Woke

30.)

Kiara:

I walked into the gym, not quite sure what to expect. "Hey, Coach."

As Chris had predicted the weekend before, the boy's basketball team had lost and were eliminated from playoffs. While it was a sad occurrence, because it really was a close game, I had never been so relieved. I was done with cheering for awhile-- though, I knew I definitely wanted to return my senior year. As much as I'd been against joining the squad at the beginning, I really loved being a cheerleader, especially under Coach B.

Speaking of, it was Wednesday after school. Although we were done with the season, Coach B had texted me that she still wanted to meet up. She'd told me I didn't have to dress out, so I was curious as to what she had planned.

Coach B smiled at me. Her braids were gone and replaced with a lace front bob that looked amazing, and she wore black jeans with a creme colored turtleneck and black thigh high boots. Beside her stood a short woman with almond tanned skin and piercing grey eyes. Her hair was styled in blonde butterfly locs, and she wore a black one piece tracksuit that showed off her model figure. Black women, I swear...

"Hey, Kiki. This is my friend, Janay." Coach B said. "Janay, this is Kiara. She's the one I was telling you about."

"The choreographer." Janay smiled. She had a slight accent, though I couldn't pinpoint from where. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Hello, nice to meet you too." I shook her hand and retuned her smile.

"I don't wanna keep you long, cuz I'm sure you have things to do. I just wanted to personally meet with you before the award ceremony next week to tell you just how proud and impressed I am with everything you've done this season. Your talents are unmatched."

"Really? Thank you so much," I said to my coach, genuinely flattered by her words. "That means a lot coming from you."

Janay snorted. "It better. If there's anything Yolanda doesn't do, it's compliment people."

"Shut'cho bitch ass up, J." Coach B rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Anyways, Janay is passing through on her way to North Carolina, and I couldn't let her leave without meeting you."

"I've recently been hired as the new Showmanship Coach and Intensives Clinician for the Golden Delight Auxilary team at my alma mater, North Carolina: A&T." Janay proudly said. 

My eyes widened. "You both went to A&T?"

Janay nodded. "We were roommates throughout all of undergrad."

"I had to keep her dumb ass out of trouble all the time." Coach B grumbled.

"Lies you tell!" Janay laughed. "If I recall correctly, you were the one calling me crying when you and Meech thought your dumb ass was--"

"Aht, aht! You swore you'd never bring that up again!" Coach B shushed her. 

"You right..." Janay turned back to me with an amused sparkle in her eye. "I know you're only a junior, but I just know the ensemble would want someone with your talents on the band. Is that a school you're looking at?"

I quickly nodded. "It's my top choice."

"We love to see it. Yolanda gave me your information, and we're gonna be reaching out to you very soon about applying for a camp we're starting for young Black creatives aspiring to be apart of the Blue and Gold Marching Machine. Not only will we be giving y'all tips and techniques on how to perform like we do at an HBCU, but the school will also be taking note of students who attend the camp for future reference... like auditions."