January 20th 2024

Chapter 20
The Season For Team Spirit

Ella took it upon herself to drive her little sisters to school that day, calling it a birthday present to herself. She took Ezra, too, promising she would drop him off at the ranch to join Lucas for the day once she'd seen to the girls. She had to take the minivan, so Maya drove Lucas to Sullivan Stables - which was very amusing to her - before setting off the high school. This was going to be a big one for them, and she was looking forward to it as much as everyone else… more or less. Many of the students were looking to this day like it was the most important one of the entire year so far, if not the year as a whole. Today was the day for teams, for casts…

It was the day for Auditions, Registrations, and Tryouts, and they couldn't say for sure who'd decided to call it that, but it spelled out ART day, and it had caught on, so now there really was no going back on it. All the clubs and teams that had not yet locked in or selected their members would do so today. This would include tryouts for the basketball teams and the cheer squad, as well as auditions for the year's musical, and they might have spread this out over a few days, but it really felt like the more reasonable thing to only have one distracted day instead of several. And distraction really was the name of the game that morning.

Through all four of her morning classes, the seniors, the AP freshmen, sophomores and AP sophomores, Maya could spot them where they sat, or as they'd move through the room. Even if she didn't have lists that told her at least which ones were going in for cheer and/or the musical, she'd probably be able to point them out. The particularly distracted ones would be those going in for more than one thing.

Rosie McAllister was just in constant motion the entire time, like she was both running through her cheer routine and her audition song, which was easily the funniest thing she saw all day. Julie Dixon, even though she'd done the musical and been on the girls' basketball team the previous year, was bouncing her foot on the footrest of her stool the entire time, and when Maya had told the class that they were free to put on some music if they had headphones of any kind, she jumped on the chance and spent the rest of the class clearly listening to the same song on loop.

The last period before lunch was cut short, as they'd known it would be, to allow everyone who would be heading to tryouts over lunch to go ahead and eat, hopefully digest a little, before making their way to the gym. Maya made her way out there as soon as she could, the better to meet up with her assistant coach, her mother's cousin Betsy Young. For what extra time they'd been given, a lot of the kids were soon filling up the stands, hurrying to get their lunches down or trying to do so but failing due to stress and anticipation.

Looking at all of them, even though they had hardly been the targets of Sandra Davenport's exploits, Maya was very glad to think that they would get to go on knowing that their former principal was just that now, and she wouldn't get to do a single thing to get in the way of what they were after. Her own involvement with the cheer squad may not have been her own idea in the beginning, but once she'd been put in the position to run it, she had not looked back. She was ready for another year, for however long she'd have before her leave at least.

She got to have a good look at everyone who had stepped into the gym that day to take their shot at joining the basketball teams, and that was just as important to her, going along as a former player for the school and a continued supporter to these teams. The guys had a stellar lineup of returning players with the likes of senior Jake Bennett, juniors Hunter Matthews and Jonah Killian, and sophomore Jesse Durant. When it came to new hopefuls, most of them were freshmen, whether they would have ended up here regardless or whether they'd found their way to the school after it had altered its focus. They had some older students trying out for the first time, too, some of them existing students and others new.

The two she couldn't help but take note of were Logan Meyer and Mason Quinland, both freshmen, the latter in the AP group. Mason wasn't exactly a problem, far from it. He did good work, and he had a great potential in him. But he was quiet, didn't like or want attention, and that was by design, one which Maya would not try to pull him from. If he wanted to be on the team though, that could be a good sign, couldn't it? Whereas with Logan… He still had this tendency to pull focus in class, to disrupt the flow of things. She knew that this was causing a lot of problems in his other classes, and teachers were bringing up his name like he was their personal headache all around, no matter how much they were trying to help him anyway. When he was in her class, she would look at him like she recognized something of her younger self in him, her New York days, and she wanted him to find something to set him on a path, as she had done when she'd come to Austin. She didn't know yet if basketball would be that thing for him, but… hopefully?

As for the girls' team, the freshman offerings this time around were not untalented by any means, but she didn't see anyone that would blow them away for the next four years. That wasn't to say they wouldn't have a good team this year. They had plenty of returning players, all of them showing why they had been chosen in the first place and, like Julie Dixon, easily regaining their spots on the lineup. This included Julie's big sister, Amy Dixon soon beginning her final season. The same would be said for fellow seniors Robyn Blakely and Claudia Carter.

