Whispers of Shadowed Hearts

Chapter 6

Summer Brooks 

"One, two, three, four! Jump, turn around, and then come back to the center to form the pyramid! Got it?"

"No, Isla! Don't shake your hips after you turn around! This isn't that kind of dance!"

"One, two, three, and four! You need to stay on the beat. We only have a week left until the homecoming game, and if this is where we are, we might as well not even go out on the field! One, two, three, four!"

Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

Still, there was a problem with the choreography. The girls were spread too far apart before the pyramid move, which would cause delays as they ran to form it. This would give the audience a poor impression.

"Maybe they shouldn't stand so far apart. It causes them to lose time when they run." The girl who had been shouting at the others suddenly stopped. With a frown and a single hand gesture, one of the girls quickly ran to turn off the music.

She handed her pom-poms to another girl and walked toward me. Her eyes, though narrowed, couldn't hide their bright green glow. Her expression was so stiff and threatening that I cursed myself internally for not keeping my mouth shut. How many more people in this school would I make hate me with my know-it-all attitude?

With a posture that screamed both authority and intimidation, she slowly approached as if she had all the time in the world.

"And who do you think you are, to say that?"

The silence was so intense that her voice echoed in the gym.

"Summer Brooks. Coach Howard forced me to join the team." Her eyes scrutinized my cheerleading uniform from top to bottom. She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Coach Howard?" She flipped her hair back. "I don't believe you. Coach Howard wouldn't put anyone on the team without consulting me first."

"I'm not thrilled to be here either, but here I am." I didn't know who this girl thought she was. It was pretty obvious she had a strong influence over the others, but that didn't give her any reason to treat me like crap. I was just as unhappy to be here as she was. 

"Wait a second, I have seen you before." She stepped closer as her frown deepened. "You're the new girl, the outsider. The one who spilled her tray on Riven, huh?" 

What a lovely way to be recognized.

"It was an accident, not on purpose." She pursed her lips, clearly not convinced. What else could it have been?

"I don't believe in accidents."

"And why did you think this was my problem?" She clenched her jaw so tightly I thought her teeth might break. Well, she'd probably cry if she lost those perfect white teeth. "I'm just as unhappy to be here as you are. So, are we going to stop wasting time and start practicing, or are we going to keep standing here? Where's the captain of this team?"

"I'm the captain of this team." Well, now I was in trouble. "And if no one told you, I'm also Riven's girlfriend, sweetheart."

Could things get any worse?

Why did these things always have to happen to me?

I wonder why, Summer. 

"Oh my God, you really messed up." Alice laughed so loudly that a few people in the cafeteria turned to look at us. She tried to speak through a mouthful of chicken. How could she eat so much and still have such an amazing figure? "I can't believe I missed it because I was sick."