Chapter 8: Battle of the Classes

Selina's P.O.V.

Today is January 18th and it is the winter pep rally at school today! I stayed over Aerith's house last night to get ready for today. Originally we were supposed to stay at Taylor's house last night, but we couldn't after she said that she was leaving early in the morning. Aerith and I got into my car and we drove off to school and parked near the field house a.k.a. the gym. We were told if students that are participating in the pep rally, they have to stay in the field house for the day. "Wow, the place is packed today." said Aerith. "Yeah. I wonder how many people are in the Battle of the Classes this year?" I asked her. "Probably about 20 per class, but we'll see later today though." said Aerith. I nodded my head in agreement.

We looked around the field house and we saw the rest of the cheer-leading team waiting for us. We walked with them to the big blue mat on the middle of the basketball court and we all practiced our stunts for an hour. After practicing for an hour, Aerith and I sat down on the bleachers where we saw the huge sign that said Juniors on it. I took my phone out and saw a text from Reno. "Hey babe, just wondering how your practice went and to let you know that the guys and I will meet you and Aerith at the field house at fourth period. Love you." Reno texted. I smiled happily at the text. I put my phone back in my bag and looked up at Aerith seeing her smiling at her phone. "Zack texted you?" I asked her. "Yeah, and knowing him when it comes to texting, he can't spell nearly anything pretty well." said Aerith. "His phone doesn't have auto correct?" I asked. "That's the best part about his phone; he turned his auto correct off because he thought it was pointless. One day he's going to send a text that will embarrass him for the rest of his life." said Aerith. We both laughed happily and we started helping teachers in the field house set up for the pep rally.

After an hour of setting up, we looked and saw Yuffie and Cissnei walk in with the guys. "Hi sweetie pie." I said to Reno. "Hey gorgeous." said Reno. I gave him a peck on the lips. "Sorry if science class sucked today." I said. "It did suck, we had the most boring substitute in the school and Taylor wasn't even there with us." said Reno. We looked at Cloud and he looked at us all confused. "What?" Cloud asked us. "Where's your girlfriend?" I asked him. "I don't know where she is to be honest with you. I texted her this morning and she didn't respond to it. I'm a little worried that something went wrong." said Cloud. "Well she texted me last night that she was leaving her house early this morning. Technically Aerith and I were supposed to be at Taylor's house last night, but we couldn't after she texted me that." I said. "Wait a minute, does that mean that Taylor's in the Battle of the Classes this year?" said Reno. My jaw dropped and I looked at Aerith as she saw the shock on my face.

"Selina, are you ok?" Aerith asked me. "Yeah I'm fine." I said. "Well what happened?" said Aerith. "Taylor's in the Battle of the Classes this year." I said. Aerith's jaw dropped all surprised. "So that's why she said she left early this morning!" said Aerith. I nodded my head yes. We looked at the guys seeing them high five each other all excited. "Juniors are so going to win this year!" said Zack happily. "Aw hell yeah we're gonna win!" said Cid. The girls and I laughed a little bit.

Aerith's P.O.V.

A couple hours had passed and it is pep rally time! Selina and I looked at the bleachers seeing all four grades sitting in their sections talking and laughing. I looked around the field house wondering where Taylor was. "Do you see her?" Selina asked me. "No I don't see her, usually she's easy to find, but not today." I said. We looked at our group and sat with them. Before any of us said a word, we saw the doors open and saw the freshman group with their teacher and could hear the rest of the freshman cheer for their group.

"Since when do the dance groups come out one at a time?" said Reno. "Since our freshman year." I said. I looked at the senior section seeing Taylor's softball team and I knew that they would only root for her. I looked back at the doors and saw the sophomore group walk in and heard their class cheer for them. Both freshman and sophomore groups walked onto the big mat and stood there. "Our class is next!" said Selina happily. The group and I looked at the door seeing Mr. Carter walk in with the junior dance group and we saw Taylor in the group. "There she is!" Zack yelled happily. "You got this Tay!" Reno yelled happily. "It's in the bag!" Selina yelled happily. Taylor looked at us and she smiled knowing that we're rooting for her.