Rockin' Robyn had a good following as soon as she appeared in game mode, and they cheered her on while she did her best to smile without turning red. She'd get in the zone when she was playing, but outside of that, she was not so animated, preferred to read whatever she had to read for class, or draw in her diary… She was well on track to need a second volume by Christmas if she kept going. Now that she thought about it, Maya wondered if Robyn might have been a good person for Mason Quinland to speak to.

Claudia Carter could have been someone to talk to, too, though Maya wasn't sure whether that would work in his favor or not, with the situation with his brother and then Claudia and how she was… perceived… She tried not to even think about it whenever they were in class. She knew the girl who was in her class, who was overall a very invested student and fully belonging to the AP group. Whether or not any of the things that other people said about her were true, her stance had not changed. Whatever they wanted to shame her with, they were the only ones deeming it shameful. It was not her place to judge her, only to be there for her if she needed her. Today was maybe one of the first times she saw her for an extended period of time outside of art class, with many more students, and there were definitely some who'd look at her, who'd whisper to one another, or point… If she saw any boys leering, or calling to her, Maya would make sure they saw her. If they knew anything about her, they'd know she wouldn't let this be forgotten. As for Claudia, she did her best to focus on the tryouts, to not be bothered. But she was bothered, at least a bit.

With the squad, Maya and Betsy wanted this year to be a new chapter. It may have been Davenport's pet project in the beginning, but she'd failed miserably at it, which was how Maya and then eventually Betsy got hold of it and started to turn it into what it had become. For all that, they'd always felt as though they had the now former principal's eyes constantly looking over their shoulders, ready to set them back. Now that she was gone, it felt very important for them to begin a new era with their cheerleaders.

They had the returning set, like seniors Max Farrell and Kinsey Miranda, juniors Haley Hunter and Madelyn Carter, and sophomores Katie Willows and Hazel Yasuda. They had new faces, too, some she had fully expected to see, others she had not expected at all… Rosie McAllister was there, and with or without her practice back in class, she was fantastic, as good as chosen already. Maya was happy to have the same impression regarding Rosie's classmate, Peggy Sheridan. The two of them together, she ventured, would be an excellent tag team at any game or competition.

She was very happy to see the Yoon twins together here. She'd had them in separate, back to back classes for over a month now, and it was really good to see them together. Clare was for sure the leader of the two, while Cait depended on her, a quieter force. But once they started to move, to dance… They were a unit, identical in looks, complimentary in styles. Maya had expected to see them, and she was pleased with what she saw. The one she had not expected in the least was Reese Quinland. He was quiet like his younger brother, Mason, for almost the same reason. Mason didn't want the association; Reese didn't want the gossip.

To see him here, going for the squad… She had gotten to know him enough to trust that he wasn't doing this as some kind of prank, but it still really surprised her. He was strong though, and he moved well… She was always happy to back her students up if they showed her there was something they wanted, something that would help them.

That was the feeling she carried through an afternoon of more jitters, more distractions, until she found herself in the auditorium, for musical auditions. They had some returning for another year, whether it was their last, Max and Max, and Amy and Jake… Lindsay Dare had kept her promise, returning for what would ultimately be her second and final production after having performed in her sophomore year, too scared the year before and injured the year after. She got junior Critically Bookish member Susan Kendall back for another production and also gained her new classmate, Quinn Monterey. She got Julie Dixon, Allie Sheridan, and Angie Anna Bowles back for the sophomore class, and she gained the Yoon twins here, too. She couldn't wait to see what they brought.

She was very pleased to see Elijah Sofer give the auditions a shot, even more so with what he performed. Rosie McAllister took the stage, with big sister Max and 'big brother' Max Farrell cheering her on as she let her energy flow to just about every inch of that auditorium. Last of all came little Isla Baird, who looked so nervous that Maya had ended up looking back to where Rosie sat, imploring without a word. To Rosie's credit, she looked like she'd already been on the verge of doing something to help her classmate. She got up and went to stand in front of the stage, staring up at Isla and inciting her to look at her instead of the others. Isla looked unsure at first, a little lost, but Rosie signaled for them to start her music and, once she knew what Isla's song was, she backed her up until the other girl started to sing, too, gaining confidence, more and more, until Rosie didn't have to sing with her. She just stood, arms leaning over the top of the stage and listening along with the others. Isla may not have had a belting voice, but she was sweet, and clear, lively and engaging. When she was done, Rosie climbed on to the stage and hugged her, and Isla hugged her back. She couldn't stop smiling.

It was one of the highlights of the day for Maya, a great way to end it, and she couldn't wait to tell Lucas about it, to tell him about everything from their ART day. She'd just been waiting for this, and it had not disappointed. The teams, the cast, all of it, they bolstered the school year, every time. This was going to be one to remember.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners