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Rachel’s mom jotted that down on the grocery list she had stuck to the refrigerator door.
“Thanks Mom!” Rachel said with a smile. Rachel decided she should be nicer to her mom, since she’d been giving her an attitude lately.
After breakfast, Rachel hurried to the car so she could sit in the front. She tuned the radio to 104.7 Classic Rock. Sarah put her headphones in her ears and started humming loudly. Mark was sitting in the back, scribbling something in his notebook. Rachel figured he was probably doing his homework: he always waited until the last minute to do everything.
“Wild Horses” came on the radio. Rachel loved the Rolling Stones. The song made her think about the time she and her friends had gone on their overnight school trip to Washington, D.C. They played The Rolling Stones greatest hits album the whole way, sharing iPod headphones.
Rachel wondered why Dana had been so short with her last night: what could she have been doing? She was looking forward to chatting with Dana on the phone and couldn’t wait until after school so she could tell Dana how much she missed her and about her new life in Bedford, New York.
As Rachel hopped out of the car, she saw the different sports teams cheering and rallying with excitement. It was almost as if she had entered a pep-rally: the teams were all in their uniforms and handing out flyers trying to recruit the underclassman for their teams.
Rachel passed the soccer team and suddenly felt a longing to be part of a sports team again. Rachel had always been an athlete, but had also always secretly wanted to try out for cheerleading. Rachel didn’t really considered cheerleading to be a “sport,” but she wanted something different. Cheerleading in Pennsylvania wasn’t a very cool team to be part of, but now, alone and with no friends, Rachel wanted to keep her word to herself and try out. She didn’t know if cheerleading was cool in Bedford or not, but either way, it was worth a shot. What did she have to lose at this point?
Rachel passed the track, volleyball and then the cheerleading team. The girls on the cheerleading team looked immaculate: perfect hair, perfect make-up, perfect nails and perfectly-pressed uniforms.
Rachel ran her fingers through her hair. She knew she would need to put a brush through it and touch up her makeup before tryouts if she wanted any shot at making the team. For a moment, she thought joining the cheerleading team might be the perfect way for her to reinvent herself. She would become the person she’d always wished she could be.
Rachel walked slowly up to one cheerleader, who was handing out flyers and cheering, “Yay Yay AHS!” She didn’t notice Rachel, so Rachel put her hand out close to the stack of flyers she was holding. The cheerleader looked Rachel up and down and gave her a shrug. She then handed Rachel a flyer with a look of disapproval.
“See you at tryouts!” Rachel said in her peppiest voice. The cheerleader nodded and smirked back.
Rachel felt a rush of excitement thinking about her new life on the cheerleading team. She glanced over and took another quick look at the cheerleaders. She knew they were in the popular crowd and she could already see her big transformation from being a “nobody,” to being one of the coolest girls in school. She knew that if she made the cheerleading team, Rob would definitely notice her and maybe, just maybe, even like her. Rachel walked into room 102 a few minutes before the bell. She didn’t dare be late for the second day in a row. Mr. Allen noticed her and smiled, “On time today, nice work!” he said.
Rachel looked around the room: she saw an open seat next to the girl who’d smiled at her the day before. She sat down.
The girl was writing in her notebook and looked up.
“You’re the new girl, right?”
“Yes, Rachel.”
“I’m Emily,” Emily smiled back. “It’s crazy out there this morning. I dread tryout days-- too much ra ra and spunk for me.”
“Yeah, it’s a scene,” Rachel said.
Rachel worried that if Emily found out she was trying out for cheerleading she would hate her before she even got to know her.
“You’re not trying out for anything, are you?” Emily asked.
“Well, I was thinking about it.”
“For what? Track?” Emily asked, as she looked Rachel up and down.
“No, actually I was thinking cheerleading. I’ve always done sports, so I figure I’ll give this a try,” Rachel answered.
“Oh no! You? Cheerleading?” Emily looked at Rachel. “I don’t think you want to do that.”
Rachel shrugged in confusion. What could she be talking about?
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Emily finished.
The bell rang as Rob flew through the door and took the open seat next to Rachel. Her heart skipped a beat. He put his bag down on the floor, took out his notebook and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. Rachel couldn’t stop peaking at his sexy muscles. The guys in Pennsylvania weren’t buff by any standards, so this was a whole new thing for Rachel, and she liked it.
Mr. Allen began the morning by discussing last night’s reading assignment. Rachel raised her hand to answer the first question. She didn’t wan to seem like a know-it-all, but nobody else volunteered.
“I liked the story about Rosa Parks, because it was inspiring and showed how one woman can make a difference for the future of all African Americans. What was really interesting was how Rosa Parks civil disobedience started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which helped lead to the equality of whites and blacks,” Rachel answered.
Mr. Allen was impressed by her answer. Having spoken up in class Rachel felt a surge of confidence. She knew the day was going to be better, and despite what Emily said, she was still looking forward to tryouts.
The bell rang and everyone popped out of their seats. Rachel’s cheerleading flyer fell out of her notebook and onto the floor.
Rob bent down and picked it up.
“Good luck,” Rob said as he handed Rachel back her flyer.
“Thanks,” Rachel said.
“I’m on the football team,” Rob said, smiling.
Rachel smiled and felt excited and nervous. She knew trying out was the right decision, especially now.
“See ya later,” Rob said, as he ran out of the room to catch up with his friends.
Rachel couldn’t believe it. Rob talked to her. Her mind spun with excitement. It was only second period, and already Rachel was having the best day. She figured that yesterday had been a fluke.
As the day went on, Rachel felt excited. She knew it was only a matter of hours before tryouts, and before she’d have a whole new group of friends.
