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𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭 | 𝟎𝟓
"game day"
"Junie, c'mere, let me fix your hair," Andrea sighed as she entered the lcoker room, beckoning her best friend over. It was game day, and if it was one thing their school didn't play about--it was sports. Nella swore all their funding went towards the athletes--uniforms, the gymnasium, the football field and soccer pitch--their school prided themselves on being number one in the state in every aspect of athletics, but because they spent their funding on trying to keep up their prestigious reputation, they turned a blind eye to the gang violence that ravaged the community. Harlem was fucked up and while gangs littered every single block, Nella was pretty sheltered from it--she enjoyed living in blissful ignorance, and she ignored the knocks she saw DD and Notti toting.
She remembered the first time she'd felt the cool metal of one on Jay's waist for the first time. She'd freaked the fuck out, damn near had a panic attack, and since that day--he'd never brought one around her ever again.
At school, she could pretend shit was sweet. Nella could pretend she was living her romance-filled high school musical--she was fucking cheer captain with the baddest bitches as her friends, having grown up side-by-side with the Reyes family--everyone knew who she was. She exhaled slowly as she cracked her knuckles, feeling the adrenaline already starting to pump through her veins.
"Drea--you know I'm tenderheaded," Junele hissed as Andrea pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, securing the elastic band tight, "fuck! It feels like your touching my brain right now."
The girls locker room was filled with pure chaos as thirty teenage girls tried their best to get ready and look presentable for the crowd that'd filled the stands. Oleana had brought her speaker, blasting Megan Thee Stallion as Sariyah focused on helping the other girls with their makeup, adding sparkles and glitter to their faces.
They'd spent the last week and half practising and running through the routine time and time again--Nella was confident they'd pull it off. She poured her blood, sweat, and tears into cheerleading--it felt like whenever she cheered, she got an escape from real life--what was actually happening around her.
"Nel, you good?" Andrea called out to her as Junie squirmed on the bench in discomfort and pain.
"I'm good," she nodded to her close friend, running her fingers through the strands of her ponytail, "y'all almost ready?"
"Almost, hold on--Junie, stop moving, man," Andrea huffed, scolding Junele who inhaled sharply, bracing herself as Andrea began looping the elastic band around Junele's hair, "you got so much hair, this gon' take a minute. I'ma loop it four times, okay?"
"Just hurry up," Junele whined, cracking her eye open to glance at Oleana who'd sprayed a few pumps of perfume on herself, "Leana, you still got your airbar?"
