Saved by the Bell: A New Generation

Chapter Seven

The morning classes couldn't have passed by soon enough, now streaming into lunch time as both Ariana and Claire entered the cafeteria, ready to have some lunch in order to get energised for their first official practice as cheerleaders that were taking place that afternoon following the conclusion of the school day.

After they made their way to the front of the query to select their meals, they began to search for a table to sit at.

Spotting her group of friends, Claire nudged Ariana and together they started to walk towards the table where her friends were sitting, engrossing in a conversation.

"Hey Claire," Sierra greeted before turning to Ariana and smiled "I'm Sierra, the captain of the cheerleading squad, as you probably know by now," Sierra stopped in front of them with a cheerful smile planted on her face. "You're new aren't you? Are you a junior like Claire too?"

"Uh-huh, so thanks for choosing us to be on the squad," Ariana responded softly.

Sierra shrugged. "It was no big deal really. I mean, you two were the best ones to try out. It's an honour to have you on our squad this year. Well, anyway I was wondering you two would like to sit with me and my friends so we can get to know one another better. I'd hate to have you on the squad and not know anything about you."

"Actually, I was going to go and sit with my friends," Claire paused, looking at Sierra and then to Ariana. "But alright, I guess I can sit with you guys today."

"Great and what about you Ariana?" Sierra asked.

Ariana followed Sierra's gaze to her table and found Kayla who had had the run in with her. Uh-oh! Did she really want to make friends with the girl who had practically told her she would never make it onto the squad? She was obviously protecting her own spot from self destruction. Then again, maybe it would be good to make friends with the girl. What harm could it do? Neither knew the other.

"OK," she said, and so they followed Sierra through the maze of tables and book bags.

Sierra's friend Kayla was sitting with along side two girls Ariana vaguely remembered seeing the other day on one side of the table, across from where Sierra sat herself down at. Ariana and Claire sat down in the empty seat next to Sierra.

Kayla glanced at Ariana and Claire with daggers like they shouldn't be sitting with them and then looked at Sierra as if to say "What-the-hell-are-you-thinking?"

"What are we talking about?" Ariana asked, making the situation a little less uncomfortable and easy on her.

"Nothing," Kayla returned back quickly like she had something to hide, confirming the intuition Ariana had that Kayla didn't like her very much. But Ariana didn't care, as much as she hated to give out first impressions without taking the time to know someone, the feeling was mutual. She didn't care for Kayla much either.

"Hi Ariana," Chase smirked, as he whipped down in the seat beside her.

"Hi," she replied back, getting some very imminent daggers from Kayla when she looked up from her food in front of her. Okay, so Kayla obviously had a little crush on Chase and didn't like the fact that he only say down at their table for the purpose of talking to Ariana.

But she couldn't help it. It wasn't like she asked for the attention from Chase.

"Do you guys know each other?" Sierra asked, taking a bite to eat.

"You could say that. We're in the same math class," Chase conceded, showing the smile that probably made hearts aflutter.

Claire nudged Ariana with a half smile.

"Hi Chase," Kayla flirtatiously said, steering the conversation away from Ariana and Chase and onto her. Apparently she needed to be the centre of attention at all time and she'd whatever it took to make it happen. Was she so desperate she had to flirt outrageously?

Chase smiled. "Hi Kayla," he said, to which she didn't agree with because she then stood up and stalked over to another table and sat down prominently.

He turned back to Ariana who tried to concentrate on her food. If she kept thinking about all her emotional pitfalls during meals, she was never going to eat again.

"Friday night," Chase said, snapping his fingers as if he remembered something important. "Guess who's going to an intimate concert with Simple Plan."

"You're going to the concert?" Sierra piped up. "Wow, I've been dying to get hold of those tickets but they were all sold out. I mean, I didn't really want to go for them exactly but more so for the band 'Indefinite' who are their opening act and also from my familia hereditary Australia."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that only you know who they are," Chase smiled.

"Duh, how could you forget where I come from?" Sierra mocked. "But yeah, I wish I was able to see them. The last time I saw them in concert was like two years ago in Sydney with my friends as a last hooray before my family moved here," she memorised, sipping her cola.

"Well, you're in luck Sierra because you can come to the concert too—if you want to of course. I'm not twisting your arm or anything."

"Only if I want to—like you even have to ask me that. Name the time and place and I'll be there," she beamed excitedly.

"You can come too Ariana," he smirked with no discreet in his voice. Sierra and Claire could see that he obviously wanted her to come along too. She was his reason to invite the others. "I have six tickets."

Ariana hesitated. "I don't know…I don't want to put anyone else out of going with you."

"You're not. I'm inviting you. Like I said I have six tickets—well two now if you disregard my one, the one I've offered to Sierra and two tickets my friends Luke and Tristan have already reserved their rights to them."

Ariana wasn't entirely sure. Going to a Simple Plan concert did sound awesome—partly because she did like their music—but she wasn't sure if she should say yes to Chase right now, knowing that later on she could look like a fool if when she were to ask her parents and they said no then what would these people think of her?

She was trying to make friends with them; she didn't want to be made fun of. Sure, there was every possibility that her parents could say yes but they could also say no too. Although if she explained by going to the concert she was making friends then they'd be also happy knowing she was trying to fit into her new school.

"How did you manage to snag these tickets anyway?" Sierra asked.

"I have my ways," he remained secretive.

"In other words—it helps to have your father working as a lawyer in the entertainment industry," Sierra chimed in.

"Something like that," Chase gave in. "You can come too Claire—if it means you'll come too Ariana," he pleaded.

Ariana smiled. She was flattered by the unwanted affection he was showing her but still she wasn't sure. She supposedly had a boyfriend and yet for some strange reason, she found Chase irresistibly cute even when she tried hard not to find him cute.

But it was proving too damn impossible to decline his offer with his dark shaggy locks that draped around his forehead.

Before Ariana could fully determine a yes or no, she was faced with two echoes sitting beside her who had graciously agreed to attend the concert.

"She'll be there," Sierra and Claire chimed in, with Claire wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't know," Ariana hesitated, while munching on a French fry. "I'll have to ask my parents and well you don't know them like I do. They can be kind of over protective of me."

"So tell them that you're mingling with friends. They'll be happy to know you're befriending people," Chase smirked. "C'mon, Sierra and Claire are in and if you say no, it won't be the same without you."

Ariana finally pulled herself out from her suspended hesitation to reveal glee and glanced at Sierra and Claire, as if pleading for advice. "OK, count me in."

"What are we talking about?" asked Kayla as she once again returned to their table minus her posse of friends trailing behind her.

"The Simple Plan Concert we've been invited to," Sierra implied.

"Oh, when is it? I'll go."

"Friday night but I've only got six tickets that I've already offered out to people. Sorry," Chase said.

Kayla looked at Ariana suspiciously like she knew she had taken the ticket that would have gone to her if Ariana hadn't swooped in on the school, her friends and the squad.

Waving her hands about, she dismissed it like it was no big deal as if she couldn't care less. "Whatever. I didn't really want to go anyway," she covered with a lie.

Ariana glanced at Kayla who looked like she had been downsized and then to Claire who shrugged. If Kayla thought that she could try to weasel her way out of the ticket she earned as rightfully hers then she was mistaken. Chase asked her. Ariana was going to that concert and she was determined to have fun. Now all she had to was convince her parents into letting her go.

The first official football practice was due to begin in five minutes—yesterday's was merely a training session to see the potential and talent each player dwelled on—and Chase was feeling more pressure than he had ever felt in his whole seventeen years of his life. This was his chance. It was his time to shine in the spotlight. It was his chance to prove not only to his team mates, his fellow peers, coach and parents but also to the college selectors who'd hopefully be attending games to suss out his talent for potential football scholarships to the colleges of his choice for the following fall semester.

This year, he was a senior. It was his senior year of high school and all his hard work had paid off. He was now the quarterback and captain of the team and he couldn't be more excited though he couldn't help but feel slightly nervous in the pit of his stomach. All his years of striving to get to this point had actually worked because he was where he wanted to be yet now he feared the worst that he'd injure himself in a way where he wouldn't be able to make his dream a reality.

To others, it was a harsh judgement to be taking note of but to someone like Chase who has squarely lived his life based on this moment of time. If something did happen to jeopardise his opportunity to compete for a football scholarship to a college of his choice, then he doubt if he'd be able to attend college next fall considering his grades were somewhat lacking well below the average point and he wouldn't be getting into a college on grades alone if it weren't for his talent as a grid ironed player. His only other talent besides football was his partying ways and his ability of successfully being able to woo the ladies without having to try with efficient amount of effort.

Speaking of the ladies, there was one specific girl he tried hard to get out of his head but failed miserably. Even more so now that he had invited Ariana to come along to the Simple Plan concert on Friday night, though it was undeniable that he would have asked any one else to go with him like Kayla.

Sure he had invited Sierra and she and Kayla we best friends but he had always considered Sierra to be down to earth and a good friend who'd never force herself to be someone else unlike Kayla who was always heaving herself onto him which he despised most of the time.

Spotting Ariana over at the sidelines as it seemed the cheerleaders were preparing to practice.

Glancing around the field, he found no sign of his coach yet and so he jogged over to where she was standing off to the side with Claire.

"Hey," he said, smiling his winning smile that won affection from half the girls at school.

"Hey again," Ariana replied. "Are you following me?"

Chase laughed. "Maybe," he raised an eyebrow. "No, actually, I've got football practice and I guess you've got cheerleading practice so we happen to be in the same place."

"Lanyard, stop chatting up the ladies and get over here," his coach called.

"I guess that's your cue," Ariana said, pulling her hair into a low ponytail.

Chase followed Ariana's gaze to the field where his coach stood, holding a clipboard and wearing a whistle around his neck then turned back to Ariana.

"Yeah, I'll be seeing you," he said before he turned and jogged back to the others.

"Uh-huh, at the concert," Ariana called back to him which made him turn around and show a wide grin in her direction that didn't go unnoticed by Kayla who was standing off to the side of the bleachers, looking rather unimpressed by the unfortunate interaction she witnessed before her.