king and queen

three

Alexa's POV

At the end of class, Mr. Aldridge gave me an envelope. He must have known I was nominated for homecoming court which is why the office has him handing me out stuff for homecoming.

Then school was over and it was time for practice.

We had our cheer practice out on the field from 3-4 before the football guys went out to practice.

"And five, six, seven, eight and pose!" I yelled. "Woo! I love it! Coach Willow, how'd it look?"

"Amazing! Alexa, your choreography looks phenomenal!"

Just then, the football players came running out in the field. "Move it, girls! We've got plays to run!"

I giggled a bit as we all walked off the field. I grabbed the radio and made my way to the gym doors inside.

The next hour of practice was spent critiquing the dance and fixing the small things that looked messy.

We've still got a couple weeks to perfect it and I think it's gonna look great!

Just fix up a few things, round some things out and this is gonna be the best homecoming halftime dance ever!

Finally, practice was over and I changed out of my cheer shoes and said goodbye to everyone.

I started walking home from practice and when I was finally away from everyone I opened the envelope I got from Mr. Aldridge earlier.

Congratulations Alexa!
You've made it on homecoming court!
We will announce you and everyone else on Wednesday September 1 at the pep rally.
As a reminder, all family members are invited to the homecoming game and we're opening up immediate family to come to the court dances. So tell your family to save the date Wednesday September 8 and 10 at New York City Hugh School! The eighth will be the court dances and the tenth the big football game! A fun couple weeks of family events for all!
- On behalf of New York City High School, Mr. Collins

Shoot, that's so cool! This is the first year I believe that they're opening it up to immediate family to be able to come to the court dances. Everyone's always been invited to the football game, but the court dances were typically a school thing for the student body only.

I opened the door to the apartment building and walked up the stairs to the third floor.

I opened the door and threw my stuff down. "Hey, dad." I said. He didn't say anything. He just sat at the counter and read over some papers. "Guess what I got today." He looked up and I put the envelope in front of him. "I got on homecoming court. And court dances are next Wednesday. It's the first year families are invited."

He took the envelope from me and read it over. "Wow, Alexa. Homecoming court. Big deal."

"I know right. It was kinda crazy how they announced it. I mean, I guess I didn't know much about it or how far ahead they told us, but it was still a shock. And I was able to finish choreographing the halftime dance for the football game. It's looking really good so far-"

He cut me off. "Alexa, I'm trying to finish this please."

"Oh... sorry..." I uttered. "I was just gonna ask if you wanted to come to the court dances. And the homecoming game."

He stayed silent for a moment. "When is it."

I raised an eyebrow. He's never asked me that before. "Court dances are next Wednesday and the game is next Friday."

I could see him thinking. Like the gears were slowly turning in his head. "I'll be there."

I gasped, although, I didn't mean to and I probably shouldn't have. "Really?" I didn't wait for him to respond. "Awesome! That's great! Have fun at work tonight!"

I ran quickly to my room and sunk down my door.

My dad is coming to an event of mine.

You'd think that for the fourteen years that I've been doing the same type of extracurricular, he would have come to some of it.

Not once.

I must have invited him to ten dozen events.

He never came.

My dads been working nights ever since I could remember. He's a police officer and security guard; so, it made sense that he could come to my stuff during the day and then work at night.

But that's never how it worked.

He would always be "too tired" or "needed rest" before his shifts. And my stuff was typically afternoon or day stuff. He always had some excuse.

My mom used to work a nine to five as a nurse throughout the week and she still made it to some of my stuff.

You'd think the roles would be reversed, but they weren't. My mom tried even though most of the time she knew she couldn't make it.

My dad, who has nothing going on during the day ever, never even attempted it.

Not once.

This is a big deal...

I need him to see how much potential I have. How I'm actually really good at something.

Part of me wanted to show him how much he wasted on not coming.

But I also want him to see that it's worth his time. That some of it can actually be quite entertaining.

I may only get this chance.

I don't really know what goes on in my dads mind. We've had a rocky relationship for a little bit. Okay, maybe a long bit. But I try, I really do.

So it had to be good.

I'm impressed with our halftime dance.

And I'm a senior!

All the student athlete seniors get a big tribute at the beginning of the game. And I put me and the other four seniors in the middle of the dance. They do it every year.

And I mean, come on. The court dances are gonna be so fun!

Dad's just gotta enjoy it! Right?

Let's hope so.

Because this is it.

I'm gonna prove myself to him.

I'm finally gonna get my chance!