Jocelyn sat on her bed, staring at her new room. The walls were white, with blue accents she'd carefully chosen to give the room a peaceful vibe. Her three Worlds medals gleamed proudly on the wall, right on her old cheer uniforms. She had each one of them in a frame with gold confetti from each win. It was hard to believe this was her new life now-North Carolina, so different from Miami.
"Jocelyn!" her mom, Helen, called from downstairs. "Can you come down for a minute?"
With a sigh, Jocelyn got up and headed downstairs. They'd only been here a week, and it still felt strange-new house, new town, new everything. She found Helen by the front door, smiling.
"There's someone here to meet us," Helen said as she opened the door. Standing on the porch were their new neighbors, the Lindblads. They were smiling warmly, the mom holding a plate of cookies, and next to her was a boy around Jocelyn's age.
"Hi there!" Mrs. Lindblad said brightly, extending the plate of cookies toward Jocelyn. "We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood. These are for you."
"Thanks," Jocelyn said, eyeing the cookies.
"This is our son, Arvid," Mr. Lindblad added, nudging the boy forward. Arvid gave a shy wave.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," Jocelyn replied, smiling back.
"Why don't you all come in?" Helen said, stepping aside. "We're still getting settled, but it's nice to meet you."
As they moved into the kitchen, Arvid followed Jocelyn, looking a little unsure of himself. He leaned against the counter as she set the cookies down.
"So, you just moved from Miami, huh?" Arvid asked, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah," Jocelyn said, grabbing a cookie. "Big change."
"I bet," he replied. "I've been to Miami once. I'm from England. Born and raised."
They soon moved to Jocelyn's room to get away from their parents conversation.
Jocelyn nodded, not really sure what to say next. She noticed Arvid glancing around the room, and his eyes landed on her medals and cheer uniforms hanging on the wall.
"Those yours?" he asked, pointing at the display.
"Yeah," Jocelyn said with a grin. "I do all-star cheerleading. Those are my Worlds medals."
Arvid blinked, clearly clueless. "Cheerleading? Like, at school games?"
Jocelyn laughed. "Not really. I do all-star, which is competitive. It's a sport on its own. We don't cheer for games; we compete in events with stunts, tumbling, pyramids-all that stuff."
Arvid looked genuinely interested but still a bit confused. "I had no idea cheerleading was like that. I thought it was just...well, cheering."
"Most people don't know," Jocelyn said, smiling. "But it's pretty intense. I've been doing it since I was five, and I'm on a level 6 team now."
"That's awesome," Arvid said. "I don't know much about cheer, but it sounds cool."
"So, what about you? Do you play any sports?" Jocelyn asked, figuring it was time to shift the conversation to him.
Arvid grinned a little, leaning forward. "Well, I don't do team sports like soccer or football. I'm in Formula Four."
Jocelyn blinked. "Formula Four? Like, racing?"
"Yeah," Arvid said, his grin widening. "It's a stepping stone to Formula One. I race cars."
"Wait, seriously? That's insane!" Jocelyn said, eyes wide. "How does that even work?"
Arvid chuckled. "Yeah, it's kind of crazy. I've been racing since I was a kid, working my way up. Formula Four is one of the lower levels, but it's where you start if you want to eventually get into F1."
"Wow, I don't think I've ever met anyone who races cars," Jocelyn admitted. "That sounds... terrifying, honestly."
"It can be," Arvid said with a shrug. "But once you're in the car, you don't think about it. It's all about focus and speed. You get used to it."
Jocelyn nodded, impressed. "That's really cool. I mean, I do flips in the air, but I think racing a car might be even scarier."
Arvid laughed. "I don't know about that. Throwing yourself into the air doesn't sound like a walk in the park either."
They both laughed, and Jocelyn felt herself relaxing. Arvid was easy to talk to, even though he knew nothing about cheer. It was nice having a conversation that wasn't all about the sport for once.
"So, how do you balance school with racing?" Jocelyn asked, curious about his life.
"It's tough," Arvid admitted. "I miss a lot of school for races, but I do most of my work online when I'm traveling. It's a lot of early mornings and late nights."
"Sounds familiar," Jocelyn said. "Cheer practice takes up a lot of time too, especially when competitions are coming up."
They spent the next hour talking about their lives, comparing the chaos of competitive cheerleading to the rush of racing. Arvid shared stories about traveling to different countries for races, and Jocelyn told him about her experiences at Worlds, competing against teams from all over.
Eventually, Evelyn wandered into the her room, tugging at Jocelyn's arm. "Jocey, can we go play outside now?"
Jocelyn smiled down at her little sister. "Maybe later, Ev. I'm talking to Arvid right now."
Evelyn pouted, then turned her attention to Arvid. "Who's he?"
"This is Arvid," Jocelyn explained. "He's our new neighbor."
"Hi," Arvid said with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."
Evelyn stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "You wanna play outside with us?"
Arvid chuckled. "Maybe later. I think Jocelyn's got dibs on me for now."
Jocelyn rolled her eyes, smirking. "I don't have dibs on anyone."
Helen called from the living room just then. "Jocelyn, can you help with some boxes, please?"
"I'll be right back," Jocelyn told Arvid as she headed into the living room to help her mom unpack.
When she finished, Arvid was standing by the door with his parents, ready to leave.
"Thanks for the cookies," Jocelyn said, smiling as she held the door open. "And for hanging out."
"No problem," Arvid replied, giving a casual wave. "We should hang out again soon."
"Yeah, for sure," Jocelyn agreed, feeling a little lighter now. Maybe North Carolina wouldn't be so bad after all.
As the door closed behind the Lindblads, Jocelyn leaned against it for a moment, a small smile playing on her lips. It was nice to know she had a neighbor who was just as passionate about something as she was-even if that "something" was racing cars instead of cheerleading.
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