We looked at the door again and saw the senior group walk in. After they got onto the mat, all four dance groups stared at each other and then walk to their class sections. Selina and I got up as Taylor walked upto us. "Tay! Why didn't you tell us that you're doing this?" I said. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but it sounds like that you guys knew about it." said Taylor. "We really didn't know to be honest." I said. "Really?" said Taylor curiously. I nodded my head yes to her question. "So how many people are in your group?" Selina asked Taylor. "30 people." said Taylor. "30?!" I said. "Yep. 15 boys and 15 girls." said Taylor. "Are they all in your dance class?" I asked. Taylor nodded her head yes to my question. "Any part of the dance that we should know about?" I asked. "I'm going to do the trick that made me tear my ACL six years ago and hopefully I don't get injured this time." said Taylor.

Me and Selina's eyes widened in shock to hear that Taylor was going to do the trick that injured her. "Are you crazy Lazarus?!" said Selina. "N-no?" said Taylor nervously. "Do you really want to see us and your boyfriend get really scared again?" I said. "No, but I want to redeem myself from that trick. I practiced this trick again ever since the school year started and I think that today's the day I can nail this move perfectly." said Taylor. We looked and saw Cloud walk upto us and stand next to Taylor. He gave her a hug and a kiss and they smiled. "Good luck sweetheart. I love you." said Cloud to Taylor. "Thank you honey. I love you too." said Taylor to Cloud. After that, Cloud went back to sit with the group, Taylor sat with her dance group, and Selina and I went to sit with our cheer-leading squad.

Reno's P.O.V.

I looked at the court and saw a few teachers of each grade at their student sections ready for today. "Ok students and teachers let's get this party started!" said the senior class president. I could hear the building erupt in excitement as everyone cheered. "About frickin time." I said. Cissnei punched my arm after I said that. "Ow! What was that for yo?" I said. "To make you be quiet. I want to hear the events they're doing." said Cissnei. "Alright I'll be quiet." I said. I watched her go to sit on Cid's lap so that she could see the pep rally a little better. I looked down at the front and saw Taylor stand up and begin to walk around a little bit. I turned to Zack and Cloud as they also watched her walk around.

"Cloud?" I said. "Hm?" he said. "Is she alright?" I asked him. He looked back at her and recognized that something was bothering her. "I know that walk. She's all nervous." said Cloud. "Why is she nervous?" Zack asked. "I don't know? Anxiety maybe?" said Cloud. The three of us kept on watching her wondering what she was upto something. Taylor looked and saw both Selina and Aerith looking at her as they saw how nervous she was. "I'm going over there." I said as I got up. I walked down to the front and the three girls saw me. "Hey girls." I said. "Hi Reno." said Aerith. "Hey." said Taylor. "You ok Taylor? We saw you walking around like you were nervous or something." I said. "I'm ok. Just a little anxious that's all." she said.

We looked and saw Selina stand up and she whispered something in my ear. As she whispered what she was saying, my eyes widened in shock. I looked to Taylor and she saw how nervous and concerned I have just become. "Are you serious Tay?! You know if you do that trick, you're gonna get hurt again!" I said nervously. "I know, I know. But I think that I can do this without getting hurt this time. I believe that I can do it." said Taylor calmly. I looked at Zack and Cloud as they watched a few people on the court having a pie eating contest. I turned back to Taylor and hugged her. "Don't do anything reckless ok?" I whispered to her. "I won't. I promise." she whispered.

I walked back up and sat back down next to Zack and Cloud. "Everything ok?" Cloud asked me. I looked at him and whispered in his ear what Selina had told me and Cloud felt shocked and scared at the same time. He looked at Taylor as she walked to her softball team and walked back to her dance group. Cloud started to shake all nervously wanting his girl to be fine out there when it all begins. We watched the pep rally go on for half an hour seeing people do tug-of-war, half court shots, and medicine ball toss.

Zack's P.O.V.

