a pocket, heading back towards the flying coach to go home, his head filled with questions.
Hours later, Sofin lay on his bed, staring up at the empty ceiling. It was nighttime by now, and only a little bit before he was supposed to go to sleep. Sofin was feeling really down about being told no, first by Amber, then by Professor Velova. Sure, that girl from earlier, whose name he still didn't know, had told him when the tryouts were. But that didn't matter if the coach didn't want him on the team. Just because he wasn't a princess and didn't have 'life' or 'energy' or whatever.
Raising his head slightly, Sofin spied his diary sitting on a desk, where it usually was. Maybe it was time for another entry? He did have a lot to write about. Sighing, Sofin pulled himself out of bed, turned on a nearby lamp, and opened his diary to write.
Dear Diary,
I really wish I could become a cheerleader. The cheerleaders at the dazzleball game did all sorts of cool flips and tricks! But Professor Velova, the coach of the cheerleading team, said I couldn't join. Thanks to the mystery girl from earlier, I know tryouts are tomorrow. But that doesn't matter if the coach doesn't want me on the team. And it's all just because I'm a boy and not a girl. I don't get why that matters at all. If I love doing something, does it matter if it's a prince thing or a princess thing? But no one stopped me from doing the Flying Derby because it's a prince thing. And now everyone is stopping me from doing cheerleading because it's a princess thing. Who cares, anyways?
Normally I'd just accept it at this point, but there was that girl—Freya—who played on the dazzleball team even though she was a girl. But dazzleball is a prince thing, says James. So how come she gets to do dazzleball and I don't get to do cheerleading? Amber says it's because Freya is really good at dazzleball.
"But Sofin, what if you're really good at cheerleading?"
"Gah!" yelled Sofin, slamming the book shut and turning his head to see Mia, the bluebird, perched on his shoulder. Robin, Clover, and Whatnaught were all nowhere to be seen. But Mia had been reading his diary. Without him knowing.
"Aah—wha—guh—Mia, how do you even know how to read?" blubbered Sofin.
"Oh, that's easy!" said the bluebird, her beak curved into a smile. "My mom taught me!"
That was unhelpful. "How did your mom learn how to read?" asked Sofin. He still couldn't get over the fact that a bluebird had spied on his diary.
"Her mom taught her!" responded Mia, still smiling.
Sofin took a deep breath. It was okay. If anyone was allowed to read his diary, it would be his animal friends. He trusted them. "Nevermind," he said, about where Mia had learned to read. "It doesn't matter. What were you saying again?"
"I said, 'Her mom taught her,'" replied the bluebird.
"No, before that," said Sofin.
"Oh! I said you might be really good at cheerleading. You won't know if you don't try."
Sofin thought about it for a second. Mia was right; maybe he was really good at cheerleading! Then Professor Velova would have to let him on the team. "Okay, let's find out," he eventually responded.
Sofin got up from his desk, and Mia flew off his shoulder to land on one of the bedposts. Sofin climbed onto his bed, thankful that it was really huge, then took a deep breath. He could do this.
"What are you going to do?" asked Mia.
"I'm gonna try to jump into the air, spread my legs, and touch my toes with my hands, and then land on my feet. It was one of the first things I saw the cheerleaders at the dazzleball game do."
"Okay, Sofin!" called the bluebird. "You can do this! 3… 2… 1… go!"
Sofin leaped into the air. He tried to stretch his legs out, but they didn't go nearly as far as he had hoped. Worse than that, before he even knew it, he was starting to fall back down. Flailing, Sofin landed on his still-outstretched feet before falling forwards onto the bed, straight on his face. Lying in the bed, he groaned.
"I don't think you did it right," said Mia.
Sofin groaned again in response.
"Maybe you should try something else?" suggested the bluebird.
Sofin slowly pulled himself up and back to a standing position. That didn't go exactly as planned, but maybe he just wasn't good at that trick? He remembered seeing some of the cheerleaders jump and flip backwards through the air before landing on their feet. Maybe that would be easier? It was worth a shot.
Now standing on his feet again. Sofin took another deep breath. This was it. He bent his knees, jumped into the air, turned his feet backwards, and with a loud flump landed, once again, directly on his face.
"Oh," said Mia. "Are you okay?"
Sofin didn't bother pulling his head up again. "I'm fine," he responded, face still buried in the bedsheets. The fall had hurt a lot more on the inside.
"Maybe cheerleading isn't for you after all," said Mia sadly. Sofin couldn't help but feel the same way. If he wasn't any good at cheerleading, then there was no way Professor Velova would let him on the team. He could kiss his dreams of becoming a cheerleader goodbye.
A knock came at the door. "Come in," replied Sofin, his voice still muffled by the sheets. He didn't really feel like getting up anyways. Mia flew out of the window, closing it on her way out. He heard a creak as the door opened.
"Sofin?" came Amber's voice. Reluctantly, Sofin pushed himself up and into a sitting position, and turned to face his sister. She was wearing her sleepwear.
"Hey, Amber," said Sofin, without any excitement in his voice.
Amber paused for a moment, but didn't comment on the situation. Instead she asked, "Sofin, do you want to come to the observatory and watch the stars with me?"
Sofin shrugged. "I guess." It wasn't like he had anything better to do.
"Great," replied the princess. "Baileywick, can you bring us blankets and hot cocoa?" she called, looking out of Sofin's open door.
"Of course, Princess Amber," responded the royal steward from out of Sofin's sight.
Amber took Sofin's hand and pulled him out of bed. "Let's go."
The two made the walk to the observatory in silence, and only after they had reached the inside of the glass dome, sitting with blankets and hot cocoa, did Amber speak.
"Look up," she said to Sofin, and pressed a button. Huge plates which protected the outside of the dome from rain slowly slid apart, revealing the beautiful night sky in all its glory. Sofin was amazed by the thousands of stars he could see, in every direction. He'd seen them before with his mom as a kid, but in the clear sky above the observatory, everything was so much more detailed. Each star twinkled in his vision, forming a glimmering sheet of little lights that spread across the wide dark blue sky.
"Wow," said Sofin quietly, marveling at the scale of it all. He turned to Amber. "Do you come here often?"
"Every night," she responded, still looking at the sky. "My mom and I—my old mom, not Queen Miranda—we used to come here together. Now, it's all I have to remember her by."
"Oh," said Sofin, not sure what to say. He didn't know if there were words to describe what Amber must have been feeling. "I'm sorry," he finished quietly.
"It was a long time ago," said Amber, her gaze fixed on the sky. The two siblings looked at the stars together, simply admiring them as the minutes passed.
After some time, Amber spoke up again. "Sofin, I'm sorry about what I said earlier today about cheerleading. I know it was something you were super excited for. It was wrong of me to tell you that you couldn't just because you're a prince and not a princess." She sighed. "I guess I just thought about how I'd feel if someone told me I couldn't go stargazing anymore. If you really want to become a cheerleader, then I'll support you all the way."
Sofin was touched, but he shook his head. "It's too late now, I think. Professor Velova said I couldn't join the team. She didn't even tell me when tryouts were. And I tried doing a flip on my own, but I'm just not good at it."
"I'm sorry, Sofin," said Amber quietly.
"It's okay," said the prince softly. "I'm over it." He wasn't over it, and Amber knew it.
Suddenly, a shooting star appeared in the night sky. Sofin pointed at it excitedly. "Look, a shooting star! Amber, make a wish!"
"What do you mean?" asked Amber.
"It's a tradition in our family to make a wish every time you see a shooting star," said Sofin. "But don't tell anyone, or else the wish won't come true. Quickly, before it disappears!"
Amber looked at the shooting star. "Okay." Then she was silent for a moment, as she made a wish in her head. Once she finished, she looked back at Sofin with a bright smile, looking better than she had all night. "Why don't we stay here for a while, Sofin? We have cocoa and blankets to keep us warm. I can point out the constellations in the night sky for you. There, that's the painter, Nefeli." She pointed at a cluster of stars that looked something like an artist holding a paintbrush.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," responded Sofin. "What other constellations are there?" And so the two siblings stayed together and eventually fell asleep that night, watching the stars.