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7
Taylor
Three Months Later
“That’s all for today,” I announced to the auditorium class full of students. “Don’t forget your assignments are due next week! Five pages, single-spaced. And don’t even think about cranking the font size up. That’s the oldest trick in the book, and I will deduct points.”
A few students laughed at the joke. That was enough to make me smile. Most of the kids in my Introduction to Paleontology class barely showed any enthusiasm at all. So if I could get a few of them to laugh, I considered it a good day.
But even if nobody had laughed, I would have had a huge smile on my face today. I was just as eager to get out of here as the students were.
Today was the final day of tryouts!
I quickly gathered my laptop and papers, then swung by the campus cafeteria to eat a quick lunch. There was one table in the corner of the room that was usually occupied by faculty, and today was no different.
“Professor Masters,” I said to the thirty-nine year old man seated by himself.
“Professor Fox.” He grinned, then leaned over to kiss me. “How was class, sweetie?”
That’s right. I was dating another professor. He was in the English department, so there wasn’t any conflict of interest.
“Class was good.” I quickly unwrapped my sandwich and bit into it. “I only have a few minutes for lunch, Eric. Tryouts are today.”
Eric frowned behind his dark-rimmed glasses. “You aren’t still considering that, are you?”
“Of course I am,” I replied with a mouth full of chicken salad. “I made it to the final round.”
Eric grunted and picked at his salad. “You’re an associate professor at a prestigious university. Cheerleading is beneath you.”
“Professor Stahlman dresses up in medieval armor and play-fights other people at Renaissance fairs, and nobody bats an eyelash,” I replied with a smile. “I can work in academia and have a side hobby.”
“I am certainly not claiming that you cannot do it,” Eric said, as if he were describing a thesis. “I am merely contemplating why you would want to.”
“Because I’m good at it. It’s a fun little hobby that gives me satisfaction. And it pays well. I’m only teaching two classes this fall. We’re not all tenured, Eric.”
“You will never become tenured if you’re known as the professor who shakes her hind-quarters in front of a crowd of drunk football fans.”
I smiled brightly at him. “Challenge accepted! Besides, I made it to the final round. Isabella is posting the final roster today. It would be silly to drop out now.”
“Yes, that would be silly,” he muttered.
Eric could be an ass sometimes. But I liked him anyway. He had a brilliant mind, the kind of guy who liked to stay up late into the night debating poem structure or politics. And he was one of the first people at Utah to be nice to me.
I gave him a quick kiss and said, “Wish me luck?”
“Good luck,” he said, but his tone implied he wished otherwise.
I hurried out to the staff parking lot, then drove back to my apartment to change clothes. We didn’t have uniforms yet, so the girls auditioned in whatever they preferred. For me, that was high-waisted cheer shorts and a sports bra.
As I drove to the practice facility, I thought about why I still liked cheering. Everything I told Eric was true: it was a fun hobby, and it was an easy way to supplement my salary. But it was also nostalgic for me. Growing up, mom and I spent a lot of quality time together practicing and going to weekend cheer meets. Now that I was in Utah and my parents were still back in California, cheer was a way to still feel close to her.
Tryouts were at the practice facility where the Salt Lake City Stallions football team held their workouts. As I walked onto the field, I saw that the football team was practicing down at the other end. It looked like they were doing drills with the quarterback and his receivers. I wasn’t a huge football fan, but being around games had caused me to absorb plenty of knowledge about how things worked.
I knew that the Stallions were a good team. They had made the playoffs last year, and had signed a few big names for this season. Everyone was expecting them to make the playoffs again.
I joined the other cheerleaders at the opposite end of the field, then did my own stretches to prepare. Only half the girls here had been Stallions cheerleaders previously. The rest were completely new, most with college experience. I had an edge since I was a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders, back before they moved to Las Vegas.
Plus, I was good at it.