"Alright everybody! It's the moment we've all been waiting for! It's time for: Battle of the Classes!" said the senior class president. The place erupted in cheers. "The rule of this is that these four groups you see here on the mat, they have to go on one at a time, dance for three minutes, and after all groups are done they get judged by performance and decide the M.V.P. of the event." said the senior class president. I looked at the junior group with Cloud and Reno seeing them huddled together with Mr. Carter getting them hyped up. "She's hyped up." I said to Cloud. "That's my girl." said Cloud happily. Before the whole thing started, Cloud and Reno told me that Taylor was going to do the move that tore her ACL six years ago and I got nervous for her. I looked to the doors and saw Taylor's parents were there. "Taylor's parents are here too!" I said. We looked and saw them at our section seeing their daughter ready to blaze the stage. The group and I walked down to sit with Selina and Aerith so we all can get a great view of Taylor and her group.

As we looked at the junior group, Cid, Reno, and I started recognizing some of our football teammates in the dance group. "A few of our teammates in this! Now this is going to be great!" said Cid happily. I looked behind me and saw Callie walk up and hug me and Cloud from behind after she hugged Aerith and Selina. "Rooting for the seniors?" I asked her. "Nope, my team and I are rooting for Taylor and we secretly hope your grade wins instead of the seniors this year." said Callie. I smiled at Callie happily. "So Cloud, how are you and Taylor doing?" Callie asked him. "We're doing great!" said Cloud. "Did you try to do anything "naughty" to her?" said Callie. Cloud blushed red after she said that and he put his head low. "Cloud!" said Callie as she hit his arm. "You sly dog you." I said with a smirk. After a couple minutes, the event had finally begun!

Taylor's P.O.V.

"First up: The Freshmen!" said the senior class president. We watched the group of 19 freshmen walk onto the mat as they heard their class cheer for them. I looked at two of my friends in the dance group, Flint Chandler and Brett Casey, as we watched the freshmen walk onto the mat. "Why do I have a feeling that this one is going to be bad?" I asked them. The two boys looked at me all surprised from my question. "What do you mean Tay?" said Flint. "Either one of them in this group is going to do something inappropriate or going to get hurt during this one." I said. "If they do one or both of those, they will lose for sure." said Brett. I nodded my head in agreement.

I looked at the teacher that lead them onto the mat and instantly recognized her. My jaw dropped slightly all surprised. "No way!" I said. "What?" said Flint. "The teacher that lead them here is our old math teacher." I said. They looked at her and they were shocked. "Oh shit, this is going to be good!" said Flint. "Hell yeah." I said. "Freshmen, you may begin." said the senior class president.

Once their song began to play, my dance group and I got hyped since this song is one of our absolute favorites three years ago. I watched the freshmen do splits, dropkicks, and a few backflips at certain points but I noticed that no one in the group got a solo, which is pretty sad to be honest with you. Maybe they weren't as confident as I thought they would be. All in all, they did pretty good by picking a good song and some good moves, but nobody had gotten a solo to shine in the spotlight. As they finished and walked off, I looked at Selina and the rest of my group as only she and Aerith know that I can be a little dance critic from time to time. I looked around the place and saw my parents there with my uncle Marx and my aunt Mary, I waved at them and they waved back happily.

"Sophomores, you're up!" said the senior class president. We watched the sophomores walk up with their teacher onto the mat and stood in their positions. I looked at Flint as he noticed his little brother in the sophomore group. "You got this Liam!" said Flint. Liam looked at his brother and smiled at him. "Sophomores, you may begin." said the senior class president. Their song turned on and I instantly knew the song once I heard the first beat of it. I closed my eyes and smiled for a few seconds and opened my eyes again seeing the action on the court. I saw a few of them doing head spins, triple tucks, being thrown high in the air doing splits, and front and back flips and Liam got a solo which was really good to see! He did a quadruple back flip and hand spring which he nailed perfectly and I knew immediately that his class is my grade's competition. Their performance ended and they went back to their side of the court. Right now it's my grade's turn to blaze the stage!

Cloud's P.O.V.

"Ok everyone, it's time for the Juniors!" said the senior class president. I could hear our group cheer loudly as we watched Taylor walk onto the mat. I looked at both Aerith and Selina and they sat right next to each other all scared and nervous if Taylor was going to fall and hurt herself. The three of us closed our eyes and did a quick littler prayer hoping that Taylor will be ok today. I opened my eyes and saw Callie and the rest of her softball team walk over and sat at our section rooting for their captain. "You got this Speedy!" said one of their teammates. Taylor looked at them and she smiled for a second and then she got herself focused again. "You can do it babe, I know that you can do it." I said quietly to myself.

"Juniors, you may begin." said the senior class president. Once their song had begun, our grade happily lost their minds knowing that everyone knows this song and it's a really good song. They were doing flips, splits on the ground and in the air, throwing each other in the air, dropkicks, and head spins. During the middle of it, they got in a line as one kid was going to roll under them and Taylor moon walked in front of them which got everyone in the place excited. As we watched other people get group solos, I watched Taylor and two of her friends stand together in line and I knew that this was the trick that got her hurt. They did five back flips and then landed on their left knees as the song ended and Taylor didn't fall and she didn't get hurt as we watched her stand up!

"She did it!" Selina yelled happily. Zack and Reno tackled me a little bit as we were happy about the whole thing. We watched Taylor and her group hug each other and saw tears falling on their faces happily. "What's with the tears guys?" the senior class president asked them. Mr. Carter walked up and took the mic. I looked at Taylor's family as they teared up too knowing that they're so proud of her just like I am. "This routine we just did here, we did this six years ago and I lost this girl right here to an ACL injury in her left knee and she had to stop dancing for an entire year. After that, she came back stronger than ever because she knew that these kids needed her as their leader to keep them going, showing them that no injury can stop you from what you love to do and keep on following your dreams." said Mr. Carter while crying too.

Taylor walked off the mat and hugged her family for a few minutes and my group and I smiled happily knowing that she just made her comeback and redeemed herself. After hugging her family, she started walking towards me and I got up and held her tight in my arms. "I'm so proud of you Tay." I whispered in her ear. I looked into her eyes seeing her all amazed of what just happened and she was lost for words right now. "I love you." I said. "I love you too." she said happily. We turned to our group and saw them start hugging Taylor happily. We all sat back down together and watched the senior dance group perform and they did a similar dance like the sophomores did. I looked at Taylor's face and saw that she was not amused of this dance at all.

Taylor's P.O.V.

The Battle of the Classes has ended and it was time to hear who won it this year. I looked at my dance group as I was sitting with Cloud. "Alright everybody, we got the results for this year's Battle of the Classes!" said the senior class president. For the first time ever at any of these events, I began to shake nervously. I took Cloud's hand and held it tight. "You alright Taylor?" Cloud asked me. "Dude she's shaking!" said Zack. "She's so nervous!" said Selina. Cloud wrapped his arms around me and put me on his lap. We looked and saw Callie sit next to us as she saw me shaking. "Don't be nervous Tay; we all loved your performance. It doesn't matter what place you get. All that matters is that you had fun and that you made your comeback ok?" said Callie.

I looked at her and smiled happily and finally calmed down. Callie and the group smiled happily too. "In fourth place is: the Seniors!" said the senior class president. Callie's jaw dropped in shock and then she looked at me seeing a smirk on my face. "You are loving this are you?" said Callie. I nodded my head yes and let out a little laugh. Callie looked at Cloud and the rest of my group after they heard me laugh. "In third place is: the Freshman!" said the senior class president. I looked at the freshman section seeing them jump around like crazy. "Geez calm down animals." I said. Cloud and the group laughed at my comment.

I got up from Cloud's lap and stood up next to Callie as we looked out to the mat. I looked at my dance team as they knelt down and Callie and I did the same. Callie looked and saw Cloud and the group scoot upto us a little bit. "In second place is: the Sophomores!" said the senior class president. Once he said that, Callie, Cloud, and the rest of my group tackled me to the ground all happy knowing now that my dance group had just won! "And the winner of Battle of the Classes this year is the Juniors!" said the senior class president. After hugging everyone from my main group, softball team, dance group, and my family members, the pep rally was over and it was time to head home.

