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We fall into formation and start our cheer.I shout along with the others and wave my pom poms in the right place at the right time.There's something satisfying about moving as part of a team.
The game restarts and we head back to the side of the stands.
I glance at the clock, surprised to find that there are only five minutes left.The game has passed faster than I expected it to.
The ball gets thrown more frantically than before between the players, going back and forth between the two teams as our side tries to keep hold of their win, while the other attempts a last-minute change of fortune.
The final whistle goes and the squad leaps into action.I run and flip across the front, while one of the others does the same on the other side.The air rushes past me along with the exhilaration from moving like this.It's almost enough to make my wings itch and want to be free, even if I logically know that will only cause Zara to yell at me for doing something so reckless.
So they stay firmly in my back, where they belong.
I head to the back of the formation to where two of the others are waiting for me.I'm a little nervous about being given a spot on top of the pyramid again, but I know that I have to get back up there.One of the guys cups his hands and I step onto them, hoisting myself onto his shoulders and up into the air.
I smile and hold up my left arm while someone else does the same on the other side of the formation.In front of us, two of the guys get ready to throw Grace, and she flips into the air to be caught again and hoisted between the two of us and into the final position.
Cheers go up around the stands, though I suspect it's probably more for the rugby team than for the Sapphire Sparks, though perhaps it should be for both of us considering how good we are at what we do.
I jump down and straighten out my skirt, satisfied in how the routine is gone, hopefully the others feel the same way.
My gaze lands on my friends, but they all seem to already be busy talking to other people.Or they do until I spot a familiar figure leaning against the side of the stands.My heart skips a beat and I try to play it cool as I head over.
"Hey."I give Darius an awkward wave.
"Hi," he responds.
"I didn't realise you'd be here."
"One of my friends is on the rugby team."He waves vaguely in the direction of the pitch."He asked us to come and watch him.It was only when I saw the cheer squad that I realised you'd be here too."
"We're not at every game, to be fair," I say."Sometimes we cheer for the other teams instead.Though no one likes it when we're with the basketball team."
"Any particular reason?"
"They always lose.They even brought in a new coach last term and it hasn't helped."
"I must be living under a rock not to have heard about that."
"I wouldn't worry about it.Unless you're on the basketball team and I just insulted you."
He snorts."I can assure you that competitive sports aren't my thing.Though they're clearly yours.Some of those tricks were impressive."
"Thanks."I offer him a small smile."And in a short skirt too."
"You know as well as I do that the short skirt means nothing to me.Though you do look cute in the uniform."
A warm feeling spreads through me in response to his compliment."It still has shorts underneath."I lift up the corner of my white and blue skirt to show him.
"Smart."
"It definitely helps me actually focus on the tricks and not have to worry about flashing anyone when I do a backflip."
"I'm just impressed that you can do one," he says."I think I'd fall in the mud."
"It hasn't rained in days, so maybe today's the day you do a backflip."
He chuckles, a pleasant sound and one I'm already starting to enjoy hearing."I think I'll skip on that front."
"Mandy!"Evie calls.
