Chapter 6
Serena
“I can’t believe you’re making me spend our last day of summer at the gym.” I slouch against the stacked mats behind me, the coarse texture digging into my back. The smell of disinfectant hangs in the air, mingling with the faint scent of chalk and sweat.
Alli walks up to her bag, lying right next to me. She digs through it for her water, and chugs quite a bit out.
“Oh,” I chuckle.
“I need to visualize these formations and work on my tumbling.” She sets her water back down and puts on her puppy eyes. “Why don’t you join me? You love tumbling.”
I give her a look, letting my glare speak my obvious answer.
Alli puts her hands out in defense and starts backing away. “We’ll leave soon, I promise. Then we can go shopping and grab Panera for dinner.” With that, she spins around and goes back into her bubble .
She’s guilt-tripping me, waiting for me to bite the bait she laid out in front of me. I can’t ever say no to her, even though I really want to.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go and throw myself across the room.” I stand up and head over to meet Alli at the corner of the mat. She grins like a creep, and gives small claps at her reverse psychology.
“Stop smiling like that.” I glare at her. “It’s creepy.”
Alli shrugs and gestures her hand across the mat. “Go for it, queen.”
I Like It by Cardi B booms throughout the gym. It’s just us two here. This is Alli’s cheer gym, where she teaches toddlers. Her first love has always been cheerleading, but she’s dreamt of becoming a teacher because of her mom. Alli is great at everything when it comes to cheer. You need her to dance, done. Tumble, done. Stunt, done. Base, done. You can put her anywhere and she won’t complain, probably why she’s captain this year at Skyline High School.
Part of me has always been jealous of her. I’ve seen her transform from a timid girl into this confident powerhouse. I’ve been there for all her milestones. The first school dance, her first date, her first boyfriend, and even when her cheerleading team won a state championship trophy. I’ve practically seen her life story unfold before my eyes, including some pretty personal moments. And then there’s me on the sidelines .
Don’t get me wrong, I’m genuinely happy for her. She deserves all the success and happiness in the world. But at the same time, I can’t help but crave those experiences for myself. It’s like watching someone else live the life you’ve always dreamed of, and it’s bittersweet.
Using one foot against the other, I remove my shoes. I place myself at the very corner of the mat and tune out the world.
Breathe.
I get a head start and run across the mat. In the blink of an eye, I toss my body in the air. I launch into a full whip, and my body turns into a hurricane of controlled power and agility. Every muscle in my body is in perfect harmony in a rapid series of twists and flips. When I tumble, I don’t think about anything. I black out like a college student tossing a shit ton of Fireball shots. I tunnel vision as if I’m a car driving through a dark tunnel. The epitome of no thoughts.
Once I land on the opposite side, I revert back to reality and see Alli, who claps her hands slowly. “Slay.”
I flip my hair and give her a sly smirk. “Thanks.”
I breathe deeply once and look around, realizing I am fine. No trauma coming up being back in the cheer gym that started it all. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it either, it isn’t particularly a place of fond memories .
When I first entered Cheer for Kiddos, I jumped around and did whatever my coaches told me to do. As time passed, my talents on the mat were clear as day, and I found myself excelling far beyond my peers. Whether it was as the center flyer, mastering elite tumbling, or taking on the role of the top girl, I tackled it all effortlessly as if I had been born to do this all my life. Anything I did, most girls my age couldn’t do because I was literally, out of their level.
With natural talent, you would think girls would be happy for you and call you a badass. Not in my case. It started with hushed whispers, constant staring, and those annoying moments of finger-pointing when I messed up. I was far from perfect, making mistakes like any other girl on the team. I hated it all. A botched and sloppy landing ruined the whole thing and the instant blames were placed on me.
It only got worse when I turned thirteen. It only took two months into the All-Star season that I quit and walked away from it all. The girls on the team hated me for just being good. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a show-off or cocky about it. The girls who hated me stuck together and spread rumors about me that eventually got around to my middle school. I was the laughingstock every morning, to the point Alli had to walk me to the bathroom any time she could because girls would corner me and it fucking sucked.
I dropped out of public school since most of the team went to the same middle school as me. And so I became the homeschooled girl I hoped everyone would eventually forget about.
I felt so much relief when I found out that Skyline’s student population doubled. What was once the district only having one high school, turned into two high schools to even out the student population. Alli assures me most of them won’t be attending Skyline High, which partially calms me down. On top of that, most of my old teammates moved away, some graduated already, and others dropped out of school entirely.
My aunt likes to call this a sign. A sure sign that this would be my fresh start. I don’t know what I’m hoping for next, but I’m tired of not being the main character in my own story.