Saint Joseph School

Kara winced when Thorn fell, and smiled and cheered through his routine just like she had with Elly's. She winced again when he stood still at the end, feeling the pain coming from his injured wing. When his routine was over and she'd clapped with the others, she followed him to where he was waiting for the verdict.

She gave Elly a high five and then sidled up to him and whispered, "Can I help with that? It feels painful." She nodded to his wings, doing her best to act like she was congratulating him.

Gritting her teeth, Brianna smiled at the assembled crowd. Standing and smoothing her pleated skirt, she nodded curtly to Elly and Michael. "Thank you both for trying out again. Franky and I will talk and come to a decision." She turned to Franky, careful to continue smiling. She knew that both had done well enough to make the squad in Franky's eyes. She needed some bargaining if either of them did make the squad.

"Well, I know you think they did great. And I'll admit they did do better." Bri took a deep breath and glanced at the hopefuls. Both of them were trying out for the wrong reasons. Getting back at her or on a dare is not how you sign on for a commitment like this. She knew that neither of them was taking this seriously. It wasn't just cheering at games. And it wasn't easy.

But if they wanted it, Bri wasn't going to be able to stop them. "Let them on the squad. With a couple stipulations. I make the cheers and formations and the first sign of trouble from any of them, I reserve the right to bring it to the school administration, calling for their dismissal from the squad." Bri's smile brightened. "I promise to treat them like I would anyone else on my squad."

Thorn glanced over to Kara and smiled. "Nah, thanks though. It's nothing really, I'll just use the pain as a motivator to do it right next time." Leaning back against the wall, he made sure to curl his wings about him carefully. It didn't hurt that much, but there was still a sharp pain when he tried to move it to an extreme.

She nodded. "Okay...but I reserve the right to be worried." Kara smiled and went back to her blanket.

Franky smiled, clapping Bri on the shoulder in faux camraderie.

"Fair enough. I think we can manage that. Who knows...you might even get a real pyramid this year."

The wicked glint in the goth girl's eyes belied something deeper. Something she found funny....and that was never good.

"So," she continued. "Shall I post the new roster?"

"Go right ahead. We need to get this thing finalized anyway. Football season is just around the corner."

Bri turned back the gathered group, her smile back in place.

"Thank you so much for all coming out. Franky and I will post the roster up very shortly. If you made the squad, practices begin next week. Don't miss them."

She turned and nodded to Maureen, clearly pleased with her victory, no matter how small it seemed.

The bright morning sun found Franky blearily, but happily, walking the halls of St. Joe's, a large stack of plastic wrapped uniforms carefully balanced between books and clipboard. As she passed each locker in turn she hooked the bag containing the cheer uniform onto the outer door along with a small note: Welcome to Cheer Squad!

Her errand complete, the last stop was the gym message board. By 8am, a small crowd was whispering around the offical looking extra-curricular activities form neatly tacked to the center of the cork. (The humor being in the handwritten names below the header; some first names, some last names, some names that weren't either. What could she say...she was terrible with names.)

SJS CHEER ROSTER:

Kara
Abigail Morgan
Elly
Yuki Ookami
Trixie
Valerie
Matt Lagomorph
Jade Rooster
Thorn Hawk

Kara read the list and was thrilled to find her name at the top. "Go Flyers! Rah!" she shouted as she bounced down the hallway with her uniform.

Trixie blinked as she read the list, doublechecking as she read off the names mentally.

"Holy Crap..I made it in?"

Trixie grinned and bounced down the hallway back to her room, with many an odd stare at the cheerful girl