get it.”
She exhaled loudly. “Sarah, Nick has been gaga over you since kindergarten.”
I couldn’t tell her the truth about our relationship so she wouldn’t really understand fully. “He’s just my friend. That’s even what he tells everyone.”
“He’s probably realizing that you’re not the little girl who needs to be saved by him anymore. You’re turning into a woman and now other guys are noticing, too. Just put it all aside and have some fun. Go on your dates and don’t let any of them get you down. Besides, there are plenty of girls wanting those three guys. You should be happy you finally have their attention.”
She wasn’t wrong. “You’re right. I’m going to have fun and forget the drama. I hate drama.”
She hugged me once and headed to her classroom next door to mine. “That’s my girl.”
I walked into the classroom with my head held high and sat down in my chair beside Nick. He looked at me, but I flipped my hair towards him, letting it create a wall separating us, and faced the other way. Gary smiled at me from across the room, and I smiled back. Tom tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to face him. “What’s up?” I asked cheerfully.
“I was wondering where you wanted to eat tonight?” he asked as he leaned towards me.
I shrugged. “I like pretty much anything. You pick, and I’m sure I’ll love it.”
“Sarah,” Macy said from beside Tom. “You ready to get tossed today?”
“Tossed?” Nick asked suspiciously. “What is she talking about?”
Macy smiled at him. “Didn’t she tell you? She’s going to be the one who gets tossed up in the air at the game.”
“Who’s tossing her?” he asked.
“We are.”
“Who’s catching her?”
Macy rolled her eyes. “Stop being overprotective. We aren’t going to drop her. Or at least we’ll try not to.” she said with a wink.
“You better not drop her,” said Gary. “I don’t want to have to reschedule our date Saturday night.”
Nick tensed, and I heard his desk groan as he gripped it. Tom’s jaw clenched, and I worried that he might cancel our date, but the teacher came in and began talking, saving me from whatever he was planning on saying.
Class seemed to take forever as I sat, surrounded by the ever-increasing and choking amount of testosterone in the air. I just had to hope they didn’t end up fighting after class.
The bell rang, and I sat numbly in my chair. I wanted to enjoy myself, but perhaps I should enjoy myself one guy at a time. I was single, so it shouldn’t matter, but I did feel bad.
“Sarah,” Nick said softly. “The bell rang.”
I stood and grabbed my backpack which I hadn’t even bothered to open during class. We walked to the locker rooms, and Nick stopped me as I reached for the door. “Sarah, what’s wrong? I’m sorry I’ve been snapping at you today.”
I couldn’t look him in the eye. I felt strange and I wasn’t sure if it was just because of the guy situation or not. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s my job to worry about you,” he whispered.
I patted his arm and opened the door. “Only until I die,” I whispered.
He tried to come in the door after me, but Coach Brown stopped him with a hand to his chest, her dark eyes flashing. “This is the women’s locker room, Nicholas. Kindly go to your own side.”
I dressed numbly and dangled my pompoms beside me as I walked. Why did I feel so defeated when nothing had happened? If anything, I should have been thrilled!
Cherry walked silently beside me as we headed out to the football field. The rest of the squad was in high spirits as we prepared for the game tomorrow. I dismissed my depressing thoughts and focused on our cheer. Despite the stereotyping I received, I loved cheer. It was fun. The girls formed a pyramid and then a circle of four friends stood on the top of the pyramid of girls as they prepared to toss me. “Let’s do it.”
Two seconds later, I was flying up in the air. I tucked my legs and arms in tight as I spun and landed back in my friends’ arms. The pyramid held strong, then slowly we all climbed off of each other. “Very nice,” yelled Coach Brown, her blonde hair blowing around in the wind as she watched us.
The girls set me down, and I beamed triumphantly. At least until the dizziness and weariness set in, and I fainted.
“Sarah!”