Chapter 4: Ess: Catty Cheerleaders by warelander

Outside of Primp High School's Walls - Primp High School's Gym

Primp High's Gym Hall is a busy place, from big events to sports activities that range from tournaments to basic dodgeball matches to traumatize every other student, the teens of this school frequently find themselves back in these large halls.

Currently, the Gym was occupied by the school's cheerleader squad, who had just finished up their practice round.

''We will outdo ourselves this time! Our passion will be felt in the hearts of everyone in our teams.''

Ally
Local Cupid and Do-Gooder

''Hehe, naturally! That is if they can keep their eyes off of me that is!''

Draco
Vacant Attention Seeker

''Yeah, yeah.'' The resident half-genie said, playfully rolling her eyes all the while. ''But more important is that our cheers help our school net some good wins.''

Jaan
Half-Genie Prankster

''Oh gosh! I can't wait to cheer again! I can already hear the cheers of the crowds and the celebrations of our players!'' Amitie was thrilled to be doing this again with her buddies.

As these four were occupied with their giddy and excited small-talk, two other girls, one with striking green hair and the other a pinkhead, were standing farther away from the group, clearly concerned with keeping distance from the group.

''Tsk. Can you believe those two ditzes are still in the squad this year? You'd think we'd have some newcomers already.''

Raina
Everyone's Favorite Heartbreaker

''Eh.'' The green-haired girl responded with an openly apathetic overtone while twirling her pom-poms in her hands. ''At least Harpy has enough brain to stay away and not ruin our cheers with her screeching.''

Ess
Queen of Sophomore Hill

''Can't argue with that.'' Raina threw in, as a small smirk crept onto her face. ''Besides, makes it even easier for us to stand out and steal the show, huh?''

A very similar smirk made its way to Ess' face. She stopped twirling her pom-poms around, instead bumping her fists together with moderate force.

''This is gonna be my year, all those past humiliations are a thing of the past.''

''I dunno.'' Raina responded with a chuckle, which quickly earned her a glare from Ess. Not that it made it any less funny to her. ''I thought the itch powder thing was great!''

Ess was quickly reduced to childishly pouting, none too happy to be reminded of that incident.

''Oh, sure! It's funny when it's not you who's on your knees, scratching your butt in front of the whole school...and all because of her!'' Ess nudged her head to her four fellow cheerleaders.

The alpha directed her gaze to the four girls away from her, all of which were still having a jolly time. It didn't take long however until Jaan began to take notice that she was being glared at. Of course, she knew all too well what Ess was thinking, merely giving her a mocking grin and wave, which only further fueled the young Tetra's anger.

Her teeth audibly clenched and her fists began to shake. It wasn't hard to provoke Ess into a tantrum, but few brought it out to the degree that Jaan did.

''She's one of the first ones who I'll show up!" Ess stomped her feet. "I don't get why he keeps hanging out with this nuisance!''

It was then that Raina's ears perked up. She had heard some things along the lines of this from Ess before but was never quite sure how to read it. Now, though she had something to poke into.

Patiently, Raina waited for Ess to turn back to her, catching her off-guard with a mocking smile and raised eyebrows. Visibly nervous Ess still tried to keep her composure.

''Why are you looking at me like that?''

''You seem awfully invested in the fact that Jaan is friends with Sig and not you.''

As much as she wanted to avoid it, a visible blush formed on Ess' face. Go figure the sister of her biggest rival would be looking for her weak spots.

''Hmpf.'' Ess huffed, trying to underplay how awkward she was feeling. ''Am I wrong? How is it that he pays no attention to a Tetra? That boy has questionable taste in what girls he wants to associate with!''

''Hm-hm.'' Raina mumbled in a pseudo-affirmative manner, not losing her smirk one bit. She read Ess like an open book and the latter was all too aware that she wasn't in control of the game right now.

''Anyways, I'll be off to change, see yah~''

With those words Raina departed from the gym, not giving Ess another word, as she led her fellow cheerleader stand on her spot alone and unsure.

''Urgh.''

Ess felt like screaming, but she couldn't afford that with anyone else around to hear. Once more she felt like the loser in a confrontation and it just had to be against a notorious snitch too.

''I'm so sick of this...''

Standing all by her lonesome on her spot, Ess raised her arms into the air, the bravado that had been slowly coming back in full force.

''So what if she snitches?! I won't let anyone humiliate me any longer! I'll take her on! I'll take on everyone! This is still my year and nothing will change that!''

''Won't change what?''

The sudden sound of Ally's voice startled Ess more than a little, not helped by the sudden realization that the rest of the squad had been noticing at least some of her monologue.

''Oh..uhm..'' Ess stammered, caught off-guard by having so many curious eyes on her from one moment to the next. Still, as the leader of their squad, she could not show weakness. She had to prove at every step that she held the position for a reason!

''I'm, uh...just doing a little monologue to practice, yah know, to really get fired up!''

A few glances were exchanged between the four, though for the most part, nobody seemed to suspect much. Even Jaan didn't show any signs of mockery to indicate bad news. Then again, Ess had major trouble reading the genie, most would tell her that Jaan was a nice girl, but even then that didn't explain why she would pick her as such a huge target for pranks. Did she just have something against the Tetra family?

At last, one of the group made a step forward to reply. It was Amitie, clasping her hands together with a very gushy look.

''Of course! Leave it to our leader to show us how to do it. We are totes proud to be on the squad with you Ess!''

''Uhm yeah. Glad you appreciate me...you dunce.'' Ess replied, keeping the last part in her head.

Amitie was always rather impressionable and quick to latch onto Ess, something the alpha often had trouble deciding if that was a good thing or not. At least she understood who she was talking to and that she deserved respect!

That and her being so gullible made some things refreshingly simple. As much as she didn't want to admit it out loud, Amitie was certainly one of the more pleasant people around.

Authors' Notes:

WARE: My first time writing Ess. Not gonna lie, her part is one of the ones I'm the most excited about and I am looking forward to future chapters featuring her.