I went home with my parents, Callie, Cloud, Zack, Aerith, Reno, Selina, Cid, and Cissnei. We all walked into my house and watched my parents walk to the kitchen while the rest of us walked downstairs to the basement and talked for an hour. As we were laughing and talking, my Mom came downstairs as if she needed something. "Taylor, can you come upstairs for a minute?" she asked me. "Yeah sure." I said. I got up and went upstairs with her. "Is something wrong?" I asked her. "No, nothing's wrong sweetie. It's just that Daddy and I have to show you something." she said. "Ok?" I said curiously. We walked to the living room seeing my Dad there too. "Sit on the couch Taylor." said my Dad. I got scared for a second once he said that. My Mom and I watched him walk away for a minute and then walk back in holding a box.

"What is this?" I asked him. He put the box down in front of me onto the coffee table. "A little early birthday gift." said my Dad. I looked up at them and I saw my Mom recording on her phone. "I'm scared." I said. "Don't be honey, just open the box." said my Mom. "And you said I was the impatient one." I said to my Dad. He laughed a little bit. I looked at the box, studying it a little bit, and finally opened it. I looked inside and I felt excited and surprised. I covered my mouth and looked at my parents seeing them smile and laugh. "Well what's in there?" said my Dad. I picked up the thing inside the box and took it out. "It's a puppy." I said. My Dad sat down next to me seeing how happy I was with the puppy in my arms. "You know what breed he is?" he asked me. "A Bernese Mountain Dog." I said. I looked at the puppy's little brown eyes and he started licking my face happily and he got me to laugh happily. "Did you read his tag Taylor?" my Mom asked. I looked at the tag and saw the puppy's name. "Tempo." I said. "That's his name." said my Dad.

I put Tempo on the couch and hugged my Dad as he saw happy tears in my eyes. "Thank you Daddy." I cried happily. "You're welcome sweetheart." he said happily. I walked upto my Mom and hugged her too. "Thank you Mommy." I cried happily. "You're welcome baby girl." she said happily. Tempo barked happily to get my attention and it worked. I picked him up and held him. "Can I go show them?" I asked my parents. "Go right ahead." said my Dad. I walked to the basement door, opened it, and closed it again once I walked in. "Hey guys." I said. Everyone looked at me and saw Tempo in my arms. "You got a new dog?!" said Selina. I watched the girls nearly fight each other as I put Tempo on the ground knowing that they want to pet him. "Calm down animals." said Reno. The guys and I laughed at Reno's comment. We all sat on the floor and played with Tempo for an hour.

After that we all went upstairs to eat dinner together before the group went home for the night. Cloud and I walked to my room after my parents left to see my Mom's mother for a little bit. Tempo followed us as he saw me pick up his new bed and put it next to my bed. Tempo walked onto his new bed, layed down, and fell asleep within three minutes. We smiled happily as the puppy slept. "So, did you have a good day?" Cloud asked. "I sure did." I said. "I'm happy that you had a good day." he said. I hugged him for a couple minutes happily. "Hey babe?" said Cloud. "Yeah?" I said. "Can I ask you something?" he said. "Sure, what is it?" I said.

Cloud took a deep breath and looked back at me. He took both my hands and held them in his. "Taylor, will you go to prom with me?" he asked shyly. "Yes!" I said happily. I jumped into his arms and we fell onto a beanbag chair. We laughed in pure joy for a few minutes and then finally calmed down. We layed back on my bed watching a movie as we relaxed. "Cloudy?" I said sweetly. "Hm? What is it Tay?" said Cloud tiredly as he yawned. "Do you know when junior prom is?" I asked him. "The school said that our prom is on April 12th." he said. "A Friday?" I said. Cloud nodded his head yes. I showed a little smile and kissed his cheek. "I love you so much." I said. "I love you too sweetheart." said Cloud. After that, we slept for the night knowing that today has been a really good day overall.

Thank you for reading Chapter 8 of the series! So far, this is the longest chapter of the series until a few future chapters in the story. The songs used in the Battle of the Classes were: The Next Episode (San Holo Remix), Wrecking Ball (Caked Up Remix), Disconnected by Monstercat, and Turn Up by Vic (Caked Up Remix). I do not own these songs in any means. They were only used for entertainment purposes.

Next time, Chapter 9: Coffee House. It's the annual Choral Coffee House at NHS! Selina, Aerith, Callie, and Taylor get to sing solos in front of their loved ones for the first time and both Taylor and Callie will be your hosts for the